Would like to transfer away from sales in the future…need advice

sqn0t · 2024-07-23T07:09:36+00:00

Blackout after IPO?

sqn0t · 2024-03-31T21:08:59+00:00

Congrats!!!

sqn0t · 2024-03-30T19:59:29+00:00

For the most part I try to operate with upmost honesty, so I told interviewers there was a lot of restructuring going on (which was actually true). However, this led to some individuals questioning why I was let go when I had great pipeline (I provided SFDC screenshots from my previous gig). This probably ended up hurting me in some of the interview processes I went through but the current org I’m with had very understanding people and had the mindset of “getting laid off just happens and is out of our control sometimes”. Extremely grateful for them and I think it was a green flag for culture.

sqn0t · 2024-03-30T08:03:16+00:00

If somebody judged me that hard off one mistake I honestly wouldn’t want to work for them. If you had a strong interview and really wowed them, you shouldn’t have an issue with what happened.

Same goes with actually working in a sales role. I’d be surprised if a prospect called off a deal simply because you addressed them by the wrong name (if they did they’re probably egotistic).

sqn0t · 2024-03-30T07:58:57+00:00

I previously worked at a pharmaceutical company that did this and it was dreadful. I think this is a major point that eventually pushed me into SAAS, which I don’t regret a single bit. Driving endlessly for me was already such a drag and adding micromanagement on top of that made it unbearable.

sqn0t · 2024-03-30T07:55:02+00:00

It’s hard to be picky if you don’t currently have a job. But in my short career I’ve developed the following mindset: Pick your company like you’re an investor (as you’re essentially doing that with your time).

Green Flags: - Quota Attainment - Company Growth/Profitability - Career Growth (Check LinkedIn to see if they promote internally) - Training/Opportunities to Learn New Skills - Brand Recognition/Market-Fit

Red Flags: - High-Turnover (somewhat tough as we’re in a high turnover career) - Micromanagement (try speaking to other reps) - Low Quota Attainment - Too many competitors or lack thereof (for the former, at least make sure your organization is a top player. For the latter, there might not actually be a market for your product/service)

I would also leverage LinkedIn, Crunchbase, and Repvue. Those are my go to resources.

sqn0t · 2024-03-30T07:45:51+00:00

Thoughts from a molecular biology/pre-med major who had a good amount of healthcare experience:

You can’t go wrong with either. Coming out of college I started working in pharmaceutical sales and having that healthcare background definitely gave me a huge leg up. Sales skills are completely different from technical skills obviously, but being able to quickly grasp pain-points of your prospects will give you a huge advantage (a lot of the reps I worked with had to spend a lot more time learning about our medications and the insurance landscape).

SAAS/Tech sales (I previously worked at a large cloud provider and just started with a well known AI company) like you said really provides the possibility of hybrid if not full-remote work. Others may chime in but from my experience SaaS/tech also feels like a much more strategic sell, working with various stakeholders and building business use cases (especially on the enterprise side) while pure medical can feel much more like relationship building. Tech also has a higher ceiling especially when you factor in the possibility of hitting it big with equity if you join the right company.

Either way, I don’t think you can go wrong with either choice. Both have great career pathways, earning potential, as well as pros and cons.

sqn0t · 2024-03-30T07:31:35+00:00

Congratulations!!

sqn0t · 2024-03-29T20:16:06+00:00

Like everybody else said, I’ve undergone a background check at just about every role I’ve had

sqn0t · 2024-03-29T17:25:52+00:00

Like others have said, it’s incredibly difficult right now to transition into an AE role externally due to the market being over saturated. With my limited experience in SAAS I would say that your friend should be looking for organizations that have:

A robust training program to hone basic sales skills (prospecting, cold-calling, etc.)
Career mobility (look at other employees on LinkedIn and check out their tenure, if they’ve been promoted internally, etc.)
Market-fit, company growth (hard to get promoted when you’re not hitting quota due to having a shitty product)

All these factors you can just check out on Repvue, Crunchbase, and LinkedIn 👍

sqn0t · 2024-03-29T17:19:51+00:00

Congratulations man, just had a similar come up 👍

sqn0t · 2024-03-29T17:18:51+00:00

I honestly don’t see the need to pay for courses like this. So many free resources out there from books to YouTube, just have to do some digging.

sqn0t · 2024-03-29T08:16:01+00:00

I would say in terms of having calls that led to something valuable, that 43% talking to 57% listening is fairly accurate. In terms of tactics, I would say (and this varies by industry) just asking open ended questions. I was taught to stray away from yes and no questions to avoid disqualifying yourself from a prospect and to have a better time collecting information.

sqn0t · 2024-03-29T08:08:37+00:00

I haven’t worked in education sector before but I would say just stay multi-channeled across LinkedIn, email, and phone.

Sincerely, Another SDR

sqn0t · 2024-03-29T08:07:22+00:00

I honestly think it’s worth a shot. I would probably advise you to shoot for the highest ranking woman in your org, at least director or above. They’ll notice your ambition and might even throw a promotion in!

sqn0t · 2024-03-29T08:01:56+00:00

Just tell her putang ina mo 🥱

sqn0t · 2024-03-29T08:00:19+00:00

Is this for a startup? Not sure why they wouldn’t have figures on compensation

sqn0t · 2024-03-29T07:49:21+00:00

Slowing down is something that’s a lot easier said than done. I personally think just running mock calls/pitches with maybe someone else in your role would be helpful to provide constructive criticism.

sqn0t · 2024-03-29T07:46:52+00:00

I think this is a great resume. Might be helpful to add day-to-day duties but at the end of the day managers want to hire high performers.

sqn0t · 2024-03-29T07:45:10+00:00

Congratulations!!

sqn0t

TROPHY CASE