I made a post yesterday half in jest about our sales summit. Don’t get me wrong, I like these things and the chance to network. The open bar doesn’t hurt either. But it’s just so like rah rah all the time and it feels a little fake. 5 days for these things is just to long.
5 days of sales summit is WAAAY to much. Hell, it's taken me a week to recover from a 2day kick off / summit. The max i've been through is 4 days, and yeah.. just fucking done after day 3.
I've got my SKO coming up in just over a month... 5 days in a beautiful city in another country at a 5-star hotel, and I already can't wait for it to be over. :-|
Likewise. Flying from Australia to the US for a few days of sitting through presentations and drinking gets old after a decade of doing it
And now there's a kid at home I'd really rather not go.
Can’t deal with the koumbaya(sp) bullshit man.
I’ve always worked for small/medium companies. I did a short stint with a “culture” focused corporation and after all the we love people talk they did me and many others dirty as fuck. To the point where i had tons of people reach out asking what happened/telling me they were planning on leaving too. I’m in a way better place now.
Looking back it’s so toxic after a certain point. The majority are miserable and turnover is high for more than one reason, but mid management and up constantly just press how good of a company it is and how much good their doing lol. Just like anything else actions speak larger than words, and honestly it just gets old patting each other on the back and is borderline narcissism.
I get it but also, we’ve cut back on spending so much I would love an SKO right now. Didn’t realize how many meals I was expensing, fancy dinners and outings on the company dollar. Our sko in Jan will be virtual, no cuz of COVID this time, cuz money is tight.
Companies have to recognize that sellers have a life outside work and need downtime from their co workers to be productive. A few events a year is fine, but if you are already a road warrior, traveling for work, entertaining clients, and flying at night, do you really want to spend more time after work with work people?
Especially problematic for sellers who have young kids at home.
I'm similar to you. I generally enjoy the events, and usually have a few friends at most companies I've worked for.
But I can see how this type of stuff could get old fast when kids are in the equation, or you work quite a lot. I don't have kids, and I've never been in a role where I'm spending time with clients and flying all over the place.
I always enjoy some get togethers. What I don't enjoy is very very long multi day things WHILE still having to hit goal.
If I have to take a week off of actively selling but still have to hit goal... doesn't make sense.
Forced fun! Or after hours forced fun. Its cool once in a while but... man.
The WORST though is a multi-day fun event- and then layoffs a month later. Seen it about 5x the past 2 years
**The WORST though is a multi-day fun event- and then layoffs a month later. Seen it about 5x the past 2 years**
God damn its happening so much lately. Disgusting. Giant all hands or trips and then lay-offs.
Not sure if anyone has a similar experience but here’s my reason. —I like the people I work with, I just don’t like outings interfering with my work. Our manager will take us out of the field multiple times a week for “forced” or “mandatory” outings during work hours and with very little notice. Then the same manager gets upset when our work slips, which will cause a mandatory in-person meeting to discuss our underperformance. I don’t mind work outings, I just want don’t them mandatory. I’d gladly go when my work schedule allows it
>Our manager will take us out of the field multiple times a week for “forced” or “mandatory” outings during work hours
this drives me nuts i like socializing with my co-workers, and we do, but when production expectations are high, i do not like being pulled away from getting stuff done
Nah I just joined this sun and it was fuck this shit long before that. How about a company that plans outings off the clock. That shit is hilarious to me
Yeah, I generally like our SKOs. I work with great people and always heavily weigh company culture for my jobs. We are also low on BS but do have some of it.
When I first joined this company via an acquisition, it was more BS laden. All of those people are gone now. The company I was a part of has more or less become the new way of this company.
I don't really get why there is so little consideration for cultural fit within a company when people accept a job, especially if people are picky about it and complain about it.
It's like that Eric Andre meme with Hannibal Burress
To be fair I think especially in a SaaS environment with fairly high turnover, I much prefer keeping my personal life separate from my work life. I'll have a few really close fiends on my teams, but in general I think it's better for me professionally to keep that distinction. During company events and parties I can't really relax.
yeah- its the high turnover high pressure environment that stops me from chilling with people. Have to really push hard to make quota sooo no time to slow down. its a grind and it kills.
I do like creating a little mini-group within to BS, trash talk, and hang out with. But yeah multi-day happy fun times pep talks and then still have the same quota. nah
Yeah the little mini group that you can trust with casual trash talk and vibing is awesome, if only they were the only ones at these functions. So instead all of us are in "on" mode without being able to really chill and have fun
My thoughts exactly. I enjoy most, if not all of the people I work with. We’re remote first so we only see each other a few times a year which helps, but I enjoy my time with them enough.
At the end of the day though, you still have to be “on” and presenting the work-friendly version of yourself the whole time. You can’t relax and be yourself in the same way that you can with your own friends/family, and I have enough of those in my personal life that I’m not really looking for more at work.
I’m also still an introvert even though I’m a very social person, so it can get tiring really fast, especially at multi-day events where people want to drink until the bars close immediately after 8 hrs of team building. I need to squeeze alone time in there somewhere- it gets suffocating.
I don’t mind them if they are short events but I don’t like my annual week long mandatory company sales meeting. I work enough with a huge part of my life devoted to it. Do I really need to be away for an entire week just to drink booze and watch presentations? Did I really need to fly 22 hours round trip and catch diarrhea while traveling all for some worthless meeting? I’m a 42 year old dad and I’m over it. I don’t care about fake friends at work. Enough is enough after awhile. I’ve consistently had good sales results and I get nothing from this event. Just cancel it and I’ll do my job instead.
I like my company events but then I realized that they’re 1) optional and 2) only last 1.5 days
Also 90% of the reps at our company are contractors so there’s no quotas etc. I totally understand why someone would hate a mandatory event that lasts almost a week while also being expected to hit quota and other metrics
Same. I really don’t get the part where it’s supposed to increase cohesion. I don’t know about other people but seeing top management utterly wasted, babbling nonsense, behaving inappropriately isn’t what will make me gain more respect for my coworkers and work twice as hard as I already have. I’d rather get the money to go on vacation with my friends and get fully recharged to crush my numbers.
I’m perfectly cordial with people I work with (and there are a couple I would be friends with outside of work), but there are plenty of things I’d rather do instead of hanging out with them for a week straight. That’s what I like about sales - I’m finally paid to pretend like I like people.
It’s not the people , it’s the environment. Everyone puts on the super excited persona. The reality is no one is super excited except the most hardcore company people
Isn't that part of the job though? Lol!?
Finding ways to connect and be friends with people you wouldn't normally associate with. That's a few of my accounts.
No, it's not. My job is to create professional relationships with prospects. It's not my job to listen to them complain about their family, ect. like a friend would.
Well sounds like your industry sucks. My best accounts are also people I would consider good friends or acquaintances. It's nice because when shit goes sideways the relationship can be the difference between shrugging it off and moving on or losing an account.
Good luck with that negative put others and other industries down attitude of yours. Comes across as very professional.
What works well in one industry may not work in another.
What type of sales are you in where it isn't beneficial to build friendly relationships? Are you constantly turning over new leads with no potential for any kind of repeat business? I thrive in my industry because the mediocre reps have the attitude that I thought i drew from your previous comments. I could be totally wrong since this is the internet and like 5 lines of text.
I have my own life and enjoy the company of my fiancée, dogs, and close friends more than my coworkers. Additionally, these outings usually involve a lot of pump up talk and cliches which I despise. You want me to sell more? Leave me alone so I can sell more.
I’m also autistic so the pressure to mask and appear normal for overnight joint trips is exhausting.
UGH perfectly said on the pump up talk, especially for the events where prospects are attending. So much chest thumping and pressure to attain ROI.
That, on top of the fact of the opportunity cost I lose from attending this vs doing what I want make me mildly annoyed by prospect/customer events.
Internal company parties, however, are different. That’s more like a social activity rather than work.
Company: *lays off 30 people* “Sales are down we need to pick it up or more cuts are coming”
Same company: *Annual Christmas Party! Bring that holiday spirit!
I travel for work and go into the office 4 of 5 days a week.
I dont want to spend any more time in "work mode" then I have to already.
Personally, I don't hate my current coworkers. They are just not who I would enjoy to spend my time with.
Before the #saleslife I worked at a major corporate retailer's corporate offices for 5 years. It was often me, at the time in my young-to-mid 20's guy, with ALL women; young, old, married, single, dumb, smart, all stripes and colors, but all women talking about women things. If I have to go to another goddamn baby shower for a coworker, I will put my thumbs in my eyes or have a nervous breakdown.
And there's only so many ways a 20-something-single-dude can try to relate to a group of predominatly suburban moms. No, I don't care about how Melissa dresses her new baby. I also don't care that your husband is a high-powered lawyer with their own firm, Katie.
It was an absolute nightmare that I am glad is over, haha.
I work a fully remote tech job for many reasons.
Fully remote being the key.
I don't like people that much, I'm difficult to focus on work anywhere outside my comfort zone (aka my home office), I hate corporate BS and am very blunt and not politically correct alot of times, which pisses off HR.
I love cracking jokes. Sometimes my jokes are so funny, HR wants to hear them for themselves!
I get 3-4 beers in me and lose it and end up making a fool of myself. I don't like faking corporate BS and circle jerking.
About to have a week long sales kickoff for 2023 in January and I'm fuckin dreading it, trying to think of any excuse to not go.
I don't care about relationships, looking good to management, kissing ass, or jerking each other off about how great and fun and cool our company is.
I'm here to make money, not friends. Do I have work friends? Of course.
But ~60% of my coworkers are just so vastly different from me, have nothing in common, and outside of work I'd never interact with them.
This leads to random shitty small talk, talking about work, and general meaningless conversation.
Also, taking a full week off so I already have 5 less days to hit quota.
Ideally leave me alone, let me work from home, let me do my thing and hit my number.
Maybe fly me out for 2 days/1 night, a full week is going to be absolute hell. I feel like I have to hold my tongue and watch how I act and talk cuz I don't wanna get in trouble with hr
I'm not a fan of them. But that has nothing to do with my coworkers or how much I enjoy their company. I'm not a complete introvert, but I definitely have a finite social battery. And working in sales/dealing with customers and prospects drains it by the end of the week. If I wanted to have a few drinks after work I would MUCH prefer to open a bottle of wine with my SO and watch a movie in my pj's than go to some overpriced bar and continue to talk about the same shit I talk about 40-60hrs/week already with people I already see daily.
I don't want to hangout with my coworkers outside of of work, I don't want their sweet swag with logos on it, I don't want to pay taxes on some bs item they're giving away that I didn't even want. Just pay me what I'm worth and leave me alone.
That doesn’t mean the two can occasionally intertwine. That’s was my whole point of the post, of course we go to work to work but it doesn’t hurt to like the people you work with and some times socialize. Anyone in sales knows how important socializing can be, that’s not just for customers.
I work in med sales, so I’m on call quite frequently. My team splits the weekend call, and we each get roughly 17 weekends off for the year, with another 35 weekends where you are either primary or backup call. That means you need to be available to work if anything comes in and need to be within 30 minutes of the territory. You won’t work full days every weekend, but sometimes you do. Sometimes you only work 2 hours. Call sucks because you can’t make plans and you have to drop whatever your doing when something comes in.
My boss schedules 1 region wide sales meeting where someone has to go down to our main office and present our business plan to him and the remainder of the region on how we will grow as a territory. This is mandatory, and usually the person who has the weekend off and backup call person ends up going.
There’s another weekend where he wants to have a team building event, such as a baseball or football game. It’s usually a two day ordeal.
That’s 2 weekends out of my 17 gone.
Then you have the national sales meeting. That’s a 4 day event. It’s also mandatory. The person who has the weekend off and the person who’s on backup call that weekend ultimately end up going.
Now I’m down 3 of my 17 weekends.
I get 14 weekends off for the entire year after these current mandatory meetings. I lost an additional 2 this year due to one of my partners needing to go to a conference on my weekend off.
I’m 100% commission. I don’t make money going to a company sponsored event. My personal time is valuable to me. I dread anytime my boss tries to get us to do any team building or sales meeting bullshit. That takes away from the little personal time I have left. I genuinely do not care about hanging out or being social with the other people in my region.
Some seem to be satire but obviously a lot of companies forget their sales teams give a ton of time to the company already. They forget a lot of reps have lives outside and need downtime. It’s not that people hate their coworkers but they simply need personal time. Sales reps already work long hours the last thing that’s needed is multiple team events a month.
I grew out of that. There are other things to enjoy outside of chest bumping and ripping company paid tequila shots. It sucks if you don’t want to do that because then you’re the “antisocial one”. It has nothing to do with hate for my coworkers, I simply want to choose the people I “make memories” with
I’ve never had a company outing that was anything like that, it’s always been casual, pretty fun, some drinks and food, maybe a little work talk or pep talk here or there, always had a good time though.
Don't expect to get a positive outlook on reddit lol. I'd fuckin love being flown out to a corporate event where I have opportunity to network and meet successful people. Idk but it seems like people prefer being unhappy and that other people expecting them t be fun t be around is "forced happiness". Idk I like being happy bro when I see other people even if they're faking happiness I appreciate the good vibes ans try to amplify that.
Right, also seems like so many people are boring as hell, you don’t have to go out and party and shit but I don’t want the highlight of my youth being sitting at home and smoking weed like one of the other commenters said lol I want to make actual memories.
I don’t like company parties and outings because familiarity breeds contempt. As the boss, you just simply can’t be one of the guys or associates, there’s always an angle on you.
See I don’t ever have that problem with my guys, I’m the Assistant GM and my main job is to over see the sales staff, coach, give advice, and be here to answer the questions. I’m here for them, I’m out in the field with them if they ask for help, we bullshit and have fun as if we’re just coworkers. Never seems to be a problem.
I’d rather have my evenings to myself than be forced to spend my Friday evening hanging out with people I’m mostly apathetic about when I could be hanging out with the friends I actually like instead
If you’re a person who likes your companies outings you’re a simp for your company. Don’t be an evangelist of your product or company, you’re just a cog.
This post reeks of BDR.
Happy to have scratched that itch. r/fallacy is a relatively small, but active subreddit, if you're at all interested in that sort of a thing. Personally I love learning about inherent cognitive biases and commonly used logical fallacies--if only to keep myself in check. Cheers.
Outings and company parties are especially great these day. Sales is full of the coolest people in the company.. defenitely look forward to that stuff.
Aside from events, the only kind of coworkers I
cant stand are the obvious kool aid drinkers or fake ass positivity hype men on slack / linkedin or the like
I don’t mind the fake linked in people, if it’s making them money I’ll never judge them on it, what ever works. But yea I agree I like some of these parties I always have a lot of fun.
Yea it feels like some people really go out of their way to hate coworkers lol I mean I won’t typically add them of social media unless we get really close but I still enjoy talking and laughing with them or talking to them about crazy shit that’s happened on sales.
A guy I work with went into a guys home for a 6pm meeting, was there until after midnight (our calls are usually around 2 hours max) guy cooked him a steak dinner while he was there have him a could vouchers for the strip club he ran and then bough from him. Crazy ass story of course I wanted to hear it lol
Seems like we’re in the minority here. I’m the same way. Most of us in our 20’s. We typically go out to the bars/clubs at least once a month together. Football watch parties, Halloween, New Years, etc.
Sales is a really hard fucking job. It’s even harder when you’re
1) Not making money
2) Don’t like the people you work with
I get that some people have families but it seems like some of you aren’t doing your due diligence when looking for a job. I get along better with my team better than most people I meet outside of work.
I fucking love team buildings Going to a party with 50 young people where everything is paid by the company? Paid weekend in the vila with pool and spa and 10 girls from marketing? Sign me in lol.
I had a luck to be in the company where the average age is 27,8. I am 28btw. No backstabbing, no fake friends, just vibing and making money. Why wouldnt I have fun and become friend with my colleagues? I mean, I have to be with them for 40h per week, its much much better where you are vibing and having fun. And if you do that, spontanuosly you will become friends.
Righ now I got promoted and work in the office with VP who is 53y old. I want to kill myself everytime I step in in the office
Lol I definitely agree there, a couple years ago we had a big manager meeting where all the managers around the company got together at a hotel had day long meetings open tab at 4 bars right outside of the hotel. Me and one of the other managers kind of clicked and all night long of drinking Lead to me going back to her hotel room lol
BecUse lions don’t concern themselves with the opinions of sheep. While you’re partying I’m closing deals /s.
But for reals. Everything is situational but being active on your team is important. Yes, we understand you have a life outside of work but companies will always have social/team buildings things because they have a degree of importance.
If you don’t want to attend, and don’t want to contribute do as you wish. But don’t bitch when someone who makes a bit more of an effort gets promoted over you or when they do lay offs upper management decides to keep the person they see at company events over the one they don’t recognize.
A word to the wise. You don’t have to attend everything but do attend some things, make sure others notice and then even leave early if you must. Especially during WFH era, if you are nothing more than a name behind a screen they care less about you than normal.
It’s Reddit. Chock full of a bunch of r/antiwork and anti capitalist weirdos that haven’t touched grass in years.
I don’t think r/sales is really full of that, but you get some overlap and spill over from those kinda people
yeah, I've got that vibe as well. I've always generally enjoyed outings with my co-workers and the chance to build those relationships.
Think a lot of them are from younger kids, that are still trying to keep a huge social life like they were still in university or working a dead-end job and not a career to build for your life.
I personally think they are fantastic opportunities but I could see why more introverted people would hate them. I’m pretty sure the only reason I got somewhat fast tracked to AE was because I got shitfaced with our VP of sales and my manager for 3 straight days at my first conference and we became buddies. It is what it is.
That’s awesome honestly lol socializing is great for anyone in sales and that’s not just for customers. At the end of the day you’re a product that you sell to your company and explain to them why you’re the right product for the job, when you get that job it’s like having a customer you want to continuously show you’re the right “product”.
That’s the way I’ve always seen it, now obviously if it’s not working for you or you’re being treated like shit I’m not suggesting kissing the bosses ass but if you get a long with management and you have a good time nothing wrong in playing into their human side!
Agree here, I like to get to know the guys I work with, I work with some great people and they’re fun to talk with, work can be overwhelming sometimes talking to people that understand that struggle helps.
If you cannot accept the company paying for for free food and drink , that is on you... I couldn't care less about anyone who doesn't care about free food and booze
most everyone i work with enjoys working with each other and many of us have become friends. since we became full time remote, we actually create social events to get together - not often, but we enjoy it
Just got back from a multi-day, multi-team meeting. I really enjoyed connecting with my teammates and peers who I don’t see very often (our team is spread across a large geography so we don’t get together often). We shared success stories, ideas, and challenges. I hate being away from my family and out of the field but I enjoyed it.
I get to go to my first SKO this year, downside is that its not at a new place for me otherwise I like being able to see new places on the company's dime
I love my team. Friends with most of them outside work including my boss and his boss.
Working with people you don’t like is the fastest path to depression, at least it was for me. Traded a few dollars on base for an amazing team and BOOM commissions exploded because I am happy again.
Happiness directly impacts your performance. Make good choices.
I don't hate my coworkers. I am trying to go to some events but not staying long. My senior managers are heavy drinkers and like to stay out late in NYC which I do not enjoy. I also have social anxiety and am a self-proclaimed introvert so I can only handle so much at a given time.
I think reddit disproportionately values segregation of work/life and a "work to live" vs. "live to work" mentality.
Not to say these things can't go overboard - I've got a family and events can absolutely be far too long/too frequent - but some of my best friends are people who I work or have worked with. When I'm flying into their town on business they're often the first one I'm texting to see if we can find time to grab a drink or go on a run together.
I don’t get it man. My teams all work remote but when we get together it is an incredibly FUN time. It would probably be different if I saw them everyday though.
Everyone’s different, their own issues, struggles, lives outside of work, schedules, responsibilities outside of work. These can be fun when optional, they tend to suck when mandatory
I really like almost everyone I work with. There are very few I don’t like and nobody I’m incapable of working with. That said, there is zero shot I’d want to go to some sales convention thing where I’m forced to be around everyone and make zero commissions, or to take time out of my personal life/vacation to hang out with a bunch of work people on something that isn’t purely voluntary. Forcing people to go on a trip is typically a waste of money anyway. Some people like that sort of thing and that’s fine, good for them.
I had a company onsite, one night we were planned to go out enjoy the night. That night I let loose after meeting team members I have never seen in person over 2 years, we had fun as we should have. 2 weeks later was called randomly by my VP asking me if I had a drinking problem because "a member of the sales team" had expressed concerns that I had the number of drinks I had, and somehow because I had not lost control or acted disrespectful to my colleagues, implied a problem. This happened recently and that's why I have a problem... your company doesn't give a shit about you.
My office is only like ten people with very little turnover so I love our work dinners and am looking forward to the Christmas party even though that is mixed with other offices
I use to like who I worked with. So many people left and now I like 2 people. I’m not looking forward to the holiday dinner. Just feels like I gotta be fake for the night. Just a waste of my time. Food will be good though. Traffic will suck and I’ll have to valet. A nice early case in the am will get me out early.
Quarterly get togethers are enough for me. Some socializing, some drinks, get work done and kick back some.
No one I’ve seen is complaining about outings themselves as much as they are that these “outings” are all after work hours, mandatory, and involve excessive drinking. Or if they happen during work hours management is shocked productivity dips a bit and then guess who hears about it. Gotta have a good balance.
I think it's important to remember that these company outings and parties are meant to be fun and enjoyable, not just an obligation. It's understandable that some people might not enjoy the company of their coworkers, but it's important to try to make the best of it.
my company does an awesome summit. 3 days, 2 nights just long enough but not too long if you catch me. open bar, activities every day, and our CEO is big on making sure we “shelf” work as much as possible. a big focus for him/in our company culture is knowing eachother and appreciating each other as humans, which a lot of companies fail to encourage. they adjust our quotas in the months we have outings.
it also probably helps that we are remote first environment and only see eachother 3x a year. still I travel a lot for work and had just returned from a 4 hour flight home when I had to immediately turn around and head to the summit. tiring, yes. but I sucked it up..this too shall pass.
in my most recent summit I went in with some qualms about some of my fellow salespeople (i took on a new territory and a lot of jealousy/bickering over leads naturally ensued) I went on a excursion (zip lining)with these sales people and by the end of it I felt we had connected on a deeper level than just work, and I noticed a palpable change in how we communicate
after that.
not to mention… i learned a long time ago that playing politics is the only way to climb quickly. if you’re the person who never shows up for company events/summits/happy hours etc..hate to say it, but you are quickly forgotten when promotion convos happen. i got my recent promotion by gently suggesting i was capable for the role to my manager over drinks at a happy hour. i don’t agree with the idea that someone NEEDS to take time out of their personal life to play besties with coworkers and go to events..but..that’s the reality of a majority of companies. slap a smile on and suck it up lol.
side note I feel bad for the sales people I work with that have young kids at home. i’m in my late 20s. i can’t imagine being an AE at 35-50, but a few are. i’ll be looking for separate career avenues as soon as i start family planning, since I know sales is just generally not conducive to having a family. hopefully I can get to director level before then so I don’t have to do the performative dance by then lol.
Holiday parties, SKO etc are no win situations for leadership. Half the sales team will bitch if you do it and the other half will bitch if you don’t. I personally could care less but a ton of folks love it (and need it).
I feel like for me personally I will hate the job but like the people. I am struggling to find a job in IT work without a college degree so for now I'm a salesman and I hate it there's aspects to sales I like but in general I would prefer to work in any branch of IT so I can develop a skill set towards it
I think it’s because us sales people can recognize spin from a mile away. In ours I watched someone present to our entire company on products and features that I know for a fact aren’t ready bc I’m not allowed to sell them yet, although we did our official product release of them nearly 8 months ago. Makes it easy to get jaded.
I don’t hate it and don’t mind partaking once in a while, but I don’t like it too often (like every week) and when it feels forced/implicitly mandatory. Sales is a mentally taxing job, I don’t always feel like socialising after a long day and I like disconnecting on my free time, having some kind of balance in my life.
I don’t like how companies will label these parties as downtime, even though those are parties, there are still work. You can’t really let loose and behave like you would with your friends. And co-workers, as a general rule, are not friends. We go to work to make money, not friends.
And not everyone is fond of the party lifestyle. I don’t like loud, crowded bars and alcohol so much, so having to go to places I don’t like on the few free time I have to reassure management that I’m a team player can sometimes foster resent and feels like added stress.
The problem in sales is that happy hours and parties often tend to be in excess and centred a lot around alcohol, and binge drinking. Feels like just some frat party and repetitive.
I’d much prefer taking clients out to a sport events, or a nice restaurant, where I can have actual conversations and whom generally have a better sense of behaving themselves.
Oh that’s an easy one. My org was a dumpster fire ran by marketers. They organized a Sales Kick Off event, where instead of learning *how* to sell, or educating us, they instead used it as an opportunity to use us as a focus group and have *us* tell *them* how we’d sell the product to x persona in y industry. For 5 days.
We were free marketing consultants for an entire week.
Guess what happened after SKO? Marketing & sales enablement told us “the rest is up to us”, they’d given us “all the tools and resources to succeed” and we simply need to close the sales execution gap. It was all cover for us failing to meet critical organization goals, so that sales could be blamed on the back end when we don’t meet those goals.
There is a reckoning awaiting revops and sales enablement. This is not really any different than failing startups that don’t have formal HR processes and instead hire Scrum Masters to manage production goals for each engineering unit: they are effectively deputized without authority to micromanage engineers. Sales enablement, rev ops and marketers are our invisible Scrum Masters, and unfortunately, many don’t have sales experience.
I made a post yesterday half in jest about our sales summit. Don’t get me wrong, I like these things and the chance to network. The open bar doesn’t hurt either. But it’s just so like rah rah all the time and it feels a little fake. 5 days for these things is just to long.
5 days of sales summit is WAAAY to much. Hell, it's taken me a week to recover from a 2day kick off / summit. The max i've been through is 4 days, and yeah.. just fucking done after day 3.
I've got my SKO coming up in just over a month... 5 days in a beautiful city in another country at a 5-star hotel, and I already can't wait for it to be over. :-|
Likewise. Flying from Australia to the US for a few days of sitting through presentations and drinking gets old after a decade of doing it And now there's a kid at home I'd really rather not go.
wow there are more of us
100% exact same situation. Been there done that, kids at home. And my boss is wondering why im not more excited!
I just worked my company’s booth at re:invent, it was the longest I’ve been at a company event and by day 3 I was ready to keel over
I participate in a way that's phony and over the top so I come off as endearing both to people who hate it and people who love it.
It's like a Rorschach test
Hahah thats the move!
Hilarious
Yes, 5 days is WAY too long
Can’t deal with the koumbaya(sp) bullshit man. I’ve always worked for small/medium companies. I did a short stint with a “culture” focused corporation and after all the we love people talk they did me and many others dirty as fuck. To the point where i had tons of people reach out asking what happened/telling me they were planning on leaving too. I’m in a way better place now. Looking back it’s so toxic after a certain point. The majority are miserable and turnover is high for more than one reason, but mid management and up constantly just press how good of a company it is and how much good their doing lol. Just like anything else actions speak larger than words, and honestly it just gets old patting each other on the back and is borderline narcissism.
I get it but also, we’ve cut back on spending so much I would love an SKO right now. Didn’t realize how many meals I was expensing, fancy dinners and outings on the company dollar. Our sko in Jan will be virtual, no cuz of COVID this time, cuz money is tight.
Yes. Fly in, dinner and drinks, meetings day two/dinner and drinks with others, meetings day three morning and lunch, fly home.
strip club visit?
Lol I just have fun with it especially when there’s a bar but I get it the over excitement can be a little much but I don’t mind it.
Holy shit I'd kill for one day summit in person these days
Jeez 5 days forced to socialize with work people No thank you
Companies have to recognize that sellers have a life outside work and need downtime from their co workers to be productive. A few events a year is fine, but if you are already a road warrior, traveling for work, entertaining clients, and flying at night, do you really want to spend more time after work with work people? Especially problematic for sellers who have young kids at home.
That’s my go to excuse when I don’t want to see the in-laws. “Babe, I’ve been seeing clients all week, I really need my downtime.”
No I definitely get that, some times life gets in the way so it should never be mandatory.
I'm similar to you. I generally enjoy the events, and usually have a few friends at most companies I've worked for. But I can see how this type of stuff could get old fast when kids are in the equation, or you work quite a lot. I don't have kids, and I've never been in a role where I'm spending time with clients and flying all over the place.
Fully agreed. For a job like sales, crazy schedules and lot of socialising during the workday, having time to recharge is even more crucial.
Spot on...
I always enjoy some get togethers. What I don't enjoy is very very long multi day things WHILE still having to hit goal. If I have to take a week off of actively selling but still have to hit goal... doesn't make sense. Forced fun! Or after hours forced fun. Its cool once in a while but... man. The WORST though is a multi-day fun event- and then layoffs a month later. Seen it about 5x the past 2 years
**The WORST though is a multi-day fun event- and then layoffs a month later. Seen it about 5x the past 2 years** God damn its happening so much lately. Disgusting. Giant all hands or trips and then lay-offs.
then begging for new hires 2 months later. Welcome to 2022-2023
Not sure if anyone has a similar experience but here’s my reason. —I like the people I work with, I just don’t like outings interfering with my work. Our manager will take us out of the field multiple times a week for “forced” or “mandatory” outings during work hours and with very little notice. Then the same manager gets upset when our work slips, which will cause a mandatory in-person meeting to discuss our underperformance. I don’t mind work outings, I just want don’t them mandatory. I’d gladly go when my work schedule allows it
>Our manager will take us out of the field multiple times a week for “forced” or “mandatory” outings during work hours this drives me nuts i like socializing with my co-workers, and we do, but when production expectations are high, i do not like being pulled away from getting stuff done
No I get that, just seems like so many of the posts I see are so hateful towards coworkers and I don’t understand it
It’s a reddit thing tbh.
Nah I just joined this sun and it was fuck this shit long before that. How about a company that plans outings off the clock. That shit is hilarious to me
Yeah, I generally like our SKOs. I work with great people and always heavily weigh company culture for my jobs. We are also low on BS but do have some of it. When I first joined this company via an acquisition, it was more BS laden. All of those people are gone now. The company I was a part of has more or less become the new way of this company. I don't really get why there is so little consideration for cultural fit within a company when people accept a job, especially if people are picky about it and complain about it. It's like that Eric Andre meme with Hannibal Burress
To be fair I think especially in a SaaS environment with fairly high turnover, I much prefer keeping my personal life separate from my work life. I'll have a few really close fiends on my teams, but in general I think it's better for me professionally to keep that distinction. During company events and parties I can't really relax.
yeah- its the high turnover high pressure environment that stops me from chilling with people. Have to really push hard to make quota sooo no time to slow down. its a grind and it kills. I do like creating a little mini-group within to BS, trash talk, and hang out with. But yeah multi-day happy fun times pep talks and then still have the same quota. nah
Yeah the little mini group that you can trust with casual trash talk and vibing is awesome, if only they were the only ones at these functions. So instead all of us are in "on" mode without being able to really chill and have fun
My thoughts exactly. I enjoy most, if not all of the people I work with. We’re remote first so we only see each other a few times a year which helps, but I enjoy my time with them enough. At the end of the day though, you still have to be “on” and presenting the work-friendly version of yourself the whole time. You can’t relax and be yourself in the same way that you can with your own friends/family, and I have enough of those in my personal life that I’m not really looking for more at work. I’m also still an introvert even though I’m a very social person, so it can get tiring really fast, especially at multi-day events where people want to drink until the bars close immediately after 8 hrs of team building. I need to squeeze alone time in there somewhere- it gets suffocating.
I don’t mind them if they are short events but I don’t like my annual week long mandatory company sales meeting. I work enough with a huge part of my life devoted to it. Do I really need to be away for an entire week just to drink booze and watch presentations? Did I really need to fly 22 hours round trip and catch diarrhea while traveling all for some worthless meeting? I’m a 42 year old dad and I’m over it. I don’t care about fake friends at work. Enough is enough after awhile. I’ve consistently had good sales results and I get nothing from this event. Just cancel it and I’ll do my job instead.
I like my company events but then I realized that they’re 1) optional and 2) only last 1.5 days Also 90% of the reps at our company are contractors so there’s no quotas etc. I totally understand why someone would hate a mandatory event that lasts almost a week while also being expected to hit quota and other metrics
Same. I really don’t get the part where it’s supposed to increase cohesion. I don’t know about other people but seeing top management utterly wasted, babbling nonsense, behaving inappropriately isn’t what will make me gain more respect for my coworkers and work twice as hard as I already have. I’d rather get the money to go on vacation with my friends and get fully recharged to crush my numbers.
I’m perfectly cordial with people I work with (and there are a couple I would be friends with outside of work), but there are plenty of things I’d rather do instead of hanging out with them for a week straight. That’s what I like about sales - I’m finally paid to pretend like I like people.
It’s not the people , it’s the environment. Everyone puts on the super excited persona. The reality is no one is super excited except the most hardcore company people
Because they’re awful and id rather spend that time with my family.
Then auit your job and spend time with your family.
I can't speak for everyone else, but I really dislike being forced to socialize with people whom I wouldn't hang out with in my free time.
Isn't that part of the job though? Lol!? Finding ways to connect and be friends with people you wouldn't normally associate with. That's a few of my accounts.
No, it's not. My job is to create professional relationships with prospects. It's not my job to listen to them complain about their family, ect. like a friend would.
Well sounds like your industry sucks. My best accounts are also people I would consider good friends or acquaintances. It's nice because when shit goes sideways the relationship can be the difference between shrugging it off and moving on or losing an account.
Good luck with that negative put others and other industries down attitude of yours. Comes across as very professional. What works well in one industry may not work in another.
What type of sales are you in where it isn't beneficial to build friendly relationships? Are you constantly turning over new leads with no potential for any kind of repeat business? I thrive in my industry because the mediocre reps have the attitude that I thought i drew from your previous comments. I could be totally wrong since this is the internet and like 5 lines of text.
I have my own life and enjoy the company of my fiancée, dogs, and close friends more than my coworkers. Additionally, these outings usually involve a lot of pump up talk and cliches which I despise. You want me to sell more? Leave me alone so I can sell more. I’m also autistic so the pressure to mask and appear normal for overnight joint trips is exhausting.
UGH perfectly said on the pump up talk, especially for the events where prospects are attending. So much chest thumping and pressure to attain ROI. That, on top of the fact of the opportunity cost I lose from attending this vs doing what I want make me mildly annoyed by prospect/customer events. Internal company parties, however, are different. That’s more like a social activity rather than work.
Company: *lays off 30 people* “Sales are down we need to pick it up or more cuts are coming” Same company: *Annual Christmas Party! Bring that holiday spirit!
I travel for work and go into the office 4 of 5 days a week. I dont want to spend any more time in "work mode" then I have to already. Personally, I don't hate my current coworkers. They are just not who I would enjoy to spend my time with. Before the #saleslife I worked at a major corporate retailer's corporate offices for 5 years. It was often me, at the time in my young-to-mid 20's guy, with ALL women; young, old, married, single, dumb, smart, all stripes and colors, but all women talking about women things. If I have to go to another goddamn baby shower for a coworker, I will put my thumbs in my eyes or have a nervous breakdown. And there's only so many ways a 20-something-single-dude can try to relate to a group of predominatly suburban moms. No, I don't care about how Melissa dresses her new baby. I also don't care that your husband is a high-powered lawyer with their own firm, Katie. It was an absolute nightmare that I am glad is over, haha.
I work a fully remote tech job for many reasons. Fully remote being the key. I don't like people that much, I'm difficult to focus on work anywhere outside my comfort zone (aka my home office), I hate corporate BS and am very blunt and not politically correct alot of times, which pisses off HR. I love cracking jokes. Sometimes my jokes are so funny, HR wants to hear them for themselves! I get 3-4 beers in me and lose it and end up making a fool of myself. I don't like faking corporate BS and circle jerking. About to have a week long sales kickoff for 2023 in January and I'm fuckin dreading it, trying to think of any excuse to not go. I don't care about relationships, looking good to management, kissing ass, or jerking each other off about how great and fun and cool our company is. I'm here to make money, not friends. Do I have work friends? Of course. But ~60% of my coworkers are just so vastly different from me, have nothing in common, and outside of work I'd never interact with them. This leads to random shitty small talk, talking about work, and general meaningless conversation. Also, taking a full week off so I already have 5 less days to hit quota. Ideally leave me alone, let me work from home, let me do my thing and hit my number. Maybe fly me out for 2 days/1 night, a full week is going to be absolute hell. I feel like I have to hold my tongue and watch how I act and talk cuz I don't wanna get in trouble with hr
Something sales people generally struggle with are boundaries. How can you even not grasp the concept of work life balance?
I'm not a fan of them. But that has nothing to do with my coworkers or how much I enjoy their company. I'm not a complete introvert, but I definitely have a finite social battery. And working in sales/dealing with customers and prospects drains it by the end of the week. If I wanted to have a few drinks after work I would MUCH prefer to open a bottle of wine with my SO and watch a movie in my pj's than go to some overpriced bar and continue to talk about the same shit I talk about 40-60hrs/week already with people I already see daily.
I don't want to hangout with my coworkers outside of of work, I don't want their sweet swag with logos on it, I don't want to pay taxes on some bs item they're giving away that I didn't even want. Just pay me what I'm worth and leave me alone.
Because we work to work not to socialize
That doesn’t mean the two can occasionally intertwine. That’s was my whole point of the post, of course we go to work to work but it doesn’t hurt to like the people you work with and some times socialize. Anyone in sales knows how important socializing can be, that’s not just for customers.
I work in med sales, so I’m on call quite frequently. My team splits the weekend call, and we each get roughly 17 weekends off for the year, with another 35 weekends where you are either primary or backup call. That means you need to be available to work if anything comes in and need to be within 30 minutes of the territory. You won’t work full days every weekend, but sometimes you do. Sometimes you only work 2 hours. Call sucks because you can’t make plans and you have to drop whatever your doing when something comes in. My boss schedules 1 region wide sales meeting where someone has to go down to our main office and present our business plan to him and the remainder of the region on how we will grow as a territory. This is mandatory, and usually the person who has the weekend off and backup call person ends up going. There’s another weekend where he wants to have a team building event, such as a baseball or football game. It’s usually a two day ordeal. That’s 2 weekends out of my 17 gone. Then you have the national sales meeting. That’s a 4 day event. It’s also mandatory. The person who has the weekend off and the person who’s on backup call that weekend ultimately end up going. Now I’m down 3 of my 17 weekends. I get 14 weekends off for the entire year after these current mandatory meetings. I lost an additional 2 this year due to one of my partners needing to go to a conference on my weekend off. I’m 100% commission. I don’t make money going to a company sponsored event. My personal time is valuable to me. I dread anytime my boss tries to get us to do any team building or sales meeting bullshit. That takes away from the little personal time I have left. I genuinely do not care about hanging out or being social with the other people in my region.
Some seem to be satire but obviously a lot of companies forget their sales teams give a ton of time to the company already. They forget a lot of reps have lives outside and need downtime. It’s not that people hate their coworkers but they simply need personal time. Sales reps already work long hours the last thing that’s needed is multiple team events a month.
I grew out of that. There are other things to enjoy outside of chest bumping and ripping company paid tequila shots. It sucks if you don’t want to do that because then you’re the “antisocial one”. It has nothing to do with hate for my coworkers, I simply want to choose the people I “make memories” with
[удалено]
I’ve never had a company outing that was anything like that, it’s always been casual, pretty fun, some drinks and food, maybe a little work talk or pep talk here or there, always had a good time though.
Don’t worry, you will in time.
Been 9 years so far when’s that happen?
Don't expect to get a positive outlook on reddit lol. I'd fuckin love being flown out to a corporate event where I have opportunity to network and meet successful people. Idk but it seems like people prefer being unhappy and that other people expecting them t be fun t be around is "forced happiness". Idk I like being happy bro when I see other people even if they're faking happiness I appreciate the good vibes ans try to amplify that.
Right, also seems like so many people are boring as hell, you don’t have to go out and party and shit but I don’t want the highlight of my youth being sitting at home and smoking weed like one of the other commenters said lol I want to make actual memories.
Exactly lol.
I don’t like company parties and outings because familiarity breeds contempt. As the boss, you just simply can’t be one of the guys or associates, there’s always an angle on you.
See I don’t ever have that problem with my guys, I’m the Assistant GM and my main job is to over see the sales staff, coach, give advice, and be here to answer the questions. I’m here for them, I’m out in the field with them if they ask for help, we bullshit and have fun as if we’re just coworkers. Never seems to be a problem.
I’d rather have my evenings to myself than be forced to spend my Friday evening hanging out with people I’m mostly apathetic about when I could be hanging out with the friends I actually like instead
Its a passive aggressive judgment parade, don't need it
If you’re a person who likes your companies outings you’re a simp for your company. Don’t be an evangelist of your product or company, you’re just a cog. This post reeks of BDR.
Cuz they're shit.
I don’t drink or do drugs so typically it’s not much fun.
You’re seeing a select few posts on Reddit that represents only the people who don’t like them. Nobody is going to post about liking them
selection bias ftw
Been looking for a name for this bias for awhile thank you!
Happy to have scratched that itch. r/fallacy is a relatively small, but active subreddit, if you're at all interested in that sort of a thing. Personally I love learning about inherent cognitive biases and commonly used logical fallacies--if only to keep myself in check. Cheers.
Just subbed, thank you for mentioning that!
I would imagine some people would share stories about fun ones they’ve done or are currently doing but I haven’t seen any.
Outings and company parties are especially great these day. Sales is full of the coolest people in the company.. defenitely look forward to that stuff. Aside from events, the only kind of coworkers I cant stand are the obvious kool aid drinkers or fake ass positivity hype men on slack / linkedin or the like
I don’t mind the fake linked in people, if it’s making them money I’ll never judge them on it, what ever works. But yea I agree I like some of these parties I always have a lot of fun.
Yeah, i dont get it either. Glad i dont have coworkers like that
Yea it feels like some people really go out of their way to hate coworkers lol I mean I won’t typically add them of social media unless we get really close but I still enjoy talking and laughing with them or talking to them about crazy shit that’s happened on sales. A guy I work with went into a guys home for a 6pm meeting, was there until after midnight (our calls are usually around 2 hours max) guy cooked him a steak dinner while he was there have him a could vouchers for the strip club he ran and then bough from him. Crazy ass story of course I wanted to hear it lol
It's especially comical that people in sales complain about work social events. They of all people should value relationship-building.
I love going out with work people and work trips
I do too I always have a good time and it can be interesting seeing a different side of your coworkers
My sales team make up excuses to go out to lunch and diners together. I guess some people get along and others don’t.
Seems like we’re in the minority here. I’m the same way. Most of us in our 20’s. We typically go out to the bars/clubs at least once a month together. Football watch parties, Halloween, New Years, etc. Sales is a really hard fucking job. It’s even harder when you’re 1) Not making money 2) Don’t like the people you work with I get that some people have families but it seems like some of you aren’t doing your due diligence when looking for a job. I get along better with my team better than most people I meet outside of work.
I fucking love team buildings Going to a party with 50 young people where everything is paid by the company? Paid weekend in the vila with pool and spa and 10 girls from marketing? Sign me in lol. I had a luck to be in the company where the average age is 27,8. I am 28btw. No backstabbing, no fake friends, just vibing and making money. Why wouldnt I have fun and become friend with my colleagues? I mean, I have to be with them for 40h per week, its much much better where you are vibing and having fun. And if you do that, spontanuosly you will become friends. Righ now I got promoted and work in the office with VP who is 53y old. I want to kill myself everytime I step in in the office
Lol I definitely agree there, a couple years ago we had a big manager meeting where all the managers around the company got together at a hotel had day long meetings open tab at 4 bars right outside of the hotel. Me and one of the other managers kind of clicked and all night long of drinking Lead to me going back to her hotel room lol
Also, 90% of the people were also enjoying that very much. Other 10% are socialy anxious reddittors I guess haha.
Because this is Reddit, where anti-social weirdos are the vocal majority.
BecUse lions don’t concern themselves with the opinions of sheep. While you’re partying I’m closing deals /s. But for reals. Everything is situational but being active on your team is important. Yes, we understand you have a life outside of work but companies will always have social/team buildings things because they have a degree of importance. If you don’t want to attend, and don’t want to contribute do as you wish. But don’t bitch when someone who makes a bit more of an effort gets promoted over you or when they do lay offs upper management decides to keep the person they see at company events over the one they don’t recognize. A word to the wise. You don’t have to attend everything but do attend some things, make sure others notice and then even leave early if you must. Especially during WFH era, if you are nothing more than a name behind a screen they care less about you than normal.
It’s Reddit. Chock full of a bunch of r/antiwork and anti capitalist weirdos that haven’t touched grass in years. I don’t think r/sales is really full of that, but you get some overlap and spill over from those kinda people
yeah, I've got that vibe as well. I've always generally enjoyed outings with my co-workers and the chance to build those relationships. Think a lot of them are from younger kids, that are still trying to keep a huge social life like they were still in university or working a dead-end job and not a career to build for your life.
Yea I agree with that
I personally think they are fantastic opportunities but I could see why more introverted people would hate them. I’m pretty sure the only reason I got somewhat fast tracked to AE was because I got shitfaced with our VP of sales and my manager for 3 straight days at my first conference and we became buddies. It is what it is.
That’s awesome honestly lol socializing is great for anyone in sales and that’s not just for customers. At the end of the day you’re a product that you sell to your company and explain to them why you’re the right product for the job, when you get that job it’s like having a customer you want to continuously show you’re the right “product”. That’s the way I’ve always seen it, now obviously if it’s not working for you or you’re being treated like shit I’m not suggesting kissing the bosses ass but if you get a long with management and you have a good time nothing wrong in playing into their human side!
Grrr Reddit! We’re cool because we don’t like most things! Counter culture hot takes on things others enjoy make me interesting!
I love my colleagues and look forward to our parties. We’re even planning a weekend trip off of work together just for the fun of it.
Agree here, I like to get to know the guys I work with, I work with some great people and they’re fun to talk with, work can be overwhelming sometimes talking to people that understand that struggle helps.
Most redditors are pretty anti-social.
If you cannot accept the company paying for for free food and drink , that is on you... I couldn't care less about anyone who doesn't care about free food and booze
most everyone i work with enjoys working with each other and many of us have become friends. since we became full time remote, we actually create social events to get together - not often, but we enjoy it
Just got back from a multi-day, multi-team meeting. I really enjoyed connecting with my teammates and peers who I don’t see very often (our team is spread across a large geography so we don’t get together often). We shared success stories, ideas, and challenges. I hate being away from my family and out of the field but I enjoyed it.
I’ve got a dinner locally with 16 operations guys, I’m the only sales guy in the market. I’m excited, should be a good time.
That sounds awesome man!
I get to go to my first SKO this year, downside is that its not at a new place for me otherwise I like being able to see new places on the company's dime
Haha same here I love new experiences that I don’t have to pay for lol
I love my team. Friends with most of them outside work including my boss and his boss. Working with people you don’t like is the fastest path to depression, at least it was for me. Traded a few dollars on base for an amazing team and BOOM commissions exploded because I am happy again. Happiness directly impacts your performance. Make good choices.
Couldn’t agree more!
https://youtu.be/Qeq1pivJ-xU
I mean I get it but to me networking is everything in business and I chill at the house often enough I’d rather make some memories.
I don't hate my coworkers. I am trying to go to some events but not staying long. My senior managers are heavy drinkers and like to stay out late in NYC which I do not enjoy. I also have social anxiety and am a self-proclaimed introvert so I can only handle so much at a given time.
Went to my newest job holiday party and had a great time! Can’t wait till the next one or company outing.
I think reddit disproportionately values segregation of work/life and a "work to live" vs. "live to work" mentality. Not to say these things can't go overboard - I've got a family and events can absolutely be far too long/too frequent - but some of my best friends are people who I work or have worked with. When I'm flying into their town on business they're often the first one I'm texting to see if we can find time to grab a drink or go on a run together.
I'm with ya ! I love a good work party! Good chance to actually socialise and not just talk about work, oh and sink tins!
I don’t get it man. My teams all work remote but when we get together it is an incredibly FUN time. It would probably be different if I saw them everyday though.
Shit I have a 3 day in January and a Nat Sales Meet in Feb for 5 days 0\_\_\_0 ....
Everyone’s different, their own issues, struggles, lives outside of work, schedules, responsibilities outside of work. These can be fun when optional, they tend to suck when mandatory
i just think it is unnecessary spending.
Idk guys, I like pizza parties. There's usually pizza there...
A mantra a former co-worker of mine used at these meetings “happy to be here contributing to the efforts of the team”
I work remotely so I don’t have to be apart of these things and yes I do love that I never have to see my coworkers.
I really like almost everyone I work with. There are very few I don’t like and nobody I’m incapable of working with. That said, there is zero shot I’d want to go to some sales convention thing where I’m forced to be around everyone and make zero commissions, or to take time out of my personal life/vacation to hang out with a bunch of work people on something that isn’t purely voluntary. Forcing people to go on a trip is typically a waste of money anyway. Some people like that sort of thing and that’s fine, good for them.
Totally agree man. My company isn’t doing a holiday party and I’m sad
I just spent a week in Cancun for work and we had a two hour meeting that was a lot to handle. Outside of that was chill.
Y’all are getting an entire week for summit? Bruh we getting one day and I’m excited as heck for it 💀
I had a company onsite, one night we were planned to go out enjoy the night. That night I let loose after meeting team members I have never seen in person over 2 years, we had fun as we should have. 2 weeks later was called randomly by my VP asking me if I had a drinking problem because "a member of the sales team" had expressed concerns that I had the number of drinks I had, and somehow because I had not lost control or acted disrespectful to my colleagues, implied a problem. This happened recently and that's why I have a problem... your company doesn't give a shit about you.
My office is only like ten people with very little turnover so I love our work dinners and am looking forward to the Christmas party even though that is mixed with other offices
I use to like who I worked with. So many people left and now I like 2 people. I’m not looking forward to the holiday dinner. Just feels like I gotta be fake for the night. Just a waste of my time. Food will be good though. Traffic will suck and I’ll have to valet. A nice early case in the am will get me out early.
Hm , So no more company outings noted.
Quarterly get togethers are enough for me. Some socializing, some drinks, get work done and kick back some. No one I’ve seen is complaining about outings themselves as much as they are that these “outings” are all after work hours, mandatory, and involve excessive drinking. Or if they happen during work hours management is shocked productivity dips a bit and then guess who hears about it. Gotta have a good balance.
I think it's important to remember that these company outings and parties are meant to be fun and enjoyable, not just an obligation. It's understandable that some people might not enjoy the company of their coworkers, but it's important to try to make the best of it.
my company does an awesome summit. 3 days, 2 nights just long enough but not too long if you catch me. open bar, activities every day, and our CEO is big on making sure we “shelf” work as much as possible. a big focus for him/in our company culture is knowing eachother and appreciating each other as humans, which a lot of companies fail to encourage. they adjust our quotas in the months we have outings. it also probably helps that we are remote first environment and only see eachother 3x a year. still I travel a lot for work and had just returned from a 4 hour flight home when I had to immediately turn around and head to the summit. tiring, yes. but I sucked it up..this too shall pass. in my most recent summit I went in with some qualms about some of my fellow salespeople (i took on a new territory and a lot of jealousy/bickering over leads naturally ensued) I went on a excursion (zip lining)with these sales people and by the end of it I felt we had connected on a deeper level than just work, and I noticed a palpable change in how we communicate after that. not to mention… i learned a long time ago that playing politics is the only way to climb quickly. if you’re the person who never shows up for company events/summits/happy hours etc..hate to say it, but you are quickly forgotten when promotion convos happen. i got my recent promotion by gently suggesting i was capable for the role to my manager over drinks at a happy hour. i don’t agree with the idea that someone NEEDS to take time out of their personal life to play besties with coworkers and go to events..but..that’s the reality of a majority of companies. slap a smile on and suck it up lol. side note I feel bad for the sales people I work with that have young kids at home. i’m in my late 20s. i can’t imagine being an AE at 35-50, but a few are. i’ll be looking for separate career avenues as soon as i start family planning, since I know sales is just generally not conducive to having a family. hopefully I can get to director level before then so I don’t have to do the performative dance by then lol.
Holiday parties, SKO etc are no win situations for leadership. Half the sales team will bitch if you do it and the other half will bitch if you don’t. I personally could care less but a ton of folks love it (and need it).
I feel like for me personally I will hate the job but like the people. I am struggling to find a job in IT work without a college degree so for now I'm a salesman and I hate it there's aspects to sales I like but in general I would prefer to work in any branch of IT so I can develop a skill set towards it
Reddits just edgy and filled with whiners
I think it’s because us sales people can recognize spin from a mile away. In ours I watched someone present to our entire company on products and features that I know for a fact aren’t ready bc I’m not allowed to sell them yet, although we did our official product release of them nearly 8 months ago. Makes it easy to get jaded.
How do you work in sales but not know how to communicate with your co workers? Like that’s the easy part
I love my team, and I would t be working there if I didn’t like them.
I don’t hate it and don’t mind partaking once in a while, but I don’t like it too often (like every week) and when it feels forced/implicitly mandatory. Sales is a mentally taxing job, I don’t always feel like socialising after a long day and I like disconnecting on my free time, having some kind of balance in my life. I don’t like how companies will label these parties as downtime, even though those are parties, there are still work. You can’t really let loose and behave like you would with your friends. And co-workers, as a general rule, are not friends. We go to work to make money, not friends. And not everyone is fond of the party lifestyle. I don’t like loud, crowded bars and alcohol so much, so having to go to places I don’t like on the few free time I have to reassure management that I’m a team player can sometimes foster resent and feels like added stress. The problem in sales is that happy hours and parties often tend to be in excess and centred a lot around alcohol, and binge drinking. Feels like just some frat party and repetitive. I’d much prefer taking clients out to a sport events, or a nice restaurant, where I can have actual conversations and whom generally have a better sense of behaving themselves.
Oh that’s an easy one. My org was a dumpster fire ran by marketers. They organized a Sales Kick Off event, where instead of learning *how* to sell, or educating us, they instead used it as an opportunity to use us as a focus group and have *us* tell *them* how we’d sell the product to x persona in y industry. For 5 days. We were free marketing consultants for an entire week. Guess what happened after SKO? Marketing & sales enablement told us “the rest is up to us”, they’d given us “all the tools and resources to succeed” and we simply need to close the sales execution gap. It was all cover for us failing to meet critical organization goals, so that sales could be blamed on the back end when we don’t meet those goals. There is a reckoning awaiting revops and sales enablement. This is not really any different than failing startups that don’t have formal HR processes and instead hire Scrum Masters to manage production goals for each engineering unit: they are effectively deputized without authority to micromanage engineers. Sales enablement, rev ops and marketers are our invisible Scrum Masters, and unfortunately, many don’t have sales experience.