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• CRO- They just got hired and are making a list of people mentally they want to fire. They'll show you pictures of fancy vacations they took, and you have to walk the line of kissing ass enough to save your job, while not being too obviously a brown noser. They have a subtle drinking problem, and their jokes will get meaner throughout the flight.

• Field Marketing- They think they know sales better than you, will twist your words and go back to the CRO behind your back to curry favor. Thinks sales is easy. Won't stop talking.

• Sales engineer- They literally hate you, or your best buddy. Flip a coin. They may or may not have a hygiene problem.

• Sales Enablement - Sold a completely different product 10 years ago, hasn't sold since. Similar to Field Marketing, but they want more time on your calendar, and use the words "Salesforce" "Weighted Pipeline" and "optimize" every other sentence

Who else am I missing?

I’m 5 weeks into a new outside sales role.

I know some people will see this as rookie numbers, but I’ve probably made somewhere around 600-800 calls so far.

I’ve closed a few sales and sent out a few quotes from my own cold outreach, so it’s not like nothing is working.

I usually aim for around 40 calls a day because I still have admin work, quotes, follow-ups, CRM stuff, and I’m also still learning the product side.

The thing is, even though I think I’m pretty good at the calls, I still get stressed and tense before and during them. I get this tightness in my neck, and even when I’m not calling, if it’s during the 9-5 workday, part of my brain is like, “You could be making more calls right now.”

I also have days where I’m going to networking events or working on quotes, and even then I sometimes feel like I should be calling instead.

It’s weird because I know I’m doing the work, but I still feel like I could be doing more.

For people doing cold outreach, does that feeling go away at some point, or is it just part of the job?

Enterprise AE here and we have no defined internal process or territory. For instance a prospect I was emailing for weeks was just booked by another AE on my team.

When I brought it up to my team lead she shared some thought-provoking wise words: “that sucks.”

This…isn’t normal, right? It’s the second time he’s done this to me. I was kicking ass in my assigned vertical and now he’s booking meetings in my industry since his well is dry. Management doesn’t care as long as we book. Which I get but god it’s demoralizing.

We’re really out here double tapping prospects and snatching bait off each other’s hooks to get fish, huh?

What would you do? Give it me to straight 🥃

I am just curious, I have a client sign a contract I have to send them the invoice and then about half the time I have to follow up for 2 to 3 months just to get them to pay.... And then my company sits on there check for 30 days before paying me commission......

Just another reason why I hate my job.... It is just a really demotivating cycle...

I’m noticing A LOT of corporate people sending out obviously ai-written notes after internal and external meetings where transcript/recording was NOT turned on by teams.

Is everybody just paying for Otter or another ai note service and I’m the schmuck taking actual notes?

Example: boss recently sent a 250+ word summary of a call in under 3 minutes with Key Takeaways, Action Items and Follow Up from a 30 minute call. She was actively speaking during a majority of the call and it was not a pre-scripted call—we had no idea where the call was headed when it started. It was obviously Ai written and nobody was recording.

I went on google to find a company to do some hvac work. Dropped my info and what I needed at 3 companies. Within 30 seconds I got a call from “Dean” who was pretending to be a human and go over my request.
A minute later, another company called me back. IT WAS ALSO “DEAN”. Same voice, same name, same fake background sounds.

What a joke. To sales managers and business owners: if you can’t hire a human to make the first touch with a new lead, call them yourself or find a new line of work.

What are some high margin, obscure sales industries no one thinks about? But they make BANK

Haven't had a vacation since November 2024 (unless you count my month of pat leave, which - with a premie with acid reflux - was NOT a vacation), on a sinking ship of a PE owned company that is churning clients like a an Amish wife churns butter, and having to do extra work on the side to keep up with bills while my wife finishes up mat leave.

So how's yall week going. I'm almost wishing I get laid off so I can catch my breath.

I have a couple years experience in door to door and in home sales (solar), so I know what I'm getting into. I'm just not sure which industry I should pursue.

For financial reasons, I'm starting out D2D for the hourly pay, but eventually, I will transition to either closing or possibly D2D manager.

Windows D2D job: $15 per hour + roughly $750 per install

Permanent Lighting D2D job: $20 per hour + $100 per install

My head is telling me windows is the better industry, because the tickets are bigger (often around $15k per sale), so my commissions will be bigger if I start closing.

However, my heart is telling me lighting. It's more affordable (usually around $5-6k), and something people can get excited about. I want to feel like I'm helping people make their homes more beautiful.

However, I'm not a homeowner. Do people get excited about windows? It's never anything I've paid attention to as a renter. If I'm going door-to-door, which product will people be more excited to hear about: Windows or permanent lighting?

I have a useless boss who basically only cares about the imagine of my company, not the dysfunctional systems we have to ruin our customers day. I defended my customer today but saying our brochure directly contradicts this predicament and that our company should reevaluate. my boss was LIVID at me. mind you I’ve been screamed at nonstop over this project all week. anyone have this happen? (important to note I am the best rep on my team)

*edit - also, the customer thanked me for the email and told me he loved the way I was handling the situation and told me he wants to do more work moving forward

That term popped into my head one time when I was relatively new in sales and getting things figured out on my own, and it's never left my head.

I've noticed that almost all good sales advice I've ever gotten that actually made an impact seems to fall into the concept of being human and being straightforward. And it all seems to be the same advice that is directly applicable to other areas of life.

The process you take in discovery to make a prospect feel comfortable opening up to you about their pains to where you can have your solution land well and sell collaboratively is the same underlying psychology of handling a disagreement with your spouse.

Working referrals seems to be the same concept as building friendships to where you get invited to events and get togethers.

Cold calling or in person cold prospecting seems to work best when it's a genuine 'I have a service, you have a company, I want to see how I can help out, this is the lane we operate in and what we help with, let's talk.' Seems to me like that's pretty much just 'be human and be straightforward.' Like it's the same as calling an old friend or a sibling with a desire to help them out with school or a relationship and getting them to be comfortable enough to open up to you so that you can actually provide that advice and assistance.

I notice too that I can look at my pipeline and see where deals went south, and I can almost always directly correlate it to me either being not human or not straightforward, and the same goes for the ones I won: in those, I did a good job (I think) at being both.

I'm curious if anyone else has had this epiphany, or if there's any weight to it? Seems like there's so much fluff around sales training and advice and coaching, that it's probably advantageous to have a fundamental mantra like that that you can use to filter out the fluff and know what points you in the right direction based on how it aligns.

Hey Sales community

I'm curious as to what direction you can point me in

I've been on the bench for sometime and have applied for some roles to no avail

I'm looking for something globally remote and open to contract work as a cold caller or a salesperson running the prospecting to closing

I'm curious to know what industries or companies are hiring for such kind of sales folk besides the insurance industry

I'm open to commission only or something with a small base if they have their processes dailed in

Let me know y'all thoughts as to where I should be looking to find such kind of work

Or what industries to target to run my own business offering this kind of service

I appreciate y'all

I've been in cybersecurity sales for several years at what used to be one of the clear leaders in our niche. It was a fantastic place to work for a long time. Great product, happy customers, good culture, and I did very well financially.

Over the last couple of years, though, it's felt like watching a slow-motion decline. Shout out to private equity.

From my perspective, a few things happened around the same time:

• Product innovation slowed dramatically.
• Pricing increased significantly (roughly 50%+ over a relatively short period), but customers weren't seeing much additional value. At the same time, support seemed to deteriorate, which made renewals and expansions much harder.
• Competitors started shipping genuinely compelling capabilities that we either underestimated or reacted to too slowly. They took a meaningful amount of business.
• The market itself evolved. Our niche was very hot for awhile, but the security priorities shifted much more toward broader email security platforms, and we weren't positioned as well for that change.

As an individual contributor, I don't control any of those decisions. I understand that. But it's still hard not to take it personally when your numbers become harder to achieve and you feel like you're selling from a weaker position every quarter.

I'm also in a strange spot where I still genuinely enjoy this corner of cybersecurity, but despite interviewing, I haven't been able to land a role with one of the competitors.

Has anyone else been through something similar—watching a market leader lose its edge while you were still there? Did you stick it out, pivot to a different segment, or eventually find your way to a competitor? Looking back, is there anything you wish you'd done sooner?

Currently an AE at a large/enterprise SaaS company, ~2 years in, running a defined territory and consistently exceeding quota attainment. I'm in the discussion for a role with a distributor in a niche industrial/technical vertical. Specialty product line where the buyer is an engineer or technical facilities person, doesn't seem like exclusively procurement. Base + bonus structure with uncapped accelerators above quota, more field/travel-heavy than my current desk-based motion, and the sales cycle leans more consultative/technical-spec-driven than SaaS deal-based selling.

For anyone who's made a similar move from software to industrial/manufacturing/distribution, or vice versa:

• What surprised you most about the transition? Good or bad.
• Did earning potential/career trajectory end up better, worse, or just different?
• Anything you wish you'd asked before taking the leap?

Not looking for validation either way. I just want real perspective as I'm evaluating my decision.

For those who want to know why: after a very successful 2 years our quota has been cranked up to frankly an unrealistic threshold(+197% increase YtD) to the point where only 15%-20% is meeting OTE. My vertical is essentially receiving a massive pay-cut. Lots of internal limitations on what/how to sell. I also feel that AI burnout is real amongst customers, and selling a tangible product has longer longevity.

Thanks in advance!

Hi all,

I've been in discussions with a sales leader in packaging and I'm interested. I'd like to hear experiences of those who have done it and what to expect.

For reference, I'm currently in an industrial outside sales role. It's full sales cycle and is a mix of transactional sales and more complex projects. I prospect, but I also have set meetings and freedom over my schedule. Income is 200k with about a 500k ceiling after many years and really crushing.

It sounds like packaging is very transactional and 90% prospecting. He expects me to be in the field 8 hours a day, every day, door knocking. He was transparent that the first two years are a grind, but once the results start coming, it's massive. The top 15% of reps at this org all make 1 mil plus, but 90% of new salespeople fail and miss quota.

I make good money, have autonomy, enjoy my work, but the appeal of real money makes the risk interesting. Even 500k+ is a massive lifestyle difference.

It's a new territory for the company and I would be one of the newer hires.

Anyone in the industry, or been in the industry, and can shed light on their experiences?

Anyone done structured courses or development on coaching? Im a newer sales manager that still has all the same sales responsibilities as my fellow reps, but I also have to lead the team. I do like it, but could use some direction to get better at being a coach.

Any suggestions? Dale Carnegie? Masterclass?

Any other outside sales reps here that are also car people?
I’m currently doing the 2 car thing. I have a work car (CRV) that racks up all the miles and a fun car (type R) that I mostly keep for weekends/autox/twisties and whenever I feel like going for a drive.

I do roughly 24k miles a year for work, so lately I’ve been wondering if the 2 car setup is actually worth it or if having one car that does everything makes more sense. My company uses motus fwiw

Curious what everyone else does. Do you daily your fun car? Keep a separate work car? Or have one car that does it all? I’d especially like to hear from other enthusiasts that spend a lot of time on the road. What has worked best for you?

I'm a salesperson of 10 years (financial services), and have been wanting to be more authentic with my clients.

Do you think being performative inherently makes clients trust you less? Or do you think clients expect a certain degree of "sales-ness" in interactions?

My book of business is more relationship driven than other sales. My goal is essentially to keep up with people, and to become "their main guy". Curious how you feel.

Currently at a non SaaS tech company in an extremely niche industry, i have it pretty good in terms of work life balance, come in and leave whenever i want, pretty well respected in my org. Mainly deal with inbounds and existing accounts in my name.

Problem is pay is not amazing, I'm mainly selling in the SMB segment, make anywhere between 80-90K CAD all in. I've hit quota every year i've been here. I just feel stuck. I have been looking for around 8 months and have had a good amount of interviews, but every time it boils down to lack of industry experience, I've had multiple people tell me straight up that's the reason they didn't move forward with me. I'm sure there is something I'm doing in my interviews that can be improved on but i'm not sure what. Everytime i've done a mock demo (which i don't really do in my job) I've moved on to the following round

I could take a step down back to SDR but I'm absolutely not willing to do that, a demotion in title, a pay cut and a significant hit to my work-life balanceI've also turned down a number of SMB SaaS interviews where the pay is lower or the same as we're I'm at because I don't really see the point in making a sideway switch with the risk of not working out. At the same time, I feel like it's gotten to the point where nothing is improving paywise or skills wise in my current role.

We're pretty much the only company that does what we do in North America so it's not like there is a jump I can make to a competitor. Our whole industry as a whole there are like 3 companies in Canada and none of them have hired a sales guy ever since i started looking.

Anyone with any advice on what to do? I know the job market is dogshit rn and part of me thinks if I keep applying i'll find something but at the same time there has to be a way for me to approach things better and better my odds

This is the R&D site for one of my normal customers. They are incredibly silo'd from each other.

Started at a trade show my company had a booth at. Met the right person. Calls/email follow ups? Crickets. Kept him in the occasional reach out. Happened to be at an industry seminar. He saw me and actually walked up to me. Met some of his reports. I joked should I set things up with them? His face lit up and said "Perfect! I have been so slammed. Not ignoring you, just no time.

Had to commute into the city for this. 38 mile drive took 1hr and 40 min. Left plenty of time.

Wish me luck!

Watch what Shane Gillis does when a joke bombs. The crowd pulls away, they groan, maybe he gets a couple laughs.

Does he just move on and pretend it didn't happen? No. He addresses it. Something like "man, you guys hated that one" or "yeah that was actually over the line now that I say it out loud".

Just watch how he handles the audience kind of laughing during his SNL Monologue - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YnonYf463s&t=103s

He jokes about how bad it was and it immediately cuts the tension. Because now the audience knows he knows it sucked and they start laughing because he's making fun of himself. He turns a missed swing into a base hit.

This is called self awareness. Use it on your calls.

Ever show a feature of your boring ass product and you get a boring ass "oh, cool" instead of the response you were hoping to get?

CALL IT OUT. "Sounds like that didn't impress you at all, Jim" or "Boy I really didn't explain that well did I". Anything to show the prospect that you know it missed the mark. It will instantly recalibrate the call and invite a genuine conversation about why they responded the way they did.

Most likely what happens is they'll tell you what they really need, allowing you to demo something relevant.

Talk about the elephant in the room.

I’m currently working in outside B2B sales selling payment processing and POS systems to businesses throughout the DFW area. My days consist of prospecting, cold calling, walking into businesses, speaking with owners, qualifying opportunities, and closing deals.
I’ve realized I enjoy sales, especially building relationships and talking with business owners. What I don’t enjoy is the amount of driving required. I’m putting hundreds of miles on my car each week and spending a significant amount on gas.
I’m starting to look for my next opportunity and wanted to get some advice from people who have been in a similar position.
I’m interested in careers like:
SaaS sales
Medical device sales
Pharma sales
Tech sales
SDR/BDR or Account Executive roles

Any advice and referrals would be gladly accepted.

I’m about 5 months into an AE role selling a decently expensive B2B product. Average deal size is well over $50k, buying cycles are not exactly instant due to being in the security realm, and I’m still in the phase of building pipeline, getting meetings, working deals, learning the market, etc.

Today I had a pretty brutal conversation with my manager. She basically said we need sales immediately. Our team has gone from 5 reps to 2 in 4 weeks time, quota has exploded, and the pressure from the board is very clearly on revenue now, not “pipeline progress” or “good activity.”

I straight up asked her if it was “time to stress the fuck out o’clock,” and she said yes. Then I asked if I was on the chopping block, and she said she honestly didn’t even know if her own job was safe.
So yeah. That was fun.

The hard part is that I don’t think I’m sitting here doing nothing. I’m prospecting, following up, building pipeline, trying to move deals forward, and doing the work. I have some fantastic pipeline around the corner, but you can’t just cold call someone and expect them to restructure their entire physical security stack overnight. So now the message is basically: pound your prospects, push deals to close, and find revenue now.

I get that sales is sales. I know nobody gets paid for “potential” forever. But I also feel like there’s a mismatch between the product, the deal size, the buying cycle, and the timeline leadership seems to be demanding.

I’m trying to be honest with myself here. Maybe this is just the reality of sales and I need to harden up. Maybe the company is in a bad spot and everyone is under the gun. Maybe both are true.

For people who have been through this before: how bad does this sound? Am I fucked? Would you take this as normal intense sales pressure, or a sign to start looking immediately while still trying to close what I can?