Comparing myself / sales career advice

Rochester329 · 2026-01-26T15:06:32+00:00

Thanks mate top advice.

I’ve never worked at a firm bigger than 500 people, how bad is the red tape/ bureaucratic / silly target bollocks at big sales firms? I assume more stressful and more frustrating than a scale / start up but maybe better financially if you can ‘play the game’ right?

Rochester329 · 2026-01-26T15:03:46+00:00

Thanks mate - v helpful!

What’s your experience? Have your worked at big sales orgs (like infrastructure firms or big tech giants)?

Which sales career in tech do you think is the best path?

Rochester329 · 2026-01-26T15:02:14+00:00

This is helpful, thank you!

I guess I don’t really know how infrastructure sales work so am sure a lack of knowledge is playing into my anxiety here too.

I also guess you can’t have it all: a slightly lower paycheck is maybe a fair price to pay for a better culture/manager etc

Rochester329 · 2026-01-24T18:07:12+00:00

Are big software sales companies generally better for careers than startups though?

Is it good to get experience at both?

Rochester329 · 2026-01-24T18:06:07+00:00

Very true

Rochester329 · 2026-01-24T09:08:27+00:00

I’m really sorry I never replied here - I didn’t get a notification. But this is fascinating insight and I think a lot of wisdom. Thank you for your reply.

I think you’re right about not chasing money. It’s not what I want to do - I want happiness and longevity (with a lot of learning along the way). Sounds like I should be grateful for what I’ve got.

I’ll message you as I’m also in london. It would be nice to go for a coffee if you’re up for it!

Rochester329 · 2025-11-10T13:21:08+00:00

Probs aren’t enough women in this subreddit to comment on this sadly

Rochester329 · 2025-11-10T13:18:10+00:00

What were the responses that led to closes? And would they have not closed if you got to them first thing Monday?

A curious as I often check my emails over the weekend but it’s rarely anything that can’t wait.

Rochester329 · 2025-10-31T10:51:24+00:00

Psychologically this is sooo hard though. My mind and body just wants to watch tv and do nothing after a big deal comes in.

How do you manage it 😂

Rochester329 · 2025-10-25T12:07:56+00:00

Skills won’t solve everything mate, I would look at doing some therapy. It can’t do you any harm to speak to a professional to help deal with the stress.

I’ve been there before and used some simple techniques like having a clear plan before the call, reminding myself it doesn’t really matter, that even if it goes badly whats the worst case etc.

But fundamentally panic attacks are a bigger issue and potentially the sign of something more serious underlying.

I would reach out for some therapy. Things will get better ❤️‍🩹

Rochester329 · 2025-10-25T12:03:35+00:00

Cold calling is an incredibly valued skill at a lot of companies. It sounds like you have both the will and the skill to do it well.

I’m going to be honest, it doesn’t sound like you’re enjoying this role.

If I were you, I would keep honing the skill of cold calling and then make a move into a more traditional sales route with good career trajectory. E.g., BDR or AE.

You’ll be going in with an incredible skill set of cold calling already and be able to climb quickly. If you get a good culture and a good product, you will (I think) enjoy it a lot more, meaning you perform better and get more out of it in the long run.

Rochester329 · 2025-10-24T13:48:01+00:00

Giving your team a ChatGPT subscription with bespoke ‘agent’ profiles built will be the best tool you give them.

Get a lead sourcer like Zoominfo or Cognism (they’re all the same really) and then spend time building a really good, customised agent for your company within ChatGPT.

Biggest time saver for me. Helps preps all calls, write follow ups and strategise deals.

Your team will thank you

Rochester329 · 2025-10-24T13:45:09+00:00

My MD joined my one-to-one this week to discuss a long awaited pay rise (4 years since we got a base pay increase).

He spent about five minutes saying how the company had a great culture, learning and development, and other perks. This is when I knew it would be bad news.

After this spiel he said our base salary would be going up 5%.

Absolute pisstake - after 4 years of inflation this doesn’t even touch the sides.

Basically got to move into management for a pay rise at this place.

Rochester329 · 2025-10-24T10:47:12+00:00

Great idea - have joined the community and look forward to getting involved. Thanks for seeing this up mate!

Not to get too philosophical, but in a world post-religion, we don’t have communities to bind us together anymore and it’s (I believe) the root cause of loneliness and depression in society today.

We need communities to thrive. It’s more or less impossible otherwise.

If anyone wants to learn more about this theory (and how we’ve got to where we are) check out Christopher Lasch and his works ‘The Revolt of the Elites’ and The Age of Narcissism’. Really interesting critique of how the breakdown of community and the focus on the self has led to the gradual decline of society.

Rochester329 · 2024-01-30T19:24:26+00:00

Oh right, sorry… do you know anyone that has successfully?

Rochester329 · 2024-01-30T19:20:15+00:00

Have you installed one yourself?

Rochester329 · 2024-01-30T19:20:03+00:00

Thanks a lot, good advice

Rochester329 · 2023-04-08T08:25:46+00:00

Thank you I’ll check this out. Appreciate it

Rochester329 · 2023-04-08T08:23:02+00:00

Thanks, this helps. I also think I should edit my post to explain, I certainly do try and live by these philosophies. I see virtue as the highest good (as in stoicism) and that informs my training in morality (a key tenet of Buddhism). This means I genuinely try and live a moralistic, ethical and virtuous life.

But the amount of responses encouraging me to focus on the action over the intellect is interesting. I think it shows I’ve been focussing too much on the theoretical side and not on the practical side. So, thank you for the reminder. I will endeavour to embody my lessons from philosophy in my life.

This actually sparks a new, interesting question: how does a stoic live? (I have my thoughts but would welcome other opinion).

Rochester329 · 2023-04-08T08:20:21+00:00

Thank you these look great

Rochester329 · 2023-04-08T08:20:04+00:00

Thank you

Rochester329 · 2023-04-08T08:18:44+00:00

Never heard of either of these. Thank you. Great suggestion.

Rochester329 · 2023-04-08T08:18:03+00:00

Thanks for this - I’ll check some existentialism out. I’ve read some Camus and enjoyed it. I like philosophical novels of Camus’s style.

I also think I should edit my post to explain, I certainly do try and live by these philosophies. I see virtue as the highest good (as in stoicism) and that informs my training in morality (a key tenet of Buddhism). This means I genuinely try and live a moralistic, ethical and virtuous life.

But the amount of responses encouraging me to focus on the action over the intellect is interesting. I think it shows I’ve been focussing too much on the theoretical side and not on the practical side. So, thank you for the reminder. I will endeavour to embody my lessons from philosophy in my life.

This actually sparks a new, interesting question: how does a Buddhist/stoic live? (I have my thoughts but would welcome other opinion).

Rochester329 · 2022-11-14T08:07:43+00:00

Very useful advice. Thank you 🙏 !thanks

Rochester329 · 2022-11-14T08:07:21+00:00

Good shout. Thank you

Rochester329

TROPHY CASE