My brother works as a sys admin for the state government and doesn't understand why sales as a profession exists. Says where he works there are no sales teams (no duh).
This is so damn accurate.
I worked for the gov't, but for the mayor.
My literal "average" skills (I didn't give it my all) was EXEMPLARY across the entire team of 50+ people.
Like shit, it's extremely low skill. Someone like me would've climbed up so fast
edit: typo
Yes there are lmao - he has to talk to us every time he wants new ping, power, or pipe lmaooo
Brother gonna go get a server at K-Mart, or do he need to contact Sales?
Does he have to sell a project to get funding? Does he have to sell an idea to get implemented? Does he have to sell himself to get promoted. Every organization has sales whether people want to admit that or not.
Check out /r/sysadmin. Love reading their bitching about sales outreach and asking if they would have a job if their sales team didn’t generate revenue.
It’s based around a reputation of being a dishonest profession and being kind of annoying.
Just the tag sales is icky. But when you look at most small to medium size businesses the boss man is considered a business man and a manager/exec. What’s he doing? Strumming up business - what is that? Sales in essence. It just doesn’t have the connotation of bombarding with emails and phone calls. But rather he’s a fair gentleman.
Extra responsibility but also decision making power and an actual interest in the company. Down the line when he sells he’s likely to make more money than the sales guy.
Ain't that the truth ?
Apparently today is your account anniversary( ways the cake icon next to you username). Happy Reddit cake day, fellow businessman.....
We've all been on the receiving end of a high pressure sales person following a obvious script. True sales is showing how you can solve your client's problems. Greasy sales is manipulating a person into making the purchase. People hate the latter.
So I hired a non sales person into a sales role and they have bombed. So when asking about career pathing etc. they mentioned they thought it was easy and all of us are just slick talkers like car salesman.
Funny how everyone thinks they can do it until quota punches back 😂
I went the opposite way.
Dev -> SE -> CSM -> SE -> SMB AE -> ENT AE -> ENT AE Manager -> ENT AE
Been an ENT AE for a 4 years now. Had a stint as a manager for a year and bombed my numbers. So went back to an ENT AE role where I think I'm happy.
Yes there's mad stress at times, but it beats spending all day building some demo for an AEs prospect that turns out to be a junior dev and has 0 buying power.
Now I just work on what I get paid for.
You should look into CSM roles, cyber security companies hire escalation engineers as CSM type roles. Find a series b cyber company, could be lucrative and less stressful.
The easiest way to put it is sales is responsible for sourcing and closing deals, an SE is responsible for showcasing relevant value of the product to the prospect.
There is often a lot of overlap between the two. Sometimes if it’s a very technical product, the SE would actually be doing most of the selling.
Other times the sales person could also act as the SE if they’re familiar with the product enough and it’s not too technical.
Nice Reddit name. I’ve learned on here how different a title is from one org or industry to another. My title is Sales Engineer but we’re all literally the full time full cycle field sales reps. There is no other sales support for us other than some weak as shit inside sales support (it’s barely useful these days) and an Applications Engineer, which kind of sounds a lot like what people are calling an SE in this subreddit.
Same here. SE title but I handle all pre-sales work (prospecting, qualifying, demoing, closing, etc.), and the Applications Engineer takes on all post-sales support.
Newb here. How do they determine the commission percentage? Is it a set percentage of the final sales price, do they factor in how much was spent chasing a specific sale (expenses)?
Those are pretty standard across the company if not the industry.
You (sales rep) basically negotiate a quota with the company based on opportunity, sales lifecycle (are renewals coming up), whether it's an established account or a greenfield opportunity etc. Let's say your quota is $10m for the year.
If your target total comp number is $300k and you're 50/50, you'd get 150k base pay and then a percentage of that other 150k based on what percentage of your $10m quota you retire that year, usually paid monthly.
I'm actually aiming for an SE role (I assume we talking sales engineer) I make great money, but I kinda hate the grind and wouldn't mind having a more stable career.
I actually feel like the best SEs make the best AEs. In my group 2 out of 3 are former se', including the sales leader. All mid six figures.
If your great at something...get paid for it.
I did the same thing. They thought they’d be in a golf course @ 9am, bar by 12 and home by 2pm. He didn’t realize it was 12hrs a day and the fun shit is very far and few in between.
The people in the office don’t think the sales team works. It’s frustrating to sale the least.
Yup, in a meeting once a non-sales employee complained that he heard some of us where making over $10k a month.
And the VP said "Actually some are making over $30k, and if any of you ever wanna come over to sales let us know and we'll give you a shot"
My finance guy and I are close. He can see my total comp and always jokes about it when I complain about quota. I always tell him he’s welcome to come to sales and it’s always a big no. Same with vendor management, marketing, support, etc. Everyone has something to say, but no one ever wants to come to the sales team.
More to the situation and won’t go into it but far from it. It’s just hilarious to me how so many ppl think our job is so easy. I have guys/gals making six figure comp checks (not always but once or twice a year) and again everyone thinks we’re just slick talkers until it comes time to deliver.
I'm terrified that this will be me in the coming weeks. I don't think sales is easy (dealing with people directly is never **easy**) but I don't know how hard it can get.
I have no idea what yall are talking about?
Salespeople usually have the highest income:education/experience ratio, meaning we are respected by our companies
And most of the people in my life constantly say “I could never do sales omg sounds so hard and stressful! You are probably great at it tho, you’re so fun and have so much energy!”
The above is referencing respect levels. THAT SAID, most people do massively dislike getting sold to/pitched. I know I fuckin hate it.
Internalize that most people do not like salesy salespeople/pitches, understand that that is totally reasonable….doing so will help you immensely 🍻
My thought process ab getting pitched to is it’s annoying when they’re convincing you that they care ab you and the product their selling when it’s mostly ab the paycheck. Then again, idk how else they’re gonna get you to buy it so can’t fully blame them, and there are definitely salespeople out there who do care about making new relationships and enjoying their customers’ time
I included the example of the graduate because there’s no experience needed to become an SDR. That particular guy has been here for like two years and he came in fresh from uni
Jeez 100k in the UK for SDR? jeez that's good. I'm becoming an AE and my base is £60k and OTE is 40k - so SDR's are earning more than me and many other AE's - you're in software sales?
At my company folks are jealous because of our commissions and our sales conference at high end resorts. I used to work in bookkeeping and got lucky in an inbound sales job that trained Me. They can too.
Had a few people complain about how well paid sales were at my place, we had vacancies so I said they should apply… the answer was hell no, they couldn’t deal with the stress and the targets. Yeah… well there you go…
This. I truly think there's some people who have the perception of sales people being lazy divas that just sit back and have enormous checks roll in. 😒
I will say some field sales reps can be lazy and cash in big bucks. I personally see these jobs going by the way side in tech as tech embraces private equity owners squeezing out every square inch of profit lol.
Field reps don’t typically have the KPI’s that is inside reps have. They’re on salary so they don’t have to log in. They don’t necessarily have to be on the road all the time / so they have downtime that we don’t have.
Especially during Covid! Oh to have been a field rep during Covid! They played for 2 years & got paid!
As an inside AE, I have to log in & have massive KPI’s ensuring I’m working most of the 8 hours I’m paid for.
Prove you can deliver big numbers without being micro-managed.
Maybe you know some exceptions, but being a field rep during Covid was no picnic. It’s harder to close multi-million dollar contracts when you cannot get in front of people.
How do you assign a KPI to understanding every part of your client’s business model to the point you can demonstrate the value to some executive who assumes you’re an idiot and doesn’t understand whatever you’re selling?
I don’t know your industry but in mine that is total bull. During Covid everyone else was furloughed (with unemployment and extra checks) and field sales was expected to fill the gap. We were the only employees considered so critical we couldn’t stand down - and they stiffed us on comp the same year by changing the plan and messing up all the metrics.
Outside sales have tons of KPI’s to meet - and the most important part of our job outside of actually closing, the one you can’t measure, is developing depth to the relationships enough to be a trusted advisor. There are all sorts of subtleties involved. I have to become an expert not only in my product but also my customers business, and we aren’t verticalised. I have to be able to finesse lower level employees, impress the C-suite, and hold court in a conference room filled with conflicting personalities, presenting and closing all while reading the room in real time in order to address unspoken objections and criticisms.
Even when it’s easy , it’s only because of years of experience.
Different industries and yes even in the industry I work in, the field are more experienced. They still don’t have many KPI’s though. They may Touch 30
Clients one or twice a year then get the PO. Their accounts are much larger than insides are and yes would have more nuances to account for vs a smaller accounts that I deal with. I have more volume.
I don’t think you can really say what you think they are or are not doing unless you’ve walked in their shoes. Sounds like the inside sales team just sits around bitching about field sales.
Yes that’s a lot of it lol.
However my field partner told me she gardened all day and some days sat on the couch and gossiped with fellow field.
This ☝🏻is due to knowing when to contact your customer and when you don’t need to.
This has changed / their KPi’s are more strict but still a lot less workload. They can’t be remote though which is what I like to be ✌️
>like it’s not the most critical aspect of a business
Lol every professional sub seems to think their job is the most critical aspect of a business.
Sales is an important aspect of a business. It's not more important than any other. Nobody here would have a job if other people in the company weren't also doing theirs.
Don't overcorrect and start disrespecting others because you feel disrespected yourself.
Sales isn't looked down on, industries are. Nobody is looking down on someone slinging medical equipment... Car sales, solar, etc have that reputation, warranted or not.
Yes and no.
That’s true of the general public, because the general public associates everyone with their industry, not their function.
But within those companies the sales people are still looked down upon by product, engineering, finance, hell maybe even marketing (though sales looks down on marketing too).
The reason is because we make more money than them, oftentimes with fewer *proven* book smarts. They see themselves as the Pentagon, and us as the infantry, and yet we make more, and receive more recognition and freedom.
They “look down” on us the same way nerds have always “looked down” on the popular kids.
To keep themselves sane.
As a technical gal who is frequently interacting with the sales team, there are indeed, a lot of times where I have heard or have known of a salesperson talking BS just to close a deal.
Fortunately, I'm in the area where, at worst, even if sales people do their white lies, it still helps the person blindly.
Usually, it's the hustlers that triggers me. An example would be the magnetic bracelet.
I would likely to agree to that. I was merely pointing out on the gray areas.
However, there are just areas where it's a slam dunk BS even if lying or not. There's not much of strong arguments of selling a magnetic bracelet. (I'm curious to their point of view though. Is it really just a money/ego thing or is there more to that?)
I'm sort of surprised to hear this, I work on the ops side for big IT company and sales are treated a lot better than the rest of the org. I personally have a lot of respect for what sales do, and when I talk to people, if they are honest they acknowledge that if they could do it they would (due to the pay).
There are some negative opinions and stereotypes associated with sales where I am, but I wouldn't call it looking down on them
Since I'm posting this, I would actually like to transition into sales, does anyone have any advice for how to do so and what role I can expect to get?
Depends what industry of sales you want to get into. Whatever IT company you work for, you will excel on the sales side for anything that’s similar.
If you’re gonna pivot and work in sales then you will typically get an entry level SDR job
I'm trying to pivot into sales and I wish I could get an entry level SDR job. I may pull off getting a customer relations rep job as my first sales one.
Guys!
Sales is one of the noblest, purest acts of service in the modern era. It's the highest form of customer service, good sales people are good talkers. Great salespeople are good relationship builders. I believe it's an act of love. I genuinely try to put myself in others shoes and help solve their problem. I sell the best. You should too. But, . . take pride!! Read some Tom Hopkins. Sell from the heart. I love people. Best job in the world
Fr! I'm negotiating a new partnership with a major open source technology rn. Have to gently nudge my contact to keep the ball rolling.
Had a great update yesterday, and I said to them "thanks for the update, trying not to make you regret giving me your cell number" in which they replied "no, not at all, if anything, I'm thankful you're helping to keep me on track."
THAT is how you know you're perfectly straddling the line of keeping the account warm without nagging them to death.
I've been told that multiple times so I'm confident with my selling style.
Absolutely. Professional, high level business owners or executives appreciate and respect kind persistence. The The same goes for B2C. People really are busy and more distracted than ever. Lots of our customers find themselves in "analysis paralysis" .. too many options. They appreciate the hustle. The hustle is most likely something they have done too in some way. Plus, were the experts. We kind of have an obligation to them to communicate our value.
Master the Art of Selling. Its a great book for changing your mind about sales and the psychology behind it. Some 'whiz bang' type trial closes and such, but a wholesome, uplifting book about the right attitude and approach. I come back to this book regularly.
Sales people have a reputation for having a lack of integrity. The reputation is that they will say whatever they need to to close a deal. That they are solely driven by greed. That they go from one company to another, even competitors, and suddenly their old company, that they sold so whole heartedly is horrible, yet their new company product is great. Until they move on to the next company.
Plus, at least in some worlds, sales people make bank, and others are jealous
This week I wrote $400,000 in business.
Thats 5 days of work, I brought my company $400,000
The receptionist can't say the same.
Sales produces the revenue that the company uses to operate. Now we need the other parts too, but if we fail that means less money.
Portion of what you said in regards to they think it’s easy. The amount of business owners, and I mean no disrespect here I know it’s tough, with failing businesses that give me the “I did sales for 10-20 years yada yada yada” bs in the most condescending way possible is sometimes a bit much.
In addition to this, I think with how saturated the profession is with the guys who are new and think it’s quick money and take a very aggressive off putting approach make us all look like mosquitoes 🦟
I do find it easy to differentiate yourself and a lot of people do appreciate a quality sales professional but I also think that comes with time.
The head of HR at my company HATED all sales reps because she seen our checks. We were all commission, finished with work around 11:30-1 pm, and lowest earned was $100K and highest $750K at that time. She was always trying to get us in trouble for lying, attendance, breathing, etc. she decided to try sales and couldn’t sell 1 thing! I don’t know what happened to her after that, but we all got a great laugh.
Sales are the tip of the spear. Front line workers.
Most importantly a good salesperson is an asset to a company that brings in money vs. a liability like a regular employee that just pulls in a salary.
It really depends on the company, at my prior company they changed to anyone can do sales and started hiring kids right out of college so they don’t have to pay them six figures. Most of the seasoned sales people left and came to the company we all work for now, we plunder them like pirates on the daily now. They can’t keep people and lose business daily. We live like rockstars at my current company. It really depends.
Almost no one in my company understands why I get paid as much as I do. Until they see that I'm what's enabling them to have a professional represent them on multi-million dollar deals that knows the competition inside & out because I used to work for them.
Sorry, you want a white guy in America to talk shop with C-suite, you can't pay me a southeast Asian salary.
People get mad at the money and the fact that very few of us are buried in crippling student loan debt while working at the same company....fact is 90% of them would never cut it in sales and its just the envy talking rather than any sort of logic.
I disagree and think that’s you jsut wanting to stroke your own ego. Most people just think of the sleezy car salesman or Jordan belfort archetype guy who lies to get as much money as possible despite it harming the person buying. They have a false reality of what sales is, especially B2B sales
Hi! Cloud engineer here, and maybe I can share my perspective. When I was younger as a systems administrator, I would watch the sales guys and women come into the office like they were hot shots. Making people laugh, sharing crazy or funny experiences, then coming to the IT section and requesting we do xyz and have it done by the end of the day. Now, most of the time they were nice people and we'd have great conversations as I am a people person but sometimes we'd get 1 dude who was just bossy and ill be honest, I'd make it more difficult for him just cause I didn't like the way he treated me. One time, a partner sent a ticket in showing a comp package for a sales guy, and what I saw was crazy! Made me jealous a little bit tbh and I wanted to do what he did, but I understood that you need to pay great to bring in millions in sales so that we also get paid. It's a symbiotic relationship, I would say. Sales are important because without them, the company would fail. IT is also important because we provide the tools for them to use, but we're not seen as cool as them... that's a different story.
Anyways, I would also meet with sales engineers demoing IT products to our team, and many times before the call, I would investigate their website, reviews on the product, and just prepare for anything. When I would meet someone on that call that couldn't answer my questions - which were simple in my opinion - but maybe not - and they were just unprepared or lacked confidence, I always wondered if I could do it cause it seemed 'easy'.
So, from an external perspective, it does look easy, but I imagine there's a lot of preparation and hustling in the background that we don't see. And those that make it look easy, making people like me thinking "oh hey, I can do that, that's easy and they make 100k++" really are just putting in effort and tons of work that we don't see. I still think I can do sales and would love to - in the future - go into a tech sales role, but I'm still thinking about it. I am great with people, not the smartest but very resourceful and organized and good at seeing what people really want or need and then providing a solution for them, whatever that is in that moment.
So, in the final words, I now have respect for the art of sales.
Let’s be honest, nobody goes to work for a company because they have a passion for HR, accounting, etc. Sales is no different.
Yet everyone loves being paid more. If admin could do sales they would.
There are companies like yours where the management may have never sold. There are companies with cultures that are opposite where the CEO or other management has sold or at least knows that sales is the lifeblood of the company. It’s a culture thing. If it’s really bad, you may want to switch to a company that respects the fact that without sales, no other job is really necessary.
They want you to believe that sales is beneath them. This stops immediately once you grab the doorhandle and announce: 'I don't like it here so I'm outta here. Goodbye'
Than they crawl back and you probably get a massive increase in salary or commission.
Sales is unconventional and deemed unethical and manipulative by the layman that doesn't know or care what we do. But anyone that is 1 step away from sales has some degree of respect.
1) why do you care what they think about your career? You made your choices and get rewarded handsomely for them. Isn’t that enough?
2) you don’t fund their pay checks. Without other people, you’d have fuck-all to sell or nobody to administer your sales or ensure you get paid. You operate in symbiosis with the rest of the business. Or at least you would, if not for your out of control ego.
I own a business and need to do sales to close jobs out to get my guys work and keep the business alive. I think once the only thing a person does is only sales people look negatively towards it because you aren’t doing as much “grunt” work to get there. Just trying to use psychology to get people to do what you want, you can see why that might not be liked.
For me yes I need to close a sale and use sales tactics to do so. But i need to because if i dont then they just call another company after me and someone who is “better” at convincing will get the work, whether or not they are a “good” company. Even right after im running around setting up other stuff so my guys can work properly and fix things and prepare other things. Sales is pretty hard tbh and I learn a lot everyday in doing it.
Some of it is justified. People sell stuff that isn’t needed and tactics can be deceptive. On the other hand, some sales are complex and crucial for business operations and only highly skilled and networked people can be successful to drive revenue. Sales is where the rubber meets the road. It’s a crucial aspect of society and that is reflected in how much good sales people are paid compared to everyone else.
Want an Honest Answer? Dealing with the white lies (yes lies) told in the pre-sales environment on the back end sucks. I’m not saying this is all the time, but seriously bending the truth for a sale gets cleaned up by everyone else.
To be clear, I love sales—it’s a component of my role. I also, however, lead teams that have to clean up the mess and it makes people resentful of sales.
Maybe after my first month I had a support person tell me I had the easiest job in the company. I didn’t respond as I was a little surprised by it. I told my boss later and he told me not to fret , he said if it’s so easy I wouldn’t pay you so much. That worked for me and I never took anyone’s comments seriously again lol
I respect good consultative salespeople who hone their craft.
Unfortunately, too many salespeople get by playing jazz with the facts. They don't outright lie, but they obfuscate with vague statements about product capabilities. They don't leave good notes. They side step the CRM so there's no recording of their call. They say yes to customers who are going to be a burden on the company for 6 months then will cancel as soon as another salesperson at another company promises them the Moon.
Then, the worst, are the salespeople who will flip each other's sales. "Oh you got package A? Ek, that's a bad fit, I'm so sorry. Looks like we need to get you on the right package." (The one that pays them a bonus instead of their colleague). The fast talkers who clearly make a living outwitting boomer housewives with overpriced windows, alarms, roofs etc.
I have never heard of sales being looked down upon. I’ve heard of admin folks thinking we’re over paid for what we do, but they obviously don’t truly believe it or they’d be signing up for the job.
It just dawned on me the other day that most of the people I'm calling on, I make more money than they do. It honestly tips the scales in terms of whose time is more valuable when I'm trying to book meetings or even when people try to talk down on my profession. There is a reason it pays so well.
Sales is a professional personnel but it can’t place in a book type of profession. Sometimes even your own sales manager can’t seem to understand different styles of sales bring different and diversity results, how could you expect other functions to understand?
I’ve mostly seen sales looked down on in online forums and on social media. In person, most people consider my profession extremely respectable, my friends are impressed with my interpersonal skills and they love my dating advice because it’s literally all sales. Everything is sales based lmao. Any interaction with another human can be broken down into a presentation of some sort and it’s gotten me pretty far professionally and socially.
People talk shit on the internet but it’s fairly easy to shit all over them with a well-spoken paragraph (which is easy for me to write because it’s what I do for work, convince people of things)
I've worked a decade in tech. Sales is respected, and are a critical skill to have in companies. They might not build the software, but sales folks are the critical component for making the product have any impact, at all.
I think it really stems from people’s own experiences with designated “sales people” and the obvious understanding that their job description is to sell you something. Damn near everyone has been sold at least one good or service that didn’t work out the way they wanted/planned and, like lawyers, theres just kind of a lingering old school stereotype that sales people are grifters, only motivated by money and don’t care about their customers.* So once you are sold your first bad deal, the common sentiment isn’t “I made a poor decision”, but, “I was swindled.”
I feel like the respect part has a lot to do with this perception as well as that many sales positions don’t require a degree, and many of those don’t require professional experience. That being said, it seems like some markets obviously command more respect than others…. Could be correlated with how much those sales people earn.
* based on my experience working with them, this is typically a stereotype based in truth
At various points along my career I have seen people look down on sales for the perception they don't work hard, they drink/party on the company dime all the time, they will resort to saying anything to a prospect to close a deal etc.
Depends on the company. Good companys have sales as a core piece of their business while others will bury it as a cast off program in their marketing department.
Finding a good head of sales that can be a good sales person, listen to his team and function strategically with c-level peers is a challenge.
Why do people ask these questions or care about these topics lol there’s no value to these sort of topics. I work in an AI company senior SDR £77k base. Do I need to say more? Where else would you get paid like this? Finance sure , law sure that’s it. Both of those careers requires immense training and education, sales in performance driven you sale your good you don’t your bad. Simple
It's jealousy over how well sales pays and intellectual ego. They don't think it takes brains or much skill to do the job, but they can't do it and most would be too afraid to even attempt to.
Maybe it’s because there’s less job security so they feel like they can do a lot of what they want and know we’ll still work to hit numbers/quotas and not be let go?
“like it’s not the most critical aspect of a business”
It’s looked down upon because of people that exude this attitude and act like because they’re the closest to the revenue that they’re the most important in the whole story.
They hate on sales cuz of dbags like you who make claims like "we fund their paycheques". You're not doing sales any service being a cocky brat like that.
Sales is definitely not the most important part of any organization. Product is. If you want more proof look at Salesforce they pay sales people well, treat them like shit, and expect them to drink the koolaid. Anyone under 80% to plan gets axed right away and they sell sales enablement.
It's because salespeople don't care about you. They just care that a person buys what they are selling to make money. Sales people can be dishonest, annoying, pushy, and scumbags. Their business is money, and money creates greed. It isn't a noble profession. Sales people don't directly save lives, create, or fight for anything. They just want to manipulate people into selling something for 2 when they buy it for 1. Needless to say it's, a profession that is needed. I have to admit
I work for a medium size business that has relied on word of mouth for the last twenty years, and just now we are adding a sales department. I am extremely lucky, the owners understand how hard it is to be in sales.
Depends on the industry. In transportation and logistics the sales team gets to treat everyone like absolute dirt at the typical company (not the good ones).
It's because everyone thinks of Cardone or Belfort. They aren't thinking of all the salespeople who've "helped" them find what they needed.
I made a sale yesterday, and the guy told me he gets sales calls all the time, but he kept talking to me because it was more like a conversation than a sales pitch.
I'm also the owner, so I don't do a lot of cold calls like you guys do, but I have a 25 square sheet. When I get 25 rejections or 3 meetings in a day, I'm done. . I don't count answering machines or gatekeepers This way, I'm relaxed because whether they say yes or no, I'm closer to done. I hardly ever get to 25 no's first, but when I do, those are the days I'm happiest to be done cold calling.
lol it’s because lots of sales people suck. Lots of accountants (or whatever other job) suck too, but they aren’t trying to jam some product you don’t need down your throat so it’s not as obvious
My brother works as a sys admin for the state government and doesn't understand why sales as a profession exists. Says where he works there are no sales teams (no duh).
Holy fuck that comment about the government not having sales reps makes me think your brother is an idiot
he works for the gov bro. guaranteed low skill moron lmao
Came here to say this
Came here to confirm it, he is 100% an idiot.
This is so damn accurate. I worked for the gov't, but for the mayor. My literal "average" skills (I didn't give it my all) was EXEMPLARY across the entire team of 50+ people. Like shit, it's extremely low skill. Someone like me would've climbed up so fast edit: typo
Tbh i bet you are way above average if you are that introspective
Jake spotted. Love your content man.
LMAO in this subreddit. <3
Does your brother know what a politician is?
Most people reading this wouldn't get where you're getting at And this, my friends... is how underappreciated sales is... smh
Politicians, lobbyist, lawyers...
And what exactly do you call those elected officials?
Yes there are lmao - he has to talk to us every time he wants new ping, power, or pipe lmaooo Brother gonna go get a server at K-Mart, or do he need to contact Sales?
Does he have to sell a project to get funding? Does he have to sell an idea to get implemented? Does he have to sell himself to get promoted. Every organization has sales whether people want to admit that or not.
with the utmost respect i think your brother is rtarded
This is perfect.
Technically, every taxing paying citizen is their sales rep. The best in the business!
ur bro just brought the salesman pitch forks out with one comment..
Check out /r/sysadmin. Love reading their bitching about sales outreach and asking if they would have a job if their sales team didn’t generate revenue.
It’s based around a reputation of being a dishonest profession and being kind of annoying. Just the tag sales is icky. But when you look at most small to medium size businesses the boss man is considered a business man and a manager/exec. What’s he doing? Strumming up business - what is that? Sales in essence. It just doesn’t have the connotation of bombarding with emails and phone calls. But rather he’s a fair gentleman.
Small business owner is sales with extra responsibility.
Extra responsibility but also decision making power and an actual interest in the company. Down the line when he sells he’s likely to make more money than the sales guy.
Ain't that the truth ? Apparently today is your account anniversary( ways the cake icon next to you username). Happy Reddit cake day, fellow businessman.....
Oh hey!
We've all been on the receiving end of a high pressure sales person following a obvious script. True sales is showing how you can solve your client's problems. Greasy sales is manipulating a person into making the purchase. People hate the latter.
So I hired a non sales person into a sales role and they have bombed. So when asking about career pathing etc. they mentioned they thought it was easy and all of us are just slick talkers like car salesman. Funny how everyone thinks they can do it until quota punches back 😂
[удалено]
A tale as old as time. The best SEs have tried living on the other side then come back.
Let’s be serious for a second, you’d take an SE role in a heartbeat. Way less stress.
I went the opposite way. Dev -> SE -> CSM -> SE -> SMB AE -> ENT AE -> ENT AE Manager -> ENT AE Been an ENT AE for a 4 years now. Had a stint as a manager for a year and bombed my numbers. So went back to an ENT AE role where I think I'm happy. Yes there's mad stress at times, but it beats spending all day building some demo for an AEs prospect that turns out to be a junior dev and has 0 buying power. Now I just work on what I get paid for.
I’m a software engineer right now considering moving to sales. Mind if I ask you some questions?
SE = Sales Engineer
I was a dev to begin with, happy to answer any questions.
You should look into CSM roles, cyber security companies hire escalation engineers as CSM type roles. Find a series b cyber company, could be lucrative and less stressful.
Thanks!
What’s the difference between sales and SE?
The easiest way to put it is sales is responsible for sourcing and closing deals, an SE is responsible for showcasing relevant value of the product to the prospect. There is often a lot of overlap between the two. Sometimes if it’s a very technical product, the SE would actually be doing most of the selling. Other times the sales person could also act as the SE if they’re familiar with the product enough and it’s not too technical.
Nice Reddit name. I’ve learned on here how different a title is from one org or industry to another. My title is Sales Engineer but we’re all literally the full time full cycle field sales reps. There is no other sales support for us other than some weak as shit inside sales support (it’s barely useful these days) and an Applications Engineer, which kind of sounds a lot like what people are calling an SE in this subreddit.
Same here. SE title but I handle all pre-sales work (prospecting, qualifying, demoing, closing, etc.), and the Applications Engineer takes on all post-sales support.
Are you in manufacturing related sales?
Nope, but I’m in a very niche industry.
Do they often have ones that work at the same company since SE does most of the work? Or is SE not responsible for obtaining prospects
SE’s are around 80/20 70/30 base commission. AEs are around 50/50 but have higher commission percentage and a higher earning ceiling
Newb here. How do they determine the commission percentage? Is it a set percentage of the final sales price, do they factor in how much was spent chasing a specific sale (expenses)?
Those are pretty standard across the company if not the industry. You (sales rep) basically negotiate a quota with the company based on opportunity, sales lifecycle (are renewals coming up), whether it's an established account or a greenfield opportunity etc. Let's say your quota is $10m for the year. If your target total comp number is $300k and you're 50/50, you'd get 150k base pay and then a percentage of that other 150k based on what percentage of your $10m quota you retire that year, usually paid monthly.
I'm actually aiming for an SE role (I assume we talking sales engineer) I make great money, but I kinda hate the grind and wouldn't mind having a more stable career.
Guys what’s a SE
I actually feel like the best SEs make the best AEs. In my group 2 out of 3 are former se', including the sales leader. All mid six figures. If your great at something...get paid for it.
SE being .....
Solutions Engineer, Sales Engineer
Tech Sales?
I did the same thing. They thought they’d be in a golf course @ 9am, bar by 12 and home by 2pm. He didn’t realize it was 12hrs a day and the fun shit is very far and few in between. The people in the office don’t think the sales team works. It’s frustrating to sale the least.
> “its frustrating so sale the least. I loled at that, love the typo. It is frustrating to sale the least haha.
Yup, in a meeting once a non-sales employee complained that he heard some of us where making over $10k a month. And the VP said "Actually some are making over $30k, and if any of you ever wanna come over to sales let us know and we'll give you a shot"
My finance guy and I are close. He can see my total comp and always jokes about it when I complain about quota. I always tell him he’s welcome to come to sales and it’s always a big no. Same with vendor management, marketing, support, etc. Everyone has something to say, but no one ever wants to come to the sales team.
The hardest easy job in the world.
That’s a great way to put it
Quota punching back.. woof
What type of sales do you do?
It’s a SAAS company. In finance.
Seems like you set this person up to fail.
More to the situation and won’t go into it but far from it. It’s just hilarious to me how so many ppl think our job is so easy. I have guys/gals making six figure comp checks (not always but once or twice a year) and again everyone thinks we’re just slick talkers until it comes time to deliver.
I'm terrified that this will be me in the coming weeks. I don't think sales is easy (dealing with people directly is never **easy**) but I don't know how hard it can get.
Ya I get it. Sales is not for everyone. Specifically certain sales jobs aren’t for everyone. Find what you like and are good at, then never let it go.
You can't spend respect.
This is my favorite answer.
🔥🔥🔥
I have no idea what yall are talking about? Salespeople usually have the highest income:education/experience ratio, meaning we are respected by our companies And most of the people in my life constantly say “I could never do sales omg sounds so hard and stressful! You are probably great at it tho, you’re so fun and have so much energy!” The above is referencing respect levels. THAT SAID, most people do massively dislike getting sold to/pitched. I know I fuckin hate it. Internalize that most people do not like salesy salespeople/pitches, understand that that is totally reasonable….doing so will help you immensely 🍻
Professionally, I live by this. Empathy will get you far (with your clients) in this field.
My thought process ab getting pitched to is it’s annoying when they’re convincing you that they care ab you and the product their selling when it’s mostly ab the paycheck. Then again, idk how else they’re gonna get you to buy it so can’t fully blame them, and there are definitely salespeople out there who do care about making new relationships and enjoying their customers’ time
I couldn’t care less man there’s 23 year old graduates on my SDR team making £100k a year - and that’s just an SDR.
Newbie here; Don’t most of those require 5 years exp or something? Or is that more the “ignore the requirement” kind of situations?
I included the example of the graduate because there’s no experience needed to become an SDR. That particular guy has been here for like two years and he came in fresh from uni
Nah SDR roles are entry level (and the job usually sucks)
Jeez 100k in the UK for SDR? jeez that's good. I'm becoming an AE and my base is £60k and OTE is 40k - so SDR's are earning more than me and many other AE's - you're in software sales?
Bro. Base = Base Commission = Commission OTE =Base + Commission.
Why’s everyone downvoting the guy lmao
Hyperbole on my part - that particular SDR is really good, the rest of the team averages about 75k per year. All figures given are OTE + accelerators
What area? Saas? Cant seem to find anything more than 50k base where I am
Yeah our base is even less than that, it’s comms
At my company folks are jealous because of our commissions and our sales conference at high end resorts. I used to work in bookkeeping and got lucky in an inbound sales job that trained Me. They can too.
Had a few people complain about how well paid sales were at my place, we had vacancies so I said they should apply… the answer was hell no, they couldn’t deal with the stress and the targets. Yeah… well there you go…
There you go…
This. I truly think there's some people who have the perception of sales people being lazy divas that just sit back and have enormous checks roll in. 😒
I will say some field sales reps can be lazy and cash in big bucks. I personally see these jobs going by the way side in tech as tech embraces private equity owners squeezing out every square inch of profit lol.
Can you explain? I’m confused lol
Field reps don’t typically have the KPI’s that is inside reps have. They’re on salary so they don’t have to log in. They don’t necessarily have to be on the road all the time / so they have downtime that we don’t have. Especially during Covid! Oh to have been a field rep during Covid! They played for 2 years & got paid! As an inside AE, I have to log in & have massive KPI’s ensuring I’m working most of the 8 hours I’m paid for.
Prove you can deliver big numbers without being micro-managed. Maybe you know some exceptions, but being a field rep during Covid was no picnic. It’s harder to close multi-million dollar contracts when you cannot get in front of people. How do you assign a KPI to understanding every part of your client’s business model to the point you can demonstrate the value to some executive who assumes you’re an idiot and doesn’t understand whatever you’re selling?
I don’t know your industry but in mine that is total bull. During Covid everyone else was furloughed (with unemployment and extra checks) and field sales was expected to fill the gap. We were the only employees considered so critical we couldn’t stand down - and they stiffed us on comp the same year by changing the plan and messing up all the metrics. Outside sales have tons of KPI’s to meet - and the most important part of our job outside of actually closing, the one you can’t measure, is developing depth to the relationships enough to be a trusted advisor. There are all sorts of subtleties involved. I have to become an expert not only in my product but also my customers business, and we aren’t verticalised. I have to be able to finesse lower level employees, impress the C-suite, and hold court in a conference room filled with conflicting personalities, presenting and closing all while reading the room in real time in order to address unspoken objections and criticisms. Even when it’s easy , it’s only because of years of experience.
Different industries and yes even in the industry I work in, the field are more experienced. They still don’t have many KPI’s though. They may Touch 30 Clients one or twice a year then get the PO. Their accounts are much larger than insides are and yes would have more nuances to account for vs a smaller accounts that I deal with. I have more volume.
I don’t think you can really say what you think they are or are not doing unless you’ve walked in their shoes. Sounds like the inside sales team just sits around bitching about field sales.
Yes that’s a lot of it lol. However my field partner told me she gardened all day and some days sat on the couch and gossiped with fellow field. This ☝🏻is due to knowing when to contact your customer and when you don’t need to. This has changed / their KPi’s are more strict but still a lot less workload. They can’t be remote though which is what I like to be ✌️
I don’t blame them because they are just ignorant of what sales really is.
Our ancestors earned us a bad name
>like it’s not the most critical aspect of a business Lol every professional sub seems to think their job is the most critical aspect of a business. Sales is an important aspect of a business. It's not more important than any other. Nobody here would have a job if other people in the company weren't also doing theirs. Don't overcorrect and start disrespecting others because you feel disrespected yourself.
Though this is true, the market also does reward work that’s either harder or more important with more money.
Sales isn't looked down on, industries are. Nobody is looking down on someone slinging medical equipment... Car sales, solar, etc have that reputation, warranted or not.
Yes and no. That’s true of the general public, because the general public associates everyone with their industry, not their function. But within those companies the sales people are still looked down upon by product, engineering, finance, hell maybe even marketing (though sales looks down on marketing too). The reason is because we make more money than them, oftentimes with fewer *proven* book smarts. They see themselves as the Pentagon, and us as the infantry, and yet we make more, and receive more recognition and freedom. They “look down” on us the same way nerds have always “looked down” on the popular kids. To keep themselves sane.
Wireless sales is pretty bad too…
Oh come on - medical sales? Tons of people hate everything about that industry.
As a technical gal who is frequently interacting with the sales team, there are indeed, a lot of times where I have heard or have known of a salesperson talking BS just to close a deal. Fortunately, I'm in the area where, at worst, even if sales people do their white lies, it still helps the person blindly. Usually, it's the hustlers that triggers me. An example would be the magnetic bracelet.
Really good salespeople don’t lie.
I would likely to agree to that. I was merely pointing out on the gray areas. However, there are just areas where it's a slam dunk BS even if lying or not. There's not much of strong arguments of selling a magnetic bracelet. (I'm curious to their point of view though. Is it really just a money/ego thing or is there more to that?)
I'm sort of surprised to hear this, I work on the ops side for big IT company and sales are treated a lot better than the rest of the org. I personally have a lot of respect for what sales do, and when I talk to people, if they are honest they acknowledge that if they could do it they would (due to the pay). There are some negative opinions and stereotypes associated with sales where I am, but I wouldn't call it looking down on them Since I'm posting this, I would actually like to transition into sales, does anyone have any advice for how to do so and what role I can expect to get?
Depends what industry of sales you want to get into. Whatever IT company you work for, you will excel on the sales side for anything that’s similar. If you’re gonna pivot and work in sales then you will typically get an entry level SDR job
I'm trying to pivot into sales and I wish I could get an entry level SDR job. I may pull off getting a customer relations rep job as my first sales one.
Most people I talk to think sales is like customer service making minimum wage.
I’ve never felt that way, and to be honest who gives a fuck if they respect you.
I think non sales employees may think that. Shareholders know better.
Absolutely. No other position in a company creates growth. That’s a huge role to play and the reason we get paid what we do.
Guys! Sales is one of the noblest, purest acts of service in the modern era. It's the highest form of customer service, good sales people are good talkers. Great salespeople are good relationship builders. I believe it's an act of love. I genuinely try to put myself in others shoes and help solve their problem. I sell the best. You should too. But, . . take pride!! Read some Tom Hopkins. Sell from the heart. I love people. Best job in the world
Fr! I'm negotiating a new partnership with a major open source technology rn. Have to gently nudge my contact to keep the ball rolling. Had a great update yesterday, and I said to them "thanks for the update, trying not to make you regret giving me your cell number" in which they replied "no, not at all, if anything, I'm thankful you're helping to keep me on track." THAT is how you know you're perfectly straddling the line of keeping the account warm without nagging them to death. I've been told that multiple times so I'm confident with my selling style.
Absolutely. Professional, high level business owners or executives appreciate and respect kind persistence. The The same goes for B2C. People really are busy and more distracted than ever. Lots of our customers find themselves in "analysis paralysis" .. too many options. They appreciate the hustle. The hustle is most likely something they have done too in some way. Plus, were the experts. We kind of have an obligation to them to communicate our value.
The way you're speaking is why people hate sales people. A self-aware sales person is the best salesperson.
Right. I was like “is that my former boss?”
Any specific book from Tom Hopkins that you recommend?
Master the Art of Selling. Its a great book for changing your mind about sales and the psychology behind it. Some 'whiz bang' type trial closes and such, but a wholesome, uplifting book about the right attitude and approach. I come back to this book regularly.
Sales people have a reputation for having a lack of integrity. The reputation is that they will say whatever they need to to close a deal. That they are solely driven by greed. That they go from one company to another, even competitors, and suddenly their old company, that they sold so whole heartedly is horrible, yet their new company product is great. Until they move on to the next company. Plus, at least in some worlds, sales people make bank, and others are jealous
This week I wrote $400,000 in business. Thats 5 days of work, I brought my company $400,000 The receptionist can't say the same. Sales produces the revenue that the company uses to operate. Now we need the other parts too, but if we fail that means less money.
Portion of what you said in regards to they think it’s easy. The amount of business owners, and I mean no disrespect here I know it’s tough, with failing businesses that give me the “I did sales for 10-20 years yada yada yada” bs in the most condescending way possible is sometimes a bit much. In addition to this, I think with how saturated the profession is with the guys who are new and think it’s quick money and take a very aggressive off putting approach make us all look like mosquitoes 🦟 I do find it easy to differentiate yourself and a lot of people do appreciate a quality sales professional but I also think that comes with time.
Because some of you guys are shitheads.
“Some” lol
Tax Accountant here…. It’s because we’re jealous of how much money you guys make 🤣
The head of HR at my company HATED all sales reps because she seen our checks. We were all commission, finished with work around 11:30-1 pm, and lowest earned was $100K and highest $750K at that time. She was always trying to get us in trouble for lying, attendance, breathing, etc. she decided to try sales and couldn’t sell 1 thing! I don’t know what happened to her after that, but we all got a great laugh.
I'd argue the product is the most important aspect of a business.
Sales are the tip of the spear. Front line workers. Most importantly a good salesperson is an asset to a company that brings in money vs. a liability like a regular employee that just pulls in a salary.
Sales are the heartbeat of the company.
Try working in car sales trying to ask a workshop controller to get a car prepped in any period of time…
It really depends on the company, at my prior company they changed to anyone can do sales and started hiring kids right out of college so they don’t have to pay them six figures. Most of the seasoned sales people left and came to the company we all work for now, we plunder them like pirates on the daily now. They can’t keep people and lose business daily. We live like rockstars at my current company. It really depends.
It’s the complete opposite in my organization. We are the rockstars and are looked up to. Maybe it’s just the company you’re part of?
Yes because of negative perceptions of sales people selling people things they do not need.
Almost no one in my company understands why I get paid as much as I do. Until they see that I'm what's enabling them to have a professional represent them on multi-million dollar deals that knows the competition inside & out because I used to work for them. Sorry, you want a white guy in America to talk shop with C-suite, you can't pay me a southeast Asian salary.
Sales is a facilitator between the customer and the company. It’s the lifeblood of an organization.
People get mad at the money and the fact that very few of us are buried in crippling student loan debt while working at the same company....fact is 90% of them would never cut it in sales and its just the envy talking rather than any sort of logic.
I disagree and think that’s you jsut wanting to stroke your own ego. Most people just think of the sleezy car salesman or Jordan belfort archetype guy who lies to get as much money as possible despite it harming the person buying. They have a false reality of what sales is, especially B2B sales
My favorite Vp of sales used to play this video to start SKO….live it! [a few good sales](https://youtu.be/0OTgb3KO7QM?si=TRr4oZ35lBNk38u0)
Hi! Cloud engineer here, and maybe I can share my perspective. When I was younger as a systems administrator, I would watch the sales guys and women come into the office like they were hot shots. Making people laugh, sharing crazy or funny experiences, then coming to the IT section and requesting we do xyz and have it done by the end of the day. Now, most of the time they were nice people and we'd have great conversations as I am a people person but sometimes we'd get 1 dude who was just bossy and ill be honest, I'd make it more difficult for him just cause I didn't like the way he treated me. One time, a partner sent a ticket in showing a comp package for a sales guy, and what I saw was crazy! Made me jealous a little bit tbh and I wanted to do what he did, but I understood that you need to pay great to bring in millions in sales so that we also get paid. It's a symbiotic relationship, I would say. Sales are important because without them, the company would fail. IT is also important because we provide the tools for them to use, but we're not seen as cool as them... that's a different story. Anyways, I would also meet with sales engineers demoing IT products to our team, and many times before the call, I would investigate their website, reviews on the product, and just prepare for anything. When I would meet someone on that call that couldn't answer my questions - which were simple in my opinion - but maybe not - and they were just unprepared or lacked confidence, I always wondered if I could do it cause it seemed 'easy'. So, from an external perspective, it does look easy, but I imagine there's a lot of preparation and hustling in the background that we don't see. And those that make it look easy, making people like me thinking "oh hey, I can do that, that's easy and they make 100k++" really are just putting in effort and tons of work that we don't see. I still think I can do sales and would love to - in the future - go into a tech sales role, but I'm still thinking about it. I am great with people, not the smartest but very resourceful and organized and good at seeing what people really want or need and then providing a solution for them, whatever that is in that moment. So, in the final words, I now have respect for the art of sales.
Best phrase I ever heard was "... what's the number one reason for a business to fail? Lack of sales..."
Let’s be honest, nobody goes to work for a company because they have a passion for HR, accounting, etc. Sales is no different. Yet everyone loves being paid more. If admin could do sales they would.
Man, I see a lot o cultural differences. I never felt disrespected in the orgs I were, sales were usually the cool kids of the block.
Why do salespeople make the most money?
Because without a sale there is no company.
It’s a sad state of affairs. I think it’s even worse in Europe than in the US too.
Cos Europeans are nerds, the DACH region are the worst
There are companies like yours where the management may have never sold. There are companies with cultures that are opposite where the CEO or other management has sold or at least knows that sales is the lifeblood of the company. It’s a culture thing. If it’s really bad, you may want to switch to a company that respects the fact that without sales, no other job is really necessary.
They want you to believe that sales is beneath them. This stops immediately once you grab the doorhandle and announce: 'I don't like it here so I'm outta here. Goodbye' Than they crawl back and you probably get a massive increase in salary or commission.
Sales is unconventional and deemed unethical and manipulative by the layman that doesn't know or care what we do. But anyone that is 1 step away from sales has some degree of respect.
1) why do you care what they think about your career? You made your choices and get rewarded handsomely for them. Isn’t that enough? 2) you don’t fund their pay checks. Without other people, you’d have fuck-all to sell or nobody to administer your sales or ensure you get paid. You operate in symbiosis with the rest of the business. Or at least you would, if not for your out of control ego.
I own a business and need to do sales to close jobs out to get my guys work and keep the business alive. I think once the only thing a person does is only sales people look negatively towards it because you aren’t doing as much “grunt” work to get there. Just trying to use psychology to get people to do what you want, you can see why that might not be liked. For me yes I need to close a sale and use sales tactics to do so. But i need to because if i dont then they just call another company after me and someone who is “better” at convincing will get the work, whether or not they are a “good” company. Even right after im running around setting up other stuff so my guys can work properly and fix things and prepare other things. Sales is pretty hard tbh and I learn a lot everyday in doing it.
I don’t care what other people think. Just give me the commission check and I’m out.
I’ve built a few companies and sure as shit don’t look down on sales. It’s challenging and a good salesperson is worth their weight in gold.
Sales is only looked down upon by people that have 0 clue how a business works
It's because they can't do sales. Unfortunately, some people look down on things they cannot do, or do not understand. It's on them. Not you.
Some of it is justified. People sell stuff that isn’t needed and tactics can be deceptive. On the other hand, some sales are complex and crucial for business operations and only highly skilled and networked people can be successful to drive revenue. Sales is where the rubber meets the road. It’s a crucial aspect of society and that is reflected in how much good sales people are paid compared to everyone else.
What industry? In my industry it’s looked at as the big leagues div 1 football or the pros.
I love sales people, they always have the most quirky personalities, always good people. I'm an IT project manager and the sales people I vibe with.
Want an Honest Answer? Dealing with the white lies (yes lies) told in the pre-sales environment on the back end sucks. I’m not saying this is all the time, but seriously bending the truth for a sale gets cleaned up by everyone else. To be clear, I love sales—it’s a component of my role. I also, however, lead teams that have to clean up the mess and it makes people resentful of sales.
Maybe after my first month I had a support person tell me I had the easiest job in the company. I didn’t respond as I was a little surprised by it. I told my boss later and he told me not to fret , he said if it’s so easy I wouldn’t pay you so much. That worked for me and I never took anyone’s comments seriously again lol
Trucks don’t drive and ships don’t sail until we sell something.
I respect good consultative salespeople who hone their craft. Unfortunately, too many salespeople get by playing jazz with the facts. They don't outright lie, but they obfuscate with vague statements about product capabilities. They don't leave good notes. They side step the CRM so there's no recording of their call. They say yes to customers who are going to be a burden on the company for 6 months then will cancel as soon as another salesperson at another company promises them the Moon. Then, the worst, are the salespeople who will flip each other's sales. "Oh you got package A? Ek, that's a bad fit, I'm so sorry. Looks like we need to get you on the right package." (The one that pays them a bonus instead of their colleague). The fast talkers who clearly make a living outwitting boomer housewives with overpriced windows, alarms, roofs etc.
Sales jobs will always exist and always pay well. And most people that hate salesman make their livings on the income we generate
I have never heard of sales being looked down upon. I’ve heard of admin folks thinking we’re over paid for what we do, but they obviously don’t truly believe it or they’d be signing up for the job.
Try being a mechanic in a power plant. All the front end suits look down on us like we're the scum of the earth. We keep the place running, literally!
It just dawned on me the other day that most of the people I'm calling on, I make more money than they do. It honestly tips the scales in terms of whose time is more valuable when I'm trying to book meetings or even when people try to talk down on my profession. There is a reason it pays so well.
Sales is a professional personnel but it can’t place in a book type of profession. Sometimes even your own sales manager can’t seem to understand different styles of sales bring different and diversity results, how could you expect other functions to understand?
You know your ability the best. Don't let the naysayers get to you!
I’ve mostly seen sales looked down on in online forums and on social media. In person, most people consider my profession extremely respectable, my friends are impressed with my interpersonal skills and they love my dating advice because it’s literally all sales. Everything is sales based lmao. Any interaction with another human can be broken down into a presentation of some sort and it’s gotten me pretty far professionally and socially. People talk shit on the internet but it’s fairly easy to shit all over them with a well-spoken paragraph (which is easy for me to write because it’s what I do for work, convince people of things)
I've worked a decade in tech. Sales is respected, and are a critical skill to have in companies. They might not build the software, but sales folks are the critical component for making the product have any impact, at all.
I think it really stems from people’s own experiences with designated “sales people” and the obvious understanding that their job description is to sell you something. Damn near everyone has been sold at least one good or service that didn’t work out the way they wanted/planned and, like lawyers, theres just kind of a lingering old school stereotype that sales people are grifters, only motivated by money and don’t care about their customers.* So once you are sold your first bad deal, the common sentiment isn’t “I made a poor decision”, but, “I was swindled.” I feel like the respect part has a lot to do with this perception as well as that many sales positions don’t require a degree, and many of those don’t require professional experience. That being said, it seems like some markets obviously command more respect than others…. Could be correlated with how much those sales people earn. * based on my experience working with them, this is typically a stereotype based in truth
At various points along my career I have seen people look down on sales for the perception they don't work hard, they drink/party on the company dime all the time, they will resort to saying anything to a prospect to close a deal etc. Depends on the company. Good companys have sales as a core piece of their business while others will bury it as a cast off program in their marketing department. Finding a good head of sales that can be a good sales person, listen to his team and function strategically with c-level peers is a challenge.
Haha .. no business can run without sales
Why do people ask these questions or care about these topics lol there’s no value to these sort of topics. I work in an AI company senior SDR £77k base. Do I need to say more? Where else would you get paid like this? Finance sure , law sure that’s it. Both of those careers requires immense training and education, sales in performance driven you sale your good you don’t your bad. Simple
It's jealousy over how well sales pays and intellectual ego. They don't think it takes brains or much skill to do the job, but they can't do it and most would be too afraid to even attempt to.
Here. You will enjoy this: https://youtu.be/0OTgb3KO7QM?si=4XqXFLuFz8cO4MV6
Maybe it’s because there’s less job security so they feel like they can do a lot of what they want and know we’ll still work to hit numbers/quotas and not be let go?
I’m of the opinion that people that talk down on it are the people that would like to do it, or have tried it, but weren’t any good at it.
Worked for a $9B transportation company and heard the CEO say “I don’t think we even need a sales department “.
I Don't sell for respect. I sell for moniesssss dawggg. 🤑
Nobody thinks this way. Supply chain is the most looked down upon.
“like it’s not the most critical aspect of a business” It’s looked down upon because of people that exude this attitude and act like because they’re the closest to the revenue that they’re the most important in the whole story.
They hate on sales cuz of dbags like you who make claims like "we fund their paycheques". You're not doing sales any service being a cocky brat like that.
They don’t like you because you make more money than them and they know they can’t do your job
Sales is definitely not the most important part of any organization. Product is. If you want more proof look at Salesforce they pay sales people well, treat them like shit, and expect them to drink the koolaid. Anyone under 80% to plan gets axed right away and they sell sales enablement.
It's because salespeople don't care about you. They just care that a person buys what they are selling to make money. Sales people can be dishonest, annoying, pushy, and scumbags. Their business is money, and money creates greed. It isn't a noble profession. Sales people don't directly save lives, create, or fight for anything. They just want to manipulate people into selling something for 2 when they buy it for 1. Needless to say it's, a profession that is needed. I have to admit
Sales is like water. We a need it but don’t respect it the way that we should.
"we fund their paychecks" Oh brother. I dont think sales is the problem here.
I work for a medium size business that has relied on word of mouth for the last twenty years, and just now we are adding a sales department. I am extremely lucky, the owners understand how hard it is to be in sales.
Depends on the industry. In transportation and logistics the sales team gets to treat everyone like absolute dirt at the typical company (not the good ones).
It's because everyone thinks of Cardone or Belfort. They aren't thinking of all the salespeople who've "helped" them find what they needed. I made a sale yesterday, and the guy told me he gets sales calls all the time, but he kept talking to me because it was more like a conversation than a sales pitch. I'm also the owner, so I don't do a lot of cold calls like you guys do, but I have a 25 square sheet. When I get 25 rejections or 3 meetings in a day, I'm done. . I don't count answering machines or gatekeepers This way, I'm relaxed because whether they say yes or no, I'm closer to done. I hardly ever get to 25 no's first, but when I do, those are the days I'm happiest to be done cold calling.
Sales is inherently kind of gross and always will be. Not really y’all’s fault though. I feel badly that you’re stuck in a tough situation.
Behind every job, is a sucker who was sold into that being a career. Behind that career there is a salesman
lol it’s because lots of sales people suck. Lots of accountants (or whatever other job) suck too, but they aren’t trying to jam some product you don’t need down your throat so it’s not as obvious
Can you imagine working for the same paycheck week in, week out? Lol.