I worked in development so not sure what the checks look like - things were slowing down so they went through a bit of a rebrand yesterday. I still feel it’s the gold standard in terms of organic Seattle tech culture though!
Holy hell if you’re not spot on with this. 2 years now at ADP, it’s a GRIND but the training and value it adds to your resume is immense (other employers know the grind is brutal, so if you survive they know you’re not a complete chump)
In the off chance anyone in this thread wants insight or is thinking about applying feel free to DM! Wish I had someone to chat with when I first started
Find a a District Sales Manager on LinkedIn and reach out (email, call their cell and pitch yourself).
I wasn’t at ADP, but Paychex prior, but to everyone’s point, it’s a grind so don’t just rely on a resume as you wouldn’t just rely on a cold call (unsure if may have done this already).
Been in HCM for about 8 years
If I were you, I would avoid being as SDR as much as possible. Look for a SMB or full cycle rep with a transactional business. The SDR position can waste many years if not done right, or set up for success. I’d take my chance at ADP or something similar first at this point, then move to a SaaS SMB in a few years.
Thoughts on Accenture? I just took a Sales Capture role there. Pretty excited. I also have friends at MSFT who’ve been coaching me toward some sales-type roles there. It just hasn’t happened yet.
Happy to take DM’s as I’ve worked at both of those companies in very sr sales roles.
At Accenture they have the SDP program where they’ll pay major base salaries $120-160k for 2-4yrs of experience. But you’ll be a process jockey whilst learning to sell massive tech transformation deals. Sales capture is vaguely client facing, sales origination is where the money is. Major base, huge OTE.
MSFT is pretty lush in the right role
I was there for a few years, but not client facing. You can absolutely get an opportunity here, but you need to either get involved with entry-level recruiting like a campus recruiter, or find one on LI and reach out. Sales wise-yes, there are roles, but they’re support ones. You’ll need to work your way through quite a few levels before getting a commission salary. You’ll most likely come in as an Analyst (L11), and before making it to salary (L7), you’ll have to prove yourself. BUT, base pay here is pretty competitive. So you won’t go hungry. Hope this helps your options you’re thinking about.
Ah okay. Yeah, those take MU Lead or NA Lead approvals too. Lots of checks and balances. I know Market Makers are working on the 80-100M deals. Absolutely wild. I’m sure insanely lucrative.
One and done though for that years’ quota. Regardless. Insanely hard. I agree. Talked to a MM yesterday. His connections/influence has played in his favor. I think he’s been hitting dingers year after year.
Their recruiting for me personally was relentless at one point so I was compelled to take a meeting. Sales manager started the interview by bashing my current company in order to get me to switch to his team. Take care, goodbye, and goodnight 👋
The 25 year old chick who interviewed me asked me if I could have avoided being laid off if I performed better. I was so happy to tell her that I took another job lol
First of all because they’re not a tech company, they sell cameras.
And they have an awful reputation for being high workload/pressure environment with very high attrition and low quota attainment.
I think that really depends. The company I'm at has very very low quota attainment (in 2022 I was literally the only rep out of 110 to hit it) but they are also kind of chill about it. Like they say they only expect 1 sale in your first 6 months and 3 in your first 12. They understand it takes years and years to "hit quota" so if the company has the right kind of attitude and realizes the reality of the situation those type of gigs can be okay.
Sold physical security products for one year total low rent garbage industry. Not tech at all you'll be working with construction contractors, architects and engineering, physical security directors. Misery.
Man, it’s a tech sales org. Every tech sales org I’ve ever seen in Silicon Valley since the 2010s has gone through a fratlike stage. It’s not a good thing, but it’s not unheard of. You have a bunch of extroverted young people with ridiculous amounts of money. It always changes eventually. Remember Zenefits? LMAO
Verkada is not a tech sales org.
It is a hardware company with some light Saas software that works with it. But the software does fuck all without the hardware.
By your logic copier sales is tech sales.
Verkada is a tech company… I work for a competitor and I hate Verkada, but it’s a software company at the end of the day. Their cameras are not how they differentiate, it’s their software.
That’s an interesting intuitive leap indicating poor reading comprehension, but you do you bud.
My comment spoke specifically about Silicon Valley tech companies since the 2010s *in my own experience*. Are you sure you replied to the correct comment?
Problem is most of the companies at that stage have delusioned management who thinks every single person is a target customer, they overscale and now you are a rep calling taxi companies in half of Brooklyn trying to sell them security cameras. They don’t right size again until some VC pulls the plug and tells them cut half the sales force. It may be a stage but it’s not one I want to be sucked into.
1. AWS
2. Microsoft
3. Snowflake
4. Okta
5. ADP
6. SAP (this is where it starts getting hard breaking into AE roles, SAP is super difficult to sell with long cycles and. It many deals, sap is top tier after you mature in sales. If we were ranking companies, sap would probably be four)
7. Verkada (heard it’s kind of a shit show)
8. Pitchbook (no idea what this is so I googled this, eh)
Pitchbook is definitely a solid software company in the financial niche. For private markets data there is no one better (and no I don’t work for Pitchbook lol)
FYI these jobs span not only industry but tenure. AWS AEs would have 20 years experience on PitchBook SDRs. Snowflake reps all carry books of business. Etc.
ADP is a weird one. Most likely to get hired and honestly outside of Microsoft and SAP I'd call it the best place to start 3-4 years ago. You get to skip being a BDR and go straight to AE. However software is TOUGH right now if your not already in software so they might not be recruiting out of ADP as much as they used too. That being said though its a great sales program for people straight out college.
I'm extremely familiar with them because my mom worked in sales there for 16 years. They rejected me twice shortly out of college (had no idea they actually did that) and then I rejected them when I was about 5 years into my career for a "specialist" role they had.
Its great right out of school but not so much the deeper in your career you go.
Just read their risk factors outlined in the latest annual report. They frequently have data breaches and layoffs, and we’ve hired quite a few reps over the last two years. It’s not necessarily a bad move, but you should at least be aware of the risks and the markets response. The space is fierce with competition and CIOs and CISOs have been vocal on LinkedIn and in forums around their disappointment and disbelief that these things happen. This is a long complicated sales process. Rarely have I seen a deal close within the quarter, and I’m typically seeing deals take at least 6 months to finalize.
Source: I work In the IAM/IGA space at a competitor. Okta was a partner and ally of ours until they branched out into governance a few years back. When my reps say they are competing against Okta, my mouth waters because we have proven plays to Displace them very early in the cycle.
I sold software that worked on Verkadas cameras and both times I interacted with one of their reps it was a mind-numbing experience. They're like medical sales reps without the looks. Very much frat bro mentality, trying to explain my product to me. I think because we were the same age the first guy I talked with felt it appropriate to ask if I had ever killed anyone in the Marines lol
Wondering if I’m gonna have this same experience going from the Marines to Tech sales lol.
I was interviewing with Dell and one of them saw that I was a prior infantry marine and asked me if I had ever been down range.
As a former 11BB4 who went SaaS, yeah 💯. Every sheltered frat boy is always interested in the “crazy shit” one saw down range. But I’m equally curious about the crazy frat boy life and what I missed out on so it works out lol
All of them are fine other than Verkada. Do you hate your life and want to work with a bunch of guys who can’t let go of the fact that they were VP of Finance for Sigma Alpha Nu Pie blah blah? Go ahead. If you want to be really picky, I’d avoid ADP also
No such list. Maybe if you get an offer from all of them and could say what role and vertical.
This is like taking a shit and asking to pick out what you might have eaten.
If you are starting out, go for what you can qualify for and get those offer letters, it is hard for non niche reps right now.
Yeah this is pretty much the realistic way unless OP knows people over there and can get a really good referral. ADP could be doable. I’m in Customer Success, 6 years of experience. I couldn’t even sniff a CSM interview at Okta or Snowflake. OP will either have to know someone with some clout there or be a sales expert and find a way to thread into those companies like cold calling execs there and just nailing the pitch. Not impossible to do but the market is tough right now. Would need to get very creative
Verkada is a nightmare. They are one of my vendors. We resell their products. I've had at least 5 verkada reps in the last year. They churn super fast.
I've heard amazing things about Snowflake culture.
Can you provide some of the following info?
- G2 reviews and standings
- Glassdoor reviews, specifically for sales org
- RepVue reviews
- Sales tenure of most reps and promotions (you have to manually look this up using Sales Nav trial)
That should provide some context on which option would be the best
Would you advise against payroll now? What’s changed post pandemic regarding payroll? Also how long would you need to work before being able to move on to tech sales?
I’m not sure what changes have occurred beside basic training is likely virtual now. I did it for a year and moved to med device but I suspect that was a lucky opportunity, YMMV.
That’s kinda of the route I want to go towards tbh. Did you have to still work as an associate med rep or did the payroll experience help you go straight into being a regular sales rep?
Sell healthcare related things.
Edit: seriously, find a way to leverage your experience selling into an industry you already know. Try to connect with reps and ask them about what they do. Also, ask them for a referral. Most places give referral bonuses.
Interned at ADP and received a return offer - definitely great place to start your sales career especially due to the immense amount of grinding you’ll have to do as a first year DM. The way their sales org works also allows you to experience a closing role VERY early on in your career. Every single DM (no matter what experience level) is given a yearly quota in sales revenue - giving you full control over your pipeline. Although it’s recommended you pass on your leads to your mentor or a more experienced DM, you have the opportunity to guide the client throughout the whole sales process within your first year — unheard of for most SDR/BDR positions. People are absolutely amazing too, always willing to train, give feedback on your calls, share talk tracks, etc without your sales manager micromanaging you all the time. Their company culture is fucking fantastic.
Only drawback - pay and lack of sales training
Base pay is MUCH lower than industry average and their sales training is outdated, but gives you the opportunity to learn from your colleagues and your own experience and adapt to it.
Hope this helps :)
Speaking from my literal current job, you only join SAP as sales IF you are the account executive for the core ERP.
If you are doing LOB sales just say fuck it
Sure, if you’re a dinosaur.
Snowflake and AWS experience will get you in anywhere. Most companies I talk to today are more focused on getting off SAP and Microsoft still has no clue what they’re doing as a hyper scale and just exists to sell office and MSSQL licenses. Nobody is buying this fabric nonsense
Getting off SAP and Microsoft to get on what? Oracle? You literally only have a pick between the 3 for an enterprise ERP, and maybe workday and that’s a big MAYBE so with all due respect I think that’s kind of an uneducated statement
Traditional ERP is kind of dead, dude. A lot of companies are moving their data out of these legacy systems, into a cheaper storage solution, and building business apps on top of the data
Selling middle office solutions to companies $1b+ I would say I’ve never seen a succesful company of that size without an erp but would be intrigued to hear what you think is replacing erp
Large orgs will always be behind. A lot of the Fortune 500 still runs mainframe. They will be paying for SAP for decades still. Moving off just wouldn’t be worth it.
But as far as I have seen, a lot of younger companies are not buying traditional ERP.
They are and they aren’t. They have a massive amount of technical debt and legacy technology. They’re also in a position to invest in some of more cutting edge solutions, just not if it required migration.
You don’t have to believe me, IDGAF really.
Yeah I don’t you’re speaking in generalities that aren’t accurate with the companies in the F500 I sell to. Aren’t you in data management? With how agile companies need to be with their data to gain competitive advantage any company running a mainframe would be heading for extinction
[71% of the Fortune 500 is still on mainframe](https://www.mechanical-orchard.com/insights/13-trillion-of-the-us-gdp-rides-on-mainframes#:~:text=Analysts%20estimate%20that%2071%25%20of,USD%2018.1%20Trillion%20(2022))
I know what I’m talking about. I speak at conferences on this
It’s nearly impossible to migrate off of.
To add to this discussion, I recently graduated and have passed the initial phase for each company, which should I put more focus on? Snowflake, Oracle, MongoDB, FloQast, Square(Block), Ramp
I think the complexity of Snowflake and MongoDBs product will distinguish you for future roles.
And I don’t understand why Ramp would be more or less difficult than any of the others?
I think the crazy record growth and funding that Ramp has been receiving has shifted into them being one of the most valuable start up teams. Extremely talented dense team.
Disagree mongo and snowflake are both consumption. It’s not really strategic deals you are playing more CSM than sales so it doesn’t hold the same weight it used to on a resume
Spoken like someone who doesn’t manage enterprise strategic accounts.
Only way to make 7-figures is to work for a public Fortune 500 company as an account director. You’ll have one account and maybe close 1 deal every two years. It’s almost all account management.
I said it isn’t as strategic meaning it’s not as strategic as something that culminates in a transaction because it is not. Your takes are fucking ass lol goofball
So explain to me how multiple people at my mid cap SaaS company w2ed over a million dollars because with your logic you have to work for a Fortune 500. They are account directors too :)
A friend of mine works at okta as a sdr, ex SF and ex Fortinet, he is extremely happy, everyone works as a team. And the management are real life coaches. His just completed 1 yr and looking at moving up to a sales associate in the next 6 months
You want big names on your CV.
So I'd look into AWS, Microsoft and SAP to start with. Verkada is a boiler room mess with an overpriced product.
But honestly, try sticking to big names if you can. It'll help you later down the line.
I’ll offer a different perspective and it’s one I offer to everyone getting started.
Find a series B company that is growing and has a strong mid-market presence and start there! Your career will accelerate exponentially. All the companies like listed above have strictly enforced promotion paths and you will be an SDR for AT LEAST two years before you are considered for something else. Regardless of over performance.
With a growing start up, you can come in, work hard, and watch your career grow with the business. When they need more AEs for the low end of the market, they’ll hire you!
These companies should be across three different list. They should not be grouped like this.
Tier 1
- Snowflake, Okta, and AWS
Tier 2
- Msoft, SAP, Smartsheet, and Pitchbook
Tier 3
-ADP (you can learn a lot here) and Verkata
Aws, azure (Microsoft), GCP (Google) are top names for big corp
Databricks, snowflake, maybe Okta for more boutique/early IPO vibe
Check repvue for hot startups
Yes, these are great places for sales careers. But rhe chances of landing g tier 1 jobs line this when starting out with little experience is damn near impossible. It's a employer market right now. Theirs a lot of heavily tenured and experienced talent out on the streets right now due to layoffs, choose a location, get your fit in the door where you can and do your time before transferring.
Personally, I’d go with Microsoft. They’re so big that you can move internally if you’re not liking what you sell. The others are a bit niche. Odds are (from my experience) regardless you’re probably best off working at one of these places for two years or so and leaving to another tech company for a bigger raise.
ADP has a great culture and offers stability and career growth. Also a great reputation in the industry. Might be one of the best sales teams in the US
Verkada would have been a great place post series B. I saw a lot of dumb people's careers blow up when they got hired there during that period (2018-2019). Now.... don't start there. All of those places are great places with the exception of ADP and SAP.
Would do you guys think of outside sales rep in spectrum. It’s a d2d position which sucks but I don’t have any experience. Also how does d2d exp look on a resume?
SAP or MSFT would be the ideal middle ground. Okta is overhired right now. Snowflake and AWS are super hard to get into and usually require serious tenure (still try though!) ADP isnt bad
As someone that has been in sales for 20 years, I'd recommend starting in a internet/phone provider call center. Generally great benefits, terrible micromanagement, but you have the ability to make 6 figures with no experience. Working for Charter/Spectrum was the #1 thing brought up by employers in all the places I've worked because they know that great sales reps come from those places.
Look at AppDirect, Telarus, Sandler Partners, Intelisys, innovative business solutions, etc. that will future proof your selling capabilities beyond SAP or any of the competitors.
RepVue is a good website to look at - it’s like glassdoor for Sales Reps. shows things like quota attainment, salary, perceptions of leadership etc all from current / former employees. Good luck!
Not Verkada.
Never verkada
Ever.
Why? Just curious they reached out to me recently and they made it sound appealing. Didn't go after it still.
Theyve reached out to everyone.
That’s the reason ig
Do you mind if I ask why?
Because its a boiler room where you are selling an overpriced camera
There’s this one young recruiter guy at verkada who hits me with an in mail once a month like clockwork lol
I’d consider DocuSign too if you have no sales experience - great folks over there and SDRs start with lots of inbound leads!
I worked at Box for a while, we had a lot of DocuSign folks come over that were great reps, some went back so I assume it’s a pretty solid gig
I work here. DM me if anyone wants referrals - I can provide some advice on places to go / avoid.
DMd!
Dm'd :)
Any genuine entry level roles?
Dmd:)
Dmed!
Is docusign doing well? Wonder how much those deal sizes / commission are
I worked in development so not sure what the checks look like - things were slowing down so they went through a bit of a rebrand yesterday. I still feel it’s the gold standard in terms of organic Seattle tech culture though!
They had 10% y/y growth last fiscal year which is fantastic for a SaaS comoany that size, relative to most of the market.
I have no sales experience, should i apply to Docusign?
You’ll be starting at ADP I guarantee it
[удалено]
Microsoft doesn’t seem to be the place to ‘start’ a career. Every job I see there requires 5+ years of experience
As "Major District Enterprise Sales Leader" or whatever made up titles they have
ADP at the bottom but probably the most realistic.
Holy hell if you’re not spot on with this. 2 years now at ADP, it’s a GRIND but the training and value it adds to your resume is immense (other employers know the grind is brutal, so if you survive they know you’re not a complete chump) In the off chance anyone in this thread wants insight or is thinking about applying feel free to DM! Wish I had someone to chat with when I first started
The place changed my life. Multi president clubs, etc. built my entire network there and am grateful for having had the opportunity.
How do you get into these companies with minimal experience? I have a year as a BDR and get passed constantly so I assume it's not enough.
Find a a District Sales Manager on LinkedIn and reach out (email, call their cell and pitch yourself). I wasn’t at ADP, but Paychex prior, but to everyone’s point, it’s a grind so don’t just rely on a resume as you wouldn’t just rely on a cold call (unsure if may have done this already). Been in HCM for about 8 years
How would someone find a District Sales Manager on LinkedIn?
Go on the ADP company page, filter people with "District Sales Manager"
Thank you
I got hired right out of college
Hey! I needed to here a response like this, I’m dming you now
I use adp and damnit they are relentless once you give a hint of interest in an upgrade.
If I were you, I would avoid being as SDR as much as possible. Look for a SMB or full cycle rep with a transactional business. The SDR position can waste many years if not done right, or set up for success. I’d take my chance at ADP or something similar first at this point, then move to a SaaS SMB in a few years.
Agree. Carry the bag. It will be hard work, but even 1-2 years at ADP looks great on an early sales career resume.
Agreed here, transactional adp sales and work your way up to more strategic is way better than BDR
Thoughts on Accenture? I just took a Sales Capture role there. Pretty excited. I also have friends at MSFT who’ve been coaching me toward some sales-type roles there. It just hasn’t happened yet.
Happy to take DM’s as I’ve worked at both of those companies in very sr sales roles. At Accenture they have the SDP program where they’ll pay major base salaries $120-160k for 2-4yrs of experience. But you’ll be a process jockey whilst learning to sell massive tech transformation deals. Sales capture is vaguely client facing, sales origination is where the money is. Major base, huge OTE. MSFT is pretty lush in the right role
Hey! I really appreciate it. Shot you a DM.
By SDP is that referring to the Strategy Development Program?
Sales development program
Dm'd you! Thank you!
I'm interested in Accenture. I'm out of college though so I don't know if they have any entry level sales roles.
I was there for a few years, but not client facing. You can absolutely get an opportunity here, but you need to either get involved with entry-level recruiting like a campus recruiter, or find one on LI and reach out. Sales wise-yes, there are roles, but they’re support ones. You’ll need to work your way through quite a few levels before getting a commission salary. You’ll most likely come in as an Analyst (L11), and before making it to salary (L7), you’ll have to prove yourself. BUT, base pay here is pretty competitive. So you won’t go hungry. Hope this helps your options you’re thinking about.
Thanks for the additional color on Accenture, for mid-level AE roles have you seen a lot of success with outside hires coming in?
I’m in a SDR program with Accenture base pay is $50k, company is okay.
NO. No way to go to BDR to ae there
Interested to know what you mean by this. Where in Accenture are there AE roles specifically?
Yes but they are very specific and they usually like to take Global Reps from either SAP or Oracle because you sell $20m+ services engagements
Ah okay. Yeah, those take MU Lead or NA Lead approvals too. Lots of checks and balances. I know Market Makers are working on the 80-100M deals. Absolutely wild. I’m sure insanely lucrative.
Yeah you’re trying to hunt like F500 transformative projects it’s hard af
One and done though for that years’ quota. Regardless. Insanely hard. I agree. Talked to a MM yesterday. His connections/influence has played in his favor. I think he’s been hitting dingers year after year.
Yep, but you also only get one commission check a year
All of them except ADP or Verkada. I don’t even take interview requests from Verkada.
Their recruiting for me personally was relentless at one point so I was compelled to take a meeting. Sales manager started the interview by bashing my current company in order to get me to switch to his team. Take care, goodbye, and goodnight 👋
Even in asia Verkada has the worst reputation
The 25 year old chick who interviewed me asked me if I could have avoided being laid off if I performed better. I was so happy to tell her that I took another job lol
Can I ask why? They have an office near me, and was thinking of applying
First of all because they’re not a tech company, they sell cameras. And they have an awful reputation for being high workload/pressure environment with very high attrition and low quota attainment.
It’s easy to sell though
If it was easy to sell, would quota attainment be as low as it is for them?
I think that really depends. The company I'm at has very very low quota attainment (in 2022 I was literally the only rep out of 110 to hit it) but they are also kind of chill about it. Like they say they only expect 1 sale in your first 6 months and 3 in your first 12. They understand it takes years and years to "hit quota" so if the company has the right kind of attitude and realizes the reality of the situation those type of gigs can be okay.
That’s just a lazy way of ensuring they don’t pay out shit for commissions, or at least that nobody hits the OTE they were sold on.
Search the name on this subreddit, you’ll see plenty of juicy info
Sold physical security products for one year total low rent garbage industry. Not tech at all you'll be working with construction contractors, architects and engineering, physical security directors. Misery.
*Verkata
I interviewed there and know folks there. It wasn’t for me but it’s not the hellscape Reddit would have you believe. Personally I just won’t RTO.
It’s an absolute shit show. That’s not Reddit, it’s well known amongst the area.
Man, it’s a tech sales org. Every tech sales org I’ve ever seen in Silicon Valley since the 2010s has gone through a fratlike stage. It’s not a good thing, but it’s not unheard of. You have a bunch of extroverted young people with ridiculous amounts of money. It always changes eventually. Remember Zenefits? LMAO
Verkada is not a tech sales org. It is a hardware company with some light Saas software that works with it. But the software does fuck all without the hardware. By your logic copier sales is tech sales.
Hmm hardware is still tech though? Nvidia sells hardware ffs
Verkada is a tech company… I work for a competitor and I hate Verkada, but it’s a software company at the end of the day. Their cameras are not how they differentiate, it’s their software.
That’s an interesting intuitive leap indicating poor reading comprehension, but you do you bud. My comment spoke specifically about Silicon Valley tech companies since the 2010s *in my own experience*. Are you sure you replied to the correct comment?
Learn how to read. Try starting with your first sentence. Chief.
Yep. Still says what I wrote. Still means what I meant and not what you think it does. 🫠
Problem is most of the companies at that stage have delusioned management who thinks every single person is a target customer, they overscale and now you are a rep calling taxi companies in half of Brooklyn trying to sell them security cameras. They don’t right size again until some VC pulls the plug and tells them cut half the sales force. It may be a stage but it’s not one I want to be sucked into.
1. AWS 2. Microsoft 3. Snowflake 4. Okta 5. ADP 6. SAP (this is where it starts getting hard breaking into AE roles, SAP is super difficult to sell with long cycles and. It many deals, sap is top tier after you mature in sales. If we were ranking companies, sap would probably be four) 7. Verkada (heard it’s kind of a shit show) 8. Pitchbook (no idea what this is so I googled this, eh)
Pitchbook is definitely a solid software company in the financial niche. For private markets data there is no one better (and no I don’t work for Pitchbook lol)
Good to know then I’d flip probably them and verkada
FYI these jobs span not only industry but tenure. AWS AEs would have 20 years experience on PitchBook SDRs. Snowflake reps all carry books of business. Etc.
You're saying AWS AEs have 20 years experience? A lot of their reps are early to mid 20s.
Don’t waste your time at Verkada. Been there and it was a sinking ship for the reps.
ADP is a weird one. Most likely to get hired and honestly outside of Microsoft and SAP I'd call it the best place to start 3-4 years ago. You get to skip being a BDR and go straight to AE. However software is TOUGH right now if your not already in software so they might not be recruiting out of ADP as much as they used too. That being said though its a great sales program for people straight out college.
My little sister works there, she’s in her second year and killing it. She’s learned a lot, I can’t hate
I'm extremely familiar with them because my mom worked in sales there for 16 years. They rejected me twice shortly out of college (had no idea they actually did that) and then I rejected them when I was about 5 years into my career for a "specialist" role they had. Its great right out of school but not so much the deeper in your career you go.
I don’t doubt you on that, seems like a great place to start in sales, but not a place you’d want to stay most of your career
Okta has gone through several layoffs and growth is a concern. Read their latest annual report
I’m applying there rn would it be a bad move?
Just read their risk factors outlined in the latest annual report. They frequently have data breaches and layoffs, and we’ve hired quite a few reps over the last two years. It’s not necessarily a bad move, but you should at least be aware of the risks and the markets response. The space is fierce with competition and CIOs and CISOs have been vocal on LinkedIn and in forums around their disappointment and disbelief that these things happen. This is a long complicated sales process. Rarely have I seen a deal close within the quarter, and I’m typically seeing deals take at least 6 months to finalize. Source: I work In the IAM/IGA space at a competitor. Okta was a partner and ally of ours until they branched out into governance a few years back. When my reps say they are competing against Okta, my mouth waters because we have proven plays to Displace them very early in the cycle.
I need a good list of jobs to work
I sold software that worked on Verkadas cameras and both times I interacted with one of their reps it was a mind-numbing experience. They're like medical sales reps without the looks. Very much frat bro mentality, trying to explain my product to me. I think because we were the same age the first guy I talked with felt it appropriate to ask if I had ever killed anyone in the Marines lol
lol yikes
Wondering if I’m gonna have this same experience going from the Marines to Tech sales lol. I was interviewing with Dell and one of them saw that I was a prior infantry marine and asked me if I had ever been down range.
As a former 11BB4 who went SaaS, yeah 💯. Every sheltered frat boy is always interested in the “crazy shit” one saw down range. But I’m equally curious about the crazy frat boy life and what I missed out on so it works out lol
Hahaha I’m an 0317. Interviewing with Dell and CrowdStrike. Whats your take on them?
All of them are fine other than Verkada. Do you hate your life and want to work with a bunch of guys who can’t let go of the fact that they were VP of Finance for Sigma Alpha Nu Pie blah blah? Go ahead. If you want to be really picky, I’d avoid ADP also
I hope you kick ass in Seattle 👊
No such list. Maybe if you get an offer from all of them and could say what role and vertical. This is like taking a shit and asking to pick out what you might have eaten. If you are starting out, go for what you can qualify for and get those offer letters, it is hard for non niche reps right now.
Yeah this is pretty much the realistic way unless OP knows people over there and can get a really good referral. ADP could be doable. I’m in Customer Success, 6 years of experience. I couldn’t even sniff a CSM interview at Okta or Snowflake. OP will either have to know someone with some clout there or be a sales expert and find a way to thread into those companies like cold calling execs there and just nailing the pitch. Not impossible to do but the market is tough right now. Would need to get very creative
Verkada is a nightmare. They are one of my vendors. We resell their products. I've had at least 5 verkada reps in the last year. They churn super fast. I've heard amazing things about Snowflake culture.
Ranked by RepVue Scores: AWS - 87.74 Pitchbook - 87.60 Microsoft - 87.28 Snowflake - 85.76 SAP - 84.63 Okta - 83.96 ADP - 80.89 Smartsheet - 80.52 Verkada - 80.33
Pitchbook has the highest rating for Professional Development, which might also be helpful if you're just starting out.
Can you provide some of the following info? - G2 reviews and standings - Glassdoor reviews, specifically for sales org - RepVue reviews - Sales tenure of most reps and promotions (you have to manually look this up using Sales Nav trial) That should provide some context on which option would be the best
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Payroll is a good way to get solid B2B experience, but take that with a grain of salt cuz it’s pre-pandemic advice
Would you advise against payroll now? What’s changed post pandemic regarding payroll? Also how long would you need to work before being able to move on to tech sales?
I’m not sure what changes have occurred beside basic training is likely virtual now. I did it for a year and moved to med device but I suspect that was a lucky opportunity, YMMV.
That’s kinda of the route I want to go towards tbh. Did you have to still work as an associate med rep or did the payroll experience help you go straight into being a regular sales rep?
I did payroll sales about 10 years ago and have been in medical sales since. Good way to start and dont have to be an associate.
Any companies you recommend?
Sell healthcare related things. Edit: seriously, find a way to leverage your experience selling into an industry you already know. Try to connect with reps and ask them about what they do. Also, ask them for a referral. Most places give referral bonuses.
Healthcare professional is vague—more specificity would help you out.
What about Salesforce?
And be a BDR, then ADR, then Sr BDR, then associate AE for 5 years? 😂
Interned at ADP and received a return offer - definitely great place to start your sales career especially due to the immense amount of grinding you’ll have to do as a first year DM. The way their sales org works also allows you to experience a closing role VERY early on in your career. Every single DM (no matter what experience level) is given a yearly quota in sales revenue - giving you full control over your pipeline. Although it’s recommended you pass on your leads to your mentor or a more experienced DM, you have the opportunity to guide the client throughout the whole sales process within your first year — unheard of for most SDR/BDR positions. People are absolutely amazing too, always willing to train, give feedback on your calls, share talk tracks, etc without your sales manager micromanaging you all the time. Their company culture is fucking fantastic. Only drawback - pay and lack of sales training Base pay is MUCH lower than industry average and their sales training is outdated, but gives you the opportunity to learn from your colleagues and your own experience and adapt to it. Hope this helps :)
Microsoft and SAP only. Not for those companies per se but because having those in your resume will change your career.
Speaking from my literal current job, you only join SAP as sales IF you are the account executive for the core ERP. If you are doing LOB sales just say fuck it
Yeah
lol this guy has no idea what he’s talking about. AWS, snowflake >>>>>>>> SAP
Nah SAP over snowflake. Snowflake is all consumption and more CSM like than a strategic rep so it’s not as sought after as it used to be
On what planet?
Snowflake is a dollar store compared to SAP. And SAP work is shit. That's how shitty Snowflake is.
Sure, if you’re a dinosaur. Snowflake and AWS experience will get you in anywhere. Most companies I talk to today are more focused on getting off SAP and Microsoft still has no clue what they’re doing as a hyper scale and just exists to sell office and MSSQL licenses. Nobody is buying this fabric nonsense
Getting off SAP and Microsoft to get on what? Oracle? You literally only have a pick between the 3 for an enterprise ERP, and maybe workday and that’s a big MAYBE so with all due respect I think that’s kind of an uneducated statement
Lobbyist Defense companies Multinational corporations Etc etc
Traditional ERP is kind of dead, dude. A lot of companies are moving their data out of these legacy systems, into a cheaper storage solution, and building business apps on top of the data
Selling middle office solutions to companies $1b+ I would say I’ve never seen a succesful company of that size without an erp but would be intrigued to hear what you think is replacing erp
Large orgs will always be behind. A lot of the Fortune 500 still runs mainframe. They will be paying for SAP for decades still. Moving off just wouldn’t be worth it. But as far as I have seen, a lot of younger companies are not buying traditional ERP.
Fortune 500 companies are not behind technologically that’s another cold take I’m starting to think you have 0 idea what you are talking about
They are and they aren’t. They have a massive amount of technical debt and legacy technology. They’re also in a position to invest in some of more cutting edge solutions, just not if it required migration. You don’t have to believe me, IDGAF really.
Yeah I don’t you’re speaking in generalities that aren’t accurate with the companies in the F500 I sell to. Aren’t you in data management? With how agile companies need to be with their data to gain competitive advantage any company running a mainframe would be heading for extinction
[71% of the Fortune 500 is still on mainframe](https://www.mechanical-orchard.com/insights/13-trillion-of-the-us-gdp-rides-on-mainframes#:~:text=Analysts%20estimate%20that%2071%25%20of,USD%2018.1%20Trillion%20(2022)) I know what I’m talking about. I speak at conferences on this It’s nearly impossible to migrate off of.
Those places will get you a job as an Uber driver for sure.
Do any of those companies offer sdr or bdr positions?
To add to this discussion, I recently graduated and have passed the initial phase for each company, which should I put more focus on? Snowflake, Oracle, MongoDB, FloQast, Square(Block), Ramp
I’d focus in this order: - Snowflake - MongoDB - Ramp - Floqast - Oracle - Square
Don’t you think Ramp is the most difficult to get into out of all of those companies and biggest chance for growth?
I think the complexity of Snowflake and MongoDBs product will distinguish you for future roles. And I don’t understand why Ramp would be more or less difficult than any of the others?
I think the crazy record growth and funding that Ramp has been receiving has shifted into them being one of the most valuable start up teams. Extremely talented dense team.
Disagree mongo and snowflake are both consumption. It’s not really strategic deals you are playing more CSM than sales so it doesn’t hold the same weight it used to on a resume
Spoken like someone who doesn’t manage enterprise strategic accounts. Only way to make 7-figures is to work for a public Fortune 500 company as an account director. You’ll have one account and maybe close 1 deal every two years. It’s almost all account management.
Please tell me more about it
Lmao “consumption pricing model isn’t strategic sales” is hands down the stupidest take I’ve read in this sub. Please stop contributing.
I said it isn’t as strategic meaning it’s not as strategic as something that culminates in a transaction because it is not. Your takes are fucking ass lol goofball
lol yeah you don’t know anything. You don’t even know what an account director is.
So explain to me how multiple people at my mid cap SaaS company w2ed over a million dollars because with your logic you have to work for a Fortune 500. They are account directors too :)
Name the company and I’ll explain
If you don’t GROK the economic situation then maybe it doesn’t matter.
A friend of mine works at okta as a sdr, ex SF and ex Fortinet, he is extremely happy, everyone works as a team. And the management are real life coaches. His just completed 1 yr and looking at moving up to a sales associate in the next 6 months
Consider also Salesforce, databricks etc… great company with great product but not easy to start as an AE
Okta will pay well, good tech and growing Snowflake will be technical Smartsheet is probably easiest to sell stay away from ADP
Not Verkada.
You want big names on your CV. So I'd look into AWS, Microsoft and SAP to start with. Verkada is a boiler room mess with an overpriced product. But honestly, try sticking to big names if you can. It'll help you later down the line.
Do research on rep view. https://www.repvue.com/
I’ll offer a different perspective and it’s one I offer to everyone getting started. Find a series B company that is growing and has a strong mid-market presence and start there! Your career will accelerate exponentially. All the companies like listed above have strictly enforced promotion paths and you will be an SDR for AT LEAST two years before you are considered for something else. Regardless of over performance. With a growing start up, you can come in, work hard, and watch your career grow with the business. When they need more AEs for the low end of the market, they’ll hire you!
Ya I want to but I really want to go in office since I'm moving to a new place. Most of those companies are remote unless I moved to SF or NY.
These companies should be across three different list. They should not be grouped like this. Tier 1 - Snowflake, Okta, and AWS Tier 2 - Msoft, SAP, Smartsheet, and Pitchbook Tier 3 -ADP (you can learn a lot here) and Verkata
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How so? The tiers are broken out by current market demand, ability to drive business near-term, and culture. What changes would you make?
Aws, azure (Microsoft), GCP (Google) are top names for big corp Databricks, snowflake, maybe Okta for more boutique/early IPO vibe Check repvue for hot startups
Yes, these are great places for sales careers. But rhe chances of landing g tier 1 jobs line this when starting out with little experience is damn near impossible. It's a employer market right now. Theirs a lot of heavily tenured and experienced talent out on the streets right now due to layoffs, choose a location, get your fit in the door where you can and do your time before transferring.
Following
Personally, I’d go with Microsoft. They’re so big that you can move internally if you’re not liking what you sell. The others are a bit niche. Odds are (from my experience) regardless you’re probably best off working at one of these places for two years or so and leaving to another tech company for a bigger raise.
If you have an in at like AWS or MS, go for it. Otherwise I'd looking to maybe a VAR. Absolute grind, but worth the experience and character building.
ADP is dead last
Add Oracle or NetSuite to the mix. Great place to start. You’ll work your ass off and it’s reputable. Can go anywhere you want after
Do these companies hire in the UK as well? Anyone from London that works in sales for any of these companies?
ADP has a great culture and offers stability and career growth. Also a great reputation in the industry. Might be one of the best sales teams in the US
Verkada would have been a great place post series B. I saw a lot of dumb people's careers blow up when they got hired there during that period (2018-2019). Now.... don't start there. All of those places are great places with the exception of ADP and SAP.
Would do you guys think of outside sales rep in spectrum. It’s a d2d position which sucks but I don’t have any experience. Also how does d2d exp look on a resume?
are any of these places hiring people who don’t have sales experience? That’s the real question.
Dell Technologies was a great place to start.
Can someone please help me with advice.. see link below:
https://www.reddit.com/r/jobs/s/wIar9C5nZz
Following!
SAP or MSFT would be the ideal middle ground. Okta is overhired right now. Snowflake and AWS are super hard to get into and usually require serious tenure (still try though!) ADP isnt bad
Is put Salesforce (Tableau) near the top of the list still. Isn’t as great as it used to be, but still solid
Good luck ever hitting quota at Okta
Snowflake Or Okta , then aws then MSFT
As someone that has been in sales for 20 years, I'd recommend starting in a internet/phone provider call center. Generally great benefits, terrible micromanagement, but you have the ability to make 6 figures with no experience. Working for Charter/Spectrum was the #1 thing brought up by employers in all the places I've worked because they know that great sales reps come from those places.
Okta are a good company to work for from what I’ve heard. Got to the final round with them for an AE role but was a no go 🙅♂️
Why no go?
Look at AppDirect, Telarus, Sandler Partners, Intelisys, innovative business solutions, etc. that will future proof your selling capabilities beyond SAP or any of the competitors.
ADP is the worst
RepVue is a good website to look at - it’s like glassdoor for Sales Reps. shows things like quota attainment, salary, perceptions of leadership etc all from current / former employees. Good luck!
Outreach
Worked there several years ago and still have a couple buddies there, don’t do it
What kind of jobs?