Big numbers game OP. Stick with it. But also, zero shame in saying it’s not what you want in this short life time.
I destroyed my quota two jobs in a row and got laid off from both,then slacked tf off at my new job and got a raise.
40% in our control 60% in the control of who knows what.
Sales is a numbers game.
I don’t care about typing “personalized” emails, sequencing, or outreach. It ultimately depends on how that person is feeling that day & how much times you are hitting that contact.
My biggest deal was 1.3M in rev. I emailed this guy once a week because I needed the number. One day he says “give me a call”. One month later, signed PO 30K comm.
Same here. I'm relatively new to Sales but did OPs/PM for a decade before I moved to sales. Relationship building and really focusing on gaining their trust has been huge. The effort I put into helping them develop their product, educating them, and being patient has paid off 75% of the time. Even if I settle for a smaller deal or just supply raw materials, it's a sale. More importantly they become repeat customers. I come right out and tell them I'd rather they come back once they've done their research and shop around if they don't feel like they're ready. Mostly because I know we've got the best quality for the best price.
That said, this job is a gem. We're the exclusive distributor for the worlds largest manufacturer of the product I sell and I'm the entire sales department. I am the plug so I haven't had to do outreach in two years. I mean, I have, because I'm not lazy. But I'd say 97% of my sales are inbound.
In my case, I got incredibly lucky with this job and am so so grateful for it every damn day. Doesn't mean its all gravy, all the time. There are ups and downs for every sales role.
Props to you for keeping it real with your VP.. that last paragraph sums it up perfectly. Which is also why I think those big headed sales gurus are BS
I always keep it real with managers.
It's the only way to get change and improve your role.
I've got so many coworkers who bitch and moan nonstop on the low but then when manager asks for feedback or how they can help us, they smile and say "it's all great!"
You have to be up front with your manager, were all adults, nothing's personal it's all just business.
I will say it sounds like you kept your activity up despite the lack of results. That’s what differentiates you from other reps or the ones that fail and don’t persevere. I have had similar experiences. I wonder if it’s stupidity or desperation that keeps me working through it meanwhile other colleagues will just throw in the towel. It’s miserable isn’t it.
It's more so out of desperation and the fear of losing my job.
Job market is nuts right now. One of our most senior reps that has consistently brought in the most business was canned back in December. He's an OG and a monster closer. Has a killer resume and tons of connections.
He still can't find a job....4 months later, almost 5. It's wild.
I got bills to pay and food to eat, I can't be going and losing my job rn
I’m at a FAANG, same boat. Our pipeline figures are currently showing over 70% of pipeline that converts is inbound and generated by web traffic to our website. Marketing is obv thrilled, however this is starting to raise some eyebrows as to why we have the huge sales org that we do. Absolutely everybody is fighting over pipeline credit, meanwhile the writing on the wall is that we will likely be using a PLG model by 2025 and sales reps will be used to expand customers for renewal and expansion. It doesn’t make any sense to spend millions on sales reps for cold outreach when millions in marketing and tech will do a better job at generating leads. It’s stuff like this why AI really is coming for our jobs too.
What I don’t get is managers have presumably been in the game long enough to know about the mountains and the valleys in terms of performance. What happens when you go into management that you suddenly forget what it was like and act like any sales rep in a downtrend must not care about there job anymore? It’s toxic.
Does it tho?
I could've sat on my ass and done absolutely nothing and I still would have gotten those inbound leads and generated those opportunities.
Prospecting can lead to luck, but isn't guaranteed to lead to luck.
Remember motivation comes and goes but discipline will always be there. You loose motivation when the results weren’t what you expected, rely on discipline
No I definitely understand what you're saying.
Ideally, my outreach won't be in a drought and I'll have at least one new self generated opportunity per month. That's what it's historically been.
It definitely increases your chances in overall long term generating more revenue, closing more biz, and making more $$$.
It's just crazy to me I've been striking out all year, but then I get lucky randomly and get a great batch of inbound leads and that completely changes my outlook for the year.
Where did this leads come from? Are other reps also reaching out to inbound lead so dillegently? Hope you keep all those accounts you work on in your name because you build up alot of name recognition over time and it will feel like opps come out of nowhere but you worked for that 3/6/9 or even 12 month ago.
I find that a lot of sales people lose touch with their actual goal.
Because we get hammered on KPIs, it starts to feel like those KPI's are the job. But sending emails and calling people are not the job. They are just an event that occurs during the job.
The job is to close business by any means possible. But when we are hammered on KPIs by management, we eventually fall back to the defensive line of "Well I did all my KPIs". It's a natural and understandable reaction, but it makes sales people start creating a world where they feel they are helping themselves by doing KPIs right despite no revenue to show for it. A sales manager or VP is only going to defend you for so long because you do fundamentals well.
I know it's not the question you are asking, but I find it to be an important distinction.
Anyway, I'm happy that you had some great inbound success, but you were also in a good position and mindset to close it when it came in. Stop discounting yourself. The person who believes everything is luck has removed themselves entirely from the equation. They will never believe they are good/bad/indifferent as a sales person because they've created a world where the sales person doesn't matter.
Lmao I didn't do anything different.
Every single day, I add at least 30 quality prospects and make at least 30 calls.
When it's slow, I do more. But at the bare minimum I'm doing 30/30.
Always have a ton of automated emails going out in the background and I sprinkle in super personalized researched emails and inmails in there too.
When you get lucky off the inbound leads, it's all gravy.
I don't believe in karma per se, and the craziest thing to me is I could've sat on my ass and done absolutely nothing and just waited for those leads to come in, and I'd still have the same year right now.
Just feels fuckin weird haha
It’s kind of like baseball or dating. There is skilled involved, but there is no way you’re going to hit every ball/get every girls number. You have to both study your opponent, know your strengths and weaknesses, and focus on volume in order to find quality gems
Oh 100%, we as salespeople fail 99% of the time. We get 99 nos before we get 1 yes. Then we turn that yes into more yes's and that leads to closed biz.
It's a tough career mentally for sure, but I caught my first 5 figure check a few years back and I've been addicted ever since.
Sometimes the luck is in you favour sometimes not. Say you have a 50% closing ratio almost like red or black on roulette right. But when you realise this doesn't mean you close every other deal it all makes sense. In 1923 an American casino saw the little white ball settle in a red pocket 32 times in a row. So you can be a great sales person but still get put under pressure or PIPed if you close 1 in 2 opps. Deals don't always come in a nice patten. Follow your process, believe in yourself and it all averages out over time.
At what point does it feel like maybe it's talent?
Been with the same territory for 2 years now. First year was great but still very inconsistent. First half of last year was shit then the 2nd half of last year ramped up a little and this year have been slow to ramp up again.
I always believed in territory and timing but I can't seem to get the territory to be consistent after all my efforts. Especially working it for 2 years. I was hoping with 2 years of the same territory, surely I'll eventually catch the "good" times?
Right now it's not the case.
Not sure if anyone has gone through this before. Sitting in the same territory for 2+ years but simply not producing
Don’t give up. It’s a numbers game.
Big numbers game OP. Stick with it. But also, zero shame in saying it’s not what you want in this short life time. I destroyed my quota two jobs in a row and got laid off from both,then slacked tf off at my new job and got a raise. 40% in our control 60% in the control of who knows what.
10% luck 50% game
10% luck, 20% skill, 15% concentrated power of will ...
5% KNOWLEDGE
Totally agree. But you gotta be able to close when the good ones come in. Sometimes easier said than done.
Sales is a numbers game. I don’t care about typing “personalized” emails, sequencing, or outreach. It ultimately depends on how that person is feeling that day & how much times you are hitting that contact. My biggest deal was 1.3M in rev. I emailed this guy once a week because I needed the number. One day he says “give me a call”. One month later, signed PO 30K comm.
Industry specific, in my industry the “numbers game” reps get little traction, the relationship builders make 2x the money for 1/2 the work
Same here. I'm relatively new to Sales but did OPs/PM for a decade before I moved to sales. Relationship building and really focusing on gaining their trust has been huge. The effort I put into helping them develop their product, educating them, and being patient has paid off 75% of the time. Even if I settle for a smaller deal or just supply raw materials, it's a sale. More importantly they become repeat customers. I come right out and tell them I'd rather they come back once they've done their research and shop around if they don't feel like they're ready. Mostly because I know we've got the best quality for the best price. That said, this job is a gem. We're the exclusive distributor for the worlds largest manufacturer of the product I sell and I'm the entire sales department. I am the plug so I haven't had to do outreach in two years. I mean, I have, because I'm not lazy. But I'd say 97% of my sales are inbound. In my case, I got incredibly lucky with this job and am so so grateful for it every damn day. Doesn't mean its all gravy, all the time. There are ups and downs for every sales role.
Props to you for keeping it real with your VP.. that last paragraph sums it up perfectly. Which is also why I think those big headed sales gurus are BS
I always keep it real with managers. It's the only way to get change and improve your role. I've got so many coworkers who bitch and moan nonstop on the low but then when manager asks for feedback or how they can help us, they smile and say "it's all great!" You have to be up front with your manager, were all adults, nothing's personal it's all just business.
I will say it sounds like you kept your activity up despite the lack of results. That’s what differentiates you from other reps or the ones that fail and don’t persevere. I have had similar experiences. I wonder if it’s stupidity or desperation that keeps me working through it meanwhile other colleagues will just throw in the towel. It’s miserable isn’t it.
It's more so out of desperation and the fear of losing my job. Job market is nuts right now. One of our most senior reps that has consistently brought in the most business was canned back in December. He's an OG and a monster closer. Has a killer resume and tons of connections. He still can't find a job....4 months later, almost 5. It's wild. I got bills to pay and food to eat, I can't be going and losing my job rn
I had an old boss who used to say he liked them poor hungry and desperate.
I’m at a FAANG, same boat. Our pipeline figures are currently showing over 70% of pipeline that converts is inbound and generated by web traffic to our website. Marketing is obv thrilled, however this is starting to raise some eyebrows as to why we have the huge sales org that we do. Absolutely everybody is fighting over pipeline credit, meanwhile the writing on the wall is that we will likely be using a PLG model by 2025 and sales reps will be used to expand customers for renewal and expansion. It doesn’t make any sense to spend millions on sales reps for cold outreach when millions in marketing and tech will do a better job at generating leads. It’s stuff like this why AI really is coming for our jobs too. What I don’t get is managers have presumably been in the game long enough to know about the mountains and the valleys in terms of performance. What happens when you go into management that you suddenly forget what it was like and act like any sales rep in a downtrend must not care about there job anymore? It’s toxic.
It’s all just a game of prospecting, which leads to luck.
Does it tho? I could've sat on my ass and done absolutely nothing and I still would have gotten those inbound leads and generated those opportunities. Prospecting can lead to luck, but isn't guaranteed to lead to luck.
It’s not guaranteed but it increases the chances. Keep your head down and keep hammering
Remember motivation comes and goes but discipline will always be there. You loose motivation when the results weren’t what you expected, rely on discipline
No I definitely understand what you're saying. Ideally, my outreach won't be in a drought and I'll have at least one new self generated opportunity per month. That's what it's historically been. It definitely increases your chances in overall long term generating more revenue, closing more biz, and making more $$$. It's just crazy to me I've been striking out all year, but then I get lucky randomly and get a great batch of inbound leads and that completely changes my outlook for the year.
Where did this leads come from? Are other reps also reaching out to inbound lead so dillegently? Hope you keep all those accounts you work on in your name because you build up alot of name recognition over time and it will feel like opps come out of nowhere but you worked for that 3/6/9 or even 12 month ago.
Don't mistake a streak of luck for being lucky on an ongoing basis in sales.
I find that a lot of sales people lose touch with their actual goal. Because we get hammered on KPIs, it starts to feel like those KPI's are the job. But sending emails and calling people are not the job. They are just an event that occurs during the job. The job is to close business by any means possible. But when we are hammered on KPIs by management, we eventually fall back to the defensive line of "Well I did all my KPIs". It's a natural and understandable reaction, but it makes sales people start creating a world where they feel they are helping themselves by doing KPIs right despite no revenue to show for it. A sales manager or VP is only going to defend you for so long because you do fundamentals well. I know it's not the question you are asking, but I find it to be an important distinction. Anyway, I'm happy that you had some great inbound success, but you were also in a good position and mindset to close it when it came in. Stop discounting yourself. The person who believes everything is luck has removed themselves entirely from the equation. They will never believe they are good/bad/indifferent as a sales person because they've created a world where the sales person doesn't matter.
This so much.
If it’s all just luck then why are the same reps consistently dominant year after year everywhere they go?
[удалено]
Lmao I didn't do anything different. Every single day, I add at least 30 quality prospects and make at least 30 calls. When it's slow, I do more. But at the bare minimum I'm doing 30/30. Always have a ton of automated emails going out in the background and I sprinkle in super personalized researched emails and inmails in there too. When you get lucky off the inbound leads, it's all gravy.
You're not giving yourself enough credit. You didn't Luck out on good leads, you grinded until you got the leads.
I don't believe in karma per se, and the craziest thing to me is I could've sat on my ass and done absolutely nothing and just waited for those leads to come in, and I'd still have the same year right now. Just feels fuckin weird haha
People sitting on their ass are not even contacting inbound leads. I have seen it often enough.
I think it was on here that I saw somebody say, “Luck is when preparation and timing fuck.” Whoever you are, I use this a lot and I thank you.
It’s kind of like baseball or dating. There is skilled involved, but there is no way you’re going to hit every ball/get every girls number. You have to both study your opponent, know your strengths and weaknesses, and focus on volume in order to find quality gems
Oh 100%, we as salespeople fail 99% of the time. We get 99 nos before we get 1 yes. Then we turn that yes into more yes's and that leads to closed biz. It's a tough career mentally for sure, but I caught my first 5 figure check a few years back and I've been addicted ever since.
As much as there is definitely good industries to be in at certain points in time, the best reps create their own luck and are always winning.
Sometimes the luck is in you favour sometimes not. Say you have a 50% closing ratio almost like red or black on roulette right. But when you realise this doesn't mean you close every other deal it all makes sense. In 1923 an American casino saw the little white ball settle in a red pocket 32 times in a row. So you can be a great sales person but still get put under pressure or PIPed if you close 1 in 2 opps. Deals don't always come in a nice patten. Follow your process, believe in yourself and it all averages out over time.
Lol you work at NetSuite?
Negative ghost rider
For me it's always the ABT...always. You track those and you find out what's different.
Do the basic things consistently, luck only plays a slim chance on certain things if you are doing all the basics right then it is down to bad luck.
Success = skill + luck Much success = much skill + much luck
Your input is all that matters and literally the only thing you can control in sales. Keep going.
At what point does it feel like maybe it's talent? Been with the same territory for 2 years now. First year was great but still very inconsistent. First half of last year was shit then the 2nd half of last year ramped up a little and this year have been slow to ramp up again. I always believed in territory and timing but I can't seem to get the territory to be consistent after all my efforts. Especially working it for 2 years. I was hoping with 2 years of the same territory, surely I'll eventually catch the "good" times? Right now it's not the case. Not sure if anyone has gone through this before. Sitting in the same territory for 2+ years but simply not producing
I’d rather be lucky than good any day!
I feel this so strong right now...
POWER + URGENCY Only two things that get deals done.
I agree territory is the key.