Very quick rundown on software sales since I do it.
Good companies will have sdr's, inbound leads, lists for you and sales support. Cold calling is part of your job, but not a cornerstone. For example you will call people who visited your booth at a trade show, or people who filled in some form on your site, or even old trial customers. Even guys that contact you ready to buy will be distributed between the sales team.
Most importantly a proven repeatable process to sell in X indsutry (IE, on average if you call 1,000 people in X industry with this script 5 deals will occur). This took my company over a year to create.
The only time you should be cold calling is when you're not working on deals or inbound leads after you move to a closing role. Success here is a definite possibility if all the above are in place. This is the kind of role you can make 200k-500k at the enterprise level, especially at a big established company (Even as high as 1M in a good year, though I'm no where near that yet).
If a job is call heavy, MAKE SURE they have a proven process in place. Also ask what the average rep is making and how the turnover is. If there is low turnover and lots of reps doing well you may be able to skip all the other reqs. Most importantly how hard is it to do? Skill can only go so far. For example trying to sell to education in the summer or oil while its down is a steep uphill battle few can get past.
Shit companies will tell you to start selling or give you some shit list. Failure here is likely. If they have a lot of reps that get fired you might want to look elsewhere. Base salary + benefits are expected in b2b.
Commission only is for 2 kinds of jobs:
1. Jobs meant for pros who want a higher earning potential, generally you give up your base to make a whole lot more. If you know you can sell you might get 25-30% of each sale as a 1099 rather than 10-15%
2. Complete shit jobs where it's likely you won't make much. If you're not sure your in #1 it's likely this one.
There are exceptions, but this is a good guideline. If a company won't pay you a 40-60k base it usually means they don't think you can succeed and want to limit their downside risk.
You CAN make 200-500k and sometimes more selling to the enterprise, but to get these jobs you first need 3-5 years of proven experience. Your first job or two will most likely suck -- 100-200 cold calls a day handing off your leads kind of suck (sales dev rep, biz dev rep, they're all over glassdoor. Do this job for no longer than a year or so).
If you do get sick of the grind you can me an inside sales manager as little as 1-2 years in for the rest of your career? (not sure how old they'll let you be), or eventually a VP of sales and a lot of these guys go into their 50's. Guys apparently make 5m+/yr doing this at the highest levels.
If you think you have what it takes give it a shot. If you succeed you'll make a lot of money for a long time. If you fail you'll be right back where you started.
and read this
archive/inde...60173.html
Good companies will have sdr's, inbound leads, lists for you and sales support. Cold calling is part of your job, but not a cornerstone. For example you will call people who visited your booth at a trade show, or people who filled in some form on your site, or even old trial customers. Even guys that contact you ready to buy will be distributed between the sales team.
Most importantly a proven repeatable process to sell in X indsutry (IE, on average if you call 1,000 people in X industry with this script 5 deals will occur). This took my company over a year to create.
The only time you should be cold calling is when you're not working on deals or inbound leads after you move to a closing role. Success here is a definite possibility if all the above are in place. This is the kind of role you can make 200k-500k at the enterprise level, especially at a big established company (Even as high as 1M in a good year, though I'm no where near that yet).
If a job is call heavy, MAKE SURE they have a proven process in place. Also ask what the average rep is making and how the turnover is. If there is low turnover and lots of reps doing well you may be able to skip all the other reqs. Most importantly how hard is it to do? Skill can only go so far. For example trying to sell to education in the summer or oil while its down is a steep uphill battle few can get past.
Shit companies will tell you to start selling or give you some shit list. Failure here is likely. If they have a lot of reps that get fired you might want to look elsewhere. Base salary + benefits are expected in b2b.
Commission only is for 2 kinds of jobs:
1. Jobs meant for pros who want a higher earning potential, generally you give up your base to make a whole lot more. If you know you can sell you might get 25-30% of each sale as a 1099 rather than 10-15%
2. Complete shit jobs where it's likely you won't make much. If you're not sure your in #1 it's likely this one.
There are exceptions, but this is a good guideline. If a company won't pay you a 40-60k base it usually means they don't think you can succeed and want to limit their downside risk.
You CAN make 200-500k and sometimes more selling to the enterprise, but to get these jobs you first need 3-5 years of proven experience. Your first job or two will most likely suck -- 100-200 cold calls a day handing off your leads kind of suck (sales dev rep, biz dev rep, they're all over glassdoor. Do this job for no longer than a year or so).
If you do get sick of the grind you can me an inside sales manager as little as 1-2 years in for the rest of your career? (not sure how old they'll let you be), or eventually a VP of sales and a lot of these guys go into their 50's. Guys apparently make 5m+/yr doing this at the highest levels.
If you think you have what it takes give it a shot. If you succeed you'll make a lot of money for a long time. If you fail you'll be right back where you started.
and read this
archive/inde...60173.html