[elabayarde]

Interesting enough... I got into sales. I was doing the oil and gas/construction trades thing, then got picked up to do sales rep job for dealer/importer of the equipment we were using.
Well, they decided to give me a new territory and put me in a roll that is half operation/sales. Which is annoying to more sales guys, because instead of doing excusively revenue building activity about half of my job is process management/creation, and managing/hiring our technical employees. I’m still newish (1-5yrs experience) to sales but my background being a former military officer/tradesmen gave me an advantage because I knew the industry and best practices. I have oil and gas customers but I’m not working for a oil company. I really really like my boss and coworkers but I know you grow and it’s usually best in these rolls to eventually move on. But we will see.

[ChicagoFire]

Updating this.

My background: Been working for years in deadend low paying jobs with lots of shitheads. Even if I make 50K base salary that would be massive.

So far I applied to about 20 companies so far in a variety of industries (logistics, medical, finance, etc). Got 2 phone interviews. Currently 0-20. I'm waiting to hear back from one company in a couple days. Yes, I know I have to apply more per day. The way I see it is the more interviews I fail the better I will get. That's just what sales is, interviewing every day. I change my approach by self reflecting because face it companies don't care if you had an abusive childhood or got out of the military they want to see if you will hit your quota or waste their time.

What OP hasn't gone over is there are demo salesmen that travel around. This might be an option for some of the people that have voices that are monotone like me. Flip side is you will be competing with hot women. My current plan is to get at least 6 months of experience in any kind of sales company and then transition into medical devices sales. From there I might either self employ or climb the corporate ladder.

Knowing another language or two obviously will help. As I type this I'm in the process of relearning another language, on the fence about either buying a book or listening to podcasts. Also ordered the Can't Teach A Kid To Ride A Bike book.

[jordypip23]

(12-01-2018 07:46 PM)ChicagoFire Wrote:  

Updating this.

My background: Been working for years in deadend low paying jobs with lots of shitheads. Even if I make 50K base salary that would be massive.

So far I applied to about 20 companies so far in a variety of industries (logistics, medical, finance, etc). Got 2 phone interviews. Currently 0-20. I'm waiting to hear back from one company in a couple days. Yes, I know I have to apply more per day. The way I see it is the more interviews I fail the better I will get. That's just what sales is, interviewing every day. I change my approach by self reflecting because face it companies don't care if you had an abusive childhood or got out of the military they want to see if you will hit your quota or waste their time.

What OP hasn't gone over is there are demo salesmen that travel around. This might be an option for some of the people that have voices that are monotone like me. Flip side is you will be competing with hot women. My current plan is to get at least 6 months of experience in any kind of sales company and then transition into medical devices sales. From there I might either self employ or climb the corporate ladder.

Knowing another language or two obviously will help. As I type this I'm in the process of relearning another language, on the fence about either buying a book or listening to podcasts. Also ordered the Can't Teach A Kid To Ride A Bike book.

Seems like you might be in or near Chicago. Have you looked into software sales gigs out there? Sure it might not be Silicon Valley, but Chicago does have one of the hottest IT business sectors of any of the Midwest cities at least.

[ChicagoFire]

^^
Thanks. I just heard back from the other job that gave me the phone interview and they told me no. I'll admit it sucks but that's just sales. Keep marching or quit and go back to the food industry. My current job application blitz is 15 per day. I might up the number or continue learning marketable skills.

I can get people to talk to me on the phone so there's nothing wrong with my resume or work history. As I type this I'm doubling down on reaquiring my language skills and learning other languages. All I can do at this point is really amp up my ability to prove I can provide value to a company so they can take a risk on someone who doesn't have much sales experience or keep playing the job application game.

[Aviel]

Fake your work history and get an SDR job. Most guys I know did that. Thank me later when you’re an Account Executive making over 6 figs after 12-24 months.

[ChicagoFire]

^^

LMAO I'm not doing that. Thanks for the idea though.

After some careful thought the more efficient method with looking for jobs is to bring back the human element into it all. What I'll do is instead of wasting time going through Linkedin I'll just go to my alum's career department. I will grant maybe my Linkedin profile isn't that good because some employers have looked at my profile and haven't proceeded. I'll then either angle at the SDR cold call route or the better approach of face to face sales. Also at the end of the day this career is probably a short term fix and I ideally want to own my own business. Doing sales would be a great way to make 6 figures but I don't want people breathing down my neck when my team misses their marks.

The VERY last things I will do include going to a recruiter or doing recruiting like the OP said. I've worked with people that go the recruiter/agency types and they tend to be lazy AF. Like OP said doing recruiting is a low entry job that is replaceable. Might as well shoot a bit higher.

[Aviel]

Ok, good luck then. Try sales recruiters, when I was searching for a job, they were helping me like crazy. I got an SDR job for a SaaS startup after 1 month of applying, however, this was thro indeed. I was getting so many calls daily, and I didn't go to so many interviews just because they were far or I didn't like the long interview process.

People are desperate for sales guys/girls in SaaS right now. Just trust me, fake the resume so you can get the in-person interview then if the person making the hiring decision likes you, you'll have an offer in less than a few days.

[Jaxon]

I would not rule out a recruiter. Some are terrible, but a legitimately good one is gold. I worked with an awesome recruiter who managed all my interview appointments, stayed in close touch with all the managers I was talking to, and helped me land an awesome position. I love my current job and I absolutely would not have found it without a recruiter.

This also may be common knowledge, but if you get an SDR position with a good comp, you can be making six figures in your early twenties. There's a guy on my team who is absolutely blowing out his number. He's on track to earn 130,000 dollars this year -- at age 22. I'm doing much worse (hitting my number but not really going over) and I'll probably hit 95-100k.

Some companies pay shit -- 40-50K base, 65-70k OTE. Avoid these places. The higher paying jobs will usually be SaaS tech startups. It can be difficult and stressful work, but it is absolutely worth it. Way better bang for your buck than law or med school.

Also, great datasheet, will rep soon.

[Aviel]

(12-04-2018 10:18 PM)Jaxon Wrote:  

I would not rule out a recruiter. Some are terrible, but a legitimately good one is gold. I worked with an awesome recruiter who managed all my interview appointments, stayed in close touch with all the managers I was talking to, and helped me land an awesome position. I love my current job and I absolutely would not have found it without a recruiter.

This also may be common knowledge, but if you get an SDR position with a good comp, you can be making six figures in your early twenties. There's a guy on my team who is absolutely blowing out his number. He's on track to earn 130,000 dollars this year -- at age 22. I'm doing much worse (hitting my number but not really going over) and I'll probably hit 95-100k.

Some companies pay shit -- 40-50K base, 65-70k OTE. Avoid these places. The higher paying jobs will usually be SaaS tech startups. It can be difficult and stressful work, but it is absolutely worth it. Way better bang for your buck than law or med school.

Also, great datasheet, will rep soon.

SDRs making over 100K, what companies pay that much and where?

[ChicagoFire]

^^
He said tech start ups. I vaguely remember reading on reddit 1B+ ish tech startups is where the money is.

Ok well recruiter it is! Go figure I want to make something that's already hard harder than it already is. Thank you Jaxon and Aviel.

LMAO so 40-50K base with 65-70 OTE is bad? Yelp offers that and I'm glad they rejected me. Let some other sucker make that money. Don't get me wrong, even at that rate that blows my current income out of the water it just lessens the sting of getting rejected.

What exactly makes a recruiter terrible? Doing bait and switches? I got that scammer feeling weeks ago when someone contacted me.

Any skills I should focus on to enhance my ability to get hired? I can speak 2 languages and working on a third. Maybe learn how to use Salesforce?

(12-04-2018 10:18 PM)Jaxon Wrote:  

I would not rule out a recruiter. Some are terrible, but a legitimately good one is gold. I worked with an awesome recruiter who managed all my interview appointments, stayed in close touch with all the managers I was talking to, and helped me land an awesome position. I love my current job and I absolutely would not have found it without a recruiter.

This also may be common knowledge, but if you get an SDR position with a good comp, you can be making six figures in your early twenties. There's a guy on my team who is absolutely blowing out his number. He's on track to earn 130,000 dollars this year -- at age 22. I'm doing much worse (hitting my number but not really going over) and I'll probably hit 95-100k.

Some companies pay shit -- 40-50K base, 65-70k OTE. Avoid these places. The higher paying jobs will usually be SaaS tech startups. It can be difficult and stressful work, but it is absolutely worth it. Way better bang for your buck than law or med school.

Also, great datasheet, will rep soon.

[Jaxon]

(12-04-2018 11:31 PM)ChicagoFire Wrote:  

^^
He said tech start ups. I vaguely remember reading on reddit 1B+ ish tech startups is where the money is.

Ok well recruiter it is! Go figure I want to make something that's already hard harder than it already is. Thank you Jaxon and Aviel.

LMAO so 40-50K base with 65-70 OTE is bad? Yelp offers that and I'm glad they rejected me. Let some other sucker make that money. Don't get me wrong, even at that rate that blows my current income out of the water it just lessens the sting of getting rejected.

What exactly makes a recruiter terrible? Doing bait and switches? I got that scammer feeling weeks ago when someone contacted me.

Any skills I should focus on to enhance my ability to get hired? I can speak 2 languages and working on a third. Maybe learn how to use Salesforce?

(12-04-2018 10:18 PM)Jaxon Wrote:  

I would not rule out a recruiter. Some are terrible, but a legitimately good one is gold. I worked with an awesome recruiter who managed all my interview appointments, stayed in close touch with all the managers I was talking to, and helped me land an awesome position. I love my current job and I absolutely would not have found it without a recruiter.

This also may be common knowledge, but if you get an SDR position with a good comp, you can be making six figures in your early twenties. There's a guy on my team who is absolutely blowing out his number. He's on track to earn 130,000 dollars this year -- at age 22. I'm doing much worse (hitting my number but not really going over) and I'll probably hit 95-100k.

Some companies pay shit -- 40-50K base, 65-70k OTE. Avoid these places. The higher paying jobs will usually be SaaS tech startups. It can be difficult and stressful work, but it is absolutely worth it. Way better bang for your buck than law or med school.

Also, great datasheet, will rep soon.

To be fair 70K OTE isn't bad for your first SDR job. A lot of the higher paying ones will require a year of experience. With that said there are SDR jobs that you can get essentially straight out of college that will pay upwards of 100K.

It's also important to factor in your area's COL. If you're in Nashville, 70K OTE may be great. If you're in SF or NYC, it's dogshit. FWIW I've heard that Yelp is a terrible place to work, so you may not have made a bad move in ruling it out, but I would recommend factoring your location in when considering what is or isn't a good OTE.

When it comes to job apps, cold applying for jobs is hard as fuck. I had friends with degrees from good schools who spent a full year job searching before finding legitimate work. Anything that can help you get your foot in the door is a blessing. Working with a recruiter will get you better results than applying on your own nine times out of ten. There is absolutely no way I would have gotten my current job on my own, the recruiter was a huge help.

A shitty recruiter will just hang you out to dry, not respond to you, and not stay on top of your appointments, meetings, etc. A good recruiter will constantly be trying to find new opportunities for you, will keep you updated on responses from managers, give you quality interview tips, and tell you exactly what the manager will be looking for. As you can imagine this makes a huge difference in the kinds of jobs you'll have access to.

If you're interviewing for SaaS, I would try to get a basic grounding of the tech space. Learn about cloud, learn what software/hardware are, learn the difference between those and SaaS apps. There are some good breakdowns of this stuff on YouTube. Research the companies you get linked up with. Read up on analytics, security, big data, HR, etc. You don't need to be an expert, but a baseline knowledge of these things is very important when it comes to sounding credible and actually doing well on the job. Customers won't want to talk to you unless you're at least a little bit technical as well.

Languages won't really help you. Once you're on the job they could be useful if you're on a team that does business globally, but no one will hire you just because you know Spanish or French. Salesforce is also super easy to learn, they'll teach it to you on the job and you'll pick it up quickly. When interviewing, you should also make sure they're using Salesforce. It's easily the best CRM, other CRM's like Oracle are steaming piles of horse shit that will make your life miserable.

When it comes to interview prep, know the technology and sound confident. Being able to talk is the number one skill, being able to talk technically is a distant second (though still very important).

PM if you have more questions. I've been an SDR for a year and a half. It's easily one of the best starting careers out there. The only professions that straight up pay more are engineering and Comp Sci. A good SDR can beat a programmer in pay but the stock options an engineer gets will be better. SDR work still beats finance and lab work in terms of pay, lets you earn through your twenties instead of spending years in law/med school, and is honestly easier and more enjoyable than most engineering type jobs. It's also super in demand and easy to find work, big companies (Adobe, Oracle, Salesforce, Google, Amazon) are hiring SDRs and so is almost every tech startup.

[wi30]

I work outside sales in the construction industry. I'm finishing up my first year at my company and already have been promoted twice. I'll end around 1.5 million in revenue for 2018. I'm planning on doing 2-2.5 million for 2019.

I know a lot of guys focus on tech. Last year I took a shit inside job paying $35K a year for access to outside tech sales. I realized I can't do corporate and perform better in a locker room environment. So I went back to the trades. It was the only place I ever worked that had an HR department.

(12-01-2018 07:46 PM)ChicagoFire Wrote:  

Updating this.

My background: Been working for years in deadend low paying jobs with lots of shitheads. Even if I make 50K base salary that would be massive.

So far I applied to about 20 companies so far in a variety of industries (logistics, medical, finance, etc). Got 2 phone interviews. Currently 0-20. I'm waiting to hear back from one company in a couple days. Yes, I know I have to apply more per day. The way I see it is the more interviews I fail the better I will get. That's just what sales is, interviewing every day. I change my approach by self reflecting because face it companies don't care if you had an abusive childhood or got out of the military they want to see if you will hit your quota or waste their time.

What OP hasn't gone over is there are demo salesmen that travel around. This might be an option for some of the people that have voices that are monotone like me. Flip side is you will be competing with hot women. My current plan is to get at least 6 months of experience in any kind of sales company and then transition into medical devices sales. From there I might either self employ or climb the corporate ladder.

Knowing another language or two obviously will help. As I type this I'm in the process of relearning another language, on the fence about either buying a book or listening to podcasts. Also ordered the Can't Teach A Kid To Ride A Bike book.

ChicagoFire, it sounds like you are just trying to break into any sales role, correct? I could give better advice if I had details such as age, work experience, education, etc.

For your first sales job, beggars can't be choosers. I sold Aflac right out of college and made $800.00 in 4 months working full time. That's 40+ hour weeks wearing a shirt and tie. I went right back to my delivery driver job at Jimmy John's that paid $15-$20 per hour including tips. When I moved across the country in 2016 without a job, I had to take whatever I could find. I took a high pressure in-home gig selling triple-pane windows. It was commission only and I was putting rent on a credit card the first few months. I would've made decent coin but the owner and sales manager were Jew Yorker brothers who were full of shit and kept fucking with my commissions. I quit believing in my pitch because they lied about everything. People can sense that. It also took them over six months to pay me after I quit and they shorted me at least 5 grand. I was going to take them to court but everything they put in writing was vague enough to make it not worth fighting for. Be careful in a commission only gig. There are good ones but there's also a lot of fuckery afoot.

At my current job, I have a base+commission model. Only caveat is that you have to hit a quota before commissions kick in. In other words, earn your salary and get commissions. It's great because I had no clue what I was doing in the beginning and they offer more than enough to pay the bills while you learn the ropes. The worst thing you can do as a salesman is be stressing about paying rent while trying to get someone to write you a check for $30K. Plus side I can adjust the salary whenever I want. I've been keeping my base at $56K so I can bank commissions quicker. I'm planning on buying a house in the next year or two so I'll probably bump my base up to $90K to look better on paper for banks. If my management knows I'll be earning $150K at year end, they don't care how it gets dispersed to me. They're also getting me a truck next year.

The most important aspect of a sales job is working for an ethical company that truly provides value and satisfaction to their customers while also taking care of you. My company is the first place where I've felt like I made it. Last time I got promoted our VP took me to a five star steakhouse. He knows a lot about my day-to-day life and knows my wife by name.

[jordypip23]

(12-05-2018 12:38 AM)wi30 Wrote:  

I work outside sales in the construction industry. I'm finishing up my first year at my company and already have been promoted twice. I'll end around 1.5 million in revenue for 2018. I'm planning on doing 2-2.5 million for 2019.

I know a lot of guys focus on tech. Last year I took a shit inside job paying $35K a year for access to outside tech sales. I realized I can't do corporate and perform better in a locker room environment. So I went back to the trades. It was the only place I ever worked that had an HR department.

(12-01-2018 07:46 PM)ChicagoFire Wrote:  

Updating this.

My background: Been working for years in deadend low paying jobs with lots of shitheads. Even if I make 50K base salary that would be massive.

So far I applied to about 20 companies so far in a variety of industries (logistics, medical, finance, etc). Got 2 phone interviews. Currently 0-20. I'm waiting to hear back from one company in a couple days. Yes, I know I have to apply more per day. The way I see it is the more interviews I fail the better I will get. That's just what sales is, interviewing every day. I change my approach by self reflecting because face it companies don't care if you had an abusive childhood or got out of the military they want to see if you will hit your quota or waste their time.

What OP hasn't gone over is there are demo salesmen that travel around. This might be an option for some of the people that have voices that are monotone like me. Flip side is you will be competing with hot women. My current plan is to get at least 6 months of experience in any kind of sales company and then transition into medical devices sales. From there I might either self employ or climb the corporate ladder.

Knowing another language or two obviously will help. As I type this I'm in the process of relearning another language, on the fence about either buying a book or listening to podcasts. Also ordered the Can't Teach A Kid To Ride A Bike book.

ChicagoFire, it sounds like you are just trying to break into any sales role, correct? I could give better advice if I had details such as age, work experience, education, etc.

For your first sales job, beggars can't be choosers. I sold Aflac right out of college and made $800.00 in 4 months working full time. That's 40+ hour weeks wearing a shirt and tie. I went right back to my delivery driver job at Jimmy John's that paid $15-$20 per hour including tips. When I moved across the country in 2016 without a job, I had to take whatever I could find. I took a high pressure in-home gig selling triple-pane windows. It was commission only and I was putting rent on a credit card the first few months. I would've made decent coin but the owner and sales manager were Jew Yorker brothers who were full of shit and kept fucking with my commissions. I quit believing in my pitch because they lied about everything. People can sense that. It also took them over six months to pay me after I quit and they shorted me at least 5 grand. I was going to take them to court but everything they put in writing was vague enough to make it not worth fighting for. Be careful in a commission only gig. There are good ones but there's also a lot of fuckery afoot.

At my current job, I have a base+commission model. Only caveat is that you have to hit a quota before commissions kick in. In other words, earn your salary and get commissions. It's great because I had no clue what I was doing in the beginning and they offer more than enough to pay the bills while you learn the ropes. The worst thing you can do as a salesman is be stressing about paying rent while trying to get someone to write you a check for $30K. Plus side I can adjust the salary whenever I want. I've been keeping my base at $56K so I can bank commissions quicker. I'm planning on buying a house in the next year or two so I'll probably bump my base up to $90K to look better on paper for banks. If my management knows I'll be earning $150K at year end, they don't care how it gets dispersed to me. They're also getting me a truck next year.

The most important aspect of a sales job is working for an ethical company that truly provides value and satisfaction to their customers while also taking care of you. My company is the first place where I've felt like I made it. Last time I got promoted our VP took me to a five star steakhouse. He knows a lot about my day-to-day life and knows my wife by name.

Awesome post man. Sometimes you gotta hit a few duds before you find a true home in the workforce (and about half of my roles in the past have been sales related). I've had a bumpy road at times as well, but knock on wood...I may be settling into a spot that should tide me over for at least the next few years. Time will tell. I especially connected with your last paragraph.

[ChicagoFire]

Wow thank you wi30 and Jaxon! Repped and PM sent.

I have a phone interview in a couple hours with a logistics company and outside of here someone told me SDR roles are better. But beggars can't be choosers and I've already said this is just to get my foot in the door. Maybe I just speak for myself but we always want to move up in life. Like others have said sales is a great way for people that either don't want to go to college or are in my camp (worked lots of deadend jobs and want to leave).

I also take it back. I will go the recruiter route. I guess I was wrong about my perceptions on recruiters based on my limited experience with people that have either contacted me or were hired through that.

[Nolimitz]

Working in a boiler room/sales environment the past couple months has been a big wake up call for me.

Many problems in life can be boiled down to lacking the ability to sell. Not fucking the women you want? Learn to sell. Not making the amount of money you desire? Learn to sell. Your lack a quality group of friends? Learn to sell.

That being said, I do believe sales comes more naturally to some than others. I am naturally an introvert. Having to cold call every day has awakened me to many issues that I was unaware of. Things like tonality, rapport, volume, and pacing are all key aspects of selling (and any interaction for that matter) that I have been completely oblivious to. I am a bit monotone to be quite honest.

Can anyone learn to sell? I believe so. Is it much harder for some than others? Absolutely.

[pancakemouse]

(12-05-2018 12:38 AM)wi30 Wrote:  

I work outside sales in the construction industry. I'm finishing up my first year at my company and already have been promoted twice. I'll end around 1.5 million in revenue for 2018. I'm planning on doing 2-2.5 million for 2019.

...

I'm planning on buying a house in the next year or two so I'll probably bump my base up to $90K to look better on paper for banks. If my management knows I'll be earning $150K at year end, they don't care how it gets dispersed to me. They're also getting me a truck next year.

I've never understood why salespeople are so intent on telling others how much revenue they've sold. It's a meaningless number. You could be selling $100 million in revenue but be getting 0.01% commission on it, or selling $200,000 at 40% commission.

Don't mean to dog you, just a pet peeve of mine.

As far as buying a house, I just bought one and it doesn't matter whether your income comes from commissions or base salary. Your lending agent will ask you to justify your commission and it's usually pretty easy, you just send over screenshots and pay stubs.

(12-05-2018 12:05 AM)Jaxon Wrote:  

When interviewing, you should also make sure they're using Salesforce. It's easily the best CRM, other CRM's like Oracle are steaming piles of horse shit that will make your life miserable.

Hard disagree on Salesforce being the best CRM. It may be (slightly) better than Oracle, but in the grand scheme of things it's still overly complicated trash that benefits sales managers a lot more that it does salespeople.

There are a ton of simple, elegant, SaaS CRMs out there that strike a better balance and are more friendly from a salesperson perspective.

[ChicagoFire]

Totally agree, can't put it any better. +1 I'm not stupid but over the years I could have used my sales skills to put myself into better financial positions. Why keep working at [low paying job] when you can market yourself as a salesman and make even more money?

I'm an introvert too. You just put on a performance but at the end of the day you just want to get away from it all. I will say some people really annoy me when they talk about stupid stuff like how much food they should order....I just cook food bro I don't know how much your fucking family eats. This extends to other introverts too probably.

Just don't let it be a limiting belief where you must be extroverted to sell. Might as well just sit at home and play video games at that point.

(12-05-2018 07:51 PM)Nolimitz Wrote:  

Working in a boiler room/sales environment the past couple months has been a big wake up call for me.

Many problems in life can be boiled down to lacking the ability to sell. Not fucking the women you want? Learn to sell. Not making the amount of money you desire? Learn to sell. Your lack a quality group of friends? Learn to sell.

That being said, I do believe sales comes more naturally to some than others. I am naturally an introvert. Having to cold call every day has awakened me to many issues that I was unaware of. Things like tonality, rapport, volume, and pacing are all key aspects of selling (and any interaction for that matter) that I have been completely oblivious to. I am a bit monotone to be quite honest.

Can anyone learn to sell? I believe so. Is it much harder for some than others? Absolutely.

[wi30]

(12-05-2018 08:02 PM)corsega Wrote:  

(12-05-2018 12:38 AM)wi30 Wrote:  

I work outside sales in the construction industry. I'm finishing up my first year at my company and already have been promoted twice. I'll end around 1.5 million in revenue for 2018. I'm planning on doing 2-2.5 million for 2019.

...

I'm planning on buying a house in the next year or two so I'll probably bump my base up to $90K to look better on paper for banks. If my management knows I'll be earning $150K at year end, they don't care how it gets dispersed to me. They're also getting me a truck next year.

I've never understood why salespeople are so intent on telling others how much revenue they've sold. It's a meaningless number. You could be selling $100 million in revenue but be getting 0.01% commission on it, or selling $200,000 at 40% commission.

Don't mean to dog you, just a pet peeve of mine.

As far as buying a house, I just bought one and it doesn't matter whether your income comes from commissions or base salary. Your lending agent will ask you to justify your commission and it's usually pretty easy, you just send over screenshots and pay stubs.

(12-05-2018 12:05 AM)Jaxon Wrote:  

When interviewing, you should also make sure they're using Salesforce. It's easily the best CRM, other CRM's like Oracle are steaming piles of horse shit that will make your life miserable.

Hard disagree on Salesforce being the best CRM. It may be (slightly) better than Oracle, but in the grand scheme of things it's still overly complicated trash that benefits sales managers a lot more that it does salespeople.

There are a ton of simple, elegant, SaaS CRMs out there that strike a better balance and are more friendly from a salesperson perspective.

It's a way to keep score. Salesmen are obviously competitive in nature and revenue is the easiest point system. Margins fluctuate, companies pay either sliding or fixed percentages, and in America it is generally rude to ask people how much they make directly. That's why revenue is the go-to marker. Passer ratings aren't the best way to evaluate a quarterback, but they're simple and usually a pretty good way to compare players.

I've had a few realtors and lenders tell me that it's very difficult to factor commissions into your total income if you've been with a company for less than two years.

[jordypip23]

(12-05-2018 08:00 AM)ChicagoFire Wrote:  

Wow thank you wi30 and Jaxon! Repped and PM sent.

I have a phone interview in a couple hours with a logistics company and outside of here someone told me SDR roles are better. But beggars can't be choosers and I've already said this is just to get my foot in the door. Maybe I just speak for myself but we always want to move up in life. Like others have said sales is a great way for people that either don't want to go to college or are in my camp (worked lots of deadend jobs and want to leave).

I also take it back. I will go the recruiter route. I guess I was wrong about my perceptions on recruiters based on my limited experience with people that have either contacted me or were hired through that.

Congrats on landing the phone interview. This could be the first step to a new career. I totally forgot that Chicago is the de facto logistics capital of the USA. You should read up on this guy Jeff Silver that started Coyote Logistics with his wife Marianne around 2006. UPS acquired them a couple years ago. He cashed out likely with a fortune.

Jeff & a bunch of other guys that started logistics firms in Chicago & its burbs started out at a shop in the 1980's called American Backhaulers. Then some sort of non-compete clause came into effect and these guys had to twiddle their thumbs for a few years. Then eventually the floodgates opened and a whole bunch of 3rd party logistics firms started springing up in Chicago & the surrounding area.

Make no mistake though, a lot of entry level roles in that business are a grind. Hopefully you'll land at a shop where you can fit in with the overall culture & your colleagues so that you can focus on building up your book of business without screwing over your clients (trucking businesses & companies that need to have their shit moved across the country). Once you build up a sizable book of business the possibilities are immense I think.

You have companies like Amazon setting the stage for retail. And companies like Walmart emphasizing its own supply chain improvements. And all the smaller outfits generally following their lead. You better believe that superior logistics firms will reap benefits by offering efficiency & added value.

[ChicagoFire]

^^

Just had another phone interview which I think I bombed. Dead giveaway is the recruiter told me I'll hear back 2 weeks from now and recruiters do make judgments on the spot. I've done research on the recruiter and the company as well as stuck to my brand when answering tough questions. What's killing me is that I have brain farts and I stutter sporadically as a result. I am visualizing before my interviews more and I might start doing acting classes or toastmasters to help this out. It doesn't help that I say like 500 words a day tops. The only good news is yesterday's phone interview went off smoothly. At that point it's all about continuing my job search and not coming across as desperate (I have a side business).

I have since made sure I humanized myself as much as possible because I come from the food industry and can bring my unique perspectives to an organization. As for Linkedin I'm currently 0-20 with not even a phone interview. Like I said I will be going through a recruiter next week.

[Graft]

I've wrote up some tips for looking for jobs at mid-senior level field sales (non management).

Numbers become very important at these stages because you usually need a W2 proving high income before you can ask for a 200-300k compensation plan. Tech brand experience helps but not necessary. If you have a good year or two you should ask for a raise in guaranteed comp + bonus, or start interviewing elsewhere.

There are different brands in tech, some old enterprise software guys like Oracle and IBM, and consumer companies that are doing big things in enterprise technology, like Google and Amazon Web Services. The software and hardware space is very large, lots of different players doing different things. If you have a few good years of experience startups will offer you big comp plans ($300-350k +equity), but you don't know how attainable that is and you'll only get half of that or less in base salary.

Bigger companies are typically less risky but you have to deal with inevitable bureaucracy, corporate bullshit, SWJism. You're not in the office most of the time so it doesn't matter as much. You still have to ask questions about the last rep who had the territory, why he is leaving, how is the territory doing, what the current relationships are with the accounts, etc. Any sales job can promise you the world and leave you looking for a job six months later because you can't hit number.

Public sector sales is probably the safest job in a down market but harder to make big money because their spend numbers are more predictable, so the company knows what quota to give you. Private sector could be better in a boom economy, you can get lucky with a company that explodes in growth inside your account set and can make you rich.

Common goals in the industry are to either
1. Be some sort of mid-large company VP with an average compensation of a half million, but seven figures on big years. You'll never average that much money as a rep. These jobs take a while at big companies, you have to get promoted twice, and that usually takes at least ten years, but doesn't happen to a lot of career sellers.
2. Be a VP at a startup, get 1-3% equity, ideally try to scale it and close large deals yourself and lead a few people under you. Companies that exit (sell) in the billions exist, and always happen a couple of times a year. So a $1 billion exit (which is a home run) gives you $10-30 million on an exit plus all the money you earn from leading a sales organization that large. A more common exit would give you a few million.

Option 1 will be interesting for me, because I might have to interrupt my career with a 1+ year trip abroad to find a wifey. I'll probably try option #2 because if it fails for me I can frame it as a lot of money made and decided to take brief retirement.

Tech MBAs are coming out at top schools (probably less selective than normal full-time MBA, and much easier to get in if you're a good tech rep), they teach you a lot about the other parts of the business, product management, technical, etc. That could be a good idea for me to take if I wanted to be a key founder in a startup, it's hard to be that with only sales experience. It's stupid to do it full time if you're corporate, your job is stressful and high paying, you don't want to fuck up your momentum at a company to get an education.

Overall the field is very risky so job selection is key, you have to pick a job where you think the territory/company is going to grow and the quotas are easy to hit, also big extra bonuses if you beat plan, good equity if it's a startup.

[EndsExpect]

(12-23-2016 05:12 PM)Graft Wrote:  

Medical: You'll start out in pharmaceutical sales, with a $40-60k base, with bonuses taking you to 2-3 times your base, depending on performance. I've seen pharma reps get $80-90k base, but that's only with a few years of successful outside sales experience. Pharma reps basically cold call doctors, usually can't get in touch with them, and deal with the receptionist/office manager who is accustomed to dealing with the reps from various pharmaceutical companies. It then turns into a game: you stop by the office and buy lunch for the whole office. She then schedules you for 15 minutes on the doctors calendar where you make your spiel.
Pharma is a good way to make $100-150k on 20 hr work weeks. Drop off a few lunches, stop in a few offices, have a few appointments, work from home, relax. They like degrees in bio, but they are not necessary. Pharma also has a ton of attractive females (more than any other industry by far) because of their ability to woo male doctors. It's a fairly easy sales job for decent money, but the industries glory days are behind it. What you really want to be in, is medical device.
Medical device sales is very hard to break into and requires both experience selling into the medical vertical (through pharma or possibly dental) as well as some technical knowledge on biomedical devices. The hours are terrible: you need to be in the operating/doctors office whenever there is a crucial surgery to instruct him how to use the new products he is buying. The pay is one of the best in the sales field. $125k base with $250k OTE (on target earnings), but you can get up to $500k and more if you blow out your number. Med device is a solid career, but long term outlook is risky-margins are getting lower, OTE is getting lower, healthcare as a field is becoming more regulated and socialized.

Medical Device Sales is my industry. I would not recommend anyone go into Pharma. It's not actually a sales position the pay rates have absolutely plummeted over the years, and med device companies won't even look at your resume if your background is pharma. They are literally viewed as lunch delivery people by most medical professionals and everyone now knows it. Not to say it can't be done... but it is super hard to transition out of Pharma right now.

If anyone is looking into this particular field feel free to PM me. It might take a bit of time to respond, but I know this industry better than virtually anyone.

[redbeard]

Stellar thread guys. All value. I'm currently interviewing for SDR positions. I'll update the thread once I start...or if I decide not to.

[redbeard]

I first started taking sales seriously after reading these WallStreetPlayboys posts:

Everything You Need To Know About Choosing A Career

"What Careers are even worth pursuing?

The only careers worth pursuing are Sales (ANY variation, higher end the better), Silicon Valley (equity exposure) and Wall Street (front office – Hedge Funds/Private Equity/Investment Banking/Sales & Trading/Research, in that order… feel free to flip PE and HF if you love transactional work). It really is that simple and the hard work has been done for you in a single sentence."

From there I read Enterprise Sales: A Legitimate Career to Get Rich.

Highly recommend reading both these posts before getting started.

[EndsExpect]

(01-11-2019 02:04 PM)redbeard Wrote:  

Stellar thread guys. All value. I'm currently interviewing for SDR positions. I'll update the thread once I start...or if I decide not to.

Here is a tip that applies to all sales interviews. Treat the interview like a sale and always try to close. I've actually received job offers on the spot with a line of other applicants waiting outside the door because I closed hard. The higher paying the job the less likely it will work, but as someone who does interviews and hires sales reps, if they don't at least try to close me I take it as an insult.

You can use phrases like "Based on what we have discussed, do you see me being successful in this role?"

I will often ask the interviewer how their hiring process works. I will then ask them "Can we move onto the next step".... which may be a 2nd interview or whatever.

You ALWAYS have other offers on the table... even if you don't. I will typically take 3 to 5 traits that the interviewer said are very important to him. Then I will highlight specific examples of how I have those traits and fit what he or she is looking for... then say something like "I already have an attractive offer on the table, but I would prefer to work for you... Are you ready to make a hiring decision?" Put some pressure on them and make it seem like you won't be on the market long.

Rapport building is important. Knowing the process along with the hiring decision makers is important. Be high energy and excited. ALWAYS CLOSE!

I hope that helps.