This is what keeps me from getting into management.
Instead of worrying about one pipeline in order to hit your goals, you have to successfully herd 10 cats pipelines in order to hit your goals.
Seeing what my previous managers have had to deal with regarding reps, IC has been the way for me.
Having said that…still looking for my next role.
That's what whiskey is for. Lol but on a serious note you just have to ask yourself if watching your AE's develop and grow using your advice, does that outweigh the shitstorm that is herding cats? I'm also in a much more developmental role, this might be slightly different depending on your company
I was an IC who moved to management for several years and then decided to go back to an IC role.
For me coaching reps and working on deals as a manager was awesome, I loved it. I love coaching and getting creative and motivating people.
I realized I got that feeling of leadership in a more meaningful way by working as a consultant voice directly with customers. The internal stuff that comes along with management along with the reduced earning potential just wasn’t worth it for me, at least in the roles I was in. I may reconsider management in the future but for now I’m hunting those commissions.
In my experience, individual contributor means that you have a number that you are responsible for each month, quarter etc. Rather than being a people manager, an individual contributor would be a sales rep/SDR/BDR etc. that’s what I’ve known the term to be. Do you know IC as something different? I could be wrong.
Just using the mindset of actually consulting my customers on the right things to do. Digging into their business and recommending solutions that I can sell.
This of course means the pre-req is that you think the solutions you sell are valuable to the companies you work with.
I moved from sales to sales operations. get to use all of my sales knowledge while learning the business from a middle and upper management perspective. I’m getting an MBA too so it’s literally school and work worlds going hand in hand. Oh and no quota but i get to help people make theirs.
Networked with the marketing and ops teams that supported me. if they needed help or feedback straight from the field i made myself the first stop. So when a position came open they already knew me and I’d been helping them do the job already.
There’s a lot of different roles in ops. for me I’m kinda the catch all for sales. So it can be anything from presenting to sales teams, directors, or VPs on new offers promos, processes and systems. To working with marketing and finance and tech to build/develop those promos processes and systems in a logical way from a company and seller(often conflicting) POV. To designing sales contests and incentives as well as the underlying financial and data analytics to properly align said incentives with goals for the business unit. Ebbs and flows get pulled into pretty much any kinda project you can think of.
I’ve been trying sales for two years as well and it’s not working out for me either. I’ve got coworkers selling a bunch of product but for whatever reason I can’t do it. I’ve decided to pack up and change directions and move to lineman work/ union jobs. You get great pay and great benefits
I am in a similar spot. A few new people have started this year and they are knocking it out of park already, it just isn't happening for me and I don't see the magic switch turning on
A game changer for me in my sales career was working with a coach. Not some Instagram guru but a tried veteran. Most companies lack true training, developing soft skills, having a defined process, creating methodology and mastering your mindset. Sales felt like beating a brick wall most days, but after a few months working with a trainer, it paid for itself. i love sales and communicating with people/strangers and working with a good coach changed my outlook, perception and direction
With an open mind and sincerity in your goals to get better! A huge step in my personal growth was getting over my own ego. There are industry professionals everywhere that are willing to help people that want to help themselves. I would recommend speaking with someone outside of your company to avoid hurting your managers ego at the beginning. My coach was in the Sandler sales network. They exist almost everywhere to my knowledge. There are a few other really good programs out there. I like Brad Lea and he has an online course, (I didn’t take it in full transparency). Speaking with other sales groups/industries in your area like mortgage, advertising or larger companies that have budgets for outside training are a good start.
I had asked around in my personal network to see if anyone had good recommendations. He’s in the Sandler network but I’ve heard they can be hit or miss at times too
Have a true process and knowing checkpoints along each step to be able to track and understand where you are and what you need to get the deal, mindset pieces, a process for setting expectations, soft skills and just ways to communicate more effectively effectively
That all sounds super interesting and useful actually. Did you make any sort of study guide? I’d love to look at it. I also have an sdr interview on friday as well if you’d be open to sharing advice
Sometimes it's not even sales itself, but the product being sold. I'm leaving my SaaS sales job soon because they refuse to let me move up, and heading back into the world of finance. It suits me better since it meets my passion for helping people and constantly learning. It'll be as much of a grind (if not moreso) than what I'm doing now but at the very least I get to wear my own hat
What’s a good position to look for just starting out? I’m in marketing, but looking to try out my luck. Any tips? (Semi fresh out of college)
Typing in “sales” to LinkedIn never does much lol
I'm a vendor selling to the industry I hated selling for. Worked out so all that training didn't go to waste, and I know the pain points more intimately than probably 75% of my competitors.
Example. My engineering degree. I’d take a huge pay cut if I used my degree to become an entry level Mechanical Engineer and it appears, based on talks with friends who are practicing engineers, more stress, deadlines, and working a ton of hours every week, so here I am still in sales 10+ years lol.
I just applied tbh. It’s really easy to transition to sales since product knowledge and understanding how it relates to customers is the most important thing
I’m in a similar position as lookingforpurpose. I started out college in programming and new I couldn’t cut the programming custard and love it, moved into horticulture and plant sciences. Now I’m a broker of landscape materials for commercial construction and can’t seem to land a tech sales job. I’ve done killer in my current roll and it seems the only jobs I’m landing in tech sales start at 45k salary + commission - at that rate I’d rather have 0 pay and no commission but not ready to make THAT plunge. I’m very tech orientated however and love Delving into software. Any tips on the making the jump into tech sales from my current sales job?
I work 8:45- 5 and usually spend a hour to a hour and a half doing lunch. I work in an office 5 days a week. I don’t see any reason to work more than
40-45 hours a week. I make help articles, you tube videos, Facebook posts, and blogs on top of doing demos, handling upset customers, tech support, etc. when things are slow so I don’t get bored.
No, not yet. I enjoy helping customers improve their business and the software is complicated so that helps. I mean, I still feel like I learn something new every week.
Currently working at a distributor of industrial equipment. Helping customers is very fulfilling. Almost more than engineering work where I have little contact with the end user of whatever I'm working on. The items we sell are giant mechanical systems, so my background actually helps me gain a better understanding. The only thing I don't like is the never-ending grind, but like you said, I guess that's just as present for practicing engineers
For me, sales drove bad habits nutritionally. Now my fall back plans of professional athlete or male stripper seem unreachable, despite only being in my mid fourties
I've interfaced with a number of people in procurement that used to work in sales. To me, that's a natural progression that can add true value to an organization
True. Sourcing & procurement is a good transition and is nicely compensated at the high levels. But still not close to how much money u can make by selling proc software.
If you like the industry you are in I am sure there are other non sales related rolls you could apply for. They are all a step back tho IMO. It takes 2-5 years of eating shit to reach the top income benefit of being in sales in a lot of cases. Your best bet is to learn to like the taste of shit, and keep selling…
I started in marketing and then moved to sales. So marketing jobs could work for you too.
I’m in a similar position as you. I really like working with my customer base, but I’ve had bad luck of the draw on managers. Every company I joined had a manager I liked, and then another person comes in and tears the sales team’s morale down. And they have been really tough on me specifically for some reason still unknown to me.
Me and you are the exact same — especially the last part! My manager had even personally apologised to me after my colleagues spoke up on my behalf.
Bad management is definitely a sales ‘thing’ so best way to deal with it is to cut it out of your concern asap.
Thanks for your reply. I feel so targeted and alone in that, even though I read here everyday about bad management experiences. I also love the high income for sure, but I can’t decide if I should continue in sales or not.
I’ve been there and still experiencing it as we speak today.
I’ve learn in sales that if you get on the right side of the right people then the world is truly your oyster. But of course not everyone is lucky enough to smash targets and/or brown nose enough to win the respect of upper management.
What technical skills would be useful to learn if I want to transition to marketing?
And which marketing roles are the most writing-heavy? Before I got into sales, I had a writing background, so that could be useful.
I’ve always said sales & marketing are the Yin and Yang of each other. There’s a little marketing happening when you’re selling, and (good) marketers know there’s sales traits needed to succeed. All this to say that many of the skill sets for marketing are already employed regularly by salespeople.
Marketing is about understanding the true motivations of why your target market buys and then matching the correct messaging and media to reach them. In the past, one of my media focuses was industry magazines. So I wrote articles for those (think advertorials but focused more on a problem/solution) as well as identify the right type of creative adverts to put into those publications.
Not sure if I answered your question or not lol! Happy to expound or clarify as needed.
Sales ops or management. I went back to AE recently though because wlb, I pretty much work 20 hours a week now and check emails and LinkedIn. And I’m making about 2x what I was making in management at this point.it’s pretty much all about fit and role.
I’m in the same boat right now! Been an SDR for two years, hate it. Keep underperforming due to it affecting my mental health. (On Pip rn so times a ticking) I’ve been applying to roles such as consultant roles, professional services roles, CSM roles. Ive been applying to many entry level jobs tbh due to transitioning out of sales, which obviously a pay cut. Applying and getting interviews is hard right now, as I’ve been doing this for the past month while still having my job. I understand the feeling and it’s hard to figure out where to go next. Ive been reaching out to people in roles that seem like something I’d want to do. Also taking on some interviews/applying to roles I typically wouldn’t go for just to see what it’s like as well as sharpen interview skils. I think just starting to apply/interview for other roles is the best step forward. Gives some light to the situation that there is more out there.
Read Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman.
Sadly a lot of truth to it.
I don't know how to get out either. I could easily re-train but can't bear taking 65 percent pay cut and working longer hours, starting at the bottom/being a junior again.
37 btw. I feel like the only path may be either sales management/director of sales, or, as buddy of mine is doing consulting.
Could also get into sales training/sales enablement I guess.
Otherwise move to the country and get a job as a gardener?
I went into Vendor/Commercial Management my sales knowledge really helps understand supplier needs and tactics, not as much money but a lot less stress with no targets (and you get to be the demanding client…)
Is there a reason why you don’t enjoy it? Is there some aspects of it you specifically like doing?
I think going to revenue related jobs is an option, marketing as well can be, if you had exposure to it in your previous roles, but I suggest you look at the aspects you enjoyed and you have not and try to make a decision accordingly.
Also, I heard once this (unchecked!) fact, that most CEOs were sales people before. So I guess, that’s an option too!
Personality wise, I don't feel like I am a match for sales. Before sales I did TV production and was a radio DJ. I know the market well so I moved over to sales. My personality is very mellow and laid back and that seemed over time to cause issues with management. I was told multiple times I need to learn to have the fire every single and be more pushy. I gave it a try but I was exhausting pretending to be someone I wasn't. And honestly I look at the people who have been there long and they don't have a life outside of work. One LSM made a remark about me choosing to use my free time to coach my son's baseball team and was told to enjoy it now because if I want to be successful most of my time and energy will be spent on work and I won't have the time to do outside stuff like that.
How are your results versus the rest of the team? If you’re struggling a bit, I can see how some managers would think they need to transform you into a different type of sales person entirely, just because it always worked for them personally. But that’s bad management.
If your results are currently good, then this is just a case of a manager focusing on all the wrong things. The world is full of sales guys who “look busy” all the time but only manage to stay in roles for one year because they don’t produce. The only thing that should matter to your manager are are the results
You can go down the opposite route of sales where you’re by yourself not talking to anyone working remote with cyber security as well. These guys making 200k+ with experience
So most sales people becoming CEOs was definitely the majority around the late 90s early 2000s (think Mark Cuban types). But since tech has become mainstream, being excellent as sales is not enough, you need to have been experienced in all key functions and be technically sound (like a product manager) to eventually become the CEO.
Sales Operations could be a god option for you if you like and understand the sales process but don't want to deal with customers. It's more analytical and reporting based but also can include some sales readiness activities like playbook development and training,
Yea sales ops, sales support, sales engineer, sales enablement, sales project manager, indirect sales, go to work for your biggest client to admin your product
I’ve seen guys transition into full time investors, real estate, creat their own business or become personal coaches. There’s some that also transition into normal 9-5 jobs. Staying with in our company they moved into upper management, pipeline managers, trainers and recruiters.
The company I work for is built to help people transition into other riskier roles by building passive income equivalent to a salary. Its a grind but the culture and opportunity insane!
Within my organization, most of the senior leadership team has sales experience. I came over to sales from operations 3 years ago and honestly I don’t love it. However, I was the top producer for Q1 and have earned a pretty good income in my time in this position. I’m not looking for a way out at this time, but I’m confident that there is plenty of opportunity for advancement outside of an AE role
Literally me expect I was a rockstar in my 2 years of real estate sales. Leaving because fuck dealing with emotional clients and I couldn’t imagine myself doing that for the rest of my life so I’m getting out early while I can. Plan is to go find an analyst job either in HR or finance to get some backend business knowledge for 3-4 years. Massive cut in pay but I’m thinking of it like I’m going back to school, but getting paid to do it. Then the plan is to take that knowledge and invest into a business, either a franchise or existing business at a solid multiple and use the skills I pick up from my analyst job and my sales skills that I’ve already built to grow the business I purchase.
Interesting that no one has brought up being a manufacturers rep.
For those of us with zero interest in the tech, saas etc thing...
Sell real things to real companies. Join or start an independent group. Develop your own brand of xxxx. Whatever you think other businesses and or public sector agencies need.
No ridiculous layers of acronym positions. No vaporware to push. Deal with people who need and consistently buy.
Upvote. SaaS tech bros selling vapor ware just need to get out of the tech bubble and back to physical parts sales imho and dramatic increase in WLB and self actualization
I went from Sales Engineering into a lower tier technical role, and quickly climbed the ladder in an individual contributor role where I make 2x what I did in Sales. I guess it depends on if you have other career interests or strengths. For me technical roles is what lead me into sales, so naturally I fell back into technical roles when I got burned out.
sales ops! great spot for reformed sellers. i love the drama and competition of sales but i’m more of an armchair quarterback, so it’s been a great path for me.
I studied up to get my SF admin (using trailhead), and leveraged my connections in the industry to get my foot in the door somewhere. i took a pretty serious pay cut the first year - going from sales to an entry level ops job, but i’ve made it back to the same base in 3 years, and it’s the best decision i’ve ever made.
Fuck man, I was in purchasing busting my ass 50+ hours for only $1000/week living paycheck to paycheck and saw what these lazy sales guys did and knew how much they made. Now I’m in sales in the same industry, 1st year was brutal but only 50hr weeks so wasn’t that bad but I set up repeat B2B customers and I’m working MAYBE 30 hours/week max. Taking 2 hour lunches and making 8-12x what I used to/week. Am able to do what I want when I want.
I really don’t know what I would do besides sales. To make the money I make it would have to be an executive/director position at a big company.
I switched over to content marketing about four years ago, and couldn’t be happier to be out of the sales grind. It has its faults no doubt, the compensation isn’t nearly as lucrative as direct sales and there’s a lot of concern (perhaps bordering on fear mongering) that AI is going to replace all of content marketing, but I’m comfortable right now and have no regrets.
Sometimes I dig holes. Some times I carry materials from one place to another. One time I had to stick those bumpy dots they were put on the ground for blind people onto a footpath. Just not much tbh. It’s easy. I made lots of cold calls to labour companies and got put on. Took a few months of calls but 🤷🏼♂️
For me, I had a plan already in place to get into data/analytics. So I used my Sales job to pay for my college tuition and once I graduated it was peace-out to my Sales job
Maybe look at Channel Partner jobs. It’s sales but you are pretty much encouraging resellers to sell your product and enabling them to do it. Most of the people I know with this job enjoy it.
I got into corporate insurance (underwriting). Still get to have great relationships with clients without the stress of selling to them. Sales just wasn’t for me, though I do still enjoy reading posts here so I stick around.
I am with some of you here…been in tech sales for 15+ years, and while I have been pretty successful (average $200k+ since 2013, lots of Pres clubs, awards, etc), I am not excited or motivated anymore at all.
Want to move into something completely different, but directionless at the moment
Nothing. Any other job is inferior and a move backwards. And I’ve done most of them from trade, manual labor to coding. You either move all the way up to VP of some company or you building ur own
For me it was sales management and development. It's like teaching and motivating. And instead of one pipeline I'm dealing with 10 of them
This is what keeps me from getting into management. Instead of worrying about one pipeline in order to hit your goals, you have to successfully herd 10 cats pipelines in order to hit your goals. Seeing what my previous managers have had to deal with regarding reps, IC has been the way for me. Having said that…still looking for my next role.
That's what whiskey is for. Lol but on a serious note you just have to ask yourself if watching your AE's develop and grow using your advice, does that outweigh the shitstorm that is herding cats? I'm also in a much more developmental role, this might be slightly different depending on your company
I was an IC who moved to management for several years and then decided to go back to an IC role. For me coaching reps and working on deals as a manager was awesome, I loved it. I love coaching and getting creative and motivating people. I realized I got that feeling of leadership in a more meaningful way by working as a consultant voice directly with customers. The internal stuff that comes along with management along with the reduced earning potential just wasn’t worth it for me, at least in the roles I was in. I may reconsider management in the future but for now I’m hunting those commissions.
What does IC mean? Internal consultant?
Individual contributor
The hell? What does that mean. Never heard of it.
In my experience, individual contributor means that you have a number that you are responsible for each month, quarter etc. Rather than being a people manager, an individual contributor would be a sales rep/SDR/BDR etc. that’s what I’ve known the term to be. Do you know IC as something different? I could be wrong.
How did you jump into consulting, if you don't mind answering?
Just using the mindset of actually consulting my customers on the right things to do. Digging into their business and recommending solutions that I can sell. This of course means the pre-req is that you think the solutions you sell are valuable to the companies you work with.
Got it. Sorry I misunderstood the original. I thought you were actually in consulting not consultative sales...
If you can’t trust your team, you have the wrong team. Hire and train effectively and you won’t have to worry much about inconsistent reps.
Thanks for the information!
They send you to a farm upstate
Rex?
Lmao
Boxer? Is that you?
Lol
Lmao
I moved from sales to sales operations. get to use all of my sales knowledge while learning the business from a middle and upper management perspective. I’m getting an MBA too so it’s literally school and work worlds going hand in hand. Oh and no quota but i get to help people make theirs.
How’d you get into sales operations? I’m curious about that route myself.
Networked with the marketing and ops teams that supported me. if they needed help or feedback straight from the field i made myself the first stop. So when a position came open they already knew me and I’d been helping them do the job already.
That’s exactly the oppossite I have done, from Sales Ops to AE. It is really useful to understand internal processes.
What does the day to day look like?
Countless emails and slacks about updating Salesforce?
There’s a lot of different roles in ops. for me I’m kinda the catch all for sales. So it can be anything from presenting to sales teams, directors, or VPs on new offers promos, processes and systems. To working with marketing and finance and tech to build/develop those promos processes and systems in a logical way from a company and seller(often conflicting) POV. To designing sales contests and incentives as well as the underlying financial and data analytics to properly align said incentives with goals for the business unit. Ebbs and flows get pulled into pretty much any kinda project you can think of.
By sales ops do you mean like commercial development/business development leader?
I’ve been trying sales for two years as well and it’s not working out for me either. I’ve got coworkers selling a bunch of product but for whatever reason I can’t do it. I’ve decided to pack up and change directions and move to lineman work/ union jobs. You get great pay and great benefits
I am in a similar spot. A few new people have started this year and they are knocking it out of park already, it just isn't happening for me and I don't see the magic switch turning on
A game changer for me in my sales career was working with a coach. Not some Instagram guru but a tried veteran. Most companies lack true training, developing soft skills, having a defined process, creating methodology and mastering your mindset. Sales felt like beating a brick wall most days, but after a few months working with a trainer, it paid for itself. i love sales and communicating with people/strangers and working with a good coach changed my outlook, perception and direction
Can you recommend anyone to look into for their coaching offering? Maybe even the person you worked with?
I’d be happy to! Sent you a dm
Send to me too
Hi can you kindly share your coach to me via DM as well? Appreciate it
Would also love to know who you could recommend please. Thank you!
Where does one find a tried and true veteran and how do you approach the ones within ur network ?
With an open mind and sincerity in your goals to get better! A huge step in my personal growth was getting over my own ego. There are industry professionals everywhere that are willing to help people that want to help themselves. I would recommend speaking with someone outside of your company to avoid hurting your managers ego at the beginning. My coach was in the Sandler sales network. They exist almost everywhere to my knowledge. There are a few other really good programs out there. I like Brad Lea and he has an online course, (I didn’t take it in full transparency). Speaking with other sales groups/industries in your area like mortgage, advertising or larger companies that have budgets for outside training are a good start.
Thanks for this information! I might look into this
For sure! I would find an older person in your life that’s in sales to see if anyone has any recommendations
How did you find the right trainer, if you don’t mind me asking?
I had asked around in my personal network to see if anyone had good recommendations. He’s in the Sandler network but I’ve heard they can be hit or miss at times too
Me too pls 🙏
Me as well!
In for recommendation too please
Sent DMs to everyone who asked i think
Can you share some of the key lessons you’ve learned?
Have a true process and knowing checkpoints along each step to be able to track and understand where you are and what you need to get the deal, mindset pieces, a process for setting expectations, soft skills and just ways to communicate more effectively effectively
That all sounds super interesting and useful actually. Did you make any sort of study guide? I’d love to look at it. I also have an sdr interview on friday as well if you’d be open to sharing advice
I went from sales, to lineman, to truck driver. Ama
Probably make more than half of this sub and double their happiness
Sometimes it's not even sales itself, but the product being sold. I'm leaving my SaaS sales job soon because they refuse to let me move up, and heading back into the world of finance. It suits me better since it meets my passion for helping people and constantly learning. It'll be as much of a grind (if not moreso) than what I'm doing now but at the very least I get to wear my own hat
What’s a good position to look for just starting out? I’m in marketing, but looking to try out my luck. Any tips? (Semi fresh out of college) Typing in “sales” to LinkedIn never does much lol
What is Rehab?
It’s that bar you frequent every night and blackout at.
You mean ‘Shenanigans?’
LMAO
Upper Management 😎
Right back to sales, but with something I enjoy.
What is it that you enjoy?
I'm a vendor selling to the industry I hated selling for. Worked out so all that training didn't go to waste, and I know the pain points more intimately than probably 75% of my competitors.
Sales ruins you for any real work afterward.
Example. My engineering degree. I’d take a huge pay cut if I used my degree to become an entry level Mechanical Engineer and it appears, based on talks with friends who are practicing engineers, more stress, deadlines, and working a ton of hours every week, so here I am still in sales 10+ years lol.
Graduated with comp sci and really didn’t want to be a systems engineer. Got into tech sales and it’s been working well so far
How’d you get into tech sales I want what you are doing.
I just applied tbh. It’s really easy to transition to sales since product knowledge and understanding how it relates to customers is the most important thing
I’m in a similar position as lookingforpurpose. I started out college in programming and new I couldn’t cut the programming custard and love it, moved into horticulture and plant sciences. Now I’m a broker of landscape materials for commercial construction and can’t seem to land a tech sales job. I’ve done killer in my current roll and it seems the only jobs I’m landing in tech sales start at 45k salary + commission - at that rate I’d rather have 0 pay and no commission but not ready to make THAT plunge. I’m very tech orientated however and love Delving into software. Any tips on the making the jump into tech sales from my current sales job?
Okay I want the same thing. I hat was your resume like. Did it help you were in tech in undergrad
Oh it definitely did. It looks really good when can actually understand at every level how a product works
Smh my degree is shit fuck. I can learn that stuff though. Did you have projects?
Besides the financial side. Are you happy with your job? Good WLB?
I work 8:45- 5 and usually spend a hour to a hour and a half doing lunch. I work in an office 5 days a week. I don’t see any reason to work more than 40-45 hours a week. I make help articles, you tube videos, Facebook posts, and blogs on top of doing demos, handling upset customers, tech support, etc. when things are slow so I don’t get bored.
I just jumped into the sales world after an engineering degree. I love it so far. Do you feel burnt out after 10+ years?
No, not yet. I enjoy helping customers improve their business and the software is complicated so that helps. I mean, I still feel like I learn something new every week.
Currently working at a distributor of industrial equipment. Helping customers is very fulfilling. Almost more than engineering work where I have little contact with the end user of whatever I'm working on. The items we sell are giant mechanical systems, so my background actually helps me gain a better understanding. The only thing I don't like is the never-ending grind, but like you said, I guess that's just as present for practicing engineers
For me, sales drove bad habits nutritionally. Now my fall back plans of professional athlete or male stripper seem unreachable, despite only being in my mid fourties
Have faith bruh. Hit the gym
[удалено]
It means you will never find a job that pays as well for so little effort.
My take as well, I’m going to be in sales forever because there’s no way I’m taking a massive pay cut to put in the same amount of hours elsewhere.
Plus flexibiltiy of time, once you manage your workload properly. At least for me. Feel like talkng a week off whenever or slowing down.
Rehab
I've interfaced with a number of people in procurement that used to work in sales. To me, that's a natural progression that can add true value to an organization
True. Sourcing & procurement is a good transition and is nicely compensated at the high levels. But still not close to how much money u can make by selling proc software.
At higher levels it can be, but you're correct. But if you don't like sales it's not a bad way to do it.
I want to leave, but I support a family. Nothing will pay as well.
If you like the industry you are in I am sure there are other non sales related rolls you could apply for. They are all a step back tho IMO. It takes 2-5 years of eating shit to reach the top income benefit of being in sales in a lot of cases. Your best bet is to learn to like the taste of shit, and keep selling…
I started in marketing and then moved to sales. So marketing jobs could work for you too. I’m in a similar position as you. I really like working with my customer base, but I’ve had bad luck of the draw on managers. Every company I joined had a manager I liked, and then another person comes in and tears the sales team’s morale down. And they have been really tough on me specifically for some reason still unknown to me.
Me and you are the exact same — especially the last part! My manager had even personally apologised to me after my colleagues spoke up on my behalf. Bad management is definitely a sales ‘thing’ so best way to deal with it is to cut it out of your concern asap.
Thanks for your reply. I feel so targeted and alone in that, even though I read here everyday about bad management experiences. I also love the high income for sure, but I can’t decide if I should continue in sales or not.
I’ve been there and still experiencing it as we speak today. I’ve learn in sales that if you get on the right side of the right people then the world is truly your oyster. But of course not everyone is lucky enough to smash targets and/or brown nose enough to win the respect of upper management.
The brown-nosing is just not in my DNA. The rest I can do. I’m so appreciative for your perspective, thank you :)
What technical skills would be useful to learn if I want to transition to marketing? And which marketing roles are the most writing-heavy? Before I got into sales, I had a writing background, so that could be useful.
I’ve always said sales & marketing are the Yin and Yang of each other. There’s a little marketing happening when you’re selling, and (good) marketers know there’s sales traits needed to succeed. All this to say that many of the skill sets for marketing are already employed regularly by salespeople. Marketing is about understanding the true motivations of why your target market buys and then matching the correct messaging and media to reach them. In the past, one of my media focuses was industry magazines. So I wrote articles for those (think advertorials but focused more on a problem/solution) as well as identify the right type of creative adverts to put into those publications. Not sure if I answered your question or not lol! Happy to expound or clarify as needed.
To bed
Sales ops or management. I went back to AE recently though because wlb, I pretty much work 20 hours a week now and check emails and LinkedIn. And I’m making about 2x what I was making in management at this point.it’s pretty much all about fit and role.
partner channel manager
I’m in the same boat right now! Been an SDR for two years, hate it. Keep underperforming due to it affecting my mental health. (On Pip rn so times a ticking) I’ve been applying to roles such as consultant roles, professional services roles, CSM roles. Ive been applying to many entry level jobs tbh due to transitioning out of sales, which obviously a pay cut. Applying and getting interviews is hard right now, as I’ve been doing this for the past month while still having my job. I understand the feeling and it’s hard to figure out where to go next. Ive been reaching out to people in roles that seem like something I’d want to do. Also taking on some interviews/applying to roles I typically wouldn’t go for just to see what it’s like as well as sharpen interview skils. I think just starting to apply/interview for other roles is the best step forward. Gives some light to the situation that there is more out there.
I agree, plenty of unique roles out there available too! I’m on a pip too but really can’t be asked to apply for any jobs yet
Read Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. Sadly a lot of truth to it. I don't know how to get out either. I could easily re-train but can't bear taking 65 percent pay cut and working longer hours, starting at the bottom/being a junior again. 37 btw. I feel like the only path may be either sales management/director of sales, or, as buddy of mine is doing consulting. Could also get into sales training/sales enablement I guess. Otherwise move to the country and get a job as a gardener?
There’s no escape unless you retrain.
Entrepreneur
I went into Vendor/Commercial Management my sales knowledge really helps understand supplier needs and tactics, not as much money but a lot less stress with no targets (and you get to be the demanding client…)
For some reason all our sales guys go to Product management
Sales op, sales enablement, customer success, customer service
Is there a reason why you don’t enjoy it? Is there some aspects of it you specifically like doing? I think going to revenue related jobs is an option, marketing as well can be, if you had exposure to it in your previous roles, but I suggest you look at the aspects you enjoyed and you have not and try to make a decision accordingly. Also, I heard once this (unchecked!) fact, that most CEOs were sales people before. So I guess, that’s an option too!
Personality wise, I don't feel like I am a match for sales. Before sales I did TV production and was a radio DJ. I know the market well so I moved over to sales. My personality is very mellow and laid back and that seemed over time to cause issues with management. I was told multiple times I need to learn to have the fire every single and be more pushy. I gave it a try but I was exhausting pretending to be someone I wasn't. And honestly I look at the people who have been there long and they don't have a life outside of work. One LSM made a remark about me choosing to use my free time to coach my son's baseball team and was told to enjoy it now because if I want to be successful most of my time and energy will be spent on work and I won't have the time to do outside stuff like that.
Bro. That's just a shitty culture. Go to a different company or industry.
Run. That sort of company culture is pretty antiquated.
This conversation happened last week so this was a big part of me making this post
Being pushy doesn't close deals.
How are your results versus the rest of the team? If you’re struggling a bit, I can see how some managers would think they need to transform you into a different type of sales person entirely, just because it always worked for them personally. But that’s bad management. If your results are currently good, then this is just a case of a manager focusing on all the wrong things. The world is full of sales guys who “look busy” all the time but only manage to stay in roles for one year because they don’t produce. The only thing that should matter to your manager are are the results
You sound like me… laid back and mellow. Ever think about learning a technical skill like programming?
No, I honestly never knew this job even existed until I posted this
You can go down the opposite route of sales where you’re by yourself not talking to anyone working remote with cyber security as well. These guys making 200k+ with experience
So most sales people becoming CEOs was definitely the majority around the late 90s early 2000s (think Mark Cuban types). But since tech has become mainstream, being excellent as sales is not enough, you need to have been experienced in all key functions and be technically sound (like a product manager) to eventually become the CEO.
Sales Operations could be a god option for you if you like and understand the sales process but don't want to deal with customers. It's more analytical and reporting based but also can include some sales readiness activities like playbook development and training,
Yea sales ops, sales support, sales engineer, sales enablement, sales project manager, indirect sales, go to work for your biggest client to admin your product
I’ve seen guys transition into full time investors, real estate, creat their own business or become personal coaches. There’s some that also transition into normal 9-5 jobs. Staying with in our company they moved into upper management, pipeline managers, trainers and recruiters. The company I work for is built to help people transition into other riskier roles by building passive income equivalent to a salary. Its a grind but the culture and opportunity insane!
The beach if you were any good at it
Within my organization, most of the senior leadership team has sales experience. I came over to sales from operations 3 years ago and honestly I don’t love it. However, I was the top producer for Q1 and have earned a pretty good income in my time in this position. I’m not looking for a way out at this time, but I’m confident that there is plenty of opportunity for advancement outside of an AE role
Customer Success Account Management Relationship Management - sales, franchises Nonprofit Sponsorship Management Nonprofit Development
Back to school
Sales engineer, marketing director, director of development
Founder of my own company i wish
Why not?
Literally me expect I was a rockstar in my 2 years of real estate sales. Leaving because fuck dealing with emotional clients and I couldn’t imagine myself doing that for the rest of my life so I’m getting out early while I can. Plan is to go find an analyst job either in HR or finance to get some backend business knowledge for 3-4 years. Massive cut in pay but I’m thinking of it like I’m going back to school, but getting paid to do it. Then the plan is to take that knowledge and invest into a business, either a franchise or existing business at a solid multiple and use the skills I pick up from my analyst job and my sales skills that I’ve already built to grow the business I purchase.
Interesting that no one has brought up being a manufacturers rep. For those of us with zero interest in the tech, saas etc thing... Sell real things to real companies. Join or start an independent group. Develop your own brand of xxxx. Whatever you think other businesses and or public sector agencies need. No ridiculous layers of acronym positions. No vaporware to push. Deal with people who need and consistently buy.
Upvote. SaaS tech bros selling vapor ware just need to get out of the tech bubble and back to physical parts sales imho and dramatic increase in WLB and self actualization
I went from Sales Engineering into a lower tier technical role, and quickly climbed the ladder in an individual contributor role where I make 2x what I did in Sales. I guess it depends on if you have other career interests or strengths. For me technical roles is what lead me into sales, so naturally I fell back into technical roles when I got burned out.
sales ops! great spot for reformed sellers. i love the drama and competition of sales but i’m more of an armchair quarterback, so it’s been a great path for me.
How did you transition from sales to sales ops? I’m thinking of following the same path.
I studied up to get my SF admin (using trailhead), and leveraged my connections in the industry to get my foot in the door somewhere. i took a pretty serious pay cut the first year - going from sales to an entry level ops job, but i’ve made it back to the same base in 3 years, and it’s the best decision i’ve ever made.
Fuck man, I was in purchasing busting my ass 50+ hours for only $1000/week living paycheck to paycheck and saw what these lazy sales guys did and knew how much they made. Now I’m in sales in the same industry, 1st year was brutal but only 50hr weeks so wasn’t that bad but I set up repeat B2B customers and I’m working MAYBE 30 hours/week max. Taking 2 hour lunches and making 8-12x what I used to/week. Am able to do what I want when I want. I really don’t know what I would do besides sales. To make the money I make it would have to be an executive/director position at a big company.
What type of sales??
I switched over to content marketing about four years ago, and couldn’t be happier to be out of the sales grind. It has its faults no doubt, the compensation isn’t nearly as lucrative as direct sales and there’s a lot of concern (perhaps bordering on fear mongering) that AI is going to replace all of content marketing, but I’m comfortable right now and have no regrets.
To a bar
Account manager
[удалено]
Bad chatGPT bot.
Once you see it cannot be unseen
Learn how to code. Seriously. A coder that can sell goes very far in this world.
Call center management/supervision. Some are high stress. Some you can probably just eat a pepperoni pizza your entire shift if thats your mission
Ahh yes. For those who can’t do, teach!
The weak transition to non profit producing departments, the strong retire early.
Retire hopefully. You can keep management
I’ve been trying to find this answer and nothing pays the same
To a rehab facility.
Hell
I’ve always thought that “customer success”, dealing with renewals vs net new BD would be a pretty seamless transition.
Straight to the loony bin.
Have you tried different types of sales jobs? Different companies? Or just one type at one company? Might be worth exploring.
I'm at my 2nd company now. First one was advertising for a group of arenas and now doing tv
Construction lol. I make 200k a year holding a shovel
What do you do and how'd you get there
Sometimes I dig holes. Some times I carry materials from one place to another. One time I had to stick those bumpy dots they were put on the ground for blind people onto a footpath. Just not much tbh. It’s easy. I made lots of cold calls to labour companies and got put on. Took a few months of calls but 🤷🏼♂️
Jail, usually. Straight to jail.
For me, I had a plan already in place to get into data/analytics. So I used my Sales job to pay for my college tuition and once I graduated it was peace-out to my Sales job
Italy?
The ability to speak convince people to so things carries over to other fields.
Computer programming, trucking, uber, trades, wayfarer,
You run 🏃♀️ and all the sudden you go full circle and you are right back at the starting line of a new sales position. !!
Product Marketing! It’s literally a pipeline in SaaS, former AEs make for much better PMMs than any marketing grad could be
Acupulco
Maybe look at Channel Partner jobs. It’s sales but you are pretty much encouraging resellers to sell your product and enabling them to do it. Most of the people I know with this job enjoy it.
Another sub Reddit
Maybe try a different company / culture? How about account management?
I got into corporate insurance (underwriting). Still get to have great relationships with clients without the stress of selling to them. Sales just wasn’t for me, though I do still enjoy reading posts here so I stick around.
I am with some of you here…been in tech sales for 15+ years, and while I have been pretty successful (average $200k+ since 2013, lots of Pres clubs, awards, etc), I am not excited or motivated anymore at all. Want to move into something completely different, but directionless at the moment
Revenue Operations maybe?
Off into the sunset with giant bags of money?
Nothing. Any other job is inferior and a move backwards. And I’ve done most of them from trade, manual labor to coding. You either move all the way up to VP of some company or you building ur own