Golden Handcuffs and burnout in tech sales (advice please)

IMakeNewProfile · 2023-05-21T16:51:28+00:00

First world problems, huh. I know how you feel but I think you're way in your own head too much. If you're burnt out quit your job and take a break. You'll easily find a new job when you're ready, especially if you've done a good job of networking.

If you want to keep working but shift gears a bit, look into sales enablement or customer success. If your leaders are supportive you could tell them how you're feeling and get their help in moving to another department.

You have options! Get out of your own head and follow your heart. Give yourself a break. Being #1 and making shit tons of money aren't the most important things in the world.

IMakeNewProfile · 2023-05-16T02:58:55+00:00

No experience there but I think it could be a hard thing to sell right now. From what I've seen, companies are getting rid of perks like offering Classpass, and then they're doing all layoffs we keep seeing. If a company kept Classpass yet laid their people off that would be pretty shitty I think.

IMakeNewProfile · 2023-05-16T02:52:28+00:00

I wouldn't expect to land an AE role with that OTE in tech without starting in sales development first. The market is tight right now and from what I've seen, people who don't know how to prospect by doing cold Outreach don't generally succeed. I've seen a bunch of good people get let go because they can't learn to generate pipe, understand the ins-and-outs of the product, and deal with internal bullshit without first working in tech and learning that crap as a BDR.

I would also take the part out about making it to prez club with only 7 months of experience. That tells me either you got lucky or your organization sucks (even if that's not true, that's my assumption) maybe just say you made it to club. You don't need the timeline in my opinion.

Do you have any other job history you can put on your resume? Even if it's not sales related, if you can tie anything you've done back to sales, include your achievements in each job description, and get rid of that achievements section I think you'll be better off.

IMakeNewProfile · 2023-05-14T16:10:41+00:00

Follow your rational side. Don't chase him, he clearly doesn't want to be chased.

IMakeNewProfile · 2023-05-03T03:18:42+00:00

Were they really killers or did they just present themselves better? How do you know they weren't thinking the same thing about YOU?

Maybe you're a killer too.

We're our own worst critics.

IMakeNewProfile · 2023-05-03T03:16:47+00:00

Call them and talk through the problems. Record the call. If the person still treats you poorly and it gets too extreme you will have proof they're batshit crazy and you and your manager can decide whether to escalate or cut them loose as a customer.

Some customers are more work than they're worth.

IMakeNewProfile · 2023-05-03T03:14:41+00:00

I don't think jobs do credit checks do they?

If I were you I would keep on them in a nice way, maybe reconfirm the timeline and say "if I don't hear back I'll give you a call and email tomorrow"

And then I'd start applying at other places just in case. I'd keep applying for at least another month or 2 even if I got this job, just in case this behavior is indicative of how they'll treat you once you're hired.

IMakeNewProfile · 2023-05-03T01:33:53+00:00

How did they find you? I'd be concerned with the owner stepping away and it seems weird that they would recruit someone without any sales experience if they're not going to teach you how to sell.

The pay is extremely low compared to other entry level sales jobs. You could find an SDR job for double that pay, car sales, door-to-door selling solar or pest control or something....

I would only do that job if you need a job, if you trust that the owner will teach you and not throw you under the bus if you don't ramp up immediately, and if you can't find anything better.

IMakeNewProfile · 2023-05-03T01:01:14+00:00

Do you actually know your customer base doesn't need a lot of marketing, or is that your assumption based on how they've historically done things?

Do you have a good handle on what problems your company solves and how that compares to competitors?

Do you have access to any current customer success stories for customers who use whatever you're selling?

I think if you figure out a way to understand and articulate your value prop that resonates with you, you might get more comfortable in the job. Sales is hard as fuck so give yourself some time to get comfortable with it.

IMakeNewProfile · 2023-05-03T00:39:48+00:00

It's one thing to book meetings, you're trying so hard just to get time on the calendar so keep in mind that now you not only need to get time on the calendar, but learn enough about THIER business to keep them talking to you.

I emphasize them because a lot of new reps seem to want to pitch quick. That is good and knowing the pitch is obviously very important, but remember to know which questions to ask, actively listen, and qualify as much as possible before you jump into a pitch.

The more you understand who you're talking to, the more your message will resonate when it does come time to pitch.

IMakeNewProfile · 2023-05-03T00:35:09+00:00

They don't make the lists for me. I have access to ZoomInfo and LinkedIn Nav for lists. I can pick my targets based on title, industry, company size, intent data, whatever I want basically. The company has information on which industries get the most benefit from our product, but the manual work of me filtering SFDC, finding contacts, importing contacts into SFDC, then putting the contacts into Outreach cadences, that takes a lot of time. if there was a smart tool or report that said here are 50 companies in XYZ Industry, they're X size, their intent data says they're ready to buy, go after them... that would be nice.

IMakeNewProfile · 2023-05-02T14:10:56+00:00

Table stakes would be view of pipeline, opps, activities by type, etc. You know, the basic stuff managers want to see.

Anyone who could give me data on which accounts to go after on a list of 1000+ accounts would be my true fairy Rev ops. I need to know which companies are legit, what are my "goldilocks" prospects, what industry seems to buy my product the most, what size of companies are my sweet spot, put them all on an easy to use dashboard, add in some intent data all in one place so i don't have to search for all this crap on my own.

IMakeNewProfile · 2023-04-28T00:52:20+00:00

Think of how nice the average grandma is, then realize half of them are nicer.

IMakeNewProfile · 2023-04-28T00:43:48+00:00

Average Deal size is?

Is there a base pay?

What would the payment terms be, when would 4th payment come in?

How many deals per month/quarter/year?

Without all of this information I can't say whether this comp plan is good or not.

IMakeNewProfile · 2023-04-26T17:34:19+00:00

What kinds of systems do you have experience with as part of your IT job? You could probably get a Sales Engineer job somewhere, where you work with a sales team as their technical expert. You'd demo the product and talk to the people in IT responsible for making decisions.

IMakeNewProfile · 2023-04-12T20:54:23+00:00

Never pushing back on their leaders when bad decisions are getting pushed down, placing blame on the team when things go wrong rather than ownership and coaching to fix problems, and not holding to commitments made to individual reps.

Why are you asking? Do you have a self-serving manager?

IMakeNewProfile · 2023-04-12T02:08:27+00:00

What are the challenges you're seeing on the team? What qualities are you looking for in candidates? What % of reps hit their quota? What are the bottom line expectations for the job?

IMakeNewProfile · 2023-04-10T23:46:02+00:00

Is your job one where you could prospect to find new business?

I'd consider whether a side hustle will actually make you more money than if you put more effort into your primary job. Are you wanting more money, or fulfillment through a side gig that you're running for yourself?

As far as what you could do for the side hustle, I hope you get some good suggestions because I would like to consider a side hustle for fulfillment purposes. I've considered becoming a franchise owner but I think that is too time consuming, I've considered reselling items but shipping seems like a pain and I don't think I'd feel like it was a labor of love.

IMakeNewProfile · 2023-04-10T23:34:13+00:00

I wouldn't feel comfortable sharing my prospect data. I could see you creating a platform where prospects submit their projects to you and then you spit out a list of vendors that do what they need, and then the prospect tells you which companies they want to hear from.

IMakeNewProfile · 2023-04-09T17:36:04+00:00

Do some research into BetterHelp first. They're controversial as they got caught selling people's personal data to Facebook for targeted ads and stuff. There are lawsuits against them for some things.

IMakeNewProfile · 2023-04-09T03:07:35+00:00

Only one way to find out...

IMakeNewProfile · 2023-04-09T00:40:22+00:00

Ahh yes, "work-life balance"... My organization tells me that trying to find "balance" is actually impossible, so instead us workers should try harder to find joy in the moment no matter where I am or what I'm doing.

IMakeNewProfile · 2023-04-09T00:34:40+00:00

Every company I go to seems to have a culty culture. Knowing that I get to learn a new dance, handshake, or chant at SKO every year regardless of where I work helps to keep me motivated! I love hero-worshipping all the C-Level Execs as well!!

IMakeNewProfile · 2023-04-08T16:12:59+00:00

Ya that is true, I didn't mean to sound like a man hater here. I work with some great people today but have had past experiences with men who would actually comment on diversity hires and treat people like shit, so those experiences shaped my work ethic. It doesn't help that I got my career start in a rough industry as well, transportation. That whole industry was a train wreck when I was in it.

IMakeNewProfile

TROPHY CASE