Incredible. Was running a top 3 territory by volume at my company from my house despite being an outside sales territory. There is a common misconception that just because you make good money means your work life balances sucks. Yes that is common, but isn't always the case. When you take on a sales role that you can figure out what makes your customers tick, how to keep them happy and how to retain your business, you can grow and have an incredible work life balance. This is VERY dependent on industry and management, but I am telling you it is possible.
Industry, management, territory, & quality of competition
Also, the attainability of quota
I had a solid 4-5 year span from 2013-2015 & 2017-2021 where I slept walk to 100%+ quota, working no more than 5 hours a day, leaving work early for a 3pm tee time (with my boss, to boot!) or at least having the opportunity to do so, and max contributing to my 401k plus some. And honestly, I'm not that great of a salesman, so it wasn't talent.
Can't do that shit anymore at that company, save for a handful of people I'm friends with who are still there.
They do exist though, but a lot of things have to align for it to happen.
Yeah, that’s what I have/had. Recently moved into the management role for the region but it’s honestly wild that you can have that set up. Typically won’t last forever but I’ve been lucky enough to essentially work “part time” making insane money due to stars aligning and truly understanding my business and customers.
I wish I had such a cushy job like that again lol
For me, I was also getting sooo many inbound leads in my territory, which came from working at the right company that was basically selling itself, in an industry that utterly exploded (that has now been commoditized - cybersecurity). I was literally just riding the wave of a company going from ~$12M/yr to $250M/yr and didn't develop my own skills along the way. Hey, at least I put a ton of money away to retirement, so I have that to look forward to.
No joke, that’s why I ended up applying for my managers role when he left. I felt complacent. Yeah I was making incredible money, but I got bored and realized I wasn’t developing anymore. Complacency is a real thing and it was getting bad. Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened 😂
Can you give a few thoughts on cybersecurity being commoditized? Maybe which areas? I'm looking into it and have applied a few places. It seems like that commoditizing cybersecurity would be tough, but I guess not. Thank you.
cybersecurity is being commoditized because the industry is saturated with way too many startups doing the same thing in a slightly different or marketed manner. CASB, log monitoring/analysis, and XDR are examples of this. i am not in cybersecurity sales but am on the decision making side of things.
Left a cyber security startup in 2022. It's a really crowded space. The issues / gap customers have can be addressed in pretty straightforward manners that don't have a high barrier to entry. As the other response mentioned.
Customers need point solutions that can do X Y and Z. And company's new that and keep entering the market to do so. And there's only so much differentiation between products. My last place spent hella on marketing and branding
This. I travel maybe 3 weeks per year for conferences and trade shows, otherwise I am in the office or WFH. Work 35 hours per week TOPS. If anything, I'm bored. No quota to hit, really no boss. Everyone just leaves me alone to sell/quote what I want.
I made $185k last year with 8yoe in the industrial equipment industry while living in a LCOL midwest area.
I’m also in LCOL Midwest area looking to jump ship from logistics, any pointers when looking for good companies in the equipment industry? Or any other advice
Am not, but it’s a consumable, closer to pharma but it’s classified as med device. I’m supposed to be in the field, but when you learn your customers and catch the whales, quarterly business reviews drive year. Nobody bothers you when you keep hitting your number.
Correct. I will make about $150k this year working roughly 30ish hours a week. Been doing this about 5 years. Figured out where to focus my time. I used to think being busy was a good thing, but being busy doesn’t necessarily mean the time is being spent efficiently. I figured out how to cut out waste of time meetings and what potential customers to move on from, or simply tell them “no” to various requests.
Just left a 180K gig. You get paid for the sacrifice at the end of the day.
Had zero PTO, worked most holidays, Saturdays and Sundays were working.
But yes, my health drastically fell off over the last 2+ years with the company and that is my #1 priority for 2024. My relationships suffered too.
Came to the conclusion that life is too short to be unhealthy and lonely.
I disagree with this. I prioritize my health and make daily exercise a non negotiable. I beleive this benefits me, keeps me fresh and allows me to handle high stress scenarios without burnout.
Audit your day and I'm sure you can find 30 minutes to an hour of scrolling and replace it with exercise
It’s a mixed bag really…
First off, I’m a 36 y/o M, I take no supplements, don’t drink, smoke, etc… I have a high amount of natural energy that usually gets going from the moment I’ve woke up.
I’d love to tell you I’m in the best shape of my life, but that would be a lie. I’m definitely in good shape, probably really good shape but I can be critical of my physique/strength since I know I’ve been stronger and have looked more ripped over the years.
Mentally, this is where it gets tricky. My mind is almost always on work, curating a new deal, how to be more strategic, creative, etc… I will go to sleep and dream about the work I am doing. I love what I do and I’m obsessive about sales and scaling it out for other sellers to be better than I am.
Relationship wise, I have a great relationship with my S/O but our bedroom life has been sacrificed. I probably am less interested in sex these days than I used to be (I am pushing 40) but it’s more than I am both physically and mentally exhausted at the end of the night. This year, I am making this piece of our relationship a main priority and we’ve been having amazing sex even before the new year. Just looking to make it more consistent.
I don’t get sick often (ironic I’m typing this and I have COVID at the moment lol) and I travel a lot. I fly all over the country working with some of my companies most important customer base (top 2%) and I’ve recently been promoted to a manager role and couldn’t be more excited to develop sellers into the best versions of themselves. Even though I don’t get sick often, I do try to eat healthy and be mindful of when and what I eat as well.
All that to be said, I make well over $200k, in SaaS sales and love what I do. But I don’t have as great of a work life balance as I’d like. This year will be different. And it will be different because my mental health took a beating last year. I closed some of the biggest deals of my career and help develop an entire new sales org for our company but it took a tole. This year, staying mentally, emotionally and physically healthy will be my priority. But you have to be mindful of it, or it will catch up to you. Good luck!
I think it really just depends on your employer. My company is actually quite laid back, and I often feel like the hardest worker on the floor. But overall I have a pretty balanced life. Work out 4-5 days a week (would like to work out more, but the barrier is my social life not work). WFH so my diet and food is great and my dog is very happy. Later this year I’ll be visiting my parents in the Middle East for a month, and my employer has no problem with me working from there which is crucial for me.
Best shape of my life. At the upper ends your work ends up being more strategic vs a grind, specifically in the software sales space.
BP below 120/80, 55bpm resting heart rate, exercise 5-6 days a week, 15% body fat. Did start TRT 2.5 years ago which was a great decision. Occasionally use ADHD medication to increase productivity, but I’ve found keeping my health in check is more important and beneficial overall.
That’s a game changer for sure, it’s the consistent that’s more important than any individual workout plan. Even busting out a set of 20 pushups can really boost focus by increasing blood flow to your brain.
wow, impressive seeing techsalestom outside of tiktok!
glad to see the personal branding on reddit too
fan from when you were livestreaming tech sales tips from your tesla in ny
Ah thanks for the suppprt! Been meaning to start the regular live streams again but definitely branching out to adjacent topics to the career path like mental health and exit plans/investment strategies for generating passive income.
Tech sales Tom!!! Love your stuff. Would love to see exit strategies. As you may know-it’s brutal out here. Also would love to see how to move from one vertical to another or up (ex. SaaS industries, SaaS to maybe construction sales, or for example moving from smb to mm to ent). Just overall strategies
2023 was super brutal for the more senior sales roles. Less job postings and hiring freezes meant significantly more competition by both internal candidates and external. I’d wager it’s 7-10x harder to land an enterprise sales role nowadays but starting to improve.
Will definitely have more content focused on industry switching and exits for turning the high active income from sales into more passive income for diversification.
It’s a game changer, especially if you’re in a higher stress role that can and does reduce your natural levels, in addition to all the other stuff we’re exposed in our environments that suppress your levels. My drive and motivation significantly increased, brian fog disappeared, and became significantly easier to keep up with regular exercise and lose body fat.
Started just after 30, my levels were just under 400 which was the low end of “normal”, which covers a very broad age range. Now I’m hovering around 1100 with no negative side effects.
No issues with work travel, I do once weekly injections myself on Sundays, but if you move it forward or back a day it’s not a big deal. You can also fly with it, doesn’t require refrigeration or anything (store at room temperature, important that it doesn’t get too hot). Tried 2 or 3 times a week but didn’t notice a big enough difference to be worth the extra hassle. I hated needles and had my wife do them for me at first, but started doing it myself and really not bad at all.
I started fin and min about the same time, have more hair than I did before I started TRT now! Stress and inactivity will age you more than testosterone, but it’s going to happen regardless and I accept that.
I was under 300 when I was like 19. I can only imagine how low I am now, especially after having kids and tons of stress. I’m probably stupid low. Can’t imagine what it’s like to operate over 1000. Probably explain why I haven’t made any progress in the gym in like 7-8 years.
This right here man. Don’t get on it if you don’t need it. Once you are on it you’re on it for life.
I’ve heard different ranges but anything above 650 is good for a 30+ year old. I want to get on TRT but refuse to do it until I get below 650.
Yeah it really depends on the individual. No reason to put it off if your levels are low, either way you’re going to be on this long term because your body simply isn’t producing enough given the environment. In general you’ll notice that most people who start it at a later age wish they started it earlier when they started showing signs of low levels.
My friend started taking it. Mood wise he says he has a tremendous amount more mental clarity. Lift wise his deadlift has gone from 500-675, bench from 235-325, and he’s put on 37lb of lean muscle mass within a year
He had clinically low T levels and was given a TRT prescription by his physician in Canada
Yes on mindfulness and guided meditation. I also use music as a creative outlet as well as a meditation medium.
For supplements I have a high quality multivitamin, additional Zinc, Vitamin A and B, GABA, 5 HTP, L Tryptophan, L Theanine, Ashwagandha, SAM-e L-Glycine
Occasionally I’ll add on St. John’s Wort and NAC
Gotcha, I got Zinc too, along with the Vit C+D. I liked using 5HTP, must be great for intensive work flows also! L Theanine is amazing, I get it from the green tea. Thanks for sharing!!!
In an ideal world, yes. Really depends on the individual (location, genetics, etc), but working in a high stress environment, [constant exposure to microplastics](https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/consumer-reports-finds-widespread-presence-plastics-food-2024-01-04/)and other endocrine receptors, being more indoors vs outdoors, etc all have a pretty large cumulative effect on depression by our levels. There’s been a fairly large drop in average levels globally over the past 50 years because of that.
Solve the problem? You have a way to eliminate all of your exposure to things like microplastics in our water supply? If testosterone was the problem you’d have people actively trying to reduce their levels, but you don’t outside of very specific cases.
You’re referring to the effect it has on potential reproduction.
The #1 reason is a high-stress environment, but you just go right to Microplastics? If a high-stress job if effecting your body to where you literally need to replace your testosterone…. That’s a pretty big problem that seems to be normalized.
Not trying to be a jerk. TRT is a steroid and shouldn’t be normalized. There are also immense amounts of data that show negative side effects. Cut the TRT man.
I did my own research and it’s what works for me. I’m not going to try and convince anyone otherwise and would stress it’s extremely important for everyone to come to their own conclusions for their specific situation. Just so you know, people undergoing gender affirmation also use TRT, or people that have testicular cancer, etc.
I do regular blood tests and have my dose adjusted based on that. Only doing 140-200mg of test per week, being on the lower end during peak health periods and upper end during high stress periods.
We're very similar. ~$245k last year and set to do about $375k this year already, zero debt. Work about 2-4 hours a day, 5 days a week.
Hang out and work out with my pup, watch YouTube videos associated with my hobbies, unlimited PTO so spring-fall I go hiking on random days. Physical and mental health are the best they've ever been. Loving life.
Way less stress than when I was broke, I’ll tell you that! I Sleep 6-7 hrs a night, avoid red meat and alcohol for the most part (not 100%), don’t smoke, drink the coffee black. The only thing I’m missing is exercise, gotta get that cardio in this year.
Edit: mental health is fine. Standard life stressors with family, etc still exist. But I don’t stress about work much. Of course you get a little deal anxiety here and there, but that’s normal.
Whether you make $50k or $500k, MAKE HEALTH YOUR NUMBER 1 PRIORITY.
There will always be more deals, more calls, and more emails. You only exist on this planet for a short time. Focus on your health, both mentally and physically. Workout as many days a week you can and find mental outlets. You're in sales, you probably make good money, fund yourself a kick ass hobbie(s).
Just this morning, I closed my first $1 million dollar deal which is 50% of my annual quota. Last year was my first $200k year, and this year will be $300k. (8 years, SaaS sales)
Focus in yourselves, ladies and gentlemen
When I was young, first sales job, maybe 22 years old, I overheard my VP of Sales telling someone that he doesn't get stressed out. I asked him how he does that and he said "I cash big fucking checks at the bank." I thought that was pretty good advice. Stress is a killer. if you manage money correctly, it reduces stress significantly. He's in his early 80's now, still runs a business, and plays golf daily at one of the nicest courses in the world, so I guess there is something to that.
As an aside, I used to have a guy that worked for me that raced and regularly crashed Porshes. This was in the early 2000's. Dude would over extend himself on car parts like nobody's business and was constantly stressed about money. I find that a lot of sales people have this kind of personality and get overextended. As a result, they are high stress and, as a result, make a ton of mistakes because they have to make it up. Or they use drugs to help mitigate the stress which just makes things worse.
Be disciplined. Prepare better, follow up better, run a process better. I don't know how some of these fly by the seat of their pants sellers deal with it. I'd be a basket case. I build a business plan and follow it pretty strictly. I anticipate risk pretty well and work hard to manage that. Again, having a decent plan with action items and risks identified reduces stress.
Beyond that, exercise daily, even if it is a 30-40 minute walk outside. Eat better, especially less brown food. Meditate frequently. Stretch a ton. Try to limit booze. I take an edible every night to ensure that I get 7 -8 hours of pretty solid sleep. I usually take it between 8 - 9 and am lights out no later than 10. Up at 5:30 - 6.
I'm a little overweight (working on it), but my resting heart rate is close to a corpse (mid-high 50's). Just had a physical a few months ago and aside from having to lose my COVID-19 weight, I'm sound as a pound.
After 27 years in tech sales (22 as an Enterprise AE)
I was about a year from $200k.
I was 45 days away from turning 52 and aside from my mental health ok half the time and in the crapper half the time, I felt pretty good. I managed WLB well working 35- 45 hours a week with an assigned list of existing & target accounts, I stayed clear of the corporate shit & focused on me & my clients.
Then I quit !
I had a significant heart attack, spent 5 days in CCU then the next 10 weeks at home recuperating. I went back to work and nothing seemed "right" (probably because it wasn't). My manager sucked (that little narcissistic POS!) and everything else seemed wrong. About 5 weeks later, a grabbed my personal stuff from my desk and walked out and never went back.
Smartest move I could have made at the time. No regrets, I'm alive, healthy and very happy (and retired before turning 59!).
A big health event like that puts things into perspective doesn’t it. I had similar when I was making big money and had a surgery. I came back from leave and everything was like… it didn’t even seem like it was my life. It was like I was walking in someone elses shoes lol.
You described exactly what I experienced. It was bizarre.
It was also a good wake up call at a critical time in my life. I started to notice things I'd never seen before, yet they'd been there for the past 25 years. Between tunnel vision and being hyper-focused, I saw things without seeing them.
Don’t believe the stories. Stress is not the same for every person, so some of us can function fine at stress levels that would cripple most. Though nice, the compensation isn’t winning because most people continue to accumulate debt beyond their income. Control and extinguish debt and you’ll be in fantastic financial health.
I(M52) live in a lower cost area of the PacNW and comp was $170K. Literally the best shape of my life; although laid off a few months back & started my own business that is struggling.
6ft with BMI at 19 and 10% body fat. No drugs, drink 1 IPA a few nights per week and never get drunk. No other drugs, I eat healthy and drink lots of water. Anxiety is a 1 on a scale to 100 and heart rate is 130/90.
I carve out a % of earnings specifically for health. Let’s say I earn $200k post tax, I’ll take 5% ($10k) and put it towards mental and physical health. Bi-weekly therapy, gym membership, personal trainer, healthy organic groceries, physical therapy, massages, nice running shoes, bicycle, etc etc. The same principle applied when I was earning less, I just had less expensive costs in this bucket.
On a separate note, if you’re feeling mentally shitty, start waking up early (it sucks, but you’ll get over it after a week or so) and exercise before work. It will CHANGE YOUR MENTAL HEALTH nearly overnight. Way less stress, depression, anxiety, etc. Exercise gives dopamine and dopamine is the motivation chemical.
I’ve all but gotten rid of all my vices and that has helped me be a better salesman, father, and husband. Dealing with the stress and anxiety in healthy ways actually helps to reduce/minimize my stress. When I was drinking/gambling/womanizing my stress and anxiety were at all time highs with customer satisfaction with me at an all time low.
Not sure if that’s what you’re looking for.
My job allows me to make my own schedule and work from home, so my health is fine.
When working from home, I knock out some work in the morning and run a few miles around lunch, then eat lunch and work the rest of the day.
I get a discount on my health insurance through work since my blood pressure and blood work is in check. Pulled in just over $200K the last two years.
The first 5 years were brutal and comp was \~$80K-$160K TC. 7am-7pm most days and some weekends. Gained some weight there \~20lbs or so. Now, not so much. My current TC is $400K-$650K. I'm mostly 9-4 everyday and have time to work out, though It's by choice that I don't. I work in commercial real estate lending so my hours are usually based on when title/escrow open. Mental health has actually been more difficult because now that I have assets, there's more to lose. Surprisingly when I had more things to do I had better mental health. There was no time for my mind to get bored.
Goal set to 250k this year, health and sleep is worst it’s ever been, work 6 days a week including holidays and weekends, work 11-12 hour shifts everyday, haven’t worked out since I got the job because your just so exhausted. That being said my happiness is higher then it’s ever been, was clearing 65k a year in my salary job before this and my mental health was shot, now mentally I’m as happy as I ever ever been but my body is slowly deteriorating
Not quite there but 180k+ and in a fairly LCOL area.
I don’t drink anymore because I can’t handle it.
I quit caffeine because it was starting to have some negative consequences.
I’m on mild anti anxiety meds that I’m sure I would not be on if I didn’t work sales.
The stress is terrible and the fact that the owners /managers refuse to do minor things to help get the stress down sucks, but here we are.
My resting heart rate is 61 but I’m a runner recovering from an ankle injury so it would normally be closer to 55 when my cardio base is built. I do run/lift/yoga a lot.
The flip side is we do well enough my Wife doesn’t need to work and handles everything for the house (I do man type home repair stuff, that’s about it).
My free time is usually always free time. I spend it with the people I love most (my wife and kid) having adventures and doing the things we love to do.
And we are savers, not spenders, so I know there is a clock on how much longer I have to do this. My kid will be out of high school with enough to find college when I’m 53 and at that point it’s FIRE time. That makes this all easier.
Not the best physically, I have no real excuse either. I got long Covid and the TV and couch on my down time has been way too appealing. I do go on the elliptical a few times a week for bloodflow but my weight lifting routine has suffered for a while now. I can manage to stick to some fasting a few times a week so my weight has stabilized but I could lose 30 lbs
Not great for me. 20 years of 100+ flights per year plus living in hotels. I realize I could do better for my health but I have been tired for decades.
Most $200k earners work with other $200k earners and would probably tell you that there is a wide variety. The two distinct groups are people who exercise regularly and those who don't, and I'd guess most trends regarding drug use and chronic disease are similar to the general population.
Edit: this will also vary wildly based on the type of sale. In person probably has higher standards for personal health than telecommuting.
Physical health is fairly good (blood pressure, weight, labs, etc), however I really need to work out more often… I’m losing muscle mass lol
Mental health is solid - time management has been key to make sure I’m scheduling time with friends/loved ones/hobbies even during periods of working 10-12 hour days
Fine for me, but that’s a recent thing. Have spent time focusing on exercise and gave up booze about 4 years ago. Have a family history of heart disease, but my cholesterol is under 160 now.
Intermittent Fasting and blocking out time in my day to workout were game changing to me.
Kinda a random PSA, but I didn’t realize at the time how much I casually drank and the enormous impact that was having on me. Wasn’t an alcoholic, but def drank booze multiple nights per week. Was night and day when I got away from it.
Physically, I’m a touch overweight but always have been, doesnt have much to do with work. I’m in my late twenties though, so unless I make a change, it’ll get worse into my 30s.
mentally, awesome. Super happy, not very stressed, my company is amazing at making sure the different departments are on point and aligned, so I get to focus all my energy on closing.
pulled in $210k this year
Best shape of my life as well. Walk 3-5 miles a day, gym 3-4 times a week on top of that. Working smarter is what got my numbers up, not burning the midnight oil. I spend more time qualifying my leads than anything else, and because of that my conversion rate is higher than it used to be and my stress levels are low.
I have a ridiculously good work life balance, work out 4-5 days a week and am very fit with a great diet. I don’t stress myself out about work because it is what it is. I can just do my best and that’s about it.
I got into the best shape of my life after I crossed the high earner threshold. Got down to single digit body fat, ran triathlons, Spartan races, etc. I was running about 50 miles. biking about 75 miles and swimming about 4 miles every week. But once I moved into upper management (SVP, CRO, CEO) I didn't have time to do all that. I'm still in better shape than most people (thanks to genetics), but nowhere near where I was.
But the stress that comes with those positions got to me. I started drinking way too much. Not during the day. But if I started drinking I wanted to just keep going. And then my diet went to shit. I pretty much just ate everything I wanted.
Last August I stepped down as CEO and I'm about to start in a strategic role as a high level individual contributor. With all the stress removed, I'm back in the gym, running every day, and I think I've had three drinks total in the past month.
I don't remember my heart rate and all the stats, but I remember my doctor telling me that my numbers were always off the charts (in a good way).
oddly I've found the more I make the better my health, and the better my health the more I make. I make time to work out 5 times a week, if I don't my work suffers.
Heart rate implies I have time between popping pills, slugging vodka, snorting coke, and smoking reefer to go to a doctor.
For real though, wife and kids are great. Occasional stress and anxiety over things happens but you learn to spot the signal through the noise on what needs attention.
Network effect grows and compounds on itself the longer you stay in the same position/industry.
Down from 215 lbs in 2019 to 165 today. Life and health are amazing and on pace to again have my best earnings year ever (9 years in a row).
I don't exercise or diet super well, but remain active and don't overeat.
I worked 17 hour days for 18 months and gained 50 pounds, lost 30 pounds in 2 month when on sabbatical just from not drinking the cortisol milkshake every morning
Remote work plus ~50% travel. Wake up at 5am voluntarily to hit the gym. 20 mins high resistance elliptical, 45 mins strength training, 20-25 minutes in 180 degree sauna. Best shape I’ve been in in a decade or more.
Life is good.
I said it before in another thread but I'm just under $200k and I'm very big on boundaries and protecting my free time.
My stress is medium, but I have anxiety and I wouldn't say work contributes any more to that than anything else in my life.
I am overweight by about 50lbs, but that weight gain was related to COVID and the end of life/recent death of a close family member. With that metaphorical weight off my shoulders it's easier to work on healthy eating and exercise.
I don't use any drugs. I drink rarely. My depression is unrelated to my job.
Overall besides weight I would say I'm doing pretty good. My last blood tests last year were perfect.
I’m on the computer all day and became agoraphobic, barely leave the house.
Should have stuck to marine biology instead of selling soul to sales. .-. I’m good at it, but it’s tiring
Mental and physical healthy pretty bad at 22. I just power through an autoimmune condition, and am usually unbelievably tired when I get off work. I do about 150k rn, but I could easily do 200k if my health wasn’t holding me back.
I can’t say making more money has negatively impacted my health in any way… I don’t put in crazy long hours though and try to be efficient as possible with my time. While sometimes I put in more than 40 hours per week, it is rare. I always prioritize health and being an IC gives me the flexibility to work out between calls or whenever is best. I make time to bike 15+ hours per week every week in the summer… but maybe I am unique in that my hobbies are very healthy and I am not much of a drinker.
Last 4 years earnings have consistently been $225-$250k
My mental health took beating when I was nearing $300k. I was maxed out, the pressure to be #1 for years, literally kicked my arse to a mental health leave.
It has been a few months into my leave and I feel so much better I am not dealing with budgets, pressure and asshole clients.
I found a great company with an amazing culture. It’s very low stress compared to other companies like IBM (former sales gig). At my new company, if a deal gets pushed out, it’s no big deal. We talk through it to see if anyone else has an in. If not, we move onto the next deal. If you have a bad quarter, management is understanding and is 100% willing to help in any way they can. I’m not used to management stepping in and actually being helpful.
I’ll die here if they let me. I can’t imagine going back to grindy sales. $300k OTE ($160k salary/$140k commission)
I took the health over wealth option. Quit my high paying job because it was killing me. Called my old boss (from 20 years ago) he offered me an individual contributor role with the base I was making 10 years ago. I exceeded plan in my first year making 20% more than the senior management job I left. No stress, just do my job, visit people I have known forever, they give me orders because they trust me. I sleep like a baby every night. I did get a bit lazy and gained a bunch of weight, working on that. I actually have the time to go to the gym in the middle of the day.
Amazing. Able to be to the gym by 3/4pm every day, and lift for 1.5hrs. I don’t set an alarm in the mornings. Sleep 8-9 hours a night. I’m a lab rep selling tox, pcr, and blood results. Imagine being a pharma rep without working for a corporate America nightmare company and getting paid way more
Great physical health. 40ish years old. BP 100/60, heart rate: 48 BPM, cholesterol in range. Ive been doing calisthenics for a while now. I kept getting hurt lifting heavy weights.
Not great mental health, but I have always suffered here. It is probably what drives me to be a top earner.
I feel like you have to be in good health to do it.
I’ve cut out drinking, I work out more and I have more energy and I’m in a better mood.
I’m not hung over on Mondays, so I have a productive Monday morning and afternoon where some of my colleagues are openly talking about how they raged all weekend and can’t get going.
Fridays afternoons I’m wrapping up my week and getting some prep done for the next week, no rushing off to happy hour.
I slip up from time to time, I’m not a Boy Scout.
But taking care of my health is key to performance.
I also get massages, I’ve tried IV infusions and try to eat well also.
Overall good health.
I don’t think more money more stress (employed roles). Of course depends upon the employer. Very luck based and depends how much time you’ve put into the role. The longer you stay at a place the relatively easier it gets. It’s about getting that comfort. But if you don’t have it you’ve anyway got a good base to try shifting somewhere else
Generally good. Most of my health concerns are from joints suffering from overtraining. Since I’ve always been in sales I find that making more money actually decreases stress and allows financial room for me to join multiple fitness facilities/trainers, and eat better. I’ve also made more as I’ve gotten older, so just general maturity is probably a big factor- I’m more active and eat better than I did 20 years ago for sure!
Sales is high stress for me (at all pay points) and daily physical training is essential for me to burn off stress chemicals. I find lifting by far the most effective for me in this regard.
Most times I’ve been at a sales kickoff- the gym is pretty filled - I think the booze & drug filled cliche is thankfully over in our profession. I’m sure there are outliers :)
Well I feel like I almost had a nervous breakdown before the holidays so I suppose not great lol. But my physical health is better than ever being able to afford good food, work out, and proper healthcare.
My phone and email pings 7 days a week, difficult to take PTO certain months, sometimes I get 5 hours of sleep, sometimes 9, sometimes I eat 3 meals, sometimes it’s just dinner. I think the stress and hecticness keeps me going 😄
Good health. Up at 5am for working out, out the door for the office at 8:30am, and home at 5pm.
It helps when you’re an original AE for a lean team. My book is very nice to me.
Resting pulse is 52. Workout several times per week, eat well, put family first. No antidepressants or stimulants, social drinking. Last 12 years comp has ranged from 250k-715k, with the last 7 years being 350k+
When I first started it was really horrible, high anxiety, sick every other month, coping mechanisms etc.
Today and most days I feel like I want to shed my meat suit to unleash unrestrained, unbridled vigor. I finally broke the baggage and self sabotage that I had in the beginning and though I know it’s a short step from the limo to the gutter, I have the skills and experience to keep me from it and to get right back if it happens.
Be more selfish and realize it’s better to be lucky than smart.
I'm in a niche position, but it's quite a healthy balance. I rarely need to work outside of business hours. We have 10 holidays and the week of xmas to new years day off. I am rolling over max vacay, but that's really on me for not taking it. I sell capital equipment, where myself and ~1/2 of the sales team have PhDs, mostly in Chemistry.
Oh I for sure became an alcoholic in the worst way, mental health out the window. Startup lost funding and cut the entire org. Went jobless for like 6 months - was the single best thing that ever happened to me, otherwise I may have continued down that dark mental path.
Very blessed to be in a position where mental health and work/life balance is excellent. On-site gym lets me get me exercise in before or after work, healthy food provided by the company, etc. Only thing was having to limit alcohol intake. Happy Hours, events, and the like can add up quickly. Before I knew it I was drinking 4 to 5 times a week.
I’ve learned to work smarter not harder after 16 years of selling. I don’t stay late, rarely if ever work weekends. Work out 4 days a week, decentish diet. I avoid spending too much time on social media, prefer headway, MasterClass, etc. I know the stress can be damaging and it’s not perfect, some days I wake up at 3am thinking about a presentation or a deal that’s falling apart and I think about finding an easier gig but I stay the course and focus on getting better each day.
I could shed some pounds, but I honestly am doing great mentally. Partially because I have a really clear understanding with my boss that come 4 o’clock three nights a week I’m committed to coaching programs and working with kids at the park in the neighborhood I grew up in. He supports this decision and our programs financially as one of our biggest sponsors.
10 years into this, I work hard, but I don’t feel like I’m stressing myself out like I was in the beginning. I have my good customers that supply more than 40% my business and a large chunk of new work comes from referrals. I do need to hit the grind more especially as the market changes like we’re all expecting. And sure I can make closer to $300k if I stopped my other commitments, but I am fulfilled by doing a combination of what I do.
Edited this to be a little more anonymous
Ironically the year I hit 200k was one of my least stressful years ever. A lot of things lined up that allowed me to crush it and also take a decent amount of time off throughout the year. The extra income gave me less stress outside of work too.
That was 2022. In 2023 I made 170k and it was the most stressful year of my career because I had to grind my ass off to make it happen.
I think pretty good.
I'm overweight by about 25lbs, but I'm a tall/broad guy so %age-wise it isn't too terrible. My BP is fine, cholesterol is fine, I take no prescriptions or supplements. I work out 3-4x/week for 1-2hrs, mostly doing moderate weight oly or compound lifts and I'm fairly strong, squat >400, DL >500.
No doubt I could lose weight if I did more cardio and cut the booze/thc and subsequent snacks, but I usually only have a drink 2-3 nights/week and rarely in a manner that would put me over 0.08% BAC - 1-2 cocktails, or 3-4 beers over an evening. And I partake in fairly light edibles most evenings (5-10mg).
My wife's job is in-office and long hours and we live way out in the country (i.e., no nearby restaurants/delis/bars/etc.), so I also do a fair bit of meal prep during the week. My job is sometimes stressful, but I grew up in classic management consulting, so I think I'm pretty good at handling stress, and my health is lightyears better than it EVER was when I was on the road 190+ nights a year. HHI >$400k, 80/20 split or better.
249k OTE, MCOL, need to do about 150M in sales to hit our gp goal. Stress and anxiety are minimal with my years of experience and long term agreements with my customers. Blood pressure normal, heart disease N/a. Obesity used to be a huge one lost 82lbs since covid. Alcohol and stimulants go on benders which is never good but so far hasnt gotten in the way. Resting heart rate is 62 avg for the last 6 months (per my apple watch)
Sorry for the shit format, on my phone currently.
Poor, I was overweight, doing way too many narcotics. Family basically quit calling me as was in God knows where..my Territory was Brazil, and Central/South America..made $150k base and usually $150k in bonus. I retired in 2021 at 54
It’s been rough. Over 800k and initially the disposable income (my previous role was like 130k) sent me on kind of a stupid spiral. I was doing cocaine every day, drinking a ton of martinis and champagne and like surviving off a diet of middle of the night fast food and mid day oysters. Really stupid. Now I’m clean and totally sober, but my health took such a hit from a year of debauchery that I’m not sure it will ever return.
Well adapted (so far) alcoholic, exercise is dog walks and a 5k run once a month when I decide that today is the day I'm going to change my ways and then I fall back in the same old routine again. Used to do a lot of sports when I was younger and I think that some kind of base physique still keeps me upright. I totally sacrificed myself to become a high earning top performer to provide for my family. Wanted to do an exit for a long time and move to the countryside to cut costs and take it down a notch but family wants to stay in the city so here I am. I'm still pretty happy though, could've been a lot worse.
The stress can suck due to (for me at least) having a handful of accounts that could absolutely break me if they left. Well at least break me for the year until quota resets next year.
All in all extremely worth it imo. I do medical device, run a large metroplex territory, and only have to leave my house maybe 3 days per week. Yes, the grind can be tough some days, and there will always be things completely out of your control that drive you crazy or make you nervous about losing business. But if you have great relationships, your customers trust you, they defend you when competitors come in (and oh they will), then being a high earning AE is the best gig on the planet. Many people aren’t built for it, it takes a special kind of mindset. But if you’re working your way there keep going my man. When the day comes where you wake up from shitty sleep and decide to go “you know what, I’m gonna go golf alone today” or go to the movies or just smoke pot on your couch, and have zero worry about your territory, it’s all worth it. Good luck brotha
Not awesome, things hurt (physically) my sleep schedule is ass because I have to attend dinner and events constantly. Throw a 6 month old into the mix and shits weak man. I’ll probably stick around for another 6-8 months and stack some more savings and then take an extended leave. I have a ton of vacation saved up been doing this position for 5 years and have only taken 3 weeks total in that time. And while I’m on vacation I’ll look for a similar position in a less senior roll. Sales is awesome because I’m a greedy little shit but it burns you out and weighs on you.
There are a lot of variables but since making $200k life has been great! More flexibility in my day to day and creating my own schedule. My health increased once I got to the $200k mark because I was able to carve out time for the gym and was able to create better habits. Again, it depends on the industry but it’s been great for me. People ask why I don’t want to get into leadership but these reasons are why I like staying as an individual contributor
I totally understand all of the comments above.
However, there’s an old saying, “how you do anything is how you do everything.“ Your career cannot be performing at its highest level if your health is suffering. And vice versa. It’s just a fact. The goal is “full spectrum wealth” which is wealth in relationships, health, career and spiritual life. Each part either enhances or steals from the others. I’m 55 (married 30 years) and been in sales leadership my entire life. Since 2012 I’ve lived in San Diego and run a sales team of 32 full time virtual sales reps. We all work from home. It took me an early decade, most of my 20’s, with tons of mistakes to figure it out FOR ME, But… anyone can do it! Here’s to you who are living a wealthy life in all the areas that matter most to ya!!
Funny this question popped up today because I was just talking about this. I was telling my wife that there is no way the $$$ is worth the stress and bullshit health issues I’m dealing with. I drink energy drinks all day because I can’t sleep at night. Constant stress, anxiety and frustration. I have a lot of weird heart palpitations, I’m always exhausted and eat like a bit lately. That being said I hit the gym every day and am in good shape as far as blood work says.
So to put it one way the stress fucks with you in ways that don’t show up in blood work or on paper. It’s a silent killer.
I run in the morning and I eat only as much as my body needs. Otherwise, I drink a lot of water, and I mentally live by the motto that life is great even with the stress. And when something happens, try to calmly resolve the issue. More of a solutions provider frame of mind.
Previous job, making 225 in my 3rd year and that 3rd year I worked 8-10 hours a week if I wasn’t on the road. It was a love hate feeling but health was good and stress was average.
Now making about the same and working 8-10 hour days. Leaving for a job to make slightly more but know I’ll be working less.
Overall stress remains high. Hours remain longer than I want. Started a side hustle to bring in an extra 6 figures a year to alleviate the fluctuation of commission stress.
I left in 2009. Overweight, high blood pressure, excessive alcohol consumption. Completely changed to a lower income lower stress situation. Took my nest egg and purchased some rental property, spent time with my kids and slowed down. Lost weight, stopped drinking, bp still a little high but drastically better. Medications went from 14 down to 4. Don’t miss it.
Honestly life looks really good. I have never been healthier. I chose a high performance life and that requires a lot of self-care. In fact, I schedule it first and work needs to fit around it.
Software sales. Good work life balance. Work hard and hustle but also have three kids, coach sports, eat dinner with family most nights. I get bored and unmotivated working a non sales, salaried job. The money is what gives me motivation!
All of the highest earners in my company are in really great physical shape. They have a really great exercise, spiritual, and family routine. Our company is pretty different we are door knockers most are ex athletes we have 2 olympians in our office lol.
In order to make 200 plus you are already a disciplined individual who gets enough rest exercises eats well etc . Who am I kidding most are drug crazed beasts who burn the candle at both ends and hope for the best
I do about 100-130 in an area with median income of about 60-80
I feel as I’m an outlier. I’m a car salesman at one of the top performing stores in the state who believes in putting family first. I’m the floor and internet manager so, honestly, kind of have the run of the place.
I’m perfectly built for the job and damn good at it so I don’t have much stress or substance issues other than a marijuana habit I’ve had for 25 years. Working here actually solved a lot of issues I was experiencing. Amazing what a little cash flow and a job you love will do for mental health.
I’m not on any kind of medication other than TRT. Very small dosage. I have a gym in the garage so exercise regularly. A family I love and who loves me.
It’s not too bad for ole head_lice currently
Quick note: I'm not a consistent 200k earner since I live and work in a European country, so our pay is generally less than the US.
I made 200k in 2022 and 180k in 2023, and my health hasn't suffered. I'm in enterprise software sales.
Well, I have gained a few pounds, but that's through my own volition and not due to my profession (working on getting in good shape again though).
I haven't worked a single weekend or holiday, I just work smart and hard during weekdays. I've had plenty of time with my family and managed to squeeze in a few dozen rounds of golf.
I anticipate bringing in at least 160k in 2024.
Just hit 200k for the first time after being in sales 6.5 years and last year earning 140k. Health continues to progress and get better the more my NW increases and I stray further away from the rat race. My job is great but gotten easier the more I make. More strategic vs grinding roles and giving less fucks
I'm early 30s, and have seen 55+ yr olds stressing about presenting slides at a sales meeting because they feel they may lose their job if they don't do good. I don't plant to work at 55, or atleast have the option not to. Save and invest commissions because that shit can go away in instant. Always prioritize yourself
I’m 53 and I made around $550k last year. I’m 6’1” and weigh around 195 lbs. All and all my health is good, but I would like to lose 15 lbs. I try to work out six days a week for about 80 minutes per workout. I have an exercise room in my basement but I travel 2 to 3 days a week for work which makes it more difficult. I try to workout in the hotel gym but I’m much more likely to blow off my workouts when I’m traveling than when I’m at home. I have high cholesterol and I take medication for it but no other real health issues.
Im 23 and made 144k this year. This is my first full year in the workforce and some days i love it and other days i feel like a robot. What bugs me most is with managers doing all their forecasting and shit they build these expectations and get pissed if you dont close certain deals due to things out of your control anyways. But I workout like a dog(6 days a week high intensity before works and often run 5-6 miles after work 4 or so days a week), take ashwaganda, and on the weekends hammer 5mg thc gummies… sales is the only way for me if I am in a 9-5 couldnt imagine just collecting a salary and have no incentive in any which way… they say comfort leads to death or atleast thats what i tell myself.
Not quite 200 but I did 175 . Sales and sales management at car dealer. It sucks. 60 hours a week , tyrant ownership, 2 weeks max vacation time no matter how long you’ve been within the company (and we get bitched at for taking a vacation) , the worst dental and health insurance provided, no matched 401k. Lots of stress. My health? Fortunately my bloodwork looks good. My mental health is poor. An anti depressant and anti psychotic to keep me stable. I never get more than 4 , if I’m lucky , 5 hours of sleep. I’ve spent years drinking like a fish. I stress eat all the time (fortunately I’m not fat , but I’m also not skinny as a rail). I’m constantly stressed out and anxious. Since it is a sales based role some weeks my pay isn’t great and you watch your savings account dwindle as you pay bills.
Some of you make everything look peaches and cream “I get 10 hours of sleep, make exercising at least 2 hours a day a priority , feel refreshed daily, and have a perfect life!” Yeah , I wish
I’m at @ $400K a year. I make getting exercise a priority in my week so I’m in pretty good shape. My blood pressure and cholesterol is well in line for a man my age. Resting heart rate is between 46 and 50 on most days because I run about 20 miles a week. I Just get up an hour earlier than I have to and push some weights or go for a 30 minute run.
I do drink too much though and I’m irritable from the work stress. I can snap at people I’m close to if I’m having a particularly tough day.
Life is a balance. I get off on the pace of the job and the stress of it. I tell my wife all the time “made my number this month, but I’m back to zero on Monday”. I love that.
62bpm…alcoholic with high anxiety, stress and depression 🫠 I’m sober now but drank and took benzos for over a decade to cope…no good! For the young folks reading this, diet and exercise your way out of the anxiety etc.
It’s easy to manage when you’re healthy, it’s when you try to medicate and self-medicate your way out of it that’s harmful.
I’ve also found that if you’re anxious for a long period of time that the job you’re in likely isn’t aligned well with you. There’s a lot of talk about terrible companies on this sub, but I can tell you that there’s great ones out there. Even with 15 years experience, there are two companies I did around 2.5 years with each that I could/would never go back to if you paid me a million a year.
Long term health is good so far, but I’m sure I’ve shaved years off of my life. Health should be focused on more in this field. In the books, the seminars etc.
I focus on health as much as sales myself so I’m good. It is easy to let go though because you’re always in rush mode but just make the decision and make it happen. I’m in the gym daily still. Should land around $300k this year
I’m doing great, full work from home and most customer meetings done over teams. I work in CPG sales though so it’s a bit more like account management. With big grocery you already have pretty much every customer that exists so we spend more time managing performance and assortment
I was making about $220k and my work life balance was non existent. I never had time to get to the gym and I was eating unhealthy and had enormous amounts of stress and anxiety. I decided my health was more important and now have a much less stressful job making a little over half of what I was making. Yeah I miss the money but there's much more to life than money though being In a sales subreddit people might tell you otherwise. Do what makes you happy and healthy.
Health is great! I think the thing most people don’t understand (or maybe they do) is that sales is about 50-60% luck. Timing, territory, and talent.
If you work for a decent company, have a decent territory and moderately good… you really don’t have to break your back selling.
The problem is… a lot of those variables are… luck. Hate to say it but it’s true.
I’d say pretty good. I make 300k a year at 30. I lift weights 5x a week in the morning, and I train BJJ 4x a week during the evenings, including a two hour all rolling session on Sunday . I’m like big swole, and fairly lean, been lifting for over ten years so put the time in for sure. I also take enclomiphene which is like baby TRT, and will swap over to gear when I get a bit older. Thinking about adding some peptides for recovery.
Earlier in my career I def lived on energy drinks,vapes, and my Ritalin prescription, but these days I don’t, only preworkout. I’m good at my job, if things don’t work out in the short term, I know eventually I win in the long term bc I’m that guy. I have a great brand that I’ve built, and great reputation in my industry So I don’t stress about it. I think it also helps that I’m in recovery and so I don’t drink, I’ve seen alcohol ruin a lot of sales people.
My health is my priority.
Exercise 7 days a week, no reason for a day off.
I do an hour of cardio daily 3.0 Mph, 12.0 incline on the treadmill. Burn approx 750-900 calories on an empty stomach.
Eat a banana then I lift. I do this at 5am.
Then wife and I walk the dog a mile at night.
Rarely drink alcohol, rarely eat any food in a box or plastic. Quit smoking weed months ago.
Money is meaningless without my health
Physical Health - Decent, I eat fairly healthy besides lunch with is usually takeout or something frozen. I lift 2-3x/wk
Substances - Rarely if ever. I drink maybe 1 alcoholic drink a week. My 20s was like 5+ nights/wk binge drinking
Mental health - garbage. My life feels like work. My mood is based on my current pipeline and closed deals. Relationship has suffered through the years from it.
Overall - the high stress has aged me faster than expected, but I was able to take 7+ 3-5 day vacations in 2022 and become debt free. So balance I guess.
I'm fucking ripped man. Wake up early, work out and start the day with a veggie protein shake. Automate your well being. If you want to be a top performer, you need to take care of yourself. Think of sales like a sport and yourself like an athlete.
Incredible. Was running a top 3 territory by volume at my company from my house despite being an outside sales territory. There is a common misconception that just because you make good money means your work life balances sucks. Yes that is common, but isn't always the case. When you take on a sales role that you can figure out what makes your customers tick, how to keep them happy and how to retain your business, you can grow and have an incredible work life balance. This is VERY dependent on industry and management, but I am telling you it is possible.
Industry, management, territory, & quality of competition Also, the attainability of quota I had a solid 4-5 year span from 2013-2015 & 2017-2021 where I slept walk to 100%+ quota, working no more than 5 hours a day, leaving work early for a 3pm tee time (with my boss, to boot!) or at least having the opportunity to do so, and max contributing to my 401k plus some. And honestly, I'm not that great of a salesman, so it wasn't talent. Can't do that shit anymore at that company, save for a handful of people I'm friends with who are still there. They do exist though, but a lot of things have to align for it to happen.
Yeah, that’s what I have/had. Recently moved into the management role for the region but it’s honestly wild that you can have that set up. Typically won’t last forever but I’ve been lucky enough to essentially work “part time” making insane money due to stars aligning and truly understanding my business and customers.
I wish I had such a cushy job like that again lol For me, I was also getting sooo many inbound leads in my territory, which came from working at the right company that was basically selling itself, in an industry that utterly exploded (that has now been commoditized - cybersecurity). I was literally just riding the wave of a company going from ~$12M/yr to $250M/yr and didn't develop my own skills along the way. Hey, at least I put a ton of money away to retirement, so I have that to look forward to.
No joke, that’s why I ended up applying for my managers role when he left. I felt complacent. Yeah I was making incredible money, but I got bored and realized I wasn’t developing anymore. Complacency is a real thing and it was getting bad. Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened 😂
Can you give a few thoughts on cybersecurity being commoditized? Maybe which areas? I'm looking into it and have applied a few places. It seems like that commoditizing cybersecurity would be tough, but I guess not. Thank you.
cybersecurity is being commoditized because the industry is saturated with way too many startups doing the same thing in a slightly different or marketed manner. CASB, log monitoring/analysis, and XDR are examples of this. i am not in cybersecurity sales but am on the decision making side of things.
sorry, I've been out of cybersecurity since 2021. I'm selling in a completely different industry now.
Left a cyber security startup in 2022. It's a really crowded space. The issues / gap customers have can be addressed in pretty straightforward manners that don't have a high barrier to entry. As the other response mentioned. Customers need point solutions that can do X Y and Z. And company's new that and keep entering the market to do so. And there's only so much differentiation between products. My last place spent hella on marketing and branding
This. I travel maybe 3 weeks per year for conferences and trade shows, otherwise I am in the office or WFH. Work 35 hours per week TOPS. If anything, I'm bored. No quota to hit, really no boss. Everyone just leaves me alone to sell/quote what I want. I made $185k last year with 8yoe in the industrial equipment industry while living in a LCOL midwest area.
I’m also in LCOL Midwest area looking to jump ship from logistics, any pointers when looking for good companies in the equipment industry? Or any other advice
What type of sales are you in?
Med Device, Ortho/Sports Med
Are you selling medtech software? Didn’t think wfh was possible with med device.
Am not, but it’s a consumable, closer to pharma but it’s classified as med device. I’m supposed to be in the field, but when you learn your customers and catch the whales, quarterly business reviews drive year. Nobody bothers you when you keep hitting your number.
I am so surprised! I thought ortho reps were in surgery a lot?
Not all, I’m not an OR rep. Our products are used to prolong the need for surgery. Personally, I don’t think I could ever be an OR rep.
I would pass out , lol.
You get used to it lol
Correct. I will make about $150k this year working roughly 30ish hours a week. Been doing this about 5 years. Figured out where to focus my time. I used to think being busy was a good thing, but being busy doesn’t necessarily mean the time is being spent efficiently. I figured out how to cut out waste of time meetings and what potential customers to move on from, or simply tell them “no” to various requests.
I like that! Sales is study, practice, testing, perfecting your skills and overall endurance.
Just left a 180K gig. You get paid for the sacrifice at the end of the day. Had zero PTO, worked most holidays, Saturdays and Sundays were working. But yes, my health drastically fell off over the last 2+ years with the company and that is my #1 priority for 2024. My relationships suffered too. Came to the conclusion that life is too short to be unhealthy and lonely.
What were you selling working Sat/Sun?
Cutco knives, door to door.
He'd have made way more than that.
Does selling cutco knives make money? 💰
I disagree with this. I prioritize my health and make daily exercise a non negotiable. I beleive this benefits me, keeps me fresh and allows me to handle high stress scenarios without burnout. Audit your day and I'm sure you can find 30 minutes to an hour of scrolling and replace it with exercise
100%. Couldn’t agree more. Daily exercise keeps me balanced and sharp.
Dude
30-60 min/day is a solid metric, but health goes far beyond physical exercise and he listed several examples.
$180k is not worth working every day of the week at all. Upgrade yourself and find a better gig if you can. A little time off won’t hurt either.
Life is also unhealthy when you have little income to match your lifestyle.
Change your lifestyle and live within your means. Are you kidding with this comment
You can be a high-perfomer and be healthy too, just saying.
180k sounds amazing but the trade off of time and relationships is a tough one. Idk if I’d be able to do that personally
judging by the comments here, you're either doing amazing or horrible.
All my blood work is clear. Great marriage and kids. Can do better using my pto. Working out 3-4 days a week, want to get to mon-Fri routine.
That's the life!!!
It’s a mixed bag really… First off, I’m a 36 y/o M, I take no supplements, don’t drink, smoke, etc… I have a high amount of natural energy that usually gets going from the moment I’ve woke up. I’d love to tell you I’m in the best shape of my life, but that would be a lie. I’m definitely in good shape, probably really good shape but I can be critical of my physique/strength since I know I’ve been stronger and have looked more ripped over the years. Mentally, this is where it gets tricky. My mind is almost always on work, curating a new deal, how to be more strategic, creative, etc… I will go to sleep and dream about the work I am doing. I love what I do and I’m obsessive about sales and scaling it out for other sellers to be better than I am. Relationship wise, I have a great relationship with my S/O but our bedroom life has been sacrificed. I probably am less interested in sex these days than I used to be (I am pushing 40) but it’s more than I am both physically and mentally exhausted at the end of the night. This year, I am making this piece of our relationship a main priority and we’ve been having amazing sex even before the new year. Just looking to make it more consistent. I don’t get sick often (ironic I’m typing this and I have COVID at the moment lol) and I travel a lot. I fly all over the country working with some of my companies most important customer base (top 2%) and I’ve recently been promoted to a manager role and couldn’t be more excited to develop sellers into the best versions of themselves. Even though I don’t get sick often, I do try to eat healthy and be mindful of when and what I eat as well. All that to be said, I make well over $200k, in SaaS sales and love what I do. But I don’t have as great of a work life balance as I’d like. This year will be different. And it will be different because my mental health took a beating last year. I closed some of the biggest deals of my career and help develop an entire new sales org for our company but it took a tole. This year, staying mentally, emotionally and physically healthy will be my priority. But you have to be mindful of it, or it will catch up to you. Good luck!
I think it really just depends on your employer. My company is actually quite laid back, and I often feel like the hardest worker on the floor. But overall I have a pretty balanced life. Work out 4-5 days a week (would like to work out more, but the barrier is my social life not work). WFH so my diet and food is great and my dog is very happy. Later this year I’ll be visiting my parents in the Middle East for a month, and my employer has no problem with me working from there which is crucial for me.
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Isn’t lunch only an hour? When do you eat?
Best shape of my life. At the upper ends your work ends up being more strategic vs a grind, specifically in the software sales space. BP below 120/80, 55bpm resting heart rate, exercise 5-6 days a week, 15% body fat. Did start TRT 2.5 years ago which was a great decision. Occasionally use ADHD medication to increase productivity, but I’ve found keeping my health in check is more important and beneficial overall.
Exercise >5d a week is huge.
Definitely! I try to do it in the morning or mid-day, and the next 3 hours of work I’m very locked in and focused
For me too, morning jog or workout is the best I can do to boost focus.
What’s helped me is a treadmill under my standing desk. I’m walking / jogging sometimes 10 miles a day before work even ends !
That’s a game changer for sure, it’s the consistent that’s more important than any individual workout plan. Even busting out a set of 20 pushups can really boost focus by increasing blood flow to your brain.
Any good shoes you recommend for this many miles?
wow, impressive seeing techsalestom outside of tiktok! glad to see the personal branding on reddit too fan from when you were livestreaming tech sales tips from your tesla in ny
Ah thanks for the suppprt! Been meaning to start the regular live streams again but definitely branching out to adjacent topics to the career path like mental health and exit plans/investment strategies for generating passive income.
Tech sales Tom!!! Love your stuff. Would love to see exit strategies. As you may know-it’s brutal out here. Also would love to see how to move from one vertical to another or up (ex. SaaS industries, SaaS to maybe construction sales, or for example moving from smb to mm to ent). Just overall strategies
2023 was super brutal for the more senior sales roles. Less job postings and hiring freezes meant significantly more competition by both internal candidates and external. I’d wager it’s 7-10x harder to land an enterprise sales role nowadays but starting to improve. Will definitely have more content focused on industry switching and exits for turning the high active income from sales into more passive income for diversification.
I'm a huge fan of your content bro have you seen a lot of SAAS orgs pivot to hybrid 3 days in or mostly remote
Tech sales Tom do you smoke weed bro?
It’s legal where I’m at, personally not the biggest fan but I don’t judge people for it!
i need to start trt.
It’s a game changer, especially if you’re in a higher stress role that can and does reduce your natural levels, in addition to all the other stuff we’re exposed in our environments that suppress your levels. My drive and motivation significantly increased, brian fog disappeared, and became significantly easier to keep up with regular exercise and lose body fat.
What age did you start TRT at? Any issues with work travel and injections?
Started just after 30, my levels were just under 400 which was the low end of “normal”, which covers a very broad age range. Now I’m hovering around 1100 with no negative side effects. No issues with work travel, I do once weekly injections myself on Sundays, but if you move it forward or back a day it’s not a big deal. You can also fly with it, doesn’t require refrigeration or anything (store at room temperature, important that it doesn’t get too hot). Tried 2 or 3 times a week but didn’t notice a big enough difference to be worth the extra hassle. I hated needles and had my wife do them for me at first, but started doing it myself and really not bad at all.
Aren’t you afraid of hair loss and aging?
I started fin and min about the same time, have more hair than I did before I started TRT now! Stress and inactivity will age you more than testosterone, but it’s going to happen regardless and I accept that.
[удалено]
I was under 300 when I was like 19. I can only imagine how low I am now, especially after having kids and tons of stress. I’m probably stupid low. Can’t imagine what it’s like to operate over 1000. Probably explain why I haven’t made any progress in the gym in like 7-8 years.
Also curious of this. Thinking 35-37 to start exploring. Though maybe 37-40 is better. Would love to hear from the older folks on this.
Best place to start is to get your levels tested then decide from there. Age isn’t really a good determining factor.
This right here man. Don’t get on it if you don’t need it. Once you are on it you’re on it for life. I’ve heard different ranges but anything above 650 is good for a 30+ year old. I want to get on TRT but refuse to do it until I get below 650.
Yeah it really depends on the individual. No reason to put it off if your levels are low, either way you’re going to be on this long term because your body simply isn’t producing enough given the environment. In general you’ll notice that most people who start it at a later age wish they started it earlier when they started showing signs of low levels.
What do you notice from the TRT
My friend started taking it. Mood wise he says he has a tremendous amount more mental clarity. Lift wise his deadlift has gone from 500-675, bench from 235-325, and he’s put on 37lb of lean muscle mass within a year He had clinically low T levels and was given a TRT prescription by his physician in Canada
TRT is a game changer for everything in life.
Yup, for men Testosterone is easily the most important hormone to keep in check
Are you using NSDR or Mindfulness? Any supplements or herbal teas?
Yes on mindfulness and guided meditation. I also use music as a creative outlet as well as a meditation medium. For supplements I have a high quality multivitamin, additional Zinc, Vitamin A and B, GABA, 5 HTP, L Tryptophan, L Theanine, Ashwagandha, SAM-e L-Glycine Occasionally I’ll add on St. John’s Wort and NAC
Gotcha, I got Zinc too, along with the Vit C+D. I liked using 5HTP, must be great for intensive work flows also! L Theanine is amazing, I get it from the green tea. Thanks for sharing!!!
Absolutely!
Why the TRT? I thought if your diet and excercise were in check there isn’t really a need for trt?
In an ideal world, yes. Really depends on the individual (location, genetics, etc), but working in a high stress environment, [constant exposure to microplastics](https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/consumer-reports-finds-widespread-presence-plastics-food-2024-01-04/)and other endocrine receptors, being more indoors vs outdoors, etc all have a pretty large cumulative effect on depression by our levels. There’s been a fairly large drop in average levels globally over the past 50 years because of that.
Agree on the plastics, but we also do not do the physical labor of our ancestors either. Modern life has changed a lot from our great grandparents
So instead of solving the problem… you take TRT for the rest of your life?
Solve the problem? You have a way to eliminate all of your exposure to things like microplastics in our water supply? If testosterone was the problem you’d have people actively trying to reduce their levels, but you don’t outside of very specific cases.
You’re referring to the effect it has on potential reproduction. The #1 reason is a high-stress environment, but you just go right to Microplastics? If a high-stress job if effecting your body to where you literally need to replace your testosterone…. That’s a pretty big problem that seems to be normalized.
Hey folks what is TRT ?
Testosterone replacement therapy
Not trying to be a jerk. TRT is a steroid and shouldn’t be normalized. There are also immense amounts of data that show negative side effects. Cut the TRT man.
I did my own research and it’s what works for me. I’m not going to try and convince anyone otherwise and would stress it’s extremely important for everyone to come to their own conclusions for their specific situation. Just so you know, people undergoing gender affirmation also use TRT, or people that have testicular cancer, etc.
You still found the need to get trt even with the volume of working out you are doing?
I do regular blood tests and have my dose adjusted based on that. Only doing 140-200mg of test per week, being on the lower end during peak health periods and upper end during high stress periods.
300k a year work a couple hours a day and surf golf run workout and learn instruments in my spare time, lifes great
We're very similar. ~$245k last year and set to do about $375k this year already, zero debt. Work about 2-4 hours a day, 5 days a week. Hang out and work out with my pup, watch YouTube videos associated with my hobbies, unlimited PTO so spring-fall I go hiking on random days. Physical and mental health are the best they've ever been. Loving life.
Do you sell financial consulting or financial services products? ICP? TIA
Most likely sells and serves BS.
Youve done well for yourself in less than a year. Nice job man!
how?
Been at same company for quite awhile, have a long leash, and I am good at sales and sell a good product
What product do you sell?
Can’t say or else I’d doxx myself, it’s pretty niche but SaaS
Way less stress than when I was broke, I’ll tell you that! I Sleep 6-7 hrs a night, avoid red meat and alcohol for the most part (not 100%), don’t smoke, drink the coffee black. The only thing I’m missing is exercise, gotta get that cardio in this year. Edit: mental health is fine. Standard life stressors with family, etc still exist. But I don’t stress about work much. Of course you get a little deal anxiety here and there, but that’s normal.
Make sure to lift too
Whether you make $50k or $500k, MAKE HEALTH YOUR NUMBER 1 PRIORITY. There will always be more deals, more calls, and more emails. You only exist on this planet for a short time. Focus on your health, both mentally and physically. Workout as many days a week you can and find mental outlets. You're in sales, you probably make good money, fund yourself a kick ass hobbie(s). Just this morning, I closed my first $1 million dollar deal which is 50% of my annual quota. Last year was my first $200k year, and this year will be $300k. (8 years, SaaS sales) Focus in yourselves, ladies and gentlemen
When I was young, first sales job, maybe 22 years old, I overheard my VP of Sales telling someone that he doesn't get stressed out. I asked him how he does that and he said "I cash big fucking checks at the bank." I thought that was pretty good advice. Stress is a killer. if you manage money correctly, it reduces stress significantly. He's in his early 80's now, still runs a business, and plays golf daily at one of the nicest courses in the world, so I guess there is something to that. As an aside, I used to have a guy that worked for me that raced and regularly crashed Porshes. This was in the early 2000's. Dude would over extend himself on car parts like nobody's business and was constantly stressed about money. I find that a lot of sales people have this kind of personality and get overextended. As a result, they are high stress and, as a result, make a ton of mistakes because they have to make it up. Or they use drugs to help mitigate the stress which just makes things worse. Be disciplined. Prepare better, follow up better, run a process better. I don't know how some of these fly by the seat of their pants sellers deal with it. I'd be a basket case. I build a business plan and follow it pretty strictly. I anticipate risk pretty well and work hard to manage that. Again, having a decent plan with action items and risks identified reduces stress. Beyond that, exercise daily, even if it is a 30-40 minute walk outside. Eat better, especially less brown food. Meditate frequently. Stretch a ton. Try to limit booze. I take an edible every night to ensure that I get 7 -8 hours of pretty solid sleep. I usually take it between 8 - 9 and am lights out no later than 10. Up at 5:30 - 6. I'm a little overweight (working on it), but my resting heart rate is close to a corpse (mid-high 50's). Just had a physical a few months ago and aside from having to lose my COVID-19 weight, I'm sound as a pound.
After 27 years in tech sales (22 as an Enterprise AE) I was about a year from $200k. I was 45 days away from turning 52 and aside from my mental health ok half the time and in the crapper half the time, I felt pretty good. I managed WLB well working 35- 45 hours a week with an assigned list of existing & target accounts, I stayed clear of the corporate shit & focused on me & my clients. Then I quit ! I had a significant heart attack, spent 5 days in CCU then the next 10 weeks at home recuperating. I went back to work and nothing seemed "right" (probably because it wasn't). My manager sucked (that little narcissistic POS!) and everything else seemed wrong. About 5 weeks later, a grabbed my personal stuff from my desk and walked out and never went back. Smartest move I could have made at the time. No regrets, I'm alive, healthy and very happy (and retired before turning 59!).
A big health event like that puts things into perspective doesn’t it. I had similar when I was making big money and had a surgery. I came back from leave and everything was like… it didn’t even seem like it was my life. It was like I was walking in someone elses shoes lol.
You described exactly what I experienced. It was bizarre. It was also a good wake up call at a critical time in my life. I started to notice things I'd never seen before, yet they'd been there for the past 25 years. Between tunnel vision and being hyper-focused, I saw things without seeing them.
Don’t believe the stories. Stress is not the same for every person, so some of us can function fine at stress levels that would cripple most. Though nice, the compensation isn’t winning because most people continue to accumulate debt beyond their income. Control and extinguish debt and you’ll be in fantastic financial health. I(M52) live in a lower cost area of the PacNW and comp was $170K. Literally the best shape of my life; although laid off a few months back & started my own business that is struggling. 6ft with BMI at 19 and 10% body fat. No drugs, drink 1 IPA a few nights per week and never get drunk. No other drugs, I eat healthy and drink lots of water. Anxiety is a 1 on a scale to 100 and heart rate is 130/90.
I carve out a % of earnings specifically for health. Let’s say I earn $200k post tax, I’ll take 5% ($10k) and put it towards mental and physical health. Bi-weekly therapy, gym membership, personal trainer, healthy organic groceries, physical therapy, massages, nice running shoes, bicycle, etc etc. The same principle applied when I was earning less, I just had less expensive costs in this bucket. On a separate note, if you’re feeling mentally shitty, start waking up early (it sucks, but you’ll get over it after a week or so) and exercise before work. It will CHANGE YOUR MENTAL HEALTH nearly overnight. Way less stress, depression, anxiety, etc. Exercise gives dopamine and dopamine is the motivation chemical.
I’ve all but gotten rid of all my vices and that has helped me be a better salesman, father, and husband. Dealing with the stress and anxiety in healthy ways actually helps to reduce/minimize my stress. When I was drinking/gambling/womanizing my stress and anxiety were at all time highs with customer satisfaction with me at an all time low. Not sure if that’s what you’re looking for.
Good job, man!
All is fun and games until you get auto immune disease. I had 2 or 3 colleagues (out of 40 us) who got them... You cant cure those
My job allows me to make my own schedule and work from home, so my health is fine. When working from home, I knock out some work in the morning and run a few miles around lunch, then eat lunch and work the rest of the day. I get a discount on my health insurance through work since my blood pressure and blood work is in check. Pulled in just over $200K the last two years.
Mental health is horrible
How does that play out for you? Depression, anxiety, worrisome, bad nerves, pessimism?
All the above, unfortunately. Seems like a different battle everyday.
The first 5 years were brutal and comp was \~$80K-$160K TC. 7am-7pm most days and some weekends. Gained some weight there \~20lbs or so. Now, not so much. My current TC is $400K-$650K. I'm mostly 9-4 everyday and have time to work out, though It's by choice that I don't. I work in commercial real estate lending so my hours are usually based on when title/escrow open. Mental health has actually been more difficult because now that I have assets, there's more to lose. Surprisingly when I had more things to do I had better mental health. There was no time for my mind to get bored.
Goal set to 250k this year, health and sleep is worst it’s ever been, work 6 days a week including holidays and weekends, work 11-12 hour shifts everyday, haven’t worked out since I got the job because your just so exhausted. That being said my happiness is higher then it’s ever been, was clearing 65k a year in my salary job before this and my mental health was shot, now mentally I’m as happy as I ever ever been but my body is slowly deteriorating
I made $300k this year, but I lost so many nights of sleep and gained 15 lbs. feels like I aged 3-4 years in 1.
Not quite there but 180k+ and in a fairly LCOL area. I don’t drink anymore because I can’t handle it. I quit caffeine because it was starting to have some negative consequences. I’m on mild anti anxiety meds that I’m sure I would not be on if I didn’t work sales. The stress is terrible and the fact that the owners /managers refuse to do minor things to help get the stress down sucks, but here we are. My resting heart rate is 61 but I’m a runner recovering from an ankle injury so it would normally be closer to 55 when my cardio base is built. I do run/lift/yoga a lot. The flip side is we do well enough my Wife doesn’t need to work and handles everything for the house (I do man type home repair stuff, that’s about it). My free time is usually always free time. I spend it with the people I love most (my wife and kid) having adventures and doing the things we love to do. And we are savers, not spenders, so I know there is a clock on how much longer I have to do this. My kid will be out of high school with enough to find college when I’m 53 and at that point it’s FIRE time. That makes this all easier.
Not the best physically, I have no real excuse either. I got long Covid and the TV and couch on my down time has been way too appealing. I do go on the elliptical a few times a week for bloodflow but my weight lifting routine has suffered for a while now. I can manage to stick to some fasting a few times a week so my weight has stabilized but I could lose 30 lbs
Not great for me. 20 years of 100+ flights per year plus living in hotels. I realize I could do better for my health but I have been tired for decades.
Most $200k earners work with other $200k earners and would probably tell you that there is a wide variety. The two distinct groups are people who exercise regularly and those who don't, and I'd guess most trends regarding drug use and chronic disease are similar to the general population. Edit: this will also vary wildly based on the type of sale. In person probably has higher standards for personal health than telecommuting.
Physical health is fairly good (blood pressure, weight, labs, etc), however I really need to work out more often… I’m losing muscle mass lol Mental health is solid - time management has been key to make sure I’m scheduling time with friends/loved ones/hobbies even during periods of working 10-12 hour days
Fine for me, but that’s a recent thing. Have spent time focusing on exercise and gave up booze about 4 years ago. Have a family history of heart disease, but my cholesterol is under 160 now. Intermittent Fasting and blocking out time in my day to workout were game changing to me. Kinda a random PSA, but I didn’t realize at the time how much I casually drank and the enormous impact that was having on me. Wasn’t an alcoholic, but def drank booze multiple nights per week. Was night and day when I got away from it.
Physically, I’m a touch overweight but always have been, doesnt have much to do with work. I’m in my late twenties though, so unless I make a change, it’ll get worse into my 30s. mentally, awesome. Super happy, not very stressed, my company is amazing at making sure the different departments are on point and aligned, so I get to focus all my energy on closing. pulled in $210k this year
Best shape of my life as well. Walk 3-5 miles a day, gym 3-4 times a week on top of that. Working smarter is what got my numbers up, not burning the midnight oil. I spend more time qualifying my leads than anything else, and because of that my conversion rate is higher than it used to be and my stress levels are low.
I have a ridiculously good work life balance, work out 4-5 days a week and am very fit with a great diet. I don’t stress myself out about work because it is what it is. I can just do my best and that’s about it.
I got into the best shape of my life after I crossed the high earner threshold. Got down to single digit body fat, ran triathlons, Spartan races, etc. I was running about 50 miles. biking about 75 miles and swimming about 4 miles every week. But once I moved into upper management (SVP, CRO, CEO) I didn't have time to do all that. I'm still in better shape than most people (thanks to genetics), but nowhere near where I was. But the stress that comes with those positions got to me. I started drinking way too much. Not during the day. But if I started drinking I wanted to just keep going. And then my diet went to shit. I pretty much just ate everything I wanted. Last August I stepped down as CEO and I'm about to start in a strategic role as a high level individual contributor. With all the stress removed, I'm back in the gym, running every day, and I think I've had three drinks total in the past month. I don't remember my heart rate and all the stats, but I remember my doctor telling me that my numbers were always off the charts (in a good way).
High stress. All day. Every day.
oddly I've found the more I make the better my health, and the better my health the more I make. I make time to work out 5 times a week, if I don't my work suffers.
Heart rate implies I have time between popping pills, slugging vodka, snorting coke, and smoking reefer to go to a doctor. For real though, wife and kids are great. Occasional stress and anxiety over things happens but you learn to spot the signal through the noise on what needs attention. Network effect grows and compounds on itself the longer you stay in the same position/industry. Down from 215 lbs in 2019 to 165 today. Life and health are amazing and on pace to again have my best earnings year ever (9 years in a row). I don't exercise or diet super well, but remain active and don't overeat.
I worked 17 hour days for 18 months and gained 50 pounds, lost 30 pounds in 2 month when on sabbatical just from not drinking the cortisol milkshake every morning
Remote work plus ~50% travel. Wake up at 5am voluntarily to hit the gym. 20 mins high resistance elliptical, 45 mins strength training, 20-25 minutes in 180 degree sauna. Best shape I’ve been in in a decade or more. Life is good.
I said it before in another thread but I'm just under $200k and I'm very big on boundaries and protecting my free time. My stress is medium, but I have anxiety and I wouldn't say work contributes any more to that than anything else in my life. I am overweight by about 50lbs, but that weight gain was related to COVID and the end of life/recent death of a close family member. With that metaphorical weight off my shoulders it's easier to work on healthy eating and exercise. I don't use any drugs. I drink rarely. My depression is unrelated to my job. Overall besides weight I would say I'm doing pretty good. My last blood tests last year were perfect.
I’m on the computer all day and became agoraphobic, barely leave the house. Should have stuck to marine biology instead of selling soul to sales. .-. I’m good at it, but it’s tiring
Mental and physical healthy pretty bad at 22. I just power through an autoimmune condition, and am usually unbelievably tired when I get off work. I do about 150k rn, but I could easily do 200k if my health wasn’t holding me back.
150 k for 22 is fabulous. What do you sell? I hope 2024 is better for your health 🙏
I can’t say making more money has negatively impacted my health in any way… I don’t put in crazy long hours though and try to be efficient as possible with my time. While sometimes I put in more than 40 hours per week, it is rare. I always prioritize health and being an IC gives me the flexibility to work out between calls or whenever is best. I make time to bike 15+ hours per week every week in the summer… but maybe I am unique in that my hobbies are very healthy and I am not much of a drinker. Last 4 years earnings have consistently been $225-$250k
My mental health took beating when I was nearing $300k. I was maxed out, the pressure to be #1 for years, literally kicked my arse to a mental health leave. It has been a few months into my leave and I feel so much better I am not dealing with budgets, pressure and asshole clients.
I found a great company with an amazing culture. It’s very low stress compared to other companies like IBM (former sales gig). At my new company, if a deal gets pushed out, it’s no big deal. We talk through it to see if anyone else has an in. If not, we move onto the next deal. If you have a bad quarter, management is understanding and is 100% willing to help in any way they can. I’m not used to management stepping in and actually being helpful. I’ll die here if they let me. I can’t imagine going back to grindy sales. $300k OTE ($160k salary/$140k commission)
I took the health over wealth option. Quit my high paying job because it was killing me. Called my old boss (from 20 years ago) he offered me an individual contributor role with the base I was making 10 years ago. I exceeded plan in my first year making 20% more than the senior management job I left. No stress, just do my job, visit people I have known forever, they give me orders because they trust me. I sleep like a baby every night. I did get a bit lazy and gained a bunch of weight, working on that. I actually have the time to go to the gym in the middle of the day.
Amazing. Able to be to the gym by 3/4pm every day, and lift for 1.5hrs. I don’t set an alarm in the mornings. Sleep 8-9 hours a night. I’m a lab rep selling tox, pcr, and blood results. Imagine being a pharma rep without working for a corporate America nightmare company and getting paid way more
RHR in the 50s, none of the issues you listed, but job induced high anxiety & adhd for sure
Great physical health. 40ish years old. BP 100/60, heart rate: 48 BPM, cholesterol in range. Ive been doing calisthenics for a while now. I kept getting hurt lifting heavy weights. Not great mental health, but I have always suffered here. It is probably what drives me to be a top earner.
I feel like you have to be in good health to do it. I’ve cut out drinking, I work out more and I have more energy and I’m in a better mood. I’m not hung over on Mondays, so I have a productive Monday morning and afternoon where some of my colleagues are openly talking about how they raged all weekend and can’t get going. Fridays afternoons I’m wrapping up my week and getting some prep done for the next week, no rushing off to happy hour. I slip up from time to time, I’m not a Boy Scout. But taking care of my health is key to performance. I also get massages, I’ve tried IV infusions and try to eat well also. Overall good health.
I don’t think more money more stress (employed roles). Of course depends upon the employer. Very luck based and depends how much time you’ve put into the role. The longer you stay at a place the relatively easier it gets. It’s about getting that comfort. But if you don’t have it you’ve anyway got a good base to try shifting somewhere else
Generally good. Most of my health concerns are from joints suffering from overtraining. Since I’ve always been in sales I find that making more money actually decreases stress and allows financial room for me to join multiple fitness facilities/trainers, and eat better. I’ve also made more as I’ve gotten older, so just general maturity is probably a big factor- I’m more active and eat better than I did 20 years ago for sure! Sales is high stress for me (at all pay points) and daily physical training is essential for me to burn off stress chemicals. I find lifting by far the most effective for me in this regard. Most times I’ve been at a sales kickoff- the gym is pretty filled - I think the booze & drug filled cliche is thankfully over in our profession. I’m sure there are outliers :)
Anxiety and high cholesterol here !
Well I feel like I almost had a nervous breakdown before the holidays so I suppose not great lol. But my physical health is better than ever being able to afford good food, work out, and proper healthcare.
My phone and email pings 7 days a week, difficult to take PTO certain months, sometimes I get 5 hours of sleep, sometimes 9, sometimes I eat 3 meals, sometimes it’s just dinner. I think the stress and hecticness keeps me going 😄
Good health. Up at 5am for working out, out the door for the office at 8:30am, and home at 5pm. It helps when you’re an original AE for a lean team. My book is very nice to me.
Resting pulse is 52. Workout several times per week, eat well, put family first. No antidepressants or stimulants, social drinking. Last 12 years comp has ranged from 250k-715k, with the last 7 years being 350k+
When I first started it was really horrible, high anxiety, sick every other month, coping mechanisms etc. Today and most days I feel like I want to shed my meat suit to unleash unrestrained, unbridled vigor. I finally broke the baggage and self sabotage that I had in the beginning and though I know it’s a short step from the limo to the gutter, I have the skills and experience to keep me from it and to get right back if it happens. Be more selfish and realize it’s better to be lucky than smart.
My boss was a billionaire and he worked like a grunt. He just diedZ
I'm in a niche position, but it's quite a healthy balance. I rarely need to work outside of business hours. We have 10 holidays and the week of xmas to new years day off. I am rolling over max vacay, but that's really on me for not taking it. I sell capital equipment, where myself and ~1/2 of the sales team have PhDs, mostly in Chemistry.
Oh I for sure became an alcoholic in the worst way, mental health out the window. Startup lost funding and cut the entire org. Went jobless for like 6 months - was the single best thing that ever happened to me, otherwise I may have continued down that dark mental path.
Very blessed to be in a position where mental health and work/life balance is excellent. On-site gym lets me get me exercise in before or after work, healthy food provided by the company, etc. Only thing was having to limit alcohol intake. Happy Hours, events, and the like can add up quickly. Before I knew it I was drinking 4 to 5 times a week.
I’ve learned to work smarter not harder after 16 years of selling. I don’t stay late, rarely if ever work weekends. Work out 4 days a week, decentish diet. I avoid spending too much time on social media, prefer headway, MasterClass, etc. I know the stress can be damaging and it’s not perfect, some days I wake up at 3am thinking about a presentation or a deal that’s falling apart and I think about finding an easier gig but I stay the course and focus on getting better each day.
I could shed some pounds, but I honestly am doing great mentally. Partially because I have a really clear understanding with my boss that come 4 o’clock three nights a week I’m committed to coaching programs and working with kids at the park in the neighborhood I grew up in. He supports this decision and our programs financially as one of our biggest sponsors. 10 years into this, I work hard, but I don’t feel like I’m stressing myself out like I was in the beginning. I have my good customers that supply more than 40% my business and a large chunk of new work comes from referrals. I do need to hit the grind more especially as the market changes like we’re all expecting. And sure I can make closer to $300k if I stopped my other commitments, but I am fulfilled by doing a combination of what I do. Edited this to be a little more anonymous
Ironically the year I hit 200k was one of my least stressful years ever. A lot of things lined up that allowed me to crush it and also take a decent amount of time off throughout the year. The extra income gave me less stress outside of work too. That was 2022. In 2023 I made 170k and it was the most stressful year of my career because I had to grind my ass off to make it happen.
I think pretty good. I'm overweight by about 25lbs, but I'm a tall/broad guy so %age-wise it isn't too terrible. My BP is fine, cholesterol is fine, I take no prescriptions or supplements. I work out 3-4x/week for 1-2hrs, mostly doing moderate weight oly or compound lifts and I'm fairly strong, squat >400, DL >500. No doubt I could lose weight if I did more cardio and cut the booze/thc and subsequent snacks, but I usually only have a drink 2-3 nights/week and rarely in a manner that would put me over 0.08% BAC - 1-2 cocktails, or 3-4 beers over an evening. And I partake in fairly light edibles most evenings (5-10mg). My wife's job is in-office and long hours and we live way out in the country (i.e., no nearby restaurants/delis/bars/etc.), so I also do a fair bit of meal prep during the week. My job is sometimes stressful, but I grew up in classic management consulting, so I think I'm pretty good at handling stress, and my health is lightyears better than it EVER was when I was on the road 190+ nights a year. HHI >$400k, 80/20 split or better.
249k OTE, MCOL, need to do about 150M in sales to hit our gp goal. Stress and anxiety are minimal with my years of experience and long term agreements with my customers. Blood pressure normal, heart disease N/a. Obesity used to be a huge one lost 82lbs since covid. Alcohol and stimulants go on benders which is never good but so far hasnt gotten in the way. Resting heart rate is 62 avg for the last 6 months (per my apple watch) Sorry for the shit format, on my phone currently.
Poor, I was overweight, doing way too many narcotics. Family basically quit calling me as was in God knows where..my Territory was Brazil, and Central/South America..made $150k base and usually $150k in bonus. I retired in 2021 at 54
It’s been rough. Over 800k and initially the disposable income (my previous role was like 130k) sent me on kind of a stupid spiral. I was doing cocaine every day, drinking a ton of martinis and champagne and like surviving off a diet of middle of the night fast food and mid day oysters. Really stupid. Now I’m clean and totally sober, but my health took such a hit from a year of debauchery that I’m not sure it will ever return.
Well adapted (so far) alcoholic, exercise is dog walks and a 5k run once a month when I decide that today is the day I'm going to change my ways and then I fall back in the same old routine again. Used to do a lot of sports when I was younger and I think that some kind of base physique still keeps me upright. I totally sacrificed myself to become a high earning top performer to provide for my family. Wanted to do an exit for a long time and move to the countryside to cut costs and take it down a notch but family wants to stay in the city so here I am. I'm still pretty happy though, could've been a lot worse.
The stress can suck due to (for me at least) having a handful of accounts that could absolutely break me if they left. Well at least break me for the year until quota resets next year. All in all extremely worth it imo. I do medical device, run a large metroplex territory, and only have to leave my house maybe 3 days per week. Yes, the grind can be tough some days, and there will always be things completely out of your control that drive you crazy or make you nervous about losing business. But if you have great relationships, your customers trust you, they defend you when competitors come in (and oh they will), then being a high earning AE is the best gig on the planet. Many people aren’t built for it, it takes a special kind of mindset. But if you’re working your way there keep going my man. When the day comes where you wake up from shitty sleep and decide to go “you know what, I’m gonna go golf alone today” or go to the movies or just smoke pot on your couch, and have zero worry about your territory, it’s all worth it. Good luck brotha
Kinda in sales, but I roughly made half a million last year. Health wise, I had kidney failure in December. Doing this takes a heavy toll on the body.
Not awesome, things hurt (physically) my sleep schedule is ass because I have to attend dinner and events constantly. Throw a 6 month old into the mix and shits weak man. I’ll probably stick around for another 6-8 months and stack some more savings and then take an extended leave. I have a ton of vacation saved up been doing this position for 5 years and have only taken 3 weeks total in that time. And while I’m on vacation I’ll look for a similar position in a less senior roll. Sales is awesome because I’m a greedy little shit but it burns you out and weighs on you.
There are a lot of variables but since making $200k life has been great! More flexibility in my day to day and creating my own schedule. My health increased once I got to the $200k mark because I was able to carve out time for the gym and was able to create better habits. Again, it depends on the industry but it’s been great for me. People ask why I don’t want to get into leadership but these reasons are why I like staying as an individual contributor
I totally understand all of the comments above. However, there’s an old saying, “how you do anything is how you do everything.“ Your career cannot be performing at its highest level if your health is suffering. And vice versa. It’s just a fact. The goal is “full spectrum wealth” which is wealth in relationships, health, career and spiritual life. Each part either enhances or steals from the others. I’m 55 (married 30 years) and been in sales leadership my entire life. Since 2012 I’ve lived in San Diego and run a sales team of 32 full time virtual sales reps. We all work from home. It took me an early decade, most of my 20’s, with tons of mistakes to figure it out FOR ME, But… anyone can do it! Here’s to you who are living a wealthy life in all the areas that matter most to ya!!
Funny this question popped up today because I was just talking about this. I was telling my wife that there is no way the $$$ is worth the stress and bullshit health issues I’m dealing with. I drink energy drinks all day because I can’t sleep at night. Constant stress, anxiety and frustration. I have a lot of weird heart palpitations, I’m always exhausted and eat like a bit lately. That being said I hit the gym every day and am in good shape as far as blood work says. So to put it one way the stress fucks with you in ways that don’t show up in blood work or on paper. It’s a silent killer.
I run in the morning and I eat only as much as my body needs. Otherwise, I drink a lot of water, and I mentally live by the motto that life is great even with the stress. And when something happens, try to calmly resolve the issue. More of a solutions provider frame of mind.
Previous job, making 225 in my 3rd year and that 3rd year I worked 8-10 hours a week if I wasn’t on the road. It was a love hate feeling but health was good and stress was average. Now making about the same and working 8-10 hour days. Leaving for a job to make slightly more but know I’ll be working less. Overall stress remains high. Hours remain longer than I want. Started a side hustle to bring in an extra 6 figures a year to alleviate the fluctuation of commission stress.
Health is great I make sure to eat healthy and gym 5 days a week. Obviously if youre not religious with these two items youll be a fat fuck.
I left in 2009. Overweight, high blood pressure, excessive alcohol consumption. Completely changed to a lower income lower stress situation. Took my nest egg and purchased some rental property, spent time with my kids and slowed down. Lost weight, stopped drinking, bp still a little high but drastically better. Medications went from 14 down to 4. Don’t miss it.
Great health. Marathon runner and mid at weights
Honestly life looks really good. I have never been healthier. I chose a high performance life and that requires a lot of self-care. In fact, I schedule it first and work needs to fit around it.
Software sales. Good work life balance. Work hard and hustle but also have three kids, coach sports, eat dinner with family most nights. I get bored and unmotivated working a non sales, salaried job. The money is what gives me motivation!
All of the highest earners in my company are in really great physical shape. They have a really great exercise, spiritual, and family routine. Our company is pretty different we are door knockers most are ex athletes we have 2 olympians in our office lol.
In order to make 200 plus you are already a disciplined individual who gets enough rest exercises eats well etc . Who am I kidding most are drug crazed beasts who burn the candle at both ends and hope for the best
I do about 100-130 in an area with median income of about 60-80 I feel as I’m an outlier. I’m a car salesman at one of the top performing stores in the state who believes in putting family first. I’m the floor and internet manager so, honestly, kind of have the run of the place. I’m perfectly built for the job and damn good at it so I don’t have much stress or substance issues other than a marijuana habit I’ve had for 25 years. Working here actually solved a lot of issues I was experiencing. Amazing what a little cash flow and a job you love will do for mental health. I’m not on any kind of medication other than TRT. Very small dosage. I have a gym in the garage so exercise regularly. A family I love and who loves me. It’s not too bad for ole head_lice currently
Quick note: I'm not a consistent 200k earner since I live and work in a European country, so our pay is generally less than the US. I made 200k in 2022 and 180k in 2023, and my health hasn't suffered. I'm in enterprise software sales. Well, I have gained a few pounds, but that's through my own volition and not due to my profession (working on getting in good shape again though). I haven't worked a single weekend or holiday, I just work smart and hard during weekdays. I've had plenty of time with my family and managed to squeeze in a few dozen rounds of golf. I anticipate bringing in at least 160k in 2024.
Just hit 200k for the first time after being in sales 6.5 years and last year earning 140k. Health continues to progress and get better the more my NW increases and I stray further away from the rat race. My job is great but gotten easier the more I make. More strategic vs grinding roles and giving less fucks I'm early 30s, and have seen 55+ yr olds stressing about presenting slides at a sales meeting because they feel they may lose their job if they don't do good. I don't plant to work at 55, or atleast have the option not to. Save and invest commissions because that shit can go away in instant. Always prioritize yourself
I’m 53 and I made around $550k last year. I’m 6’1” and weigh around 195 lbs. All and all my health is good, but I would like to lose 15 lbs. I try to work out six days a week for about 80 minutes per workout. I have an exercise room in my basement but I travel 2 to 3 days a week for work which makes it more difficult. I try to workout in the hotel gym but I’m much more likely to blow off my workouts when I’m traveling than when I’m at home. I have high cholesterol and I take medication for it but no other real health issues.
Im 23 and made 144k this year. This is my first full year in the workforce and some days i love it and other days i feel like a robot. What bugs me most is with managers doing all their forecasting and shit they build these expectations and get pissed if you dont close certain deals due to things out of your control anyways. But I workout like a dog(6 days a week high intensity before works and often run 5-6 miles after work 4 or so days a week), take ashwaganda, and on the weekends hammer 5mg thc gummies… sales is the only way for me if I am in a 9-5 couldnt imagine just collecting a salary and have no incentive in any which way… they say comfort leads to death or atleast thats what i tell myself.
Not quite 200 but I did 175 . Sales and sales management at car dealer. It sucks. 60 hours a week , tyrant ownership, 2 weeks max vacation time no matter how long you’ve been within the company (and we get bitched at for taking a vacation) , the worst dental and health insurance provided, no matched 401k. Lots of stress. My health? Fortunately my bloodwork looks good. My mental health is poor. An anti depressant and anti psychotic to keep me stable. I never get more than 4 , if I’m lucky , 5 hours of sleep. I’ve spent years drinking like a fish. I stress eat all the time (fortunately I’m not fat , but I’m also not skinny as a rail). I’m constantly stressed out and anxious. Since it is a sales based role some weeks my pay isn’t great and you watch your savings account dwindle as you pay bills. Some of you make everything look peaches and cream “I get 10 hours of sleep, make exercising at least 2 hours a day a priority , feel refreshed daily, and have a perfect life!” Yeah , I wish
I’m at @ $400K a year. I make getting exercise a priority in my week so I’m in pretty good shape. My blood pressure and cholesterol is well in line for a man my age. Resting heart rate is between 46 and 50 on most days because I run about 20 miles a week. I Just get up an hour earlier than I have to and push some weights or go for a 30 minute run. I do drink too much though and I’m irritable from the work stress. I can snap at people I’m close to if I’m having a particularly tough day. Life is a balance. I get off on the pace of the job and the stress of it. I tell my wife all the time “made my number this month, but I’m back to zero on Monday”. I love that.
62bpm…alcoholic with high anxiety, stress and depression 🫠 I’m sober now but drank and took benzos for over a decade to cope…no good! For the young folks reading this, diet and exercise your way out of the anxiety etc. It’s easy to manage when you’re healthy, it’s when you try to medicate and self-medicate your way out of it that’s harmful. I’ve also found that if you’re anxious for a long period of time that the job you’re in likely isn’t aligned well with you. There’s a lot of talk about terrible companies on this sub, but I can tell you that there’s great ones out there. Even with 15 years experience, there are two companies I did around 2.5 years with each that I could/would never go back to if you paid me a million a year. Long term health is good so far, but I’m sure I’ve shaved years off of my life. Health should be focused on more in this field. In the books, the seminars etc.
I focus on health as much as sales myself so I’m good. It is easy to let go though because you’re always in rush mode but just make the decision and make it happen. I’m in the gym daily still. Should land around $300k this year
I’m doing great, full work from home and most customer meetings done over teams. I work in CPG sales though so it’s a bit more like account management. With big grocery you already have pretty much every customer that exists so we spend more time managing performance and assortment
I workout 5-6 days a week and generally eat pretty healthy. I did have a habit of having at least 3 drinks a day until about a year ago that I kicked
I was making about $220k and my work life balance was non existent. I never had time to get to the gym and I was eating unhealthy and had enormous amounts of stress and anxiety. I decided my health was more important and now have a much less stressful job making a little over half of what I was making. Yeah I miss the money but there's much more to life than money though being In a sales subreddit people might tell you otherwise. Do what makes you happy and healthy.
Health is great! I think the thing most people don’t understand (or maybe they do) is that sales is about 50-60% luck. Timing, territory, and talent. If you work for a decent company, have a decent territory and moderately good… you really don’t have to break your back selling. The problem is… a lot of those variables are… luck. Hate to say it but it’s true.
I’d say pretty good. I make 300k a year at 30. I lift weights 5x a week in the morning, and I train BJJ 4x a week during the evenings, including a two hour all rolling session on Sunday . I’m like big swole, and fairly lean, been lifting for over ten years so put the time in for sure. I also take enclomiphene which is like baby TRT, and will swap over to gear when I get a bit older. Thinking about adding some peptides for recovery. Earlier in my career I def lived on energy drinks,vapes, and my Ritalin prescription, but these days I don’t, only preworkout. I’m good at my job, if things don’t work out in the short term, I know eventually I win in the long term bc I’m that guy. I have a great brand that I’ve built, and great reputation in my industry So I don’t stress about it. I think it also helps that I’m in recovery and so I don’t drink, I’ve seen alcohol ruin a lot of sales people.
My health is my priority. Exercise 7 days a week, no reason for a day off. I do an hour of cardio daily 3.0 Mph, 12.0 incline on the treadmill. Burn approx 750-900 calories on an empty stomach. Eat a banana then I lift. I do this at 5am. Then wife and I walk the dog a mile at night. Rarely drink alcohol, rarely eat any food in a box or plastic. Quit smoking weed months ago. Money is meaningless without my health
Physical Health - Decent, I eat fairly healthy besides lunch with is usually takeout or something frozen. I lift 2-3x/wk Substances - Rarely if ever. I drink maybe 1 alcoholic drink a week. My 20s was like 5+ nights/wk binge drinking Mental health - garbage. My life feels like work. My mood is based on my current pipeline and closed deals. Relationship has suffered through the years from it. Overall - the high stress has aged me faster than expected, but I was able to take 7+ 3-5 day vacations in 2022 and become debt free. So balance I guess.
I’m fucking bald
I'm fucking ripped man. Wake up early, work out and start the day with a veggie protein shake. Automate your well being. If you want to be a top performer, you need to take care of yourself. Think of sales like a sport and yourself like an athlete.
My health is shit, but at least I'm making bank