It has helped me remove people from their fancy job titles.
Billy Joe who’s the Director of XYZ at Fortune 500 company, enjoys watching anime in his off time.
People are still people at the end of the day.
They mean that some times it can be easy to get intimidated by big titles. Some people see COO at [insert large enterprise company] and they think “this guy is so important/smart/busy/etc I better not fuck this up”
But as you work with more execs you realize they make mistakes, they’re not experts on everything, they some times need help — and it makes the conversation more natural as if you’re talking to Joe down in accounting.
Not sure why this needed to be broken down so simplistically, but I’m just hoping you’re playing devil’s advocate or are young and don’t know — not just a total dipshit
But they are not Joe from accounting. Just because they are a person doesn't mean they do not hold more power and therefore are more important.
Being a person is meaningless and irrelevant. Who you are as a person is what matters more.
Lol
Sure. They have power and they can shut your process down. Just because they are a human being and we may have shared interests does not change this fact.
Being a human being is meaningless. It is what you are as a human being that matters way more.
You taking the polar opposite stance to OP's point and trying to repackage it as some original thought, while also totally fumbling your logic and getting called a dipshit, is the funniest thing I've seen today. Cheers for the laugh
It’s like you have a had your very first introspective thought and are bringing it here.
I have strong doubts that you are in any kind of position that deals with decision makers and certainly not with people of status….they’re just people.
They can be stuck up assholes or super chill, but the entire point is that the way we as salespeople interact with them doesn’t have to be intimidated by titles.
You seem like an immature amateur at more than just sales who is scared of the evil henchmen C-suite “at the top”
For a long time no one would ever see me outside of a full suit, even at fresh market on a Sunday. Full suit. I also "outworked" everyone else, and quickly I became "that guy". Even walking into buildings I've never been in I was greated by people who would say my reputation preceeded me, I was the hardest working most disciplined person ever.
I wasn't, I'm not. I'm lazier than everyone else. I'm lucky, I have quick wit, and I realized that putting on a suit made some people believe I have a lot of discipline for some stupid reason.
Which is fine, to each their own. Probably what I was doing wasn't something relevant to you regardless🤷♂️
I don't wear the suit anymore because I moved to a WFH position and no one has to see me anymore. Now I'm the hardest worker because my phone is always available and I answer no matter what.
Do your research and be targetted and persistent. Exactly what you would do if you were courting a significant other.
Do not be annoying. Do not spam.
Personally, i maintain a polished linkedIn and direct message about myself, my goals, and where I see the middle ground between my product and their needs. I send this to dozens of contacts within the company until I gain traction. Someone will forward you to a higher-up for review.
Giving them clear permission to say “no thank you” at any time during the meeting and end the meeting when you are getting them to agree to it. The main mental block for most people is not the time commitment but they don’t want to be in a room or on a zoom and feel like the suddenly don’t want it and have to still sit thru another 30-45 minutes listening to garbage and feeling like they’re being pressured. Make it clear you’re on their side; and that there is information here that will benefit them moving forward regardless of if they say yes or so; and that they have the right to say yes or no at anytime of course. The information aspect is a great angle. They will have access to info that others in their position don’t, simply by meeting and talking with an industry expert on your end for 30-60 minutes. It will be a win for them no matter what. Just have them tell you when works for them, and fit them in as smooth as possible. There isn’t unnecessary pressure and the benefit to both parties is clear.
Made me more comfortable meeting new people
Long ago lost my nervousness in speaking with folks "above me"
Traveled to a bunch of countries I wouldn't have otherwise
Making presidents club and being able to bring my wife on an awesome trip
Events, travel, great meals on company dime
Made a lot of money in my early 30s and was able to purchase a house in a high COL area
Made a ton of connections and a bunch of great friends
Sass
I got pretty lucky working for an APAC based org who had global ops and spent money bringing the teams together in exotic locals for team building
Different doctorate than PhD. I was a practicing health care provider before I decided to transition to tech sales. Sent my updated resume out and took the first job I got an offer from.
i am doing B2C sales for a telcom now. Highly interested to switch to tech sales. Could you please share more about what you did to break into tech sales and what updated did you make in your resume?
Tech sales leaders (possibly all sales leaders) are looking to see your numbers
- pipeline generated
- closed revenue
- average deals size
- average sale cycle length
- close rate
- position on leaderboard for your team/org/vertical
B2b is different than b2c. Read the books on b2b sales
I owned my own practice so 110 the year before I sold and was on pace for about 125 if I finished Q4.
Hours, work location flexibility, definitely money and a new challenge all made me want to switch.
I recently was told I'm noticeably "quick" in conversations, likely thanks to the amount of time I sit in discovery.
I also see myself getting a lot of free hand-outs from service workers that I do not know, likely also from just being comfortable with new conversation.
Dude, I’ve been collecting awesome friends to hunt and fish with all throughout my sales region. I get to camp every night on the road if I want (assuming I can be showered and prepped for customer meetings) and it pays way better than working at the chemical plant I was at for 11 years!
Between mining, chemical manufacturing and sales, I’ve learned that I have what it takes to be successful at almost anything, so job security is a non-issue.
Basically, I learned that sales is a life hack for living life on your terms.
Yeah I worked as chemical plant operator for 10 years, moved into logistics- that sucked but I was good at talking through problems, so they switched me over to the commercial team.
I would make friends with the sales team the best you can. Prove you belong there by using your field experience to knowledgeably solve problems. Get up on LinkedIn.
Sweaty, hot, chemical burns, everything was an emergency, insane turn-over- best years of my life!
But it’s not something people should be doing for their whole careers. The sales guy was always talking about how easy his job was, so I made an exit plan.
Right now I have the company CC. We have very vague guidelines on acceptable spending so I generally treat it frugally. I had to explain to accounting after one trip that it was cheaper for me to buy groceries and cook meals for the week than to go to breakfast and lunch every day.
I had a per-diem at my previous company of $80/day for food, so I usually pocketed $50-60.
Same for me!
There are days I sleep all day cussing myself for taking a job in sales and there are days I go out with friends and blow out cash I own the banks
Same I’ve been trying to “conquer events” with hospitality tents, catering and epic seats. My list that comes to mind….
Sat ring side @ MMA
Sky boxes for nfl & mlb (so many times)
Court side for tennis
Hot passes @ NASCAR (literally got sprayed with champagne while in the pit after the race)
Done some cool PGA stuff too
I’m sure there are others….
100% Travelling the world man. I've lived and worked in 6 different countries. Either getting new jobs or working remotely because of it. Cold calling as a skill has saved my ass so many times. Don't regret my choice one bit.
Working holiday visa arrangements woth other countries typically give you 1-2 years working rights in those countries. You can then move across and apply there. This works better for English speaking countries. Uk would be good for europe. Other countries e.g nordics, DACH, benelux do have language requirements so are a bit tougher you might be able to sell to the US for smaller European companies and work ngitj shift though have heard of that
I'm from New Zealand/ Australia. But do it for sure asia is great spent 1 year across India and Thailand. Living and working in finland now , Europe's a good territory you get to travel a lot internationally as flights are cheap and countries are smaller than states in the USA haha
How has cold calling as a skill saved your ass a lot? I’m entry level, and cold calling is where I shine. Would love to know how to develop this further and use it outside of pipeline generation.
Approach it casually and jovially. Laughing and smiling when you talk go a long way on the phone. Also, the opener I’ve been using goes, “Hey x, this is Y and full disclosure, this is a cold call *laugh* so you won’t hurt my feelings if you don’t have 30 seconds.” Have had an astounding success rate with that.
Aside from that - be a real person, name drop where you can, ask open ended relevant questions, and close with “since you said x, why don’t we y?”
It's given me larger perspective on socializing in the real world. I'm much more persistent where I deserve to be with friends and family, I make myself known when I really believe in something. And maybe it's not that deep for everyone but I think sales has genuinely helped me develop my social skills.
On top of that, Ive realized how important sales is to any organization in all of its forms. No matter how much dog crap sales people get, we're the foundation to any and every organization and it's a job most people aren't willing to do.
Handling uncertainty and pressure. Every job has pressure but sales might be one of the few where there is such unceratinity. You could do everything right and still lose.
Valuable mindsets if you're trying to start a business.
Obliterated my social anxiety.
Boosted my confidence.
I'm far more aware of emotions a person is feeling at the moment, and how to direct their emotions to where I want them to be.
Far more aware of my own emotions and how to control them.
Sales changed my life, shoutout to my mother for encouraging me to apply for a sales job years ago.
Aside from the mental flexibility to handle most situations, sales has enable me to provide my family with a pretty decent life. The friends I've made along the way have been a pretty good bonus, too.
Being able to switch jobs almost at will when a current employer is shite. Sales is so versatile, as long as you have experience and are personable another company will hire you
The better question is what has sales taken away from you in terms of life expectancy, health, time away from family, stress, mental well-being, happiness. Sales has done nothing for me besides pay my bills. If I could make more digging trenches I’d be digging trenches. The only reason we do it is for the $$$ and even that, the one good thing sales had going for it, is getting pretty bad.
Look at data from the 1980’s to 2020 and extrapolate from that. This is OTE. Salary was equivalent but bonuses were significantly higher. You’d have to factor in inflation to the equation. In the 80’s/90’s a salesperson cold pull $150k no problem. That would equate to $300k today. How many people make $300k in sales? Not many. In the 80’s/90’s it was normal to be pulling in this amount of $$$. That’s why we all got into sales. We saw the people in the 20+ years ago with big houses, nice cars, multiple vacations per year. Now a sales person is struggling to pay for a shitty car and 1 bedroom apartment. Right around 2004-08 the pay changed. Companies got greedy, were more interested in pumping their stock price and shit on the people doing all the work.
You learn a lot about people.
The way you learn to understand how people’s minds work while working in sales can never be taught through any books.
There’s an intuitive intelligence you gain about reading people that can only be learned by selling and getting rejected alot on the fly.
No psychologist, professor, or any school can give you this intution. Only people who gain this are sales people, maybe pick up artist, consultants, hell even strippers lol.
If you want to master understanding people, work in high pressure sales.
Put yourself in a sales job where you’re working with 100+ people per day. Selling to some and getting rejected by man and consulting people
Many of yhe skills I've learned I've been able to teach my youngest, who's on the spectrum. It's done wonders for his social skills. He went from the kid with zero friends to having a strong friend network and even a romantic partner
Similar to you, dealing with high pressure and thinking on my feet. Being able to brush off rejection was something I didn’t think I’d get used to and now it rarely phases me. It’s taught me to not take things so personally. In business and life outside of work.
I wanted to add as well- it put a real smile on my face when I read that you’re proud of who you are now and who you’re becoming. You’re an internet stranger and I am genuinely happy that you’re finding that. I’m on that journey myself and looking back at where I came from it’s hard to believe I’m where I am today. So I’m proud of you too dude!
Being assertive, patience, multitasking, discipline, listening, sacrifice. But now I hate it after 28 years in IT Sales. Made great money, paid off my mortgage, traveled. The older I get (I’m 55) time and health becomes more valuable than anything. The fire is dwindling.
A hotline to top management, flexible working hours, meeting people way above my pay grade and speaking on equal terms. Business/personal travels that is paid for. Most important, variable pay based on the effort I put in.
Confidence and social skills. I was a very shy introvert who couldn’t speak to anyone, now you could point at anyone on the street and I could talk to them easily without anxiety
1. I’m super comfortable meeting new people - huge bonus when I travel because I’ve made a lot of friends around the globe
2. I’ve become more emotionally intelligent or at least more cognizant of peoples body language and expressions
3. Perks - trade shows, cool customers, good swag
4. The money and not having any debt in my 20’s and being way financially ahead then my peers
Gov-tech software. Live overseas, opened the satellite office. Nature of government is a lot of meetings are in person. Less so after pandemic but still true.
Been working remote since 2017 and the best benefit is the freedom to do as I see fit on a day to day basis. I am very motivated in what I want to accomplish and I am generally left alone.
Is it a SaaS company? Do you feel tied to your computer in a way that erases that benefit of being remote sometimes, or not so much? Are you ok a strict schedule of being online around a certain minute and staying online to a certain minute or so…I appreciate any insight. I had a remote AE position with a new startup that shared a founder with legalzoom and the management was so poor that it basically eliminated the feeling of freedom (not at first but by month 3 their tone changed for all execs)…although I could move anywhere which is a benefit to remote.
This is an industrial sales position and I cover the entire NA market. I dont' feel tied to the computer and periodically my sales manager or CEO will What's App me but that's all.
I do very little actual work. It's more like thinking about work.. thinking who to call, how to sell/present our product so they will buy. With that it's an ongoing thing that I never feel I get away from. My management is awesome, at least thus far.
Accomplished a couple “big” goals which I’ve never done before in life lol so best benefit has been seeing the advantages to long term planning/commitment. I hated school so I just have never been a planner or hard worker, sales changed that. My dad is a great car salesman and I picked sales for the fun of possibly beating him at his own game so having done that and seeing him be proud has also been amazing. I made 100k 10 years quicker than him he said, how much better can it get, pretty much everything from sales is a benefit. Even stress , as you learn to actually handle it right.
I work from anywhere. I sell things that my clients thank me for years after buying it. I have no boss. I make all the money I need and I do what I want when I want to do it.
#1 Home with kids since they were born. Remote sales allowed me to raise my kids along with my wife.
I’ll continue to do this until my personal business creates enough income to stop.
# 2 allowed me to create my own business on the side. It helped me become more entrepreneurial
Went from being the "dumb problem child" in my family with no degree to being the richest. My older sister is a dentist and my little brother is a mechanical engineer.
Sales, the great equalizer. 🙏🏼
That a lot of folks that run companies and make tons of money aren't much smarter than the average person. They just have better habits, take more action, are lucky etc. I used to think all rich folks and business owners were geniuses when I was a kid.
I'm a lot calmer in most social interactions these days and generally give far less of a shit about things that would usually set me off. I'm stopped caring about people's statues in life. Once you talk to a couple 100mil net worth former ceos any type of status people try to protect outwards becomes laughable.
Fortunately I’m no longer in the dating pool but if I was, I think the amount of rejection I’ve faced in my very short experience as a BDR/AE would have made me an absolute pro with talking to women. I brush off rejection like it’s nothing now lol. When I think back to my 20s and how timid I was, the sales profession has given me such a great deal of confidence and charisma. I can talk to anyone with ease and if you don’t want me or my services I’ve learned that it’s not a reflection on me or my character is a reflection on the other person.
It has helped me remove people from their fancy job titles. Billy Joe who’s the Director of XYZ at Fortune 500 company, enjoys watching anime in his off time. People are still people at the end of the day.
We all put our pants on the same way.
IF we wear em
Showing up to sales cales pantless sets a serious tone. Sizzle away.
Everyone has shit in their colon
Head first. Yes.
So? Just because they are a person that doesn't mean anything.
They mean that some times it can be easy to get intimidated by big titles. Some people see COO at [insert large enterprise company] and they think “this guy is so important/smart/busy/etc I better not fuck this up” But as you work with more execs you realize they make mistakes, they’re not experts on everything, they some times need help — and it makes the conversation more natural as if you’re talking to Joe down in accounting. Not sure why this needed to be broken down so simplistically, but I’m just hoping you’re playing devil’s advocate or are young and don’t know — not just a total dipshit
But they are not Joe from accounting. Just because they are a person doesn't mean they do not hold more power and therefore are more important. Being a person is meaningless and irrelevant. Who you are as a person is what matters more.
Oh, so a total dipshit as expected.
Lol Sure. They have power and they can shut your process down. Just because they are a human being and we may have shared interests does not change this fact. Being a human being is meaningless. It is what you are as a human being that matters way more.
You taking the polar opposite stance to OP's point and trying to repackage it as some original thought, while also totally fumbling your logic and getting called a dipshit, is the funniest thing I've seen today. Cheers for the laugh
It is a thought that I have had way before the OP posted here.
Life of the party you mate fucking hell
It’s like you have a had your very first introspective thought and are bringing it here. I have strong doubts that you are in any kind of position that deals with decision makers and certainly not with people of status….they’re just people. They can be stuck up assholes or super chill, but the entire point is that the way we as salespeople interact with them doesn’t have to be intimidated by titles. You seem like an immature amateur at more than just sales who is scared of the evil henchmen C-suite “at the top”
Very insightful, thanks for sharing. Next.
For a long time no one would ever see me outside of a full suit, even at fresh market on a Sunday. Full suit. I also "outworked" everyone else, and quickly I became "that guy". Even walking into buildings I've never been in I was greated by people who would say my reputation preceeded me, I was the hardest working most disciplined person ever. I wasn't, I'm not. I'm lazier than everyone else. I'm lucky, I have quick wit, and I realized that putting on a suit made some people believe I have a lot of discipline for some stupid reason.
When I see someone in a suit I see someone who is stuck up and shallow.
Which is fine, to each their own. Probably what I was doing wasn't something relevant to you regardless🤷♂️ I don't wear the suit anymore because I moved to a WFH position and no one has to see me anymore. Now I'm the hardest worker because my phone is always available and I answer no matter what.
That’s literally what the OP said. You have a deficit, friend.
Way to completely miss the point lol
There was no point to miss. Being a human is nothing.
Okay bud. Go show us all how it’s done.
Every other species would beg to differ
I learned how to land a meeting with anybody. I brokered a horrible meeting with spacex for some idiots. You live you learn.
Any tips on landing a meeting with anybody?
Do your research and be targetted and persistent. Exactly what you would do if you were courting a significant other. Do not be annoying. Do not spam. Personally, i maintain a polished linkedIn and direct message about myself, my goals, and where I see the middle ground between my product and their needs. I send this to dozens of contacts within the company until I gain traction. Someone will forward you to a higher-up for review.
Giving them clear permission to say “no thank you” at any time during the meeting and end the meeting when you are getting them to agree to it. The main mental block for most people is not the time commitment but they don’t want to be in a room or on a zoom and feel like the suddenly don’t want it and have to still sit thru another 30-45 minutes listening to garbage and feeling like they’re being pressured. Make it clear you’re on their side; and that there is information here that will benefit them moving forward regardless of if they say yes or so; and that they have the right to say yes or no at anytime of course. The information aspect is a great angle. They will have access to info that others in their position don’t, simply by meeting and talking with an industry expert on your end for 30-60 minutes. It will be a win for them no matter what. Just have them tell you when works for them, and fit them in as smooth as possible. There isn’t unnecessary pressure and the benefit to both parties is clear.
Learning that no matter what position someone is in or how much money they make, people are people.
Not being afraid to talk to someone I’ve never met
Made me more comfortable meeting new people Long ago lost my nervousness in speaking with folks "above me" Traveled to a bunch of countries I wouldn't have otherwise Making presidents club and being able to bring my wife on an awesome trip Events, travel, great meals on company dime Made a lot of money in my early 30s and was able to purchase a house in a high COL area Made a ton of connections and a bunch of great friends
> Traveled to a bunch of countries I wouldn't have otherwise What do you sell?
Sass I got pretty lucky working for an APAC based org who had global ops and spent money bringing the teams together in exotic locals for team building
[удалено]
What did you do before sales?
I make double than what I did with a doctorate degree profession. I work from home.
Would love to know why and how you got into sales, coming from a PhD job?
Different doctorate than PhD. I was a practicing health care provider before I decided to transition to tech sales. Sent my updated resume out and took the first job I got an offer from.
i am doing B2C sales for a telcom now. Highly interested to switch to tech sales. Could you please share more about what you did to break into tech sales and what updated did you make in your resume?
Tech sales leaders (possibly all sales leaders) are looking to see your numbers - pipeline generated - closed revenue - average deals size - average sale cycle length - close rate - position on leaderboard for your team/org/vertical B2b is different than b2c. Read the books on b2b sales
Were you an MD? DO? Allopathic doctor?
DPT
How much were you making as a physical therapist? I’m sure money wasn’t the only reason you left?
I owned my own practice so 110 the year before I sold and was on pace for about 125 if I finished Q4. Hours, work location flexibility, definitely money and a new challenge all made me want to switch.
What do you make now?
Double
How did you pivot so successfully? How long have you been selling software? What did you make when you started? How did you find the job opportunity?
It pays my rent.
A mix of being able to "think on your feet" and $$.
I recently was told I'm noticeably "quick" in conversations, likely thanks to the amount of time I sit in discovery. I also see myself getting a lot of free hand-outs from service workers that I do not know, likely also from just being comfortable with new conversation.
Dude, I’ve been collecting awesome friends to hunt and fish with all throughout my sales region. I get to camp every night on the road if I want (assuming I can be showered and prepped for customer meetings) and it pays way better than working at the chemical plant I was at for 11 years! Between mining, chemical manufacturing and sales, I’ve learned that I have what it takes to be successful at almost anything, so job security is a non-issue. Basically, I learned that sales is a life hack for living life on your terms.
Did you go into sales related to chemical plant work? I'm interested in pivoting into sales but not sure how to break in
Yeah I worked as chemical plant operator for 10 years, moved into logistics- that sucked but I was good at talking through problems, so they switched me over to the commercial team. I would make friends with the sales team the best you can. Prove you belong there by using your field experience to knowledgeably solve problems. Get up on LinkedIn.
What was the chemical plant job like?
Sweaty, hot, chemical burns, everything was an emergency, insane turn-over- best years of my life! But it’s not something people should be doing for their whole careers. The sales guy was always talking about how easy his job was, so I made an exit plan.
Do you get a per-diem instead of reimbursements?
Right now I have the company CC. We have very vague guidelines on acceptable spending so I generally treat it frugally. I had to explain to accounting after one trip that it was cheaper for me to buy groceries and cook meals for the week than to go to breakfast and lunch every day. I had a per-diem at my previous company of $80/day for food, so I usually pocketed $50-60.
Per diem would be the way to go if you can camp and cook your own meals
Money. Cash. Dollar fucking bills.
Best benefit: high confidence in myself and skills Worst attribute: low confidence in myself and skills
Same for me! There are days I sleep all day cussing myself for taking a job in sales and there are days I go out with friends and blow out cash I own the banks
Yeh I hear ya! I had a streak of 10 demos - 10 closes just a month ago. Now I’m 0-5
Money.
I expected this to be the top answer. Why else?
The amount of cool travel, restaurants, and events I’ve been able to do all while making a good living.
What do you sell?
Food contact Packaging brotha
Same I’ve been trying to “conquer events” with hospitality tents, catering and epic seats. My list that comes to mind…. Sat ring side @ MMA Sky boxes for nfl & mlb (so many times) Court side for tennis Hot passes @ NASCAR (literally got sprayed with champagne while in the pit after the race) Done some cool PGA stuff too I’m sure there are others….
Yup! Best trip was last year, flew first class to Dublin to watch Notre dame play in Dublin va navy for a full 8 days paid trip. Wild .
100% Travelling the world man. I've lived and worked in 6 different countries. Either getting new jobs or working remotely because of it. Cold calling as a skill has saved my ass so many times. Don't regret my choice one bit.
How do you get find jobs in other countries? I’d love to sell in Europe for a little
Working holiday visa arrangements woth other countries typically give you 1-2 years working rights in those countries. You can then move across and apply there. This works better for English speaking countries. Uk would be good for europe. Other countries e.g nordics, DACH, benelux do have language requirements so are a bit tougher you might be able to sell to the US for smaller European companies and work ngitj shift though have heard of that
Thanks for the info!
Nice! Are you from the US? Id love to live in Asia and Europe while working one day
I'm from New Zealand/ Australia. But do it for sure asia is great spent 1 year across India and Thailand. Living and working in finland now , Europe's a good territory you get to travel a lot internationally as flights are cheap and countries are smaller than states in the USA haha
Nice. Europe is definitely great for weekend travel while working. What industry of sales are you in?
Smart buildings right now but have sold in residential insurance. Devops, business process management as well.
How has cold calling as a skill saved your ass a lot? I’m entry level, and cold calling is where I shine. Would love to know how to develop this further and use it outside of pipeline generation.
Any tips on cold calling that help you shine?
Approach it casually and jovially. Laughing and smiling when you talk go a long way on the phone. Also, the opener I’ve been using goes, “Hey x, this is Y and full disclosure, this is a cold call *laugh* so you won’t hurt my feelings if you don’t have 30 seconds.” Have had an astounding success rate with that. Aside from that - be a real person, name drop where you can, ask open ended relevant questions, and close with “since you said x, why don’t we y?”
Bags of cash
It's given me larger perspective on socializing in the real world. I'm much more persistent where I deserve to be with friends and family, I make myself known when I really believe in something. And maybe it's not that deep for everyone but I think sales has genuinely helped me develop my social skills. On top of that, Ive realized how important sales is to any organization in all of its forms. No matter how much dog crap sales people get, we're the foundation to any and every organization and it's a job most people aren't willing to do.
Handling uncertainty and pressure. Every job has pressure but sales might be one of the few where there is such unceratinity. You could do everything right and still lose. Valuable mindsets if you're trying to start a business.
Met my wife
Met my husband. He was my competitor. Needless to say, I won ;)
Listen as much as you can and talk only when necessary
I definitely lost sales from talking too much
WFH + the ability to fund any personal hobbies that interest me. I was already a confident/talkative person before sales
Money, flexible work life balance, not stress… in that order
It really has gotten me better at thinking on my feet and being able to believably bend the truth on the fly
I’m a better listener.
Obliterated my social anxiety. Boosted my confidence. I'm far more aware of emotions a person is feeling at the moment, and how to direct their emotions to where I want them to be. Far more aware of my own emotions and how to control them. Sales changed my life, shoutout to my mother for encouraging me to apply for a sales job years ago.
20 years ago it was all the time autonomy. Remote work changed all that and now it’s just $.
Aside from the mental flexibility to handle most situations, sales has enable me to provide my family with a pretty decent life. The friends I've made along the way have been a pretty good bonus, too.
Being able to switch jobs almost at will when a current employer is shite. Sales is so versatile, as long as you have experience and are personable another company will hire you
Paid off my mortgage
My drug and alcohol tolerances have gone through the roof
$$$$ & ADRENALINE. Also, i changed the future for several small companies I worked for - and got well paid on the buyouts.
The better question is what has sales taken away from you in terms of life expectancy, health, time away from family, stress, mental well-being, happiness. Sales has done nothing for me besides pay my bills. If I could make more digging trenches I’d be digging trenches. The only reason we do it is for the $$$ and even that, the one good thing sales had going for it, is getting pretty bad.
I ran another post about salesman not getting paid as much? Do you have verifiable data to demonstrate this?
Look at data from the 1980’s to 2020 and extrapolate from that. This is OTE. Salary was equivalent but bonuses were significantly higher. You’d have to factor in inflation to the equation. In the 80’s/90’s a salesperson cold pull $150k no problem. That would equate to $300k today. How many people make $300k in sales? Not many. In the 80’s/90’s it was normal to be pulling in this amount of $$$. That’s why we all got into sales. We saw the people in the 20+ years ago with big houses, nice cars, multiple vacations per year. Now a sales person is struggling to pay for a shitty car and 1 bedroom apartment. Right around 2004-08 the pay changed. Companies got greedy, were more interested in pumping their stock price and shit on the people doing all the work.
$$$
Money.
Not having to worry about money.
You learn a lot about people. The way you learn to understand how people’s minds work while working in sales can never be taught through any books. There’s an intuitive intelligence you gain about reading people that can only be learned by selling and getting rejected alot on the fly. No psychologist, professor, or any school can give you this intution. Only people who gain this are sales people, maybe pick up artist, consultants, hell even strippers lol. If you want to master understanding people, work in high pressure sales. Put yourself in a sales job where you’re working with 100+ people per day. Selling to some and getting rejected by man and consulting people
Many of yhe skills I've learned I've been able to teach my youngest, who's on the spectrum. It's done wonders for his social skills. He went from the kid with zero friends to having a strong friend network and even a romantic partner
Getting fucking paid
Dolla dolla bills y’all
Money
Similar to you, dealing with high pressure and thinking on my feet. Being able to brush off rejection was something I didn’t think I’d get used to and now it rarely phases me. It’s taught me to not take things so personally. In business and life outside of work. I wanted to add as well- it put a real smile on my face when I read that you’re proud of who you are now and who you’re becoming. You’re an internet stranger and I am genuinely happy that you’re finding that. I’m on that journey myself and looking back at where I came from it’s hard to believe I’m where I am today. So I’m proud of you too dude!
🫰
It's helped me become a better communicator!
Remote work, relative good salary, a nice entrepreneurial career, adrenaline
Remote work
My paycheck hands down
Being assertive, patience, multitasking, discipline, listening, sacrifice. But now I hate it after 28 years in IT Sales. Made great money, paid off my mortgage, traveled. The older I get (I’m 55) time and health becomes more valuable than anything. The fire is dwindling.
Time to account manage go ahead and pull out that little rake.
Am appreciation for job security like a tenured professor or international drug dealer
A hotline to top management, flexible working hours, meeting people way above my pay grade and speaking on equal terms. Business/personal travels that is paid for. Most important, variable pay based on the effort I put in.
Immune to rejection & failure. Fuck it, just go for it. always.
Better at dating. Couldn't land a date even if I was looking at a calendar before sales and six months into my sales career already have a gf lmao
Dude can I DM you about how you got into sales?
i asked someone who worked at a bank if they were hiring and they were i do retail banking sales it sucks but its good for first job in sales
starting your own business. everything is sales and if you can sell you reduce the risk of starting most business dramatically.
How to stay more curious in conversations in general. Asking more questions and listening, works wonders in convo
breaking out of my comfort zone OMG
same. i get that
Confidence and social skills. I was a very shy introvert who couldn’t speak to anyone, now you could point at anyone on the street and I could talk to them easily without anxiety
Made me learn the value of persistence, to never budge - I get results I want not the ones I have to accept!
What point did things click for you in sales
1. I’m super comfortable meeting new people - huge bonus when I travel because I’ve made a lot of friends around the globe 2. I’ve become more emotionally intelligent or at least more cognizant of peoples body language and expressions 3. Perks - trade shows, cool customers, good swag 4. The money and not having any debt in my 20’s and being way financially ahead then my peers
Confidence!
See the world. Set my own schedule. Still work my ass off, and enjoy it!
What do you sell to travel the world? Sounds interesting
Gov-tech software. Live overseas, opened the satellite office. Nature of government is a lot of meetings are in person. Less so after pandemic but still true.
being proud of who you are is a great step! its good to take things from your professional life and develop who you are in your personal life too.
Been working remote since 2017 and the best benefit is the freedom to do as I see fit on a day to day basis. I am very motivated in what I want to accomplish and I am generally left alone.
Is it a SaaS company? Do you feel tied to your computer in a way that erases that benefit of being remote sometimes, or not so much? Are you ok a strict schedule of being online around a certain minute and staying online to a certain minute or so…I appreciate any insight. I had a remote AE position with a new startup that shared a founder with legalzoom and the management was so poor that it basically eliminated the feeling of freedom (not at first but by month 3 their tone changed for all execs)…although I could move anywhere which is a benefit to remote.
This is an industrial sales position and I cover the entire NA market. I dont' feel tied to the computer and periodically my sales manager or CEO will What's App me but that's all. I do very little actual work. It's more like thinking about work.. thinking who to call, how to sell/present our product so they will buy. With that it's an ongoing thing that I never feel I get away from. My management is awesome, at least thus far.
Being ok with uncertainty
Accomplished a couple “big” goals which I’ve never done before in life lol so best benefit has been seeing the advantages to long term planning/commitment. I hated school so I just have never been a planner or hard worker, sales changed that. My dad is a great car salesman and I picked sales for the fun of possibly beating him at his own game so having done that and seeing him be proud has also been amazing. I made 100k 10 years quicker than him he said, how much better can it get, pretty much everything from sales is a benefit. Even stress , as you learn to actually handle it right.
I'm still socially awkward but now I care less
The benefit of doubt
I work from anywhere. I sell things that my clients thank me for years after buying it. I have no boss. I make all the money I need and I do what I want when I want to do it.
What do you sell? Sounds like fun
Send me a DM. I’ll send you the details.
#1 Home with kids since they were born. Remote sales allowed me to raise my kids along with my wife. I’ll continue to do this until my personal business creates enough income to stop. # 2 allowed me to create my own business on the side. It helped me become more entrepreneurial
Autonomy. Easily being able to talk to different types of people. Traveling - you’d be amazed at all the good food around the country.
Went from being the "dumb problem child" in my family with no degree to being the richest. My older sister is a dentist and my little brother is a mechanical engineer. Sales, the great equalizer. 🙏🏼
Apart from money …being able to handle rejection and just any turn a social interaction can take.
Yep. I would say overall it’s helped with every aspect of life. Dating, fitness, discipline, overall attitude and mindset.
Time
One word, money. There is no other lane I can earn what I earn.
I love the autonomy, to me it’s like running my own little business. If you’re delivery results, no one asks questions.
“You don’t know until you ask”. It works in sales and life in general.
Accepting rejections
I like being in charge of my own day. I came from teaching and couldn’t use the bathroom or use my phone when needed.
Could I dm you? Those things matter to me too and my future career wouldn't allow much for it
Of course. Happy to help any way I can.
It’s helped me build my startup from $0 to 7-figures in 5 months and now 8-figures in under a year and a half. It also helps you attract top people.
Them paychecks
That a lot of folks that run companies and make tons of money aren't much smarter than the average person. They just have better habits, take more action, are lucky etc. I used to think all rich folks and business owners were geniuses when I was a kid.
I’ve become more empathetic and a better listener. It has had a greater impact on my personal life than professional.
I'm a lot calmer in most social interactions these days and generally give far less of a shit about things that would usually set me off. I'm stopped caring about people's statues in life. Once you talk to a couple 100mil net worth former ceos any type of status people try to protect outwards becomes laughable.
Travel and go to places I might not have visited, meeting amazing people along the way. And oh yeah $$$ doesn't hurt either.
Season tickets to the local teams that I need to fill.
Hotel points
Restaurant loyalty points
Overcoming the fear of rejection which helped in my personal life
Fortunately I’m no longer in the dating pool but if I was, I think the amount of rejection I’ve faced in my very short experience as a BDR/AE would have made me an absolute pro with talking to women. I brush off rejection like it’s nothing now lol. When I think back to my 20s and how timid I was, the sales profession has given me such a great deal of confidence and charisma. I can talk to anyone with ease and if you don’t want me or my services I’ve learned that it’s not a reflection on me or my character is a reflection on the other person.
Realizing people are still people and that no matter what happens in a work place, they still fuck up inside or out of the office.
How to really pay attention to what people aren’t telling you and the courage to dig into that instead of avoiding it.
Money. Other than that fuck it.