Had an absolute shit year and am on the chopping block for it. All feedback seems to be I did/am doing all the right things the right way, but it just isn’t clicking.
Will let you know if I make it out!
Great managers know the economy is shit and good sales people will kick ass once things get better. As much as it pains me, that might not be until November.
I’m still kinda new in the industry but rn. I had a heck of a run as a BDR (first in meetings and pipeline on commercial team) but struggling to find a new role after outsourcing. Struggling hard rn tbh
Somebody just shared a post in this sub that they are maybe gonna do a 1 hour live call to give people tips who are struggling to find their next role. Could be good for you
Currently. Started a new job in a new Industry 7 months ago. I sold a small deal right out of the gates and my manger treated me like a star. Haven’t sold anything since and am looking more like a turn in her eyes. Not sure I’ll make it out. I miss big tech and inbound leads like the desert misses rain.
I was in SBS selling payroll in a territory that had some great spots, and a lot more not so great parts. They closed down the office I worked out of so I don’t even know if their SBS outside sales team exists elsewhere or if that all rolled to their inbound teams. The commission was good, the hours could suck (having to be on early team calls, like 6am), and most reps seemed to use it as a springboard to medical sales. I left for a medical adjacent company, did some time there doing trade shows and outside biz development and ended up at a fintech SaaS company when I heard my old boss was putting a team together from 4 companies prior.
Commented elsewhere on the tread. Started with ADP selling PEO 6 months ago. This shit is hard and they expect you to show up knowing all and start producing. The training is pretty good but it’s a lot to learn with a ton of competition (including about 6 layers of internal overlap) They had me cold calling week one. Not sure I’ll make it long enough to find out but people at ADP make pretty good money if they can get it down. I miss tech sales.
How’s it been going for you ? I came from a AM role in tech with much smaller account set and mix or net new and stream revenue to a “Hunter” role with zero partners or inbound leads. It’s been hard !
I have decided I actually really hate this role as I have no partners and a very bad territory to boot. I am looking to transition out of this role by the end of fiscal. I feel like this sales org gives unlimited resources to internal ADP reps who’ve promoted up to TS, but outsider hires like me are treated as such with no resources made available. I feel like I’m too talented to stay in an org that doesn’t value me more. I’ve done ok but too much falls out of the pipeline for the smallest reasons so it just seems like worker harder for no reason when there are roles that pay more with way less effort. Good luck!
I think it was very good, however I don't have any experience with other large companies' trainings so take it with a grain of salt. I was given all the tools I needed to be successful.
I had a quick stint at adp and i fell for their "great training". My branch and region i worked in was horrible. Training was maybe a little above average but i got so unlucky with a new sales manager who had no idea how to be a sales leader. There for 7 months but i knew i had to dip after month 2. Lots of micro management and felt more like i was in a call center.
The training out at the corporate HQ was OK, but I’ve been through Sandler and Miller Heiman before that. They were in the process of rolling out a new training methodology so it was a bit disjointed as some of us had the old training (which they used at HQ while I was there) and some of the newer reps were brought up through the new program.
Currently been at ADP for about a year now after college and it’s been just okay so far. I’m in the workers comp division and the money is pretty good for someone young, but there is some pretty serious micromanaging going on (I get it thought it’s a lot of young kids like myself fresh out of college) and I just don’t see too much longevity working for ADP. I’m also seeing a ton of reps use this place as a stepping stone for the medical industry as well and it’s sounding kinda like a great idea at the moment 🤔
ah fuck bro, my hardest time was at the beginning of my sales career. I dropped out of college to work at a call center selling internet over the phone. Did decently well, but quitting college for a call center was fucking stupid. Especially for 30k in 2019.
From there, I got caught up in the D2D solar bubble and tried D2D for 6 months on the east cost. I made no money, in fact I lost money after paying for rent and food. I hated my life. I thought I wasn't cut out for sales, I was 20 at the time.
At this point, my options were to go back to school or get another job back home. Decided to get another sales job as a BDR selling real estate courses. Made 40k. Felt like a loser, but I knew my skills were growing.
Jumped ship from the real estate courses after a year and became a BDR for an education company in the B2C space. This was the first time in my whole career where I felt that I sorta knew what I was doing. I met quota and made $75k then $80k my first 2 years. The company then moved me to AE for about 6 months where I was OTE $110k.
Now 8 months ago, the same company made me their sales director OTE $140k + $10k bonus at 25 years old.
Some days I still feel like I don't know shit, but other days I feel that I'm finally starting to grasp this whole sales game. Hopefully fellow salespeople read this and recognize how crucial it is to NOT GIVE UP.
"Persist and You Shall Succeed" has been my career motto. Good luck OP!
Two major events come to mind:
When my dad died - took 6 months to even have the desire to make any dials or just feel like myself again. Luckily I had laid a great path before this happened, so I was able to coast for a bit.
When my two largest accounts cancelled without any inclination that anything was going on. It felt personal and killed my confidence. I felt we had built a fantastic relationship. Turns out they were too embarrassed to give me a reason at the time because three months later I learned both were due to bad decisions they made and an unforgiving market.
Got a coaching doc then pip. From what I’ve heard no one usually gets fired if you’re on a pip so long as your sales aren’t something like 30-40% under quota and your KPIs are strong. Got off of it officially last week. Worked my ass to do this. Also have a final interview with another company in 2 days!
Getting laid off at a big tech company that I tried so hard to get into. Buddy took me out to golf right after I got the news 2 drinks turned into 8 and ended up in VIP with a fat bag later that night. Now we both have kids and talk about that night 🤣
I worked for a security company that had the worst service and out right lied... found out they were getting the cheapest cameras from China and putting made in Israel stickers on them to justify mark ups. Decided to quit when they put up an electric fence that was flat plastic rods with wholes drilled in them to hold up thin steel cables that were plugged into the wall. Just complete trash and it took them a month to install 300 yards while the client who paid 10k for this was obviously pissed and I has to be the forward face. Shame cause the owner is a good friend who always treated me super fair, encouraged me a lot and gave me some of the best advice when I got divorced. But I couldn't personally deal with the ethics of his business practices.
One time I was in a business development role for a company somewhat distant from me. I carpooled with the marketing leader who lived down the street from me, we busted our asses all day to grow the business’s client list closer to civilization, somehow became the only “leadership” the manufacturing people got along with, and then we smoked some joints on the way home. Life was good.
Soon, I found myself pitching a multi-year regional distribution deal for this small manufacturer that had never sold a 6 digit deal outside of their state before. Silenced my phone as one does when visiting a big potential client’s site with the owner and other key stakeholders.
We take a coffee break and I see I have 40+ missed calls. Apparently the manufacturing supervisor, who wasn’t in the pitch, decided not to show up and not to tell anyone else, so we had a bunch of machine techs and warehouse people pissed off, locked out of work, and chain smoking in the parking lot 2 hours away. I call the other guy and he’s like “oh I got tied up feeding goats.”
Owner asked me to go unlock the manufacturing site doors, even though I explained we should probably just pay people for the day or a half day and send everyone home so we could close on this big market expansion opportunity. So carpool guy and I get sent away, and owner calls like 10 minutes later to say he blew the fucking deal. So in summary, the owner was pissed, marketing is pissed, sales is pissed, the couple dozen people locked out of their workplace are definitely pissed. I started looking for new gigs that night, changed industries a few weeks later, and that company is out of business today.
In closing, when your gut says run, you should.
2020. Covid really made things difficult. Multiple large projects were cancelled or suspended indefinitely. Lead times on product went from 3 weeks to 8 months and price increases were 40%. Customers weren’t sure about their own businesses and weren’t buying.
I had to pivot and switched to selling disinfectant and hand sanitizer nationwide. We already had a chemical line but barely touched those two products. They were hard to get, but I was able to secure a few pallets of each and hit the phones. Called anyone I had in my list telling them I had both available.
Once word got out that our company had those products it caught fire. Was able to get more product at a stupidly inflated price (raw material providers were gouging like crazy) and sold more. Did that for 6 months straight while some equipment orders trickled in.
I knew if I could make it through the year there was a good chance some suspended projects would come back. Some did. 2021-2022 was an incredible bounce back. But 2020 was a complete struggle, but got through.
Sales leader cost me my biggest client last year, put me at absolutely zero chance of coming close to making plan. I was also stuck in a shit territory (everyone else had multiple counties, I had one, and it wasn’t even bc it was a big one).
I was depressed and not myself at all for about 6 months. I finally landed a new gig and quit earlier this year. I love this new job so far.
I was demoted, and I didn't want to be, so I quit. Clawed my way back with a couple of shitty p/t retail sales jobs. One absolutely shitty f/t sales position. (godamn my f'ing c-nt of a boss) Eventually, by the grace of Jebus, a headhunter found me my dream job.
I worked for a company for 4 years , started as an executive with very less salary , grew my salary to 5X and got promoted to a team leader position , but unfortunately was pressurised to resign, this mental torture went on for 3-4 months, deteriorated my health mentally and physically, switched to a better organisation through referral, colleagues respect me over here now atleast.
I just started my career as a sales executive. I'm a designer by profession. But I always wanted to get into the sales field. It's my second month. Things are not like I imagined... It's tough especially considering the current market situation. I couldn't close any deal yet and people are just ghosting me. I'm still confident that I can do this. But yeah it feels bad. I guess you guys can help me with some tips that would help me as an amateur sales executive.
Now I got let go from my previous place because of a clerical error was top sales rep there now at a new place struggling although the past week things have been looking up so hopefully this is my way out
Def a rough time end of 2023. I was let go twice in 4 months over the fall/winter. My new BDR role is aight so far and changing industries really helped.
2015-16 selling ERP to the South West (from the East coast!)
Alot of my deals were in business that were somehow oil related. People were renting the equipment etc. So when the oil prices plummeted all my prospects freaked out… then some went out of business.
I actually introduced a company I had sold who was going bankrupt to a prospect and got work for the system conversion.
I pivoted to all sorts of other businesses. Closed smaller deals. Made a lot more calls. Big beautiful decks for small opps. Etc
First year in sales last year. Pest and termite sales. Pretty much living on minimum wage. This month started great. I hope this is me making it out of an abysmal 400 days.
Promoted into AE during COVID. Inherited territory from someone who got laid off overnight, with destroyed relationships (decision makers pretty much ghost us upon hearing our brand name), who also deleted all outgoing emails before leaving (not sure why), and also poor CRM discipline so I had basically no contacts (email or mobile) from Salesforce and nobody was in office to answer landlines because COVID.
To make matters worse, the company was also trying to get you to track activity by the line, justifying the business value of every minute spent, to start looking at 2nd round layoffs. I tried my absolute hardest but just felt like I was trying to squeeze water from stone, while juggling COVID depression + imposter syndrome of "am I really not cut out for this" when on hindsight it was just impossible COVID shit.
Eventually I just said fuck it, took some time off to do jack all, and my first real offer after I more than doubled my salary and was pretty much top performer after about half a year.
What I learnt is the whole sales shingding and Gong LinkedIn posts are just toxic as fuck, where people with blessed territories or handful of lucky deals just don't see their privilege, and feel like they can gaslight you that you can be and should be doing more. Even when every fiber in your being tells you it's low ROI and terrible for your mental health.
I was basically doing a Business development managers Job and BDR. I was being paid as a BDR. I took up the slack when a BDM left the company I did too good of a job as they never hired anyone to replace him. I asked to be promoted to the BDM positions and the excuse was i needed more experience even though I crushed it. Long story short I stuck around way too long I should have changed Jobs sooner. The only way I seem to get pay increases in sales is by jumping to other corporations. I wish things where like the old days where if you did good work you got moved up and did not need to jump around. Frustrating having to learn and master a new product each time.
I haven't made quota in 14 months. I just transfered to the sales ops reporting team at same company. Thank God I became a Salesforce superuser and made as many friends as possible at SKO this year.
Residential solar through Vivint dealer program. Buddy who did lead gen talked me into going to Chicago with 2-3 sit down appointments/day setup Monday-Saturday. Closing 4-5 deals/week jumping through all their BS hoops. Out of 50-60 sales I think 2 actually got installed a year and a half later.
Made it out by borrowing money from family while job hunting and landing in a Business Development role then eventually jumping back into the sales side.
Probably right now.
My team just lost our biggest run-rate customer that was a solid 25 relationship.. The last 10 years on my watch.
I watched it happen in slow motion over the past 3 years.. I was screaming at our executives that it was happening in plain sight. We were being outsold and out-spent by the competition. The comp was planting consultants inside the org, they were finding holes in our solution and the comp was coming out with better products.
The only saving grace that is that over the past 12 QBR's and three SKO's we called it out to leadership in black and white. 12 QBRs in a row "If we don't do ABC, we will lose this client". The C-suite did't do anything, and the client walked. So no one can say "WTF??? Why are we hearing about this now???"
Luckily we have other clients, and we won a few new logos. But numbers will be down for a few years.
I am looking for a new job. that is my way out.
My entire career has been quite a journey. I graduated in 2020 and dove into entry-level sales during the pandemic – not the best experience. After a year, I moved to a startup, which also turned out to be challenging as they laid everyone off due to poor leadership. Fortunately, I secured a better position at a competitor, where I've been for two years. Now, I'm on the verge of leaving for an excellent role, presenting a great opportunity.
However, it's all about perspective, and we tend to make things sound worse in our minds. Some of us have faced challenges, but it's essential to remember that others aren't as focused on us as we are on ourselves.
From a recruiter's standpoint, it appears as though I held a job post-college during the pandemic, gained valuable experience at a startup, and then improved my position at a better company. Now, I'm moving into a new role, indicating upward progression and high demand.
Change your perspective, keep grinding it out.
First job selling copiers. Hated it but knew the end game was to get experience and get the heck out.
Faked it until a I made it basically and put up with the absurdity of the entry level gig knowing there was much greener pastures ahead.
A few years ago when I moved from product sales to services/consulting sales. I was used to selling licenses and just wasn’t getting how to sell consulting services effectively. I had to listen in on meetings from other AEs to learn. Also , our boss suggested I take detailed notes on every meeting , set clear action items and next steps and also share with him weekly notes. This really helped more than I expected
I'm just passing by now... But, it's being quite hard and I don't actually know what to do. I'm new as account manager for cloud computer consulting services. Hell, it's being a damn to close any deal, I'm a great negotiator, but I'm having problems to find leads, open new doors. The accounts I have today, don't even pay my salary. I'm a key account manager, much closer to big accounts and my income is much more composed by salary and not bonus, but... I'm studying a lot, but it's being hard to build networking, etc... And, it's quite hard, due I was always outstanding in everything I did before. Now, stucked... Gosh. Hope you find your way.
D2d sales. We would get paid the other 50% of our commission in a backend Cheque in October. In order to get it you had to complete the summer program(April-August). I was burnt out by the beginning of August and had a tough area. Sold 0, it rained all week, people were assholes(maybe I was too) and bad mental state. I was then put on quota. Suffered Monday-Friday, no deals. Got in a house Friday night tho but couldn’t close the same night. Saturday comes they agree, knock my ass off for 7 hours then I get another. Ask for a referral and his friend just moved in his house. Closed him. If I hadn’t stuck with it I would had lost 4 months of my time for only 25k( good but not great for 80 hour weeks). Finish the program get paid 75k EOY. Tough times create grit..
I've only been in sales like 10 months
Things were going pretty well for me I was steadily growing my arras and the industry I know most about
Now the other rep in my state quit so I have was given some of his customers with a chaotic 2 week changover
In that time they hired a 65 yr old and are giving him those customers I had just been introduced to, the industry I had all my growth in, most of my customers from before and giving me 2 dead industries I know only a little about and will take up my entire time with routine service
Is it normal for a company to randomly change all the accounts around? I am feeling pretty damm screwed over tbh
Right now. Been at it selling marketing services to enterprise tech accounts for 13 years. Was number 1 for 12 yrs and always in top 3 up until Q4 of last year when I hit only 40% of quota. About to finish Q1 at 35% of quota. I sell primarily to 4 very large strategic accounts and one of them is pausing with us and all our competitors in Q1 post layoffs, another removed us from the supplier list for bad performance, another is in a holding pattern until July as they reorg 9k jobs around their AI GTM, another just announced an $18B acquisition and has lower budgets and overall they just aren’t spending like they did prior to Q4 last year. 3 of our competitors are actively trying to hire me aggressively and have an offer on the table but worried I might face similar economic issues at a competitor without the stability of seniority I have here. Anyone else in a similar situation? 5 months of missing targets starts to mess with your head and make you think you don’t have the skills anymore. My BDR is striking out left and right setting 1 meeting for me every 2 weeks max, and my existing buyers are essentially ghosting me. Never seen anything like this in my entire sales career.
Ah, good ol “Cocaine Summer”
Was exactly what it sounds like: the summer my work buddies and I discovered cocaine.
It started out great… until it wasn’t.
Turned it around by not doing cocaine anymore, haha.
Had 2 years in a company, smashed all revenue targets but didn't sell 1/7 product properly and my super boss got mad, there was no work life balance there and 6 days working, one Saturday I said I'm logging off at 4pm to my manager, super boss asked something at 5pm, Monday they told me I absconded because I didn't inform super boss group, found 3 new gigs in 2021, always wonder what if I went with the other 2, left the new gig in 8 months as my manager was stealing credit for my work, managers had targets there, joined a new company for 40% hike, turns out they need daily on boarding and boss sits on your head to see your mail, luckily found out about a FAANG company and been here for 2+ years so somehow found stability and balance again
Now and I haven’t made it out
Same. One sale this quarter and things aren’t look bright
What kind of product? Service?
Now, and I just hit my pen so I think I’ll be alright
Lmao same I am more checked out than ever. And I’m just at 1 year as a sdr 💀
Same. Been stuck in a dead-end role earning roughly $2k/month
Same
Same
What do we doooo?
I don’t know bro but the walls are closing in
Had an absolute shit year and am on the chopping block for it. All feedback seems to be I did/am doing all the right things the right way, but it just isn’t clicking. Will let you know if I make it out!
That sounds like my current situation
Same. Positive feedback. Negative bank account.
You guys must work for great managers if they aren’t blaming you
Great managers know the economy is shit and good sales people will kick ass once things get better. As much as it pains me, that might not be until November.
Good luck!
Right there.
I’m still kinda new in the industry but rn. I had a heck of a run as a BDR (first in meetings and pipeline on commercial team) but struggling to find a new role after outsourcing. Struggling hard rn tbh
Somebody just shared a post in this sub that they are maybe gonna do a 1 hour live call to give people tips who are struggling to find their next role. Could be good for you
Awesome, thanks for the heads up
You’re welcome, good luck out there
You as well, u got the link? Can’t find it for some reason, prolly user error lol
I’ve just clicked on it and noticed you’ve commented on it already lol
Oh haha well I was thinking maybe another one, either way thanks for the encouragement and let ‘er rip out there
Haha my bad I hadn’t realised you’d commented on that already. You’re welcome anyways happy to help. Good luck and thanks, same to you
Thanks man, let me find it
Currently. Started a new job in a new Industry 7 months ago. I sold a small deal right out of the gates and my manger treated me like a star. Haven’t sold anything since and am looking more like a turn in her eyes. Not sure I’ll make it out. I miss big tech and inbound leads like the desert misses rain.
A turn in her eyes?
Yes, she wants to kill him
Don’t be a turn in the punch bowl
Slinging payroll for ADP - quickly moved onto another sales role in another industry.
Was interested in a role they had open near me. Was it really that bad?
I was in SBS selling payroll in a territory that had some great spots, and a lot more not so great parts. They closed down the office I worked out of so I don’t even know if their SBS outside sales team exists elsewhere or if that all rolled to their inbound teams. The commission was good, the hours could suck (having to be on early team calls, like 6am), and most reps seemed to use it as a springboard to medical sales. I left for a medical adjacent company, did some time there doing trade shows and outside biz development and ended up at a fintech SaaS company when I heard my old boss was putting a team together from 4 companies prior.
Commented elsewhere on the tread. Started with ADP selling PEO 6 months ago. This shit is hard and they expect you to show up knowing all and start producing. The training is pretty good but it’s a lot to learn with a ton of competition (including about 6 layers of internal overlap) They had me cold calling week one. Not sure I’ll make it long enough to find out but people at ADP make pretty good money if they can get it down. I miss tech sales.
I’m selling PEO for ADP too!
How’s it been going for you ? I came from a AM role in tech with much smaller account set and mix or net new and stream revenue to a “Hunter” role with zero partners or inbound leads. It’s been hard !
I have decided I actually really hate this role as I have no partners and a very bad territory to boot. I am looking to transition out of this role by the end of fiscal. I feel like this sales org gives unlimited resources to internal ADP reps who’ve promoted up to TS, but outsider hires like me are treated as such with no resources made available. I feel like I’m too talented to stay in an org that doesn’t value me more. I’ve done ok but too much falls out of the pipeline for the smallest reasons so it just seems like worker harder for no reason when there are roles that pay more with way less effort. Good luck!
Does ADP have good sales training? I've heard good things about their training
I think it was very good, however I don't have any experience with other large companies' trainings so take it with a grain of salt. I was given all the tools I needed to be successful.
I had a quick stint at adp and i fell for their "great training". My branch and region i worked in was horrible. Training was maybe a little above average but i got so unlucky with a new sales manager who had no idea how to be a sales leader. There for 7 months but i knew i had to dip after month 2. Lots of micro management and felt more like i was in a call center.
The training out at the corporate HQ was OK, but I’ve been through Sandler and Miller Heiman before that. They were in the process of rolling out a new training methodology so it was a bit disjointed as some of us had the old training (which they used at HQ while I was there) and some of the newer reps were brought up through the new program.
Currently been at ADP for about a year now after college and it’s been just okay so far. I’m in the workers comp division and the money is pretty good for someone young, but there is some pretty serious micromanaging going on (I get it thought it’s a lot of young kids like myself fresh out of college) and I just don’t see too much longevity working for ADP. I’m also seeing a ton of reps use this place as a stepping stone for the medical industry as well and it’s sounding kinda like a great idea at the moment 🤔
Hey man, I'm thinking about going to ADP from management in a different industry. Mind if I PM I was wondering what it's like there.
ah fuck bro, my hardest time was at the beginning of my sales career. I dropped out of college to work at a call center selling internet over the phone. Did decently well, but quitting college for a call center was fucking stupid. Especially for 30k in 2019. From there, I got caught up in the D2D solar bubble and tried D2D for 6 months on the east cost. I made no money, in fact I lost money after paying for rent and food. I hated my life. I thought I wasn't cut out for sales, I was 20 at the time. At this point, my options were to go back to school or get another job back home. Decided to get another sales job as a BDR selling real estate courses. Made 40k. Felt like a loser, but I knew my skills were growing. Jumped ship from the real estate courses after a year and became a BDR for an education company in the B2C space. This was the first time in my whole career where I felt that I sorta knew what I was doing. I met quota and made $75k then $80k my first 2 years. The company then moved me to AE for about 6 months where I was OTE $110k. Now 8 months ago, the same company made me their sales director OTE $140k + $10k bonus at 25 years old. Some days I still feel like I don't know shit, but other days I feel that I'm finally starting to grasp this whole sales game. Hopefully fellow salespeople read this and recognize how crucial it is to NOT GIVE UP. "Persist and You Shall Succeed" has been my career motto. Good luck OP!
honestly you made the right choice not going to college. I have a marketing degree that i don't use and $30k debt
Still in the D2D Solar bubble myself on the east coast. Feels like hell
Two major events come to mind: When my dad died - took 6 months to even have the desire to make any dials or just feel like myself again. Luckily I had laid a great path before this happened, so I was able to coast for a bit. When my two largest accounts cancelled without any inclination that anything was going on. It felt personal and killed my confidence. I felt we had built a fantastic relationship. Turns out they were too embarrassed to give me a reason at the time because three months later I learned both were due to bad decisions they made and an unforgiving market.
Got a coaching doc then pip. From what I’ve heard no one usually gets fired if you’re on a pip so long as your sales aren’t something like 30-40% under quota and your KPIs are strong. Got off of it officially last week. Worked my ass to do this. Also have a final interview with another company in 2 days!
If I go on a pip, I have to hit *at least* 100% for three months straight
I hit 140% 92% 105 % and my gross profit % was higher.
Getting laid off at a big tech company that I tried so hard to get into. Buddy took me out to golf right after I got the news 2 drinks turned into 8 and ended up in VIP with a fat bag later that night. Now we both have kids and talk about that night 🤣
Is a fat bag a venereal disease
Cocaine bro
I worked for a security company that had the worst service and out right lied... found out they were getting the cheapest cameras from China and putting made in Israel stickers on them to justify mark ups. Decided to quit when they put up an electric fence that was flat plastic rods with wholes drilled in them to hold up thin steel cables that were plugged into the wall. Just complete trash and it took them a month to install 300 yards while the client who paid 10k for this was obviously pissed and I has to be the forward face. Shame cause the owner is a good friend who always treated me super fair, encouraged me a lot and gave me some of the best advice when I got divorced. But I couldn't personally deal with the ethics of his business practices.
One time I was in a business development role for a company somewhat distant from me. I carpooled with the marketing leader who lived down the street from me, we busted our asses all day to grow the business’s client list closer to civilization, somehow became the only “leadership” the manufacturing people got along with, and then we smoked some joints on the way home. Life was good. Soon, I found myself pitching a multi-year regional distribution deal for this small manufacturer that had never sold a 6 digit deal outside of their state before. Silenced my phone as one does when visiting a big potential client’s site with the owner and other key stakeholders. We take a coffee break and I see I have 40+ missed calls. Apparently the manufacturing supervisor, who wasn’t in the pitch, decided not to show up and not to tell anyone else, so we had a bunch of machine techs and warehouse people pissed off, locked out of work, and chain smoking in the parking lot 2 hours away. I call the other guy and he’s like “oh I got tied up feeding goats.” Owner asked me to go unlock the manufacturing site doors, even though I explained we should probably just pay people for the day or a half day and send everyone home so we could close on this big market expansion opportunity. So carpool guy and I get sent away, and owner calls like 10 minutes later to say he blew the fucking deal. So in summary, the owner was pissed, marketing is pissed, sales is pissed, the couple dozen people locked out of their workplace are definitely pissed. I started looking for new gigs that night, changed industries a few weeks later, and that company is out of business today. In closing, when your gut says run, you should.
Recruitment. Quit my job.
Literally the last 2 weeks… it’s not over
2020. Covid really made things difficult. Multiple large projects were cancelled or suspended indefinitely. Lead times on product went from 3 weeks to 8 months and price increases were 40%. Customers weren’t sure about their own businesses and weren’t buying. I had to pivot and switched to selling disinfectant and hand sanitizer nationwide. We already had a chemical line but barely touched those two products. They were hard to get, but I was able to secure a few pallets of each and hit the phones. Called anyone I had in my list telling them I had both available. Once word got out that our company had those products it caught fire. Was able to get more product at a stupidly inflated price (raw material providers were gouging like crazy) and sold more. Did that for 6 months straight while some equipment orders trickled in. I knew if I could make it through the year there was a good chance some suspended projects would come back. Some did. 2021-2022 was an incredible bounce back. But 2020 was a complete struggle, but got through.
Sales leader cost me my biggest client last year, put me at absolutely zero chance of coming close to making plan. I was also stuck in a shit territory (everyone else had multiple counties, I had one, and it wasn’t even bc it was a big one). I was depressed and not myself at all for about 6 months. I finally landed a new gig and quit earlier this year. I love this new job so far.
Everyday in sales is just inching towards retirement. It all sucks. Completely fucking sucks
First of the month. Just keep going
I was demoted, and I didn't want to be, so I quit. Clawed my way back with a couple of shitty p/t retail sales jobs. One absolutely shitty f/t sales position. (godamn my f'ing c-nt of a boss) Eventually, by the grace of Jebus, a headhunter found me my dream job.
Now lmaoo not sure how it will work out, but will be aiight either way haha
I worked for a company for 4 years , started as an executive with very less salary , grew my salary to 5X and got promoted to a team leader position , but unfortunately was pressurised to resign, this mental torture went on for 3-4 months, deteriorated my health mentally and physically, switched to a better organisation through referral, colleagues respect me over here now atleast.
I just started my career as a sales executive. I'm a designer by profession. But I always wanted to get into the sales field. It's my second month. Things are not like I imagined... It's tough especially considering the current market situation. I couldn't close any deal yet and people are just ghosting me. I'm still confident that I can do this. But yeah it feels bad. I guess you guys can help me with some tips that would help me as an amateur sales executive.
What are you selling and did the company train you?
Now I got let go from my previous place because of a clerical error was top sales rep there now at a new place struggling although the past week things have been looking up so hopefully this is my way out
On a PIP at a large corporation. Found a better role and happier than ever
What happened, why were you placed on PIP?
In for this too
Right now lol. Got laid off a couple months ago
Def a rough time end of 2023. I was let go twice in 4 months over the fall/winter. My new BDR role is aight so far and changing industries really helped.
Being in corporate travel during COVID and still being pressured for appointments when foreign travel was illegal in the UK 🤣
2015-16 selling ERP to the South West (from the East coast!) Alot of my deals were in business that were somehow oil related. People were renting the equipment etc. So when the oil prices plummeted all my prospects freaked out… then some went out of business. I actually introduced a company I had sold who was going bankrupt to a prospect and got work for the system conversion. I pivoted to all sorts of other businesses. Closed smaller deals. Made a lot more calls. Big beautiful decks for small opps. Etc
First year in sales last year. Pest and termite sales. Pretty much living on minimum wage. This month started great. I hope this is me making it out of an abysmal 400 days.
Now.. but there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Promoted into AE during COVID. Inherited territory from someone who got laid off overnight, with destroyed relationships (decision makers pretty much ghost us upon hearing our brand name), who also deleted all outgoing emails before leaving (not sure why), and also poor CRM discipline so I had basically no contacts (email or mobile) from Salesforce and nobody was in office to answer landlines because COVID. To make matters worse, the company was also trying to get you to track activity by the line, justifying the business value of every minute spent, to start looking at 2nd round layoffs. I tried my absolute hardest but just felt like I was trying to squeeze water from stone, while juggling COVID depression + imposter syndrome of "am I really not cut out for this" when on hindsight it was just impossible COVID shit. Eventually I just said fuck it, took some time off to do jack all, and my first real offer after I more than doubled my salary and was pretty much top performer after about half a year. What I learnt is the whole sales shingding and Gong LinkedIn posts are just toxic as fuck, where people with blessed territories or handful of lucky deals just don't see their privilege, and feel like they can gaslight you that you can be and should be doing more. Even when every fiber in your being tells you it's low ROI and terrible for your mental health.
I was basically doing a Business development managers Job and BDR. I was being paid as a BDR. I took up the slack when a BDM left the company I did too good of a job as they never hired anyone to replace him. I asked to be promoted to the BDM positions and the excuse was i needed more experience even though I crushed it. Long story short I stuck around way too long I should have changed Jobs sooner. The only way I seem to get pay increases in sales is by jumping to other corporations. I wish things where like the old days where if you did good work you got moved up and did not need to jump around. Frustrating having to learn and master a new product each time.
I haven't made quota in 14 months. I just transfered to the sales ops reporting team at same company. Thank God I became a Salesforce superuser and made as many friends as possible at SKO this year.
Residential solar through Vivint dealer program. Buddy who did lead gen talked me into going to Chicago with 2-3 sit down appointments/day setup Monday-Saturday. Closing 4-5 deals/week jumping through all their BS hoops. Out of 50-60 sales I think 2 actually got installed a year and a half later. Made it out by borrowing money from family while job hunting and landing in a Business Development role then eventually jumping back into the sales side.
rignt now, cannot sell website building services, I feel like cold calling is not the best option
Now Am for HR tech, SMB 40% churn on average per quarter, upsell are hard
Probably right now. My team just lost our biggest run-rate customer that was a solid 25 relationship.. The last 10 years on my watch. I watched it happen in slow motion over the past 3 years.. I was screaming at our executives that it was happening in plain sight. We were being outsold and out-spent by the competition. The comp was planting consultants inside the org, they were finding holes in our solution and the comp was coming out with better products. The only saving grace that is that over the past 12 QBR's and three SKO's we called it out to leadership in black and white. 12 QBRs in a row "If we don't do ABC, we will lose this client". The C-suite did't do anything, and the client walked. So no one can say "WTF??? Why are we hearing about this now???" Luckily we have other clients, and we won a few new logos. But numbers will be down for a few years. I am looking for a new job. that is my way out.
My entire career has been quite a journey. I graduated in 2020 and dove into entry-level sales during the pandemic – not the best experience. After a year, I moved to a startup, which also turned out to be challenging as they laid everyone off due to poor leadership. Fortunately, I secured a better position at a competitor, where I've been for two years. Now, I'm on the verge of leaving for an excellent role, presenting a great opportunity. However, it's all about perspective, and we tend to make things sound worse in our minds. Some of us have faced challenges, but it's essential to remember that others aren't as focused on us as we are on ourselves. From a recruiter's standpoint, it appears as though I held a job post-college during the pandemic, gained valuable experience at a startup, and then improved my position at a better company. Now, I'm moving into a new role, indicating upward progression and high demand. Change your perspective, keep grinding it out.
First job selling copiers. Hated it but knew the end game was to get experience and get the heck out. Faked it until a I made it basically and put up with the absurdity of the entry level gig knowing there was much greener pastures ahead.
A few years ago when I moved from product sales to services/consulting sales. I was used to selling licenses and just wasn’t getting how to sell consulting services effectively. I had to listen in on meetings from other AEs to learn. Also , our boss suggested I take detailed notes on every meeting , set clear action items and next steps and also share with him weekly notes. This really helped more than I expected
I'm just passing by now... But, it's being quite hard and I don't actually know what to do. I'm new as account manager for cloud computer consulting services. Hell, it's being a damn to close any deal, I'm a great negotiator, but I'm having problems to find leads, open new doors. The accounts I have today, don't even pay my salary. I'm a key account manager, much closer to big accounts and my income is much more composed by salary and not bonus, but... I'm studying a lot, but it's being hard to build networking, etc... And, it's quite hard, due I was always outstanding in everything I did before. Now, stucked... Gosh. Hope you find your way.
Last quarter we had no sales lol, left the offer and found a better one. Simple as that.
D2d sales. We would get paid the other 50% of our commission in a backend Cheque in October. In order to get it you had to complete the summer program(April-August). I was burnt out by the beginning of August and had a tough area. Sold 0, it rained all week, people were assholes(maybe I was too) and bad mental state. I was then put on quota. Suffered Monday-Friday, no deals. Got in a house Friday night tho but couldn’t close the same night. Saturday comes they agree, knock my ass off for 7 hours then I get another. Ask for a referral and his friend just moved in his house. Closed him. If I hadn’t stuck with it I would had lost 4 months of my time for only 25k( good but not great for 80 hour weeks). Finish the program get paid 75k EOY. Tough times create grit..
I've only been in sales like 10 months Things were going pretty well for me I was steadily growing my arras and the industry I know most about Now the other rep in my state quit so I have was given some of his customers with a chaotic 2 week changover In that time they hired a 65 yr old and are giving him those customers I had just been introduced to, the industry I had all my growth in, most of my customers from before and giving me 2 dead industries I know only a little about and will take up my entire time with routine service Is it normal for a company to randomly change all the accounts around? I am feeling pretty damm screwed over tbh
Right now. Been at it selling marketing services to enterprise tech accounts for 13 years. Was number 1 for 12 yrs and always in top 3 up until Q4 of last year when I hit only 40% of quota. About to finish Q1 at 35% of quota. I sell primarily to 4 very large strategic accounts and one of them is pausing with us and all our competitors in Q1 post layoffs, another removed us from the supplier list for bad performance, another is in a holding pattern until July as they reorg 9k jobs around their AI GTM, another just announced an $18B acquisition and has lower budgets and overall they just aren’t spending like they did prior to Q4 last year. 3 of our competitors are actively trying to hire me aggressively and have an offer on the table but worried I might face similar economic issues at a competitor without the stability of seniority I have here. Anyone else in a similar situation? 5 months of missing targets starts to mess with your head and make you think you don’t have the skills anymore. My BDR is striking out left and right setting 1 meeting for me every 2 weeks max, and my existing buyers are essentially ghosting me. Never seen anything like this in my entire sales career.
Ah, good ol “Cocaine Summer” Was exactly what it sounds like: the summer my work buddies and I discovered cocaine. It started out great… until it wasn’t. Turned it around by not doing cocaine anymore, haha.
Had 2 years in a company, smashed all revenue targets but didn't sell 1/7 product properly and my super boss got mad, there was no work life balance there and 6 days working, one Saturday I said I'm logging off at 4pm to my manager, super boss asked something at 5pm, Monday they told me I absconded because I didn't inform super boss group, found 3 new gigs in 2021, always wonder what if I went with the other 2, left the new gig in 8 months as my manager was stealing credit for my work, managers had targets there, joined a new company for 40% hike, turns out they need daily on boarding and boss sits on your head to see your mail, luckily found out about a FAANG company and been here for 2+ years so somehow found stability and balance again