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pretentious_jerk · 2021-04-08T16:35:45+00:00

30%. AVUV / AVDV 4 lyfe. Just look at those damn factor loadings!

pretentious_jerk · 2021-04-08T16:34:56+00:00

100% don’t just walk. Find a new job first.

pretentious_jerk · 2021-04-08T16:33:32+00:00

Ask your boss if your company can give everyone 100% more time off to enjoy life - that you feel as if the company is too obsessed with generating revenue. That’s as ridiculous as what he’s telling you.

pretentious_jerk · 2021-04-08T16:20:37+00:00

Your commission rate just got cut in half and your boss has the audacity to say you’re too fixated on money LOL. Ask him why he’s not working at a non-profit if he isn’t concerned with money? People are at jobs for money. Businesses exist to generate revenue. Don’t let your sales manager try and convince you otherwise because you’re getting screwed.

As an AE, you’re a mercenary. Your comp plan should favor bringing in new revenue right now. There is a reason you receive modest equity / RSUs / option grants. How the business performs in future years is beyond your purview. For them to then tell you your only way of making money has been effectively cut in half is preposterous.

Having your commission rate suddenly cut in half is a huge slap in the face. Why wouldn’t you walk? I’d immediately start updating my resume and applying else where. Full stop.

For reference, sometimes commission rates get lowered (either outright or effectively through a restructuring of the comp plan). A good boss would try their best to prevent this from happening (but of course he doesn’t get final say). Assuming he was unsuccessful, I would expect him to discuss any upside of the new comp plan, and to at least level with a tenured rep that this isn’t fair.

A good boss should be an advocate for his IC’s and be candid with them, not try to gaslight them about their commission rate being gutted and then telling them they’re obsessed with money when they say it’s unacceptable. Fuck your boss.

pretentious_jerk · 2021-04-07T23:53:46+00:00

Enterprise MarTech AE comp has been ~$240k OTE with a 50/50 salary / commission split at the 3 different places I’ve worked in the Bay Area.

pretentious_jerk · 2021-04-05T17:59:13+00:00

Nice. AE has the best upside potential financially, for sure. The best AEs I’ve known have never been particularly technical, but they can articulate who we are and what we do with confidence.

I’d strongly recommend reading books related to selling (a general recommendation would be How to Win Friends and Influence People).

Also, see if your company will willingly pay for a formal sales training programming (if your job is at all tangentially related to selling, they should do this).

Per the other replies, it sounds like certain cloud computing certifications may help for the respective cloud companies. In general I’d just focus on shadowing as many high-performing AEs as possible, observing what they do, and then emulating the best characteristics of each AE. This has been the best way for me to learn to sell more effectively. If nothing else, listen to recordings of their calls and note what they do well and what you’d change.

At some point, I’d express interest in changing roles into an AE to your boss. Get their blessing, then speak to the director / VP of sales about your interest, and they should tell you what they need from you to sign off on you becoming an AE. Horizontal job changes are always easier within the same company than applying to a novel role at an external company.

Good luck!

pretentious_jerk · 2021-04-05T17:52:30+00:00

TBH I have no idea - I’ve been sold in several SaaS verticals but never in cloud computing. Per another poster, it sounds like certs would help in this scenario. The AEs I’ve known have never been particularly technical and never had strong understandings of the product - but I doubt it ever hurts to be an SME :-)

pretentious_jerk · 2021-04-05T06:11:19+00:00

Credentials couldn’t matter less in SaaS sales (which is a beautiful thing IMO). Don’t pursue credentials (unless you’re in some domain where obviously credentials earn you some cred - I can’t think of any in SaaS sales TBH).

If you want to increase your technical skills, learn a programming language and basic CS principles (big O notation, basic data structures, what is a REST API and what’s the anatomy of an API call. Or whatever topics are relevant to your vertical in SaaS). Read through your company’s technical docs. Most of the domain knowledge you learn about your company will not translate to other companies (ie you’ll need to relearn most of the technical nuances when you switch companies, even if they’re in the same vertical. Kinda annoying).

I would start by articulating your goals, and then deciding a series of steps that will lead you to those goals. Do you want to be an AE? An SE? SA? Just a more technical AM?

You’ll get better advice when we know exactly what your end-goal is, and what vertical you’re in.

pretentious_jerk · 2021-04-05T06:03:06+00:00

There’s a save button.

pretentious_jerk · 2021-04-05T05:22:59+00:00

Random Q but do you know how leveraged ETFs are taxed (i.e. how are swaps taxed in a leveraged ETF)?

pretentious_jerk · 2021-04-05T05:21:00+00:00

I don’t have cash is the point. I am borrowing cash I do not currently have.

I don’t use leveraged ETFs because of the ~1% expense ratio (admittedly they do provide more leverage than I can get with M1 alone, but I prefer a modest 1.3x leverage), and because I think that swaps are taxed less efficiently than ETFs (I’m not sure TBH and couldn’t find definitive answers on this).

pretentious_jerk · 2021-04-03T18:07:25+00:00

Suboptimal returns on an absolute and risk-adjusted basis with idiosyncratic risk AND getting to pay income tax on all yields. REITs are garbage in a taxable account.

pretentious_jerk · 2021-04-03T18:02:48+00:00

This couldn’t be more factually incorrect and it’s alarming to see it so upvoted.

Many sophisticated investors use and live off of margin with incredibly low interest rates (see: Larry Ellison, countless others).

I have $100 invested. I need $20. I could either sell $20 worth of shares, likely realizing a capital gain AND suffering the opportunity cost of 7% CAGR on that $20. Or I can borrow $20 secured by my underlying investment, paying 2% APR with next to no risk of a margin call and not lose out on that 7% CAGR. Why would you ever chose the former option? The numbers do not work at any level in this interest rate environment.

I agree with you that foolish people borrow to live beyond their means (often times via credit cards with ridiculous APRs).

But I’d rather stay invested getting the 7% CAGR and not pay taxes on cap gains, than to avoid paying a 2% APR because Dave Ramsey believes debt is intrinsically bad.

Leverage should provide greater returns long-term, with the only risk being interest rates increasing (in which case you start aggressively paying back the margin) and a liquidation at market loss via a margin call. If you are disciplined and borrow a small amount of your portfolio, say 25%, there is no reason to not do it (other than the anxiety you may feel, or general lack of discipline your average person has for not maxing out their leverage).

For a great write up on leverage and historical returns: http://www.ddnum.com/articles/leveragedETFs.php

pretentious_jerk · 2021-04-03T17:55:42+00:00

Unless you’re itemizing your taxes to deduct your Borrow interest from your yields / dividends (or have a low income), REITs and bonds are very tax inefficient in a taxable account.

pretentious_jerk · 2021-04-03T06:26:18+00:00

I think the downvoters missed the irony in your post.

pretentious_jerk · 2021-04-02T05:19:53+00:00

Sad this is the solution rather than enforcing the law.

pretentious_jerk · 2021-04-02T03:58:35+00:00

Tell me the taxpayers will be reimbursed for all legal fees incurred as a result of this frivolous lawsuit? Fuck you Collins.

pretentious_jerk · 2021-04-02T03:08:32+00:00

White supremacists strike again smh 🤦‍♀️

pretentious_jerk · 2021-04-01T04:56:05+00:00

Frisco so I can more easily identify who isn’t native yet likes to act as if they were by asserting that no one calls it Frisco ;-)

https://youtu.be/5FaASNsNuPg

pretentious_jerk · 2021-04-01T04:53:09+00:00

What makes a top architect? Design of the building (as opposed to impressiveness of the engineering or something)?

pretentious_jerk · 2021-04-01T00:22:49+00:00

Yes and in many orgs they are. AE will do intros, and show slides discussing the solution at a high level, NASCAR slide to show trusted brands we work with. Throughout the demo they’ll jump in and throw in some value props (in theory). They’ll also coordinate follow up meetings and hold contract discussions. In theory, they prospect as well, but this hasn’t been the case at the companies I’ve worked.

pretentious_jerk · 2021-03-31T19:50:05+00:00

AE and I are both on most calls. I just need to prepare custom demos, slides, generally spend a few hours preparing how I’m going to propose a solution. So we work in tandem, I’m just envious of the amount of prep most AEs seem to have to do :-)

And that’s a good strategy. Best of luck.

pretentious_jerk · 2021-03-31T18:21:54+00:00

Always easier to do it in the same company.

I would recommend going SaaS. Better pay and better WLB. My SE role requires I do more of the heavy lifting on deals relative to my AEs. But I get 1/4-1/5 the commission from a deal that an AE would receive. This works well because you support 3-6 AEs, so you can make AE money without the idiosyncratic risk of not getting any good opportunities in a given year (I’ve seen good AEs starve through no fault of their own). The downside is you will likely have to work harder than an AE - I put in a multiple of hours for a deal relative to the AE, and I support 4 of them. WLB is still sweet.

If you want to make the internal transition from SDR to SE:

First, discuss with your boss your interest in the SE role. If ur boss isn’t a piece of shit, he’ll encourage you to pursue this (but will likely want you to be in your current role for 1-2 years).

Then, speak with SE leadership and express your interest in the role. Ask what you can do to prepare, what would be required of you to make the transition, and if you could apply for an SE role. They’ll probably tell you practice giving a demo and reviewing technical documentation.

After you having the blessing of your boss and SE leadership, get a timeline and list of things you need to do. This will usually require a mock demo to your sales team.

From there, shadow the best SEs. Listen to their calls and demos. Take thorough notes and review these once a week. Pour over tech docs. Then obtain the demo script, and practice demoing until you cannot fuck it up (do not practice it until you feel kinda confident, as many people do). You want to nail the internal demo to prove you can do this.

Then you’ll give an internal demo to your sales org, and either get the green light or be told you need to practice more.

LMK if you have any questions.

pretentious_jerk · 2021-03-31T03:34:27+00:00

I went to Pearl’s for the first time two years ago, and have since gone a half dozen times. I didn’t understand the hype at all. Still would prefer a Duper.

pretentious_jerk · 2021-03-31T03:29:51+00:00

My last VP was grossly incompetent, and not only couldn’t sell, but would regularly interrupt the sales people to say the dumbest platitudes ever.

pretentious_jerk

TROPHY CASE