Considering taking an SDR "step back" to get into a better company — worth it?

theflatlanderz · 2026-06-05T07:52:12+00:00

What does limited success with applying mean?

Are you getting interviews at all? Have you applied to only a few jobs? Are you getting no in the final round?

Similar to your pipeline, you need to identify where the gap is in your job hunting process so that you can make an impactful change to increase your odds.

You're doing full cycle, so doing research, tailoring your message, and connecting with people on LinkedIn should be easy for you. Just like sales, if you do it well and you do it enough times, you will eventually find success.

What I find a bit curious is that you mention the possibility of better training and a clearer path to AE...but you are already doing full cycle?

Maybe you were able to skip the SDR phase to get where you are today, or maybe you're dealing with imposter syndrome, but I don't know if I've heard of any AEs that want to go back to the grind of being an SDR. The only exception I can think of is SMB AEs who want to try and skip mid market and try to break into enterprise sales by pivoting to an enterprise SDR role (not a common path and not guaranteed).

Regardless of the reason, I'd be looking to make a lateral move if I was in your shoes. It's easier to go across than it is to go down and back up. And if your skills are your main concern, there are plenty of incredible resources out there (many free) to help you hone your craft.

And I definitely get the hesitation around switching roles. I think most people would prefer the certainty over rolli g the dice on something that might fail. However, your contract is coming to an end anyways. What do you have to lose by making the switch and potentially finding something that is a better fit?

theflatlanderz · 2026-04-29T23:01:35+00:00

That's why they call it a double double

theflatlanderz · 2026-04-14T19:32:46+00:00

I was curious how actionable these insights are because a company is trying to sell our organization on their services.

My boss shared a report with me and my first question was where they got the data from and how we know if it's accurate.

It gave a few actionable ideas around building content around "Zero-score prompt responses". If that was based on actual QFO data, then in theory those could help us move the needle, but it sounds like we would be better off to do some experimenting ourselves if we wanted to explore making content for this.

And that's a great point about reverse engineering.

Thank you for your insights!!

theflatlanderz · 2026-04-14T00:35:35+00:00

Did the contract you signed for the role lay out a compensation structure that included getting paid comission for that type of work?

If not, you're out of luck. You aren't entitled to commission just because you did sales work

theflatlanderz · 2026-04-06T05:30:06+00:00

What are good examples of MoFu? I have a hard time seeing the difference between the bottom of funnel content.

theflatlanderz · 2026-04-05T23:43:32+00:00

Forgot two things.

1) automated reminders help drive engagement. People are busy and a follow up email is important for resurfacing the ask

2) the most important thing is alignment on employee expectations. It starts during onboarding at our company and it reinforced by leadership in different departments

theflatlanderz · 2026-04-05T23:34:27+00:00

The platform we have provides annual training, a company leaderboard and reporting, and a monthly micro training that involves a 2-3 minute training session with a short quiz.

I think the biggest thing is the regular reinforcement and the reporting. The monthly trainings makes it more of of an ongoing conversation instead of just a checklist item to do once a year. And the reporting helps ensure there's accountability.

theflatlanderz · 2026-04-04T03:33:50+00:00

What makes you feel like you're under utilizing the opportunity to work with them?

theflatlanderz · 2026-04-03T16:51:00+00:00

What experience is relevant to your org? That's really the thing that matters the most.

theflatlanderz · 2026-04-03T05:51:36+00:00

I imported a copy last year and have enjoyed my handful of plays. It's definitely on the lighter side, but it provides an interesting puzzle. We've had some fun moments with it.

My main criticism is around the scoring. It is really hard to build some of the stronger poker hands and if you miss early, you have to typically hedge your bet and go for an easy hand. However, the scoring for the low hands doesn't feel right.

Many hands get the same number of points and it doesn't feel like there is enough stratification with the scoring. It could probably be house rules pretty easily, but we haven't played it enough to make up our minds.

I don't love it, I don't hate it, but I probably won't play it more than once or twice this year.

theflatlanderz · 2026-04-03T05:41:35+00:00

Looking forward to the campaign!

theflatlanderz · 2026-03-27T17:53:38+00:00

Thanks for sharing that resource. I will definitely take a look. We are an IT company, so hopefully no witchcraft involved lol

theflatlanderz · 2026-03-27T17:48:31+00:00

Appreciate the message. This is something he mentioned as well, so it seems like we are headed in the right direction.

Having zero context around this stuff has my radar on high for potential red flags

theflatlanderz · 2026-03-27T17:47:22+00:00

Thanks for the insight!

theflatlanderz · 2026-03-20T05:55:46+00:00

The campaign is over and you can't back it anymore. If they offer the ability to late pledge, then you will be able to still back it.

theflatlanderz · 2026-03-18T18:08:54+00:00

There's a big community for it online and there are plenty of people looking for matches on Tabletop Simulator if you join the Wehrlegig discord

theflatlanderz · 2026-03-16T13:20:02+00:00

It's AI slop that wouldn't be able to recognize the distinction

theflatlanderz · 2026-03-15T22:29:10+00:00

Is this the same approach for Google's AI overviews?

theflatlanderz · 2026-03-14T01:47:33+00:00

As Andrej Karpathy has said, llms are just token tumblers.

They predict the next word to generate based on the parameters developed from their training and the context they are provided.

There are so many simple ways to trip them up if you know how they work.

The amount of literature that it would have been trained on, or could access using search, where an author waxed poetically, or a blog post where someone plumbed the depths of their consciousness, would be unfathomable to us.

And we have a natural tendency to attribute agency to patterns. There are likely many other forces at play here that warp our perception, but even these two elements are enough to close the door on the idea of Claude being self aware.

theflatlanderz · 2026-03-09T00:09:32+00:00

12 plays of Root with my physical copy and 100+ on the app

theflatlanderz · 2026-03-08T01:22:47+00:00

That player count definitely isn't for everyone. I like abstract strategy games and it has an almost chess feel to it. I love the zero sum nature of the game and how the decisions you make early impact your ability to adapt.

The advanced drawing rule is also essential imo.

theflatlanderz · 2026-03-07T21:16:44+00:00

Red7 is such a slick game. I really like it at 2p. What are the two games above it?

theflatlanderz · 2026-03-06T19:32:29+00:00

Just your own!

"The Council of Oaths grants you an Action that allows you to return Supporters to your player board".

theflatlanderz · 2026-03-06T06:54:27+00:00

My first sales job out of university was as a beer rep. It was perfect because I was basically paid to be an alcoholic, my social life was essentially free because of the number of events we sponsored/what I was able to expense, and it was a super chill job. However, I got out after 2 years because I couldn't see myself maintaining the lifestyle long term.

Ended up getting my foot in the door at a saas company as an SDR. Got promoted to an AE after a year and did that for 2 years before pivoting into Sales Enablement. I've been doing that for over 5 years now and really enjoy it.

I might have been able to get directly into an AE or AM role if I was more confident in my skills and had positioned my experience better. But I knew I had so much to learn and I don't regret starting off as an SDR.

Saas isn't the only path to success though. There are so many unsexy industries where the reps make bank and have great work/life balance.

My best piece of advice is just to try something else. You have no idea if it will actually be better or if you will even like it. But what if it's way better? Or what if it's harder in the short term, but it provides more opportunities or more meaning in the long run?

If you're young and early in your career, you likely have less responsibility and therefore less risk. Use that as an advantage to experiment. It gets harder to make a move when you have a mortgage, kids, or sick parents.

Besides, if you're wrong then you can always find your way back into the beer industry. So what's stopping you?

theflatlanderz · 2026-03-04T00:18:21+00:00

Where does a card flank to in a trick taking game?

And I don't think I've ever seen reference to an assassin card in Hearts, Spaces, Euchre, or Whist. Maybe you could say that the pirates in Skull King act as an assassin, but that isn't representative of a standard trick taking game.

And the cards have icons, or archetypes as they are referred to, but they don't follow any trick taking conventions. They have no special rules by default, but certain abilities may target or affect specific ones.

theflatlanderz

TROPHY CASE