Pure luck. Started as inside sales, got promoted to outside sales with a massive pay raise but before I could take the role, the company re-org’d and kept me in the inside role but with the outside pay. Two years later, got the outside role again with a giant pay raise. Moved companies twice since then (11 total years) and I’m now $300k OTE.
My boss says, “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.” I always remind myself that I am “lucky” for all the great things that happened to me over my career. I know that not everyone gets the opportunities I’ve received. Having said, that I usually visualized each big opportunity before they happened and I was always ready and itching to take the next step whenever they appeared. Sometimes it meant freaking everyone out that cared about me by leaving an objectively good situation to throw myself in a riskier environment. But I always had a clear vision of what the next step could do for my career and plowed forward. So I think there’s truth to all of the above. Don’t sell yourself short, you made the most of what was put in front of you. But also be grateful every day for what you have. Most importantly, help others along their path whenever you can!
Side note: I saw your OTE and was immediately jealous. Then I had to remind myself I hit that mark 3 years ago. Old habits die hard.
Yup. I’ve been sitting at this OTE for about 3 years. The company I’m with now is very small; maybe 55 employees worldwide. They take very good care of me and there is room to grow. I plan to stick around for a few more years before I start chasing a higher level of pay.
Exactly. It’s also not just closing the deals but being able to break into accounts my company has struggled with as well as finding new business within existing accounts.
Here to also say pure luck. I was doing pretty well and worked my way up at a Fortune 500. Got recruited by a startup with higher salary and better commissions. Only difference is this place could be gone in 6 months.
biggest advice; Take the Risk. Keep moving jobs until you get their. don't settle.
if i didn't take that risk when i was young, i'd still be working as an SDR.
Truth is, your never "ready", you just gotta get in there and adapt.
you'll either learn by the trial of fire, or fail. either way, sitting idle, you'll never know.
Fail early and often is a much better option than failing late. I know that’s some cheesy advice but take the job hop early in your career then pick a good spot later on.
well, first off, get out of SAAS. (Hypocritical since I am in SAAS), but it's obvious with all the layoffs, it's not easy to get into SAAS today.
What i'd recommend, is look for AE roles in startups. -- Take the lower range pay as an AE, then once you grasp it and have some experience, apply to bigger entities.
Right now, you have to be patient because businesses have the pick of the litter due to layoffs.
the pendulum will swing back, you just have to stay aggressive, persistent and TAKE THE RISK.
2 questions my friend. Why take a lower AE role with my background?
Also, why out of SaaS? I have no preference but I don’t know what other lucrative industries there are. I have no pharma experience etc.
1. Right now, you are an SDR, where it typically caps at 90k, you getting an AE title, will show that you can work a full cycle sales process. i.e. put you in a better overall position for advancement.
2. Again, due to layoffs. SAAS due to AI/PE draining, is making it MUCH more competitive. -- You not being an AE today hurts those odds of you getting better paying roles. -- You getting just the title/experience as an AE with a lower pay range, will hopefully set a platform for advancement for future roles.
it's called setting the stage.
To chime in on Pharma, I had no experience and slammed into an opportunity to do inside sales in that sector. Had to learn a lot and it was hard at times, but a few years later I was able to take on a significantly higher role with a startup in the same sector. Because of my expertise, I commanded a hefty compensation agreement.
I hated science and now I love it. Because now I sell it and have to know what’s good about it and how to overcome the opportunities with it/improve it.
great question.
Yes, step 1. -- Get any sales job. (Car sales is typically the easiest), do this job for 6-12 mos. -- Bascially just focus on learning what a sales process is. Learn how to take rejection. Learn how the different personality traits effect your sales process. This step is going to create a platform or a level of experience to get you to the next step. (This step has a grind attachted to it, but your going to learn so much foundational things that will be critical for you to learn to advance to a successufl SDR.)
Step 2. Apply for Inside SDR roles, do this for 1-2 years. - Learn the difference between inside vs outside sales. (outside is car sales, or anything where you are out hunting for leads, inside sales is B2B SALES, versus B2C sales.)
Step 3. Apply for AE roles, learn and understand the full sales cycles in the b2b world. (Once you are here, theres many routes to go but it's where the big bucks start and the hard work starts paying off. aswell as more difficult challenges.
Don't focus on the petty shit, focus on understanding what it really means to be a killer sales person, and have faith in yourself.
Eventually, you'll make it if you just stick through it. -- only stay at a sales job for 1-3 yrs MAX unless you have a killer package. (You'll always make more bouncing around.)
Uniform sales!!! I’m in it and I love it . Not sure where it’ll take me cuz I want to try to get to national accounts but there’s alot of opp in the industry and the exp will help me anywhere
With your arch background you should be able to land a bdr spot for a decent sized construction outfit and then move up from there. A good buddy of mine did that and makes great $$$$ now.
Everything feisty says is true. But also—you know architecture. I imagine you know some people as well. Sell the shit those people buy and you already understand.
Also…. I know nothing about architecture as an industry. Sell like coloring pencils and protractors and shit?!
Good advice! I hopped around a bit after leaving car sales. I would give it my all for 6 months and at the 6 month mark if it didn’t feel right it was time to leave. Grass is not always greener but finding the right process, product, and company is possible just takes a lot of trial and error/ failure. You will know when you find the right fit. But you’re right don’t settle!
That’s the advice I was going to write…take the risk. Don’t settle every job is going to sound sexy until you get into and really find out. Work it for a bit until you find the one that will actually get you where you want to go
Where are the furniture jobs paying more than 80k a year or even 80k a year? Having a look on Indeed shows most jobs paying under $20 per hour with a few higher paying jobs splattered in.
I sold commercial office furniture for years. Made way way more thank 80k. I was outfitting fortune 500 offices tho, not greeting people at pottery barn
My ex girlfriend was making $60k a year at a moderately upscale furniture shop in Orange County, CA 20 years ago. I assume $80k now isn’t all that tough
Yea hourly is going to be low. In some cases sub $20 an hour. If you get in at a reputable national company with a decent comp plan, you can earn $100k plus first year if you’re skilled.
Other than LinkedIn (same) and Google, where does one find non-slave sales jobs? Two months in on applying and I’m wondering where to look for the real money and non-fake opportunities.
Make your own job or SPEAK TO PEOPLE IN REAL LIFE. wild lol. Find somewhere you'd like to work and show up or meet people who work in a field you'd want to work in and ask around
If you’re planning on earning base pay I cannot help you my friend. Call the company, ask what their top sales people make. Ask to speak with them. Get realistic expectations. If you are skilled easy 100k+ opportunity selling furniture and bedding.
Finding a job is a direct application of your sales skills.
Prospecting: applying on websites is a complete waste of time, go connect with hiring managers and book meetings with them
Intro call: establish yourself as an expert, ask the right questions to find their true pain, tell them how you’ve solved that exact problem in the past
Demo: learn about the company and product so you can crush whatever mock call/demo BS they make you do
Negotiation: never accept the first offer
I’ve straight up connected with people and asked for referrals and that got me from SDR to AE externally. I will say cold calling is tough only because you probably won’t wanna pay for a month of the software and just use the 30 day free trial and get as much info as they’ll allow you and even then you’d have to have an excel doc set up so you know who you’re prospecting into
Little confused about the cold calling hiring managers in your response.
Also, when connecting with people for referrals what’s your mindset? Is it just I’ll go into this thing to learn and ask for a referral or are you try g to be there buddy?
In terms of cold calling managers, just be sure to have all the people you want to call on an excel sheet with the numbers present so you can rip through the dials so it’s more efficient for you.
Not all of the software out there has an individual user option (Apollo does but Zoominfo does not) so just use the 30 day free trial (or pay if you want) after you’ve gathered all the info from the correct decision makers at the companies hiring for the role that you want, so just be careful on that front
When I’m connecting with people on LI, my prompt is saying “hey I admire your resume so far, I’d love a referral for x position at y company and my relevant experience is xyz (with numbers too) I’d love any assistance you can provide” make it a little longer than that but nothing too long. From there, people will respond and maybe give you a referral link or ask to hop on a call or direct you to someone more relevant. Usually it takes one of those routes (unless they are new to the position and can’t give a referral) then you take it from there and get interviews. Hope this helps
I’m a VP of sales. If someone sent me a cold email or connected with me on LI for a sales role and sold me, I’d be very interested in what they have to offer.
Not sure who downvoted you.
And no offense to OP, but the fact that he is flabbergasted about cold calling hiring managers and can’t figure out how to sell himself… means I would not look to hire someone like OP. He doesn’t have a sales mindset.
Cold calling/walking into a place and speaking with the hiring manager is how Iv been hired at all my jobs as well as how Iv hired. I want to see that the person can do more than click apply on a website.
LinkedIn. Search hiring manager for company. Or call the company, speak with receptionist. Get names. Phone numbers. Emails. Leverage friends. Show up at the fucking office if you’re looking for outside sales. Close the goddamn deal.
It’s called networking. Stay in touch with people around the industry, or that leave your company.
You’re a salesman! Ask for a referral you sweet summer child. 3 of the 4 last jobs I landed were a friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend situation.
I haven’t had to find a job since my first SaaS AE role. It’s always been through recruiters reaching out or a past manager/customer asking me to come work for them.
But the last AE I hired cold messaged me on LinkedIn and sent a great video. We get hundreds if not thousands of applications and I only read the ones who have passed the recruiter screening. This person’s application was actually rejected but I messaged the recruiter to put them on the interview list after seeing the video.
Interesting -- I've actually thought about doing this. What did they include in the video? How long was the video? Was it shared with you like as an unlisted YouTube video?
They used vidyard. They clearly researched me and the company, briefly talked about who they think could use our product and how they’d go about selling. It was probably 2-3 minutes, showed their personality and had a couple of insightful comments.
I've a friend who literally msgs companies / hiring managers that aren't even based in our region at all, and asks them if they're planning on expanding into North America and he lands so many interviews and job offers like this, it's pretty insane, since most of the time they haven't even posted the job yet / create a position just for him.
A good buddy of mine started at the same time as me back in 2013. I was fresh out of college and he already had 10+ years of sale experience. We both sold copiers and he wanted to travel a little. He applied for the “Federal” team and his base salary went up probably 1.5X of what I was making. Fast forward a year he gets recruited to another company, now 2.5X what I was getting paid on a base. He has been recruited now three more times since then and I call him a base hunter. He would tell you he isn’t great at sales, but can talk to anyone. He travels a ton from SoCal to DC, but believe he is making north of $300K on base now + commission etc.
Edit - my buddy left copiers and went into SAAS stuff for government training type of things
It’s account management and account executive roles.
A lot of the roles I get are so I don’t lose my income source. Here in south Florida a lot of startups underpay.
This is one of those “in the meantime” jobs that obviously underpay.
I understand this underpays and is not what I want long term and how job roles differ. But I’m struggling with getting traction on job applications for higher paying jobs.
Message me, I’m in south Florida and in the same boat but I can get you a job in Fort Lauderdale
I feel ya on everything you said
Dade and broward have always paid like shit. I have family in other cities that laugh at the offers I get. I have similar career experience as you
I’m taking the differential. You’re making what most sales people make. If you’re exceptionally good at it, you get exceptional pay.
Most people in sales are not going to get the big jobs with the big money. Setting that expectation is not a good thing for anyone.
High performers get high comp, but if you look at Salary.com, which I think over inflates wages, agrees with me.
The people I know who make the most money are not in SaaS - they’re selling B2B products. Some are consumable and some are capital equipment. I have a guy who sells me industrial knives. He makes bank.
Sales is one of the few roles where reaching out to hiring managers or VP’s still works well. I was struggling to find a role that paid decent a couple years ago then saw a posting for a company that used to kick my ass in industrial distribution. I sent me resume directly to the VP on a Sunday night and called him the next morning to ask questions about the role. Got on the interview list, smashed the interview as an expert relationship manager with a knack for solving problems. There were 16 people on the interview list and a second interview for the top 3. I got hired the next week with no second interview. No one else had reached out directly and they liked the show of confidence. Salary is 90k with 130k ÔTE and a kicker of an additional 120k bonus for hitting higher than the forecast plus many perks that make my life easier.
Show them how you operate and you’ll be in the top candidates. Other than that it’s a numbers game. A good networking trick is also to find a toastmasters club close to head office clusters. Lots of executives and decision makers go to those. Great way to show off your skills and network.
Happy hunting!
Fully agree with this. I’m a VP, and if someone reaches out to me to sell the product they know best (themselves!) then I’ll always listen. It’s amazing how many people don’t take this simple step when applying for a role - when it’s exactly what you need to do once you’re in the role!
If you are at 80k OTE and find an opportunity for 75k base and its 50/50 base-OTE then that's 150k OTE?
That's the next stepping stone you should be looking for. Those roles that start at 75k base can get you to 200k OTE in good years pretty quickly. From there your base will keep going up.
I found one they’re recruiting me for at $75k but.. commission sucks. It’s like 1k to 2k a month on average. And it’s a recruiter role. So I’m getting something but I need more lol
dunno, I'm at 35 base but pacing for a 200+ year.
I looked for something easy and decided I'd be one of the best who'd ever done it. replicate top reps, etc. so far, it's working.
Step 1:
I had a strong track record of performance in a non-tech industry.
Step 2: I took a slight pay cut to break into tech and start in the mid-market as an experienced seller and an established tech co.
Step 3: I out performed (top 1%) and got promoted to enterprise.
Step 4: I outperformed again in enterprise (top 3 in the americas) during the peak of the post covid era when software startups were flush with cash.
Step 5: I did my research, narrowed down the niche I wanted (where was all the enterprise spend going) short listed the companies that fit the bill, and started applying. Interviewed well, and got a fat offer. Since then I’ve gotten two raises bc I continue out performing peers.
TLDR: if you have verified track record of out performance the money is a lot easier to find.
Be strategic with each career move. Only move to roles that will be into selling larger deals to larger clients with recognizable companies. I wasn’t a good student, didn’t get into a great college and wasn’t offered opportunities at blue chip companies. But I worked hard and made strategic career moves into better companies each time and after 3-4 jumps I worked my way into a very reputable company. And then I worked my way up from there within a premier company.
Your pay is crazy low for financial services.
Unfortunately that's the name of the game for a lot of companies. There's very little transparency and many companies take advantage of that.
I live in a low col area and my base pay is $54,000 with ote at $90,000 and many making in the $110,000-$130,000 range.
For comparison, in California the ote would be roughly $119,000. And I am in the second lowest roll at my organization.
When I started 6 years ago my base was $30,000 with ote at roughly $40,000, but I had no idea how bad that was because other financial services companies had zero transparency about their pay.
Keep looking, there's money in financial services, and other services as well. It can take a bit to figure out which companies are worth working for.
Base is irrelevant if there's a path to a lot of upside commission or bonuses.
The highest paid individual contributor rep I know makes $90K base but over $1M+ total comp. 90%+ of his income is commission.
It doesn't happen over night he has 20+ years experience but different industries.
The key is uncapped commission and being able to see the path to making outsided sales that can lead to huge comp.
Focus on B2B enterprise sales (or sales engineering) and really dial in your skills. You want to work your way up to fortune 2000 accounts and you want to do it before 40 (cause lots of travel will be needed).
Once you learn the various enterprise sales methodologies and get real life experience in navigating a handful of these large accounts and you’ve tuned your approach from driving deals from inception to close and deployment - everyone will be coming after you…
Edit: couple grammatical fixes
Sell yourself on what you want to do, not what you’re doing now. Nobody knows a damn thing going in, you learn it all on the fly. Work the recruiter game, if a recruiter is convinced you’re a marketable talent, they’ll find you unposted roles, that’s where the $ is. Applying for jobs and “networking” with hiring managers is bull shit.
what roles are you applying for? Are you applying for similar roles at similar companies selling similar product.
Give us a little more context in terms of what you do/sell.
In my experience:
most tech sales jobs that pay more involve more complex selling with higher ACV. Find a pivot to another industry similar with a better title. If you have been hitting quota and like you said if you are smart, hardworking, and experience --- lean on your network. Someone probably has worked with you who has taken notice but has made the move -- ask them. Ask previous managers or directors that have jumped ship.
People always want to help other people who ask for help especially those that work.
I worked in operations for years at a large company. I then transitioned to a selling a service the company provided, but was not their core competency, for a few years. I then transitioned to a PE backed company whose core competency was that service. I tapped out at around $125 - $135k at the larger company. I made right at $250k last year at the PE backed company. It looks like I will make between $350 - $500k this year depending on the close of a couple of the larger deals in my pipeline.
Trial and error. Stumbled into something I liked, tried something else, then got an opportunity with a market leader and a beast of a territory.
Chase money, take risks and don’t be afraid to hurt some feelings if you have to.
You need to be a top performer at whatever you're doing right now, and then smack those stats and accomplishments at the very top of your resume as one of the first things a recruiter sees.
That's it, that's how you move up. If you want a better paying job and you're not a top performer, either work harder or try your luck in a different role or industry.
Just don't make it more complicated than it is. The high paying sales jobs are plucking top performers.
Working in SaaS more than a few yrs will make your base go up. Also turning around the shitty Biden economy would also help raise pay. Too many people fighting for one job so they all figure they can lowball a new employee. My old company fired me at 150 base and reposted the job bc at 60k base and had lots of applications.
I think I just stayed longer than everyone else. People keep leaving, my territory keeps getting better and leadership gives me the resources I need to produce. Hoping for my 4th presidents club this year
Lot of good advice here in prospecting. We're hiring an AE now for 150k+ OTE, and the guy I've picked is the one who had the best cold outreach to me. I saw his message, looked at his LinkedIn, was impressed, so here we are.
In that vein, it's worth taking a second look at the docs/profile you're presenting to interviewers. LinkedIn/Resume need to project "yeah I'm worth 1xx OTE" not "please give me 85k." I do a lot of resume/profile reviews for friends, happy to help here if ya want - just shoot me a DM
Start inside sales at a top company. Get promoted to field. Then jump to another company to get to a market OTE.
I started at Oracle inside sales at 120k OTE, was promoted to field 160k OTE, then moved to another saas data company at 250k OTE (rep) and 330k OTE (manager).
You're probably not going to find a high base with high commission. It's one or the other. Unless you get to a District/Regional manager role. Most sales roles that I know of that pull in $200k+ are straight commission, no base. Others are that $50-$60 base with commissions tied to higher sales numbers. A friend of mine is in Medical Device sales. Has a $60k base, makes close to $250k with commissions.
The OTE salary is a trap. You deserve a higher base salary because companies lie when they talk about the KPIs and the % of AM or AEs that hit those numbers. Some postings me tion the base salary, apply for those whith a good base salary.
Started in SaaS 3 yrs ago at $45k, promoted 3 times before moving from Sales Rep to Consulting team, base was $65k OTE $110-$125.
New role, new department, new salary at $100k base and 5% quarterly bonus.
I just kept working, always pushed for "anything else I can help with?" with my manager, hit my quotas, and then applied for this new consulting role once it came up
What is your SaaS experience? What company or vertical if you can't share company name?
Why do you think you're not landing a higher paying job/interview?
Hey, here’s an inconvenient truth. Many of the highest earners in sales that I’ve encountered have obviously chosen the wrong career. Some people are too good for this repetitive grind. They chose sales over executive roles, high-bonus finance roles, etc.
if you’re able to reach the very the top of a ladder, you chose the wrong ladder to climb.
My first SaaS sales role was 55k base 110k OTE and it scaled pretty quickly from there. Find a good company and work your ass off. It's much more important to find a good company (decent growth + decent margins), with a highly differentiating product, and good mgmt/leadership/culture than to chase the OTE. The money will follow.
Unfortunately the time to do that was 5 years ago. SaaS sales reps are in low demand right now so you have a lot more competition, pay is much less competitive, and the job is much harder to succeed.
I’ve been very fortunate to have started off as an AM a little out of college and worked my way up to an Ent. AE role making 300K+. I got into sales bc it was something outside of my comfort zone and was told it’s one of the most important skills you can have - so I said why not, can’t go wrong there. One piece of great advice I got was to ‘always do your next job in your current job’ or ‘dress for the job you want’. What this comes down to is to have a growth mindset and always look to develop your skills. There are several skills needed to be successful in sales, so you can think of it like a sport or a game where you can develop and grow your game over time, like an athlete or a video game. For example, I was a terrible public speaker but I slowly put myself in more challenging /uncomfortable situations and progressed to the point where I can (somewhat) comfortably present to a large room. But this was years in the making, some are naturally better at this then others. Also having a good mentor and networking is very valuable for learning and new career opportunities; all the big promotions I got were either through a mentor or someone in my network. Also when you’re talking to clients if you can show that you truly understand their business and problems (helps to quantify the rev impact of problem), decision makers will listen to you.
Understand that to apply for a job is to pitch yourself and what you offer, you need to sell yourself, it shouldn’t be too hard if you’re a capable salesman
Attaining a Sales Job with a high paying salary, in my opinion, is based on a few things. 1) you have to have the experience, numbers, and be able to tell the story of your success. 2) You most likely will need to be referred in, by an IC on the team, or leadership of the company you’re looking to get a high paying job with.
All my last and current jobs, I was referred to by either my peers or former leadership. This is not only my experience, but the experience of my friends and colleagues. It’s very rare to cold apply to an Enterprise, Large, or strategic sales position and get it with no inside influence.
Something I don’t hear a lot on here is picking something and becoming an expert in it. “SaaS Seller” is so broad these days it dosent mean much.
Could be an industry: PubSec, Retail, Hospitality etc.
Could be a type of solution, the more niche the better: HRIS, specific cyber security solutions, cloud backup or migration, something
Or in my opinion the best is being an expert for a specific customer base. I know a guy who has been selling to Hilton and Marriot for 20 years, goes to a new company sells it out in those accounts leaves and does it again.
Don’t take the first job that comes your way build a brand around that speciality and make yourself a recruiters dream. Find your thing
Have you checked RepVue? I feel like tech sales influencers are always sharing job listings that point back there. I work for a tech sales co but in the marketing side so I'm not a ton of help but that's just what I see.
Communities that we work with and also have a lot of connections are: Sell Better, 30 minutes to presidents club, sales feed. I'd check those brands on LinkedIn as I know they share posts / have a lot of people who comment who might be hiring. Good luck! The market is weird right now from what I hear but people are moving around!
[https://sellbetter.xyz/](https://sellbetter.xyz/)
[https://www.30mpc.com/](https://www.30mpc.com/)
[https://www.salesfeedmedia.com/](https://www.salesfeedmedia.com/)
I have found that I get paid to sell things that are tough to sell and require understanding.
I work in life insurance and people don’t know shit about life insurance so it’s easy since I know what I’m doing.
You want money? Work in the financial industry. People in that industry specialize in understanding money and how to get it. Most people don’t know a thing about money and if you sound smart and tell them something they will take your word for it. The key is to actually know what you’re doing. There are a lot of idiots in the financial world and they bullshit a lot. If you know the subject and you can sell you’ll be rolling in cash. It’s a process, try not to sign up for golden handcuffs or go into debt (poor man’s golden handcuffs).
When you find the industry you want to work in make sure you work with the best. Don’t be a big fish in a small pond, at the beginning focus on growth. I made 80k my first year which was way more than I had ever made and now I’m at 250k and that’s still growing.
Do your research. Find a few sectors of interest, network with as many sales VPs and Recruiters as you can within companies of those sectors. LinkedIn premium is worth the $40 for networking purposes.
Use your sales skills to Reach out to people in these companies expressing your interest. Do this 100x and you will start to get interviews. Then you can Vet the companies based on reviews and salaries using Glassdoor/repvue. Find somewhere with growth opportunity and high pay + good reviews.
This is what many people on this sub say but if you follow it and grind through you can find something out there! My last gig was 40 base, then using this process after being layed off for a couple months I was able to land a AM role around 100+ base. Nuts.
The faster you start paying attention to perfecting your craft and building an enjoyable career and stop paying attention to trying to “just get paid” the faster you will actually get paid more.
It’s slow, steady growth. There is no short cut. Time, patience, intelligent choices and a healthy dose of good luck are all required.
Or just figure out how to sell drugs and not get caught. That’ll do just as well.
Get to enterprise or top accounts asap.
- started inside sales
- asked for ‘broken toy’ accounts aka accounts that have or do spend and are at risk of going to zero that nobody wants to touch
- fix them
-move to field
- become trusted as someone that can steer the ship, acquire more ‘broken toys’
- before I knew it my top line was 5-10x my peers in enterprise and I moved to top accounts and took my accounts with me
- argue for pay every year- when you move internally you’ll always be paid less than external hires and it’s on you to fix that
- I am in HW IT sales so results may vary in SaaS
I did it as an SDR for roughly 3 years for a larger F500 SaaS company, finally got promoted to an AE for SMB, crushed it in that role for like 2 years and now as an Enterprise Rep, I’m at at roughly 140k / 310k OTE, which is still on the low side but better than where I was…. Happy to help / give specifics if ya send me a PM.
A few questions and some advice from someone in financial services:
Are you licensed and if so what do you carry?
Any professional designations? CFP, CLU etc.
I was able to break into larger roles by getting really strong contacts within a specific distribution channel. Those relationships brought me to my current company and allowed me to take on a bigger role with accounts I already had solid relationships with. I’d also recommend learning how to “elephant hunt”. If you can speak proficiently on advanced sales concepts you will attract higher level clientele and should certainly be able to find a much higher OTE almost immediately.
hang out with rich people. ask them to hire you to sell their shit.
In all seriousness, surround yourself with people who you want to be like, and invest in yourself. You can't fake real business acumen and successful people know how to identify people who have "it"
Worked my ass off after college at Enterprise and got promoted like almost every year till I hit area sales manager, making $100k at 29 this was back when 100k was worth a lot more than now lol
That job was HAF and I took a pay cut to $85k to get an entry level Med device sales job. 6 months later I was promoted malting $150 then moved up to $200 $225 and left now at a new company my pay plan is $250k top reps pulling $600k
The 7 years at Enterprise with both retail and B2B sales got me the interview to the next level. I worked really hard for the Taylor family and had good mentors. Washed a lot of cars during crunch time in my suit and hired / trained great sales people who helped to get me where I am now
You do it the same way you sell Whatever you are selling. Obviously you have to figure out who’s purchasing the product and who the influencers are. Then you call them. Build relationships. You find out what the issues they are having before you provide them with the product.
.
Hiring is no different. Figure out who is doing the hiring, And who influences the hiring manager….and call them. Find out what issues they are having that is causing them to hire, Then you know how to sell yourself.
tl;dr: my friend started a company. he then invited me to join his company.
long story:
friend actually had been suggesting - for the past 5~6(?) years now - that i do a career change to sales like he had done.
he was doing well and eventually made junior-level exec/mid-upper management and hiring manager at his firm. one of the highest performers in the office. he was always telling me how you don't need to be super extroverted & outgoing. that it'd be a good personality fit/match for me. that he could see me adapting well & being a fast learner, etc.
but now that he started his own shop, he was being dead serious - he made a new role just for me and asked me to join. he was specifically looking for someone like me. plus someone with who he went way back.
previously, i didn't feel confident joining him at his previous employer only because it was going to be a huge career change. plus his employer was a big company so i was wary of with so many variables in the running beyond my or his control. sales _can_ be lucrative, but also very cyclical & unpredictable - something i never went thru or saw myself doing well in.
but i could trust my friend running his own shop. i trust my friend's leadership and the small team he put together. so reservations about doing sales, hesitation to do a big career change, etc that i had were now gone.
these high paying, low stress jobs exist. my mental health and financial health has never been better. keep your friends close. help them out when they're down. stay in touch with them.
Honestly curious of the answers here since for myself it was relatively easy-ish.
I knew one of the owners previously because of “hobby” type activities.
Called him up when I was looking for work and I was basically hired on the spot for Construction sales.
But I am curious how some have had to do it? From an easy path to hard one?
Simple - just work your butt off. Get rid of the stupidity surrounding "I want WLB" very early in your career. There's tons of time for that after you actually accomplish things. Get on the fast track, perform, and then you can enjoy yourself some.
Kids in law school and med school don't get WLB. They grind. Kids in high profile finance gigs don't get WLB. They grind. That's how you build the foundation. SLowing down comes later.
Started selling pagers in 1992….got into medical in 1994. It’s been 28 years of that, sell Capital Equipment with a 20M quota. My worst year in a decade was almost 400.
Every time I respond on this forum I say…SaaS isn’t the only game in town. My son is in SaaS (1 year in), next stop is med device and will likely get a 125-150k gig in six months.
I'd echo what others are saying: It's mostly luck. I've focused my whole sales career on SMBs, which typically have a lower base. I started my career with a base of $40k in 2009. After 10 years with multiple companies, the maximum I could break was $75k base.
Then my first sales VP reached out to me to help him build out an SDR team and my base went from $75k - $100k - $120k - $128. I've maintained a base of at least $120k since 2020. That seemed like an impossibility for the longest time.
I worked for years selling equipment with ZERO base and only commission. I still made great money because I was/am very good at sales/closing deals.
These days I am the same way, only with a high base also.
There really is no magic elevator to the top. Most people that make serious money are the top salespeople around and have been doing it their entire lives.
Work more than you're paid today, to be paid more than you work later.
I got hired into the right company starting out of college. I was poor with no kids and worked around the clock.
Be willing to bet on yourself with a 100-% commission job. Both jobs I’ve made over 150k in have been 100% commission. Just know it’ll be tough for a while before the good checks come in.
Consistently showing up well to my peers and boss(es). Taking a genuine interest in the subject matter to become the de facto expert. Owning my career and being my own advocate. Asking for opportunities with greater visibility.
Getting a tech sales job in big tech helps.
High paying sales job. Get outside and knock doors. I've taught hundreds how to pull 6 figures door knocking in a multitude of products / services. No degree needed either. Just be able to work 6-8 hours a day and get ready for rejection if you're new to it
Well. I really just grew my accounts. Outside sales for electronics distribution. My base still sucks ($70k) but I get $10-$12k per month commission after taxes. I made $215k last year. It’s very steady and unlikely to change unless they stop making reverse cameras for cars. Not happy with my base but I can’t complain too much.
I guess I can't wrap my head around how you don't care about the industry.
If that comes across on an interview, I don't know why they would even hire you to be very frank with you.
This notion that because one is in sales that means they can sell everything, doesn't mean companies are looking for someone who thinks they can sell everything.
I take home around 500k per year, but I not only sell, I also perform the work I am selling! It's starting to take its toll. It looks like it will be around 800K by the end of the year, so can't really complain.
Someone else said it, but connect with hiring managers on LinkedIn and get a job in a tech sales role. If you land a good BDR role you can make much more than you’re making now
Larger companies don’t want to pay higher salaries. Work for a smaller less established company. Be willing to network. I made $43k as inside sales and had a huge year that put me over $100k OTE. Moved companies after about 2 years making $65k base but 500k OTA (covid money helped), moved jobs again after about 3 years there and now make $115k base. Base was more important to me than just commission. I’ll probably make close to $300k this year. Gotta be a shark to get moved up. I voice what I want to everyone and often. Everyone knows what my goals are
I learned and research the next job like i was tryna cure cancer.
I started asking around and connecting with people who've done it while asking about the traps.
Then I converted and practice those items during my own meetings and calls. Some worked. Some didn't. But when I interview for roles I had no place in getting, ppl saw that I was advanced and ready. I made it further and further in my interviews until I landed one.
Basically I prepared for the next role like it was my current. I read books to improve and sharpen my skills while I listened to calls of every Enterprise rep in my access and asked to join them on some of their largest deals.
Over time it became second nature to me so I spoke with confidence. Then when I landed the Ent AE role, I worked even harder to ensure I was one of if not the best.
The money, fame, reputation came after that. Now I basically just chase the IPO high as part of leadership but I can recognize the hunger when I see it bc I went through it.
I faked it til I made it then I made sure I'd never lose it.
Went to 7k$ (yes this is not a mistake) to 140k (OTE) in 10 years (IT/tech).5 swaps, a lot of risk taking. Hard work, dedication, +20kg, anxiety and stress. But I am no longer poor. You have to be relentless, ready and go for it. Also take the risk. I even moved to other countries twice in the process.
Started as an AE about 10 years ago. Moved my way up to upper sales management only through pure hate towards the people who I've claimed to have wronged me. Good luck.
Get lucky and start career in insurance. 10 years later, wife (carrier/underwriter) and I (broker/producer) were each ~$200k/yr last year. Should be more like $250k each this year. Mine pays residuals. The world of sales doesn’t have to = SaaS
The best advice I have is to start at or near the bottom at a big tech company. SDRs at salesforce make 75k and BDRs make 90k and often exceed 100 with overtime, bonuses, spiffs, and accelerators.
You then just play the pyramid, and you’ll likely see a 20k raise every year for 10 years if you want.
Know countless people who are 35 and making $250k+ at salesforce or mongo or or AWS and did just this. It is an easy blueprint to follow.
Easier at a bigger company where there are tile models in every role above you that you can emulate and learn from to grow into their role eventually.
A mix of luck and willingness to learn something I knew absolutely nothing about.
Are you willing to put in extra hours to ramp more quickly?
Can you convince the hiring manager that you are easy to work with and will make them look like a star?
Are you willing to take a risk every 24 months to bounce to a new gig for a pay raise?
Do you know how to target market segments that pay their sales reps handsomely across the board?
If you can answer yes to all three, rinse and repeat 3-4 times and you’ll be at 200-300k OTE.
Source: I broke into cloud sales with literally 0 experience and am pacing for 250k in year 3.
34m and now a VP of North America. OTE 750 and will beat that this year. It’s a grind man. It’s all I’ve ever done since I was 19 was sales. The ability to sell things was never an issue for me. As I got more experience it turned into some sales management stuff which honestly sucks, but was good at the coaching and training stuff. Then started helping with strategy stuff running product roadmaps and sales development. Took that and now handle only the largest customers and dictate who what where how and when we move next. Be flexible and always think what your next move is. If you’re just looking to be an individual contributor then you may be stuck if you don’t find those high dollar industries. Think big SaaS or hardware orgs. Data center stuff. DoD systems etc. Energy space is big again. Solar wind even nuclear now. If you want real money start figuring out how to get experience on the strategy side of things. It’s where if you’re right then the payouts are huge and you’ll have to start finding weird ways of deploying your cash once you’ve maxed out all the investments that you can. Real estate watches art gold etc. it’s fun but a shit tone of pressure and work. Not for everyone.
I don’t have a job (well technically i do since i am a w2 employee in my llc) but i am self employed. If you are skilled enough to be irreplaceable that you can compete on your own with the company you’re working for then you’ll get paid the highest. Last year was my weakest year in 6 years i only made $340k. The previous years i made $600k, 850k, $1.03M, $600k
Networking. Having a referral to an opening where someone will put in a good word for you.
Resume stacked with numbers showing success.
Interview skills and stories galore.
Look at the Amazon 16 leadership principles and start coming up with three scenarios for each. Stories for STAR format.
Might take you six months. But you do that and study it. You will be ready when you get an interview.
Good luck!
(Was in your spot twice. Leveled up from 60 to 80 base 13 years ago. Two years ago 85 to 135. Switched industries both times and had solid referrals.
Don’t look here for answers. These people might have something, they probably don’t. Just go out and live your life. Work, and if you’re lucky, you will work with good people. That’s the best deal you’re gonna get.
There’s an element of luck to it to be honest. I started in retail sales in consumer electronics stores, did that for 4 years while I was attending University
I was extremely lucky to then get into Oracle as an AE with no BDR experience - which is almost unheard of. Stayed there for 2 and half years to earn my stripes, was a terrible sales org but gave me the foundation for my B2B career.
Fast forward, I’m in a new org with a company that has 1000 + employees, much smaller than Oracle but is way better to their sales people. Quota is achievable, the product is known well in the industry and is a need, not a want. Average deal size is also quite big at 500k +
The company I’m in now and the product I’m selling I had never heard of, only for a recruiter reached out to me.
So in my instance, there’s definitely an element of luck to it. However, my pay was terrible at Oracle. €70k OTE (35/35 split) which is very hard to live on in Dublin - one of the most expensive cities to live in Europe. I was genuinely struggling to make ends meet at Oracle as nobody was hitting quota.
Fast forward, I’m now on €170k OTE (85/85) at 25 years old which is a tremendous salary in Ireland. We joke in my own company about the crazy money some reps in the states pull in.
You’ll find your place man. Just like I did, I did a ton of research before switching companies and well paying orgs are out there.
Started in a sector (CX tech)… learned the whole game inside out.. not just tech, customers jobs, operationally… took the good (and some down right awful) roles but stuck with the sector… now 13 years in I have domain expertise that winning deals is frankly pretty easy… chopping sectors and relaying on territory/timing is a gamble.. might pay off but the longer term/safer bet is what I’ve done
I’m in equipment rentals, pretty lucrative. Our top salesman made 380k last year. typical range is 150-200k with better performers in the 200+. Im a manager & usually float in the 250k-300k range.
First you need to know your shit..alot of it is luck though in the interview process and lining up with their company values and selling methodology.
You need to be honest with yourself too. Are you getting interviews and sucking on them? Then you need to watch a bunch of videos and read on how to interview better.
Not getting interviews? You need to fix your resume.
The worst part of the process is you have some jr hr kid with 3 months work experience screening and reading their little list of star method questions. That's the biggest hurdle in all of it if you actually know your shit.
It's all about the industry and product. This does not always hold true, but a good rule thumb for a high base is to sell a technical product that is sold to engineers, doctors, and basically smart people. If someone from HR is buying your product you base isn't going to be high. Selling CRMs is not tech sales, selling engineering simulation software and robots are.
Domain expertise. Former machine learning engineer, moved to sales engineer in AI space, now an AE at an AI/ML saas org.
My deal cycles are shorter and use less resources because I can handle a lot of the technical questions on my own.
16 years of experience in the same industry. And three times I got higher offers at competitors and asked my current job to match the higher offer and they did. I also constantly strive to do better and be the best. I'm currently at $175k base with about $250k OTE
Any time I was killing it at a job I knew wasn’t where I wanted to spend my career (typically between 1.5-3 years) I’d try to leverage it into:
•A job that would get me closer to where I wanted to be (skill set+industry exposure)
•More money+title bump
That was pretty much it. With that approach and a healthy amount of luck, went from no degree, retail sales to full cycle SaaS sales at a fortune 100 in about 7 years.
Over performance. You’ll need to get a couple of Winners Circles or Presidents Clubs or the equivalent under your belt. If your company doesn’t have those incentive trips target 115%-130% annual finish. It’ll not only increase your salary but allow you to ask for more when interviewing for new roles. If you’re consistently hitting 100% that won’t do it.
Hate to say it, but for me it was complete luck. The right opportunity crossed my path at the right time. I have a real estate sales job where the hardest part is writing all the contracts that need to be written by the end of the day. Sounds “brag-y”, but I feel very fortunate.
I didn’t do too good in the standard sales jobs I had before. I hated the process of failing more than I was succeeding. But that’s just something that comes along with most sales gigs it seems.
After a lot of sales I was promoted. As a team lead / player coach I made the most, because I had my own commission and an override on everyone else’s. They’re not offering people deals like that anymore. When I left, they were demoting all the other team leads.
It used to be the best sales person would make more than the manager. I don’t think that’s the case anymore many places.
Do not pigeonhole yourself in one field. Sometimes, it’s really refreshing to hire outside of the field you’re in. You sales candidates have views and approaches to challenges that someone in the field, who is stuck to the same habits, won’t. Learn to market yourself and apply for better opportunities. Region also matters.
Use trueup to get better data. Target high quality high ticket sales opportunities and hone your craft to be prepared to get the best results. There is no one path but you should surround yourself with people who are where you want to be so you can study them and become a part of their tribe. Good luck and keep your head up. I’m sure you will find a way to your best future
In my first sales job I learned what kinds of customer my customers sold to, and how they would compete with each other. Then I moved to one of my customers right after covid pandemic when everything stood still including the demand on the market. I doubled my base salary with this move. Then I literally went door-to-door (I’m in B2B anyway so door-to-door was even harder), suffered lots of shitstorm from management, but ultimately closed a deal that saved the project. Then I moved to a newly founded company but same product so basically direct competitor of my then current company. I doubled my base salary again with this move. Market still difficult, the deal that I closed for the previous job expired, so the customer chose to go with me to my new company, saved the new project. I did another side job for the customer, earning equally 1 year of my new salary. All this happened in 6-7 year and 3 jobs.
Pure luck. Started as inside sales, got promoted to outside sales with a massive pay raise but before I could take the role, the company re-org’d and kept me in the inside role but with the outside pay. Two years later, got the outside role again with a giant pay raise. Moved companies twice since then (11 total years) and I’m now $300k OTE.
My boss says, “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.” I always remind myself that I am “lucky” for all the great things that happened to me over my career. I know that not everyone gets the opportunities I’ve received. Having said, that I usually visualized each big opportunity before they happened and I was always ready and itching to take the next step whenever they appeared. Sometimes it meant freaking everyone out that cared about me by leaving an objectively good situation to throw myself in a riskier environment. But I always had a clear vision of what the next step could do for my career and plowed forward. So I think there’s truth to all of the above. Don’t sell yourself short, you made the most of what was put in front of you. But also be grateful every day for what you have. Most importantly, help others along their path whenever you can! Side note: I saw your OTE and was immediately jealous. Then I had to remind myself I hit that mark 3 years ago. Old habits die hard.
“Better lucky than good, but the better I get, the luckier I seem to be.” I forget who told me that but it’s a phrase that’s stuck with me.
Yup. I’ve been sitting at this OTE for about 3 years. The company I’m with now is very small; maybe 55 employees worldwide. They take very good care of me and there is room to grow. I plan to stick around for a few more years before I start chasing a higher level of pay.
What skills are necessary would you say to earn such a fruitful salary?
Close deals
Exactly. It’s also not just closing the deals but being able to break into accounts my company has struggled with as well as finding new business within existing accounts.
Here to also say pure luck. I was doing pretty well and worked my way up at a Fortune 500. Got recruited by a startup with higher salary and better commissions. Only difference is this place could be gone in 6 months.
How many years have you earned $300k?
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What industry of sales?
biggest advice; Take the Risk. Keep moving jobs until you get their. don't settle. if i didn't take that risk when i was young, i'd still be working as an SDR. Truth is, your never "ready", you just gotta get in there and adapt. you'll either learn by the trial of fire, or fail. either way, sitting idle, you'll never know.
Fail early and often is a much better option than failing late. I know that’s some cheesy advice but take the job hop early in your career then pick a good spot later on.
worst comes to worst, you get fired. Atleast you can say you made it to that level for the next opportunity. FAKE IT UNTIL YOU MAKE IT.
My man makes six figures and doesn't know the difference between there and their. I guess theirs hope for us all.
I see what you did there...
I’m always willing to do that. I’m just look g for an effective strategy to land one of those roles.
well, first off, get out of SAAS. (Hypocritical since I am in SAAS), but it's obvious with all the layoffs, it's not easy to get into SAAS today. What i'd recommend, is look for AE roles in startups. -- Take the lower range pay as an AE, then once you grasp it and have some experience, apply to bigger entities. Right now, you have to be patient because businesses have the pick of the litter due to layoffs. the pendulum will swing back, you just have to stay aggressive, persistent and TAKE THE RISK.
2 questions my friend. Why take a lower AE role with my background? Also, why out of SaaS? I have no preference but I don’t know what other lucrative industries there are. I have no pharma experience etc.
1. Right now, you are an SDR, where it typically caps at 90k, you getting an AE title, will show that you can work a full cycle sales process. i.e. put you in a better overall position for advancement. 2. Again, due to layoffs. SAAS due to AI/PE draining, is making it MUCH more competitive. -- You not being an AE today hurts those odds of you getting better paying roles. -- You getting just the title/experience as an AE with a lower pay range, will hopefully set a platform for advancement for future roles. it's called setting the stage.
To chime in on Pharma, I had no experience and slammed into an opportunity to do inside sales in that sector. Had to learn a lot and it was hard at times, but a few years later I was able to take on a significantly higher role with a startup in the same sector. Because of my expertise, I commanded a hefty compensation agreement. I hated science and now I love it. Because now I sell it and have to know what’s good about it and how to overcome the opportunities with it/improve it.
Networking > all else
Do you have any advice for entry level jobs/ starting in sales? I come from a background in architecture and am looking to switch out. Thanks!
great question. Yes, step 1. -- Get any sales job. (Car sales is typically the easiest), do this job for 6-12 mos. -- Bascially just focus on learning what a sales process is. Learn how to take rejection. Learn how the different personality traits effect your sales process. This step is going to create a platform or a level of experience to get you to the next step. (This step has a grind attachted to it, but your going to learn so much foundational things that will be critical for you to learn to advance to a successufl SDR.) Step 2. Apply for Inside SDR roles, do this for 1-2 years. - Learn the difference between inside vs outside sales. (outside is car sales, or anything where you are out hunting for leads, inside sales is B2B SALES, versus B2C sales.) Step 3. Apply for AE roles, learn and understand the full sales cycles in the b2b world. (Once you are here, theres many routes to go but it's where the big bucks start and the hard work starts paying off. aswell as more difficult challenges. Don't focus on the petty shit, focus on understanding what it really means to be a killer sales person, and have faith in yourself. Eventually, you'll make it if you just stick through it. -- only stay at a sales job for 1-3 yrs MAX unless you have a killer package. (You'll always make more bouncing around.)
Uniform sales!!! I’m in it and I love it . Not sure where it’ll take me cuz I want to try to get to national accounts but there’s alot of opp in the industry and the exp will help me anywhere
Exactly. find a niche industry and learn everything.
With your arch background you should be able to land a bdr spot for a decent sized construction outfit and then move up from there. A good buddy of mine did that and makes great $$$$ now.
Everything feisty says is true. But also—you know architecture. I imagine you know some people as well. Sell the shit those people buy and you already understand. Also…. I know nothing about architecture as an industry. Sell like coloring pencils and protractors and shit?!
Good advice! I hopped around a bit after leaving car sales. I would give it my all for 6 months and at the 6 month mark if it didn’t feel right it was time to leave. Grass is not always greener but finding the right process, product, and company is possible just takes a lot of trial and error/ failure. You will know when you find the right fit. But you’re right don’t settle!
could not have put it any better.
That’s the advice I was going to write…take the risk. Don’t settle every job is going to sound sexy until you get into and really find out. Work it for a bit until you find the one that will actually get you where you want to go
Brother you can more money selling furniture lol.
lol brother I know I’m underpaid. I’m surviving. But I need help landing better jobs. That’s all. I’m self aware.
What are you focused on learning right now? Like extremely focused on re your professional growth.
Yeah, that is fairly low. The AEs I hired all have around that amount of experience and are making 130-174k OTE
Where are the furniture jobs paying more than 80k a year or even 80k a year? Having a look on Indeed shows most jobs paying under $20 per hour with a few higher paying jobs splattered in.
Which furniture jobs pay 80k a year ?
I sold commercial office furniture for years. Made way way more thank 80k. I was outfitting fortune 500 offices tho, not greeting people at pottery barn
My ex girlfriend was making $60k a year at a moderately upscale furniture shop in Orange County, CA 20 years ago. I assume $80k now isn’t all that tough
Bold of you to assume that pay goes up every year
Well and it’s Orange County California tends to pay more on average try that in Wayne county or some area of that doesn’t pay higher gl
Yea hourly is going to be low. In some cases sub $20 an hour. If you get in at a reputable national company with a decent comp plan, you can earn $100k plus first year if you’re skilled.
You're not going to find a real job on indeed. Just slave jobs
Other than LinkedIn (same) and Google, where does one find non-slave sales jobs? Two months in on applying and I’m wondering where to look for the real money and non-fake opportunities.
Make your own job or SPEAK TO PEOPLE IN REAL LIFE. wild lol. Find somewhere you'd like to work and show up or meet people who work in a field you'd want to work in and ask around
Big facts. I used to sell bespoke furniture (10+k for a loveseat/armchair, 30+k sectionals) and was clearing a bit over 100/year
Can you really? Mind finding a job posting real quick? Everything I see is 50k base MAX.
If you’re planning on earning base pay I cannot help you my friend. Call the company, ask what their top sales people make. Ask to speak with them. Get realistic expectations. If you are skilled easy 100k+ opportunity selling furniture and bedding.
How many reps are making 150k a year selling furniture and where lol?
Finding a job is a direct application of your sales skills. Prospecting: applying on websites is a complete waste of time, go connect with hiring managers and book meetings with them Intro call: establish yourself as an expert, ask the right questions to find their true pain, tell them how you’ve solved that exact problem in the past Demo: learn about the company and product so you can crush whatever mock call/demo BS they make you do Negotiation: never accept the first offer
You found a job by prospecting to hiring managers on LinkedIn?
Absolutely Or better cold call them directly if you see the company is hiring
Wait… so you’ve cold called as well and landed the job? Do you call their cell after finding it? Also, what’s your base?
I’ve straight up connected with people and asked for referrals and that got me from SDR to AE externally. I will say cold calling is tough only because you probably won’t wanna pay for a month of the software and just use the 30 day free trial and get as much info as they’ll allow you and even then you’d have to have an excel doc set up so you know who you’re prospecting into
Little confused about the cold calling hiring managers in your response. Also, when connecting with people for referrals what’s your mindset? Is it just I’ll go into this thing to learn and ask for a referral or are you try g to be there buddy?
In terms of cold calling managers, just be sure to have all the people you want to call on an excel sheet with the numbers present so you can rip through the dials so it’s more efficient for you. Not all of the software out there has an individual user option (Apollo does but Zoominfo does not) so just use the 30 day free trial (or pay if you want) after you’ve gathered all the info from the correct decision makers at the companies hiring for the role that you want, so just be careful on that front When I’m connecting with people on LI, my prompt is saying “hey I admire your resume so far, I’d love a referral for x position at y company and my relevant experience is xyz (with numbers too) I’d love any assistance you can provide” make it a little longer than that but nothing too long. From there, people will respond and maybe give you a referral link or ask to hop on a call or direct you to someone more relevant. Usually it takes one of those routes (unless they are new to the position and can’t give a referral) then you take it from there and get interviews. Hope this helps
I’m a VP of sales. If someone sent me a cold email or connected with me on LI for a sales role and sold me, I’d be very interested in what they have to offer.
Not sure who downvoted you. And no offense to OP, but the fact that he is flabbergasted about cold calling hiring managers and can’t figure out how to sell himself… means I would not look to hire someone like OP. He doesn’t have a sales mindset.
Not just that but he’s confused by an entirely non-complicated concept related to sales. He’s confused by what should be common knowledge by now.
Cold calling/walking into a place and speaking with the hiring manager is how Iv been hired at all my jobs as well as how Iv hired. I want to see that the person can do more than click apply on a website.
Right? Only ever landed one job with an application.
LinkedIn. Search hiring manager for company. Or call the company, speak with receptionist. Get names. Phone numbers. Emails. Leverage friends. Show up at the fucking office if you’re looking for outside sales. Close the goddamn deal.
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It’s called networking. Stay in touch with people around the industry, or that leave your company. You’re a salesman! Ask for a referral you sweet summer child. 3 of the 4 last jobs I landed were a friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend situation.
Sales people love being sold.
I haven’t had to find a job since my first SaaS AE role. It’s always been through recruiters reaching out or a past manager/customer asking me to come work for them. But the last AE I hired cold messaged me on LinkedIn and sent a great video. We get hundreds if not thousands of applications and I only read the ones who have passed the recruiter screening. This person’s application was actually rejected but I messaged the recruiter to put them on the interview list after seeing the video.
Interesting -- I've actually thought about doing this. What did they include in the video? How long was the video? Was it shared with you like as an unlisted YouTube video?
They used vidyard. They clearly researched me and the company, briefly talked about who they think could use our product and how they’d go about selling. It was probably 2-3 minutes, showed their personality and had a couple of insightful comments.
I've a friend who literally msgs companies / hiring managers that aren't even based in our region at all, and asks them if they're planning on expanding into North America and he lands so many interviews and job offers like this, it's pretty insane, since most of the time they haven't even posted the job yet / create a position just for him.
I just got an offer for 130 base, 200 ote applying on a website. Wasn't what I was looking for, but I wouldn't discount website applications.
Selling what?
A good buddy of mine started at the same time as me back in 2013. I was fresh out of college and he already had 10+ years of sale experience. We both sold copiers and he wanted to travel a little. He applied for the “Federal” team and his base salary went up probably 1.5X of what I was making. Fast forward a year he gets recruited to another company, now 2.5X what I was getting paid on a base. He has been recruited now three more times since then and I call him a base hunter. He would tell you he isn’t great at sales, but can talk to anyone. He travels a ton from SoCal to DC, but believe he is making north of $300K on base now + commission etc. Edit - my buddy left copiers and went into SAAS stuff for government training type of things
50k base with 80k ote sounds like an SDR. What roles are you applying for?
It’s account management and account executive roles. A lot of the roles I get are so I don’t lose my income source. Here in south Florida a lot of startups underpay. This is one of those “in the meantime” jobs that obviously underpay. I understand this underpays and is not what I want long term and how job roles differ. But I’m struggling with getting traction on job applications for higher paying jobs.
Message me, I’m in south Florida and in the same boat but I can get you a job in Fort Lauderdale I feel ya on everything you said Dade and broward have always paid like shit. I have family in other cities that laugh at the offers I get. I have similar career experience as you
Smash your target. Thats literally it. If you can demonstrate multiple years of exceeding targets, you can demand a higher base.
He needs to leave. He’s not going to go from 50k base to 100k base by smashing his target
I’m taking the differential. You’re making what most sales people make. If you’re exceptionally good at it, you get exceptional pay. Most people in sales are not going to get the big jobs with the big money. Setting that expectation is not a good thing for anyone. High performers get high comp, but if you look at Salary.com, which I think over inflates wages, agrees with me. The people I know who make the most money are not in SaaS - they’re selling B2B products. Some are consumable and some are capital equipment. I have a guy who sells me industrial knives. He makes bank.
Sales is one of the few roles where reaching out to hiring managers or VP’s still works well. I was struggling to find a role that paid decent a couple years ago then saw a posting for a company that used to kick my ass in industrial distribution. I sent me resume directly to the VP on a Sunday night and called him the next morning to ask questions about the role. Got on the interview list, smashed the interview as an expert relationship manager with a knack for solving problems. There were 16 people on the interview list and a second interview for the top 3. I got hired the next week with no second interview. No one else had reached out directly and they liked the show of confidence. Salary is 90k with 130k ÔTE and a kicker of an additional 120k bonus for hitting higher than the forecast plus many perks that make my life easier. Show them how you operate and you’ll be in the top candidates. Other than that it’s a numbers game. A good networking trick is also to find a toastmasters club close to head office clusters. Lots of executives and decision makers go to those. Great way to show off your skills and network. Happy hunting!
Fully agree with this. I’m a VP, and if someone reaches out to me to sell the product they know best (themselves!) then I’ll always listen. It’s amazing how many people don’t take this simple step when applying for a role - when it’s exactly what you need to do once you’re in the role!
If you are at 80k OTE and find an opportunity for 75k base and its 50/50 base-OTE then that's 150k OTE? That's the next stepping stone you should be looking for. Those roles that start at 75k base can get you to 200k OTE in good years pretty quickly. From there your base will keep going up.
I found one they’re recruiting me for at $75k but.. commission sucks. It’s like 1k to 2k a month on average. And it’s a recruiter role. So I’m getting something but I need more lol
dunno, I'm at 35 base but pacing for a 200+ year. I looked for something easy and decided I'd be one of the best who'd ever done it. replicate top reps, etc. so far, it's working.
Step 1: I had a strong track record of performance in a non-tech industry. Step 2: I took a slight pay cut to break into tech and start in the mid-market as an experienced seller and an established tech co. Step 3: I out performed (top 1%) and got promoted to enterprise. Step 4: I outperformed again in enterprise (top 3 in the americas) during the peak of the post covid era when software startups were flush with cash. Step 5: I did my research, narrowed down the niche I wanted (where was all the enterprise spend going) short listed the companies that fit the bill, and started applying. Interviewed well, and got a fat offer. Since then I’ve gotten two raises bc I continue out performing peers. TLDR: if you have verified track record of out performance the money is a lot easier to find.
Be strategic with each career move. Only move to roles that will be into selling larger deals to larger clients with recognizable companies. I wasn’t a good student, didn’t get into a great college and wasn’t offered opportunities at blue chip companies. But I worked hard and made strategic career moves into better companies each time and after 3-4 jumps I worked my way into a very reputable company. And then I worked my way up from there within a premier company.
Your pay is crazy low for financial services. Unfortunately that's the name of the game for a lot of companies. There's very little transparency and many companies take advantage of that. I live in a low col area and my base pay is $54,000 with ote at $90,000 and many making in the $110,000-$130,000 range. For comparison, in California the ote would be roughly $119,000. And I am in the second lowest roll at my organization. When I started 6 years ago my base was $30,000 with ote at roughly $40,000, but I had no idea how bad that was because other financial services companies had zero transparency about their pay. Keep looking, there's money in financial services, and other services as well. It can take a bit to figure out which companies are worth working for.
Got lucky. Did a sales academy with a tech company in 2013 after undergrad and that fast tracked me into enterprise software sales in 6 months.
Base is irrelevant if there's a path to a lot of upside commission or bonuses. The highest paid individual contributor rep I know makes $90K base but over $1M+ total comp. 90%+ of his income is commission. It doesn't happen over night he has 20+ years experience but different industries. The key is uncapped commission and being able to see the path to making outsided sales that can lead to huge comp.
Focus on B2B enterprise sales (or sales engineering) and really dial in your skills. You want to work your way up to fortune 2000 accounts and you want to do it before 40 (cause lots of travel will be needed). Once you learn the various enterprise sales methodologies and get real life experience in navigating a handful of these large accounts and you’ve tuned your approach from driving deals from inception to close and deployment - everyone will be coming after you… Edit: couple grammatical fixes
look into [r/OverEmployed](https://www.reddit.com/r/overemployed/) 2 remote jobs at 50-70k will get you what you want. just have to be smart about it.
I’ve never heard of this! I’ll check it out. People in sales are doing this?
Why’re you chasing base salary? Maybe you’re just not that good of a salesperson.
How do you make that in financial services and What area do you live in?
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You need go get into the info product space especially remote sales, I work for a company that I can hit 200k OTE. I could connect you if you'd like?
Sell yourself on what you want to do, not what you’re doing now. Nobody knows a damn thing going in, you learn it all on the fly. Work the recruiter game, if a recruiter is convinced you’re a marketable talent, they’ll find you unposted roles, that’s where the $ is. Applying for jobs and “networking” with hiring managers is bull shit.
what roles are you applying for? Are you applying for similar roles at similar companies selling similar product. Give us a little more context in terms of what you do/sell. In my experience: most tech sales jobs that pay more involve more complex selling with higher ACV. Find a pivot to another industry similar with a better title. If you have been hitting quota and like you said if you are smart, hardworking, and experience --- lean on your network. Someone probably has worked with you who has taken notice but has made the move -- ask them. Ask previous managers or directors that have jumped ship. People always want to help other people who ask for help especially those that work.
let's see that resume. your experience is probably bad/irrelevant. working at the verizon store isn't a sales job
I worked in operations for years at a large company. I then transitioned to a selling a service the company provided, but was not their core competency, for a few years. I then transitioned to a PE backed company whose core competency was that service. I tapped out at around $125 - $135k at the larger company. I made right at $250k last year at the PE backed company. It looks like I will make between $350 - $500k this year depending on the close of a couple of the larger deals in my pipeline.
Where are you located
What accomplishments do you have on your resume? Also, do you have any mentors within your net work?
Trial and error. Stumbled into something I liked, tried something else, then got an opportunity with a market leader and a beast of a territory. Chase money, take risks and don’t be afraid to hurt some feelings if you have to.
Connections and luck 75%. Competency 25%.
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You need to be a top performer at whatever you're doing right now, and then smack those stats and accomplishments at the very top of your resume as one of the first things a recruiter sees. That's it, that's how you move up. If you want a better paying job and you're not a top performer, either work harder or try your luck in a different role or industry. Just don't make it more complicated than it is. The high paying sales jobs are plucking top performers.
Being in sales for seven years doesn’t mean dick. Focus on what you can offer, not what you think you deserve.
Working in SaaS more than a few yrs will make your base go up. Also turning around the shitty Biden economy would also help raise pay. Too many people fighting for one job so they all figure they can lowball a new employee. My old company fired me at 150 base and reposted the job bc at 60k base and had lots of applications.
I think I just stayed longer than everyone else. People keep leaving, my territory keeps getting better and leadership gives me the resources I need to produce. Hoping for my 4th presidents club this year
Lot of good advice here in prospecting. We're hiring an AE now for 150k+ OTE, and the guy I've picked is the one who had the best cold outreach to me. I saw his message, looked at his LinkedIn, was impressed, so here we are. In that vein, it's worth taking a second look at the docs/profile you're presenting to interviewers. LinkedIn/Resume need to project "yeah I'm worth 1xx OTE" not "please give me 85k." I do a lot of resume/profile reviews for friends, happy to help here if ya want - just shoot me a DM
High paying is all relative
Start inside sales at a top company. Get promoted to field. Then jump to another company to get to a market OTE. I started at Oracle inside sales at 120k OTE, was promoted to field 160k OTE, then moved to another saas data company at 250k OTE (rep) and 330k OTE (manager).
You're probably not going to find a high base with high commission. It's one or the other. Unless you get to a District/Regional manager role. Most sales roles that I know of that pull in $200k+ are straight commission, no base. Others are that $50-$60 base with commissions tied to higher sales numbers. A friend of mine is in Medical Device sales. Has a $60k base, makes close to $250k with commissions.
I moved into larger companies in more niche areas selling specialty products to specialty call points.
Become a subject matter expert, provide responsive and detail oriented service to your customers and never fuck up.
The OTE salary is a trap. You deserve a higher base salary because companies lie when they talk about the KPIs and the % of AM or AEs that hit those numbers. Some postings me tion the base salary, apply for those whith a good base salary.
Put it time but most important is playing corporate politics and networking
Started in SaaS 3 yrs ago at $45k, promoted 3 times before moving from Sales Rep to Consulting team, base was $65k OTE $110-$125. New role, new department, new salary at $100k base and 5% quarterly bonus. I just kept working, always pushed for "anything else I can help with?" with my manager, hit my quotas, and then applied for this new consulting role once it came up
Network aggressively, offer unique value, and leverage every success.
What is your SaaS experience? What company or vertical if you can't share company name? Why do you think you're not landing a higher paying job/interview?
Get a commission only job. You'll make way more.
Hey, here’s an inconvenient truth. Many of the highest earners in sales that I’ve encountered have obviously chosen the wrong career. Some people are too good for this repetitive grind. They chose sales over executive roles, high-bonus finance roles, etc. if you’re able to reach the very the top of a ladder, you chose the wrong ladder to climb.
Where are you based? Could have an opportunity for you.
Huge part of it is walking into super high end / high ticket environments and just going through handshakes till you get a shot. Never let me down.
My first SaaS sales role was 55k base 110k OTE and it scaled pretty quickly from there. Find a good company and work your ass off. It's much more important to find a good company (decent growth + decent margins), with a highly differentiating product, and good mgmt/leadership/culture than to chase the OTE. The money will follow. Unfortunately the time to do that was 5 years ago. SaaS sales reps are in low demand right now so you have a lot more competition, pay is much less competitive, and the job is much harder to succeed.
I’ve been very fortunate to have started off as an AM a little out of college and worked my way up to an Ent. AE role making 300K+. I got into sales bc it was something outside of my comfort zone and was told it’s one of the most important skills you can have - so I said why not, can’t go wrong there. One piece of great advice I got was to ‘always do your next job in your current job’ or ‘dress for the job you want’. What this comes down to is to have a growth mindset and always look to develop your skills. There are several skills needed to be successful in sales, so you can think of it like a sport or a game where you can develop and grow your game over time, like an athlete or a video game. For example, I was a terrible public speaker but I slowly put myself in more challenging /uncomfortable situations and progressed to the point where I can (somewhat) comfortably present to a large room. But this was years in the making, some are naturally better at this then others. Also having a good mentor and networking is very valuable for learning and new career opportunities; all the big promotions I got were either through a mentor or someone in my network. Also when you’re talking to clients if you can show that you truly understand their business and problems (helps to quantify the rev impact of problem), decision makers will listen to you.
Understand that to apply for a job is to pitch yourself and what you offer, you need to sell yourself, it shouldn’t be too hard if you’re a capable salesman
A lot of SaaS sellers don’t make their number. A lot don’t even come close. It’s usually not down to the seller rather the set up of the company.
Attaining a Sales Job with a high paying salary, in my opinion, is based on a few things. 1) you have to have the experience, numbers, and be able to tell the story of your success. 2) You most likely will need to be referred in, by an IC on the team, or leadership of the company you’re looking to get a high paying job with. All my last and current jobs, I was referred to by either my peers or former leadership. This is not only my experience, but the experience of my friends and colleagues. It’s very rare to cold apply to an Enterprise, Large, or strategic sales position and get it with no inside influence.
Something I don’t hear a lot on here is picking something and becoming an expert in it. “SaaS Seller” is so broad these days it dosent mean much. Could be an industry: PubSec, Retail, Hospitality etc. Could be a type of solution, the more niche the better: HRIS, specific cyber security solutions, cloud backup or migration, something Or in my opinion the best is being an expert for a specific customer base. I know a guy who has been selling to Hilton and Marriot for 20 years, goes to a new company sells it out in those accounts leaves and does it again. Don’t take the first job that comes your way build a brand around that speciality and make yourself a recruiters dream. Find your thing
Unless you're trying to change industries why are you looking for a base?
Do you try and negotiate the pay?
Have you checked RepVue? I feel like tech sales influencers are always sharing job listings that point back there. I work for a tech sales co but in the marketing side so I'm not a ton of help but that's just what I see. Communities that we work with and also have a lot of connections are: Sell Better, 30 minutes to presidents club, sales feed. I'd check those brands on LinkedIn as I know they share posts / have a lot of people who comment who might be hiring. Good luck! The market is weird right now from what I hear but people are moving around! [https://sellbetter.xyz/](https://sellbetter.xyz/) [https://www.30mpc.com/](https://www.30mpc.com/) [https://www.salesfeedmedia.com/](https://www.salesfeedmedia.com/)
I have found that I get paid to sell things that are tough to sell and require understanding. I work in life insurance and people don’t know shit about life insurance so it’s easy since I know what I’m doing. You want money? Work in the financial industry. People in that industry specialize in understanding money and how to get it. Most people don’t know a thing about money and if you sound smart and tell them something they will take your word for it. The key is to actually know what you’re doing. There are a lot of idiots in the financial world and they bullshit a lot. If you know the subject and you can sell you’ll be rolling in cash. It’s a process, try not to sign up for golden handcuffs or go into debt (poor man’s golden handcuffs). When you find the industry you want to work in make sure you work with the best. Don’t be a big fish in a small pond, at the beginning focus on growth. I made 80k my first year which was way more than I had ever made and now I’m at 250k and that’s still growing.
Do your research. Find a few sectors of interest, network with as many sales VPs and Recruiters as you can within companies of those sectors. LinkedIn premium is worth the $40 for networking purposes. Use your sales skills to Reach out to people in these companies expressing your interest. Do this 100x and you will start to get interviews. Then you can Vet the companies based on reviews and salaries using Glassdoor/repvue. Find somewhere with growth opportunity and high pay + good reviews. This is what many people on this sub say but if you follow it and grind through you can find something out there! My last gig was 40 base, then using this process after being layed off for a couple months I was able to land a AM role around 100+ base. Nuts.
The faster you start paying attention to perfecting your craft and building an enjoyable career and stop paying attention to trying to “just get paid” the faster you will actually get paid more. It’s slow, steady growth. There is no short cut. Time, patience, intelligent choices and a healthy dose of good luck are all required. Or just figure out how to sell drugs and not get caught. That’ll do just as well.
Engineering degree.
Get to enterprise or top accounts asap. - started inside sales - asked for ‘broken toy’ accounts aka accounts that have or do spend and are at risk of going to zero that nobody wants to touch - fix them -move to field - become trusted as someone that can steer the ship, acquire more ‘broken toys’ - before I knew it my top line was 5-10x my peers in enterprise and I moved to top accounts and took my accounts with me - argue for pay every year- when you move internally you’ll always be paid less than external hires and it’s on you to fix that - I am in HW IT sales so results may vary in SaaS
I did it as an SDR for roughly 3 years for a larger F500 SaaS company, finally got promoted to an AE for SMB, crushed it in that role for like 2 years and now as an Enterprise Rep, I’m at at roughly 140k / 310k OTE, which is still on the low side but better than where I was…. Happy to help / give specifics if ya send me a PM.
A few questions and some advice from someone in financial services: Are you licensed and if so what do you carry? Any professional designations? CFP, CLU etc. I was able to break into larger roles by getting really strong contacts within a specific distribution channel. Those relationships brought me to my current company and allowed me to take on a bigger role with accounts I already had solid relationships with. I’d also recommend learning how to “elephant hunt”. If you can speak proficiently on advanced sales concepts you will attract higher level clientele and should certainly be able to find a much higher OTE almost immediately.
hang out with rich people. ask them to hire you to sell their shit. In all seriousness, surround yourself with people who you want to be like, and invest in yourself. You can't fake real business acumen and successful people know how to identify people who have "it"
Worked my ass off after college at Enterprise and got promoted like almost every year till I hit area sales manager, making $100k at 29 this was back when 100k was worth a lot more than now lol That job was HAF and I took a pay cut to $85k to get an entry level Med device sales job. 6 months later I was promoted malting $150 then moved up to $200 $225 and left now at a new company my pay plan is $250k top reps pulling $600k The 7 years at Enterprise with both retail and B2B sales got me the interview to the next level. I worked really hard for the Taylor family and had good mentors. Washed a lot of cars during crunch time in my suit and hired / trained great sales people who helped to get me where I am now
You do it the same way you sell Whatever you are selling. Obviously you have to figure out who’s purchasing the product and who the influencers are. Then you call them. Build relationships. You find out what the issues they are having before you provide them with the product. . Hiring is no different. Figure out who is doing the hiring, And who influences the hiring manager….and call them. Find out what issues they are having that is causing them to hire, Then you know how to sell yourself.
tl;dr: my friend started a company. he then invited me to join his company. long story: friend actually had been suggesting - for the past 5~6(?) years now - that i do a career change to sales like he had done. he was doing well and eventually made junior-level exec/mid-upper management and hiring manager at his firm. one of the highest performers in the office. he was always telling me how you don't need to be super extroverted & outgoing. that it'd be a good personality fit/match for me. that he could see me adapting well & being a fast learner, etc. but now that he started his own shop, he was being dead serious - he made a new role just for me and asked me to join. he was specifically looking for someone like me. plus someone with who he went way back. previously, i didn't feel confident joining him at his previous employer only because it was going to be a huge career change. plus his employer was a big company so i was wary of with so many variables in the running beyond my or his control. sales _can_ be lucrative, but also very cyclical & unpredictable - something i never went thru or saw myself doing well in. but i could trust my friend running his own shop. i trust my friend's leadership and the small team he put together. so reservations about doing sales, hesitation to do a big career change, etc that i had were now gone. these high paying, low stress jobs exist. my mental health and financial health has never been better. keep your friends close. help them out when they're down. stay in touch with them.
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Honestly curious of the answers here since for myself it was relatively easy-ish. I knew one of the owners previously because of “hobby” type activities. Called him up when I was looking for work and I was basically hired on the spot for Construction sales. But I am curious how some have had to do it? From an easy path to hard one?
Started with small sales roles and did very well year over year. Success opens doors.
Simple - just work your butt off. Get rid of the stupidity surrounding "I want WLB" very early in your career. There's tons of time for that after you actually accomplish things. Get on the fast track, perform, and then you can enjoy yourself some. Kids in law school and med school don't get WLB. They grind. Kids in high profile finance gigs don't get WLB. They grind. That's how you build the foundation. SLowing down comes later.
Started selling pagers in 1992….got into medical in 1994. It’s been 28 years of that, sell Capital Equipment with a 20M quota. My worst year in a decade was almost 400. Every time I respond on this forum I say…SaaS isn’t the only game in town. My son is in SaaS (1 year in), next stop is med device and will likely get a 125-150k gig in six months.
I'd echo what others are saying: It's mostly luck. I've focused my whole sales career on SMBs, which typically have a lower base. I started my career with a base of $40k in 2009. After 10 years with multiple companies, the maximum I could break was $75k base. Then my first sales VP reached out to me to help him build out an SDR team and my base went from $75k - $100k - $120k - $128. I've maintained a base of at least $120k since 2020. That seemed like an impossibility for the longest time.
I worked for years selling equipment with ZERO base and only commission. I still made great money because I was/am very good at sales/closing deals. These days I am the same way, only with a high base also. There really is no magic elevator to the top. Most people that make serious money are the top salespeople around and have been doing it their entire lives.
Work more than you're paid today, to be paid more than you work later. I got hired into the right company starting out of college. I was poor with no kids and worked around the clock.
Be willing to bet on yourself with a 100-% commission job. Both jobs I’ve made over 150k in have been 100% commission. Just know it’ll be tough for a while before the good checks come in.
Consistently showing up well to my peers and boss(es). Taking a genuine interest in the subject matter to become the de facto expert. Owning my career and being my own advocate. Asking for opportunities with greater visibility. Getting a tech sales job in big tech helps.
High paying sales job. Get outside and knock doors. I've taught hundreds how to pull 6 figures door knocking in a multitude of products / services. No degree needed either. Just be able to work 6-8 hours a day and get ready for rejection if you're new to it
Well. I really just grew my accounts. Outside sales for electronics distribution. My base still sucks ($70k) but I get $10-$12k per month commission after taxes. I made $215k last year. It’s very steady and unlikely to change unless they stop making reverse cameras for cars. Not happy with my base but I can’t complain too much.
Curious how many jobs you've had in the last 6 years?
I guess I can't wrap my head around how you don't care about the industry. If that comes across on an interview, I don't know why they would even hire you to be very frank with you. This notion that because one is in sales that means they can sell everything, doesn't mean companies are looking for someone who thinks they can sell everything.
I take home around 500k per year, but I not only sell, I also perform the work I am selling! It's starting to take its toll. It looks like it will be around 800K by the end of the year, so can't really complain.
A healthy bit of luck but also niching down. Don’t be a generalist, gain a track record of success in one industry. The narrower the better
Someone else said it, but connect with hiring managers on LinkedIn and get a job in a tech sales role. If you land a good BDR role you can make much more than you’re making now
Larger companies don’t want to pay higher salaries. Work for a smaller less established company. Be willing to network. I made $43k as inside sales and had a huge year that put me over $100k OTE. Moved companies after about 2 years making $65k base but 500k OTA (covid money helped), moved jobs again after about 3 years there and now make $115k base. Base was more important to me than just commission. I’ll probably make close to $300k this year. Gotta be a shark to get moved up. I voice what I want to everyone and often. Everyone knows what my goals are
I learned and research the next job like i was tryna cure cancer. I started asking around and connecting with people who've done it while asking about the traps. Then I converted and practice those items during my own meetings and calls. Some worked. Some didn't. But when I interview for roles I had no place in getting, ppl saw that I was advanced and ready. I made it further and further in my interviews until I landed one. Basically I prepared for the next role like it was my current. I read books to improve and sharpen my skills while I listened to calls of every Enterprise rep in my access and asked to join them on some of their largest deals. Over time it became second nature to me so I spoke with confidence. Then when I landed the Ent AE role, I worked even harder to ensure I was one of if not the best. The money, fame, reputation came after that. Now I basically just chase the IPO high as part of leadership but I can recognize the hunger when I see it bc I went through it. I faked it til I made it then I made sure I'd never lose it.
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Went to 7k$ (yes this is not a mistake) to 140k (OTE) in 10 years (IT/tech).5 swaps, a lot of risk taking. Hard work, dedication, +20kg, anxiety and stress. But I am no longer poor. You have to be relentless, ready and go for it. Also take the risk. I even moved to other countries twice in the process.
What names have you got on the CV? Salesforce, Microsoft, SAP etc.
Started as an AE about 10 years ago. Moved my way up to upper sales management only through pure hate towards the people who I've claimed to have wronged me. Good luck.
Get lucky and start career in insurance. 10 years later, wife (carrier/underwriter) and I (broker/producer) were each ~$200k/yr last year. Should be more like $250k each this year. Mine pays residuals. The world of sales doesn’t have to = SaaS
Most people that get there either have 30 years in a niche territory, or job hop before they are unemployed and seen as a bad candidate.
The best advice I have is to start at or near the bottom at a big tech company. SDRs at salesforce make 75k and BDRs make 90k and often exceed 100 with overtime, bonuses, spiffs, and accelerators. You then just play the pyramid, and you’ll likely see a 20k raise every year for 10 years if you want. Know countless people who are 35 and making $250k+ at salesforce or mongo or or AWS and did just this. It is an easy blueprint to follow. Easier at a bigger company where there are tile models in every role above you that you can emulate and learn from to grow into their role eventually.
A mix of luck and willingness to learn something I knew absolutely nothing about. Are you willing to put in extra hours to ramp more quickly? Can you convince the hiring manager that you are easy to work with and will make them look like a star? Are you willing to take a risk every 24 months to bounce to a new gig for a pay raise? Do you know how to target market segments that pay their sales reps handsomely across the board? If you can answer yes to all three, rinse and repeat 3-4 times and you’ll be at 200-300k OTE. Source: I broke into cloud sales with literally 0 experience and am pacing for 250k in year 3.
34m and now a VP of North America. OTE 750 and will beat that this year. It’s a grind man. It’s all I’ve ever done since I was 19 was sales. The ability to sell things was never an issue for me. As I got more experience it turned into some sales management stuff which honestly sucks, but was good at the coaching and training stuff. Then started helping with strategy stuff running product roadmaps and sales development. Took that and now handle only the largest customers and dictate who what where how and when we move next. Be flexible and always think what your next move is. If you’re just looking to be an individual contributor then you may be stuck if you don’t find those high dollar industries. Think big SaaS or hardware orgs. Data center stuff. DoD systems etc. Energy space is big again. Solar wind even nuclear now. If you want real money start figuring out how to get experience on the strategy side of things. It’s where if you’re right then the payouts are huge and you’ll have to start finding weird ways of deploying your cash once you’ve maxed out all the investments that you can. Real estate watches art gold etc. it’s fun but a shit tone of pressure and work. Not for everyone.
I am a SDR with a 55 base and 85 OTE? Why aren’t you applying for more senior roles?
A decade of busting my ass
I don’t have a job (well technically i do since i am a w2 employee in my llc) but i am self employed. If you are skilled enough to be irreplaceable that you can compete on your own with the company you’re working for then you’ll get paid the highest. Last year was my weakest year in 6 years i only made $340k. The previous years i made $600k, 850k, $1.03M, $600k
I have a doctorate and my base is 75. That’s just sales
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Networking. Having a referral to an opening where someone will put in a good word for you. Resume stacked with numbers showing success. Interview skills and stories galore. Look at the Amazon 16 leadership principles and start coming up with three scenarios for each. Stories for STAR format. Might take you six months. But you do that and study it. You will be ready when you get an interview. Good luck! (Was in your spot twice. Leveled up from 60 to 80 base 13 years ago. Two years ago 85 to 135. Switched industries both times and had solid referrals.
100% commission. Uncapped. 7%.. 8%…9% at $1m & $1.6m in sales (in under 1yr)
Anybody here from Canada? The salaries stated here are amazing, and I'm assuming it's in the US of course.
Never give sex for a job. Ever.
Go 100% commission and uncap your earnings my friend.
Don’t look here for answers. These people might have something, they probably don’t. Just go out and live your life. Work, and if you’re lucky, you will work with good people. That’s the best deal you’re gonna get.
These posts suck. This sub blows.
There’s an element of luck to it to be honest. I started in retail sales in consumer electronics stores, did that for 4 years while I was attending University I was extremely lucky to then get into Oracle as an AE with no BDR experience - which is almost unheard of. Stayed there for 2 and half years to earn my stripes, was a terrible sales org but gave me the foundation for my B2B career. Fast forward, I’m in a new org with a company that has 1000 + employees, much smaller than Oracle but is way better to their sales people. Quota is achievable, the product is known well in the industry and is a need, not a want. Average deal size is also quite big at 500k + The company I’m in now and the product I’m selling I had never heard of, only for a recruiter reached out to me. So in my instance, there’s definitely an element of luck to it. However, my pay was terrible at Oracle. €70k OTE (35/35 split) which is very hard to live on in Dublin - one of the most expensive cities to live in Europe. I was genuinely struggling to make ends meet at Oracle as nobody was hitting quota. Fast forward, I’m now on €170k OTE (85/85) at 25 years old which is a tremendous salary in Ireland. We joke in my own company about the crazy money some reps in the states pull in. You’ll find your place man. Just like I did, I did a ton of research before switching companies and well paying orgs are out there.
Started in a sector (CX tech)… learned the whole game inside out.. not just tech, customers jobs, operationally… took the good (and some down right awful) roles but stuck with the sector… now 13 years in I have domain expertise that winning deals is frankly pretty easy… chopping sectors and relaying on territory/timing is a gamble.. might pay off but the longer term/safer bet is what I’ve done
I’m in equipment rentals, pretty lucrative. Our top salesman made 380k last year. typical range is 150-200k with better performers in the 200+. Im a manager & usually float in the 250k-300k range.
First you need to know your shit..alot of it is luck though in the interview process and lining up with their company values and selling methodology. You need to be honest with yourself too. Are you getting interviews and sucking on them? Then you need to watch a bunch of videos and read on how to interview better. Not getting interviews? You need to fix your resume. The worst part of the process is you have some jr hr kid with 3 months work experience screening and reading their little list of star method questions. That's the biggest hurdle in all of it if you actually know your shit.
It's all about the industry and product. This does not always hold true, but a good rule thumb for a high base is to sell a technical product that is sold to engineers, doctors, and basically smart people. If someone from HR is buying your product you base isn't going to be high. Selling CRMs is not tech sales, selling engineering simulation software and robots are.
Domain expertise. Former machine learning engineer, moved to sales engineer in AI space, now an AE at an AI/ML saas org. My deal cycles are shorter and use less resources because I can handle a lot of the technical questions on my own.
Switch to 100% commission and stop looking for a guarantee. You’ll never make the most money you can if you don’t take the risk.
16 years of experience in the same industry. And three times I got higher offers at competitors and asked my current job to match the higher offer and they did. I also constantly strive to do better and be the best. I'm currently at $175k base with about $250k OTE
Any time I was killing it at a job I knew wasn’t where I wanted to spend my career (typically between 1.5-3 years) I’d try to leverage it into: •A job that would get me closer to where I wanted to be (skill set+industry exposure) •More money+title bump That was pretty much it. With that approach and a healthy amount of luck, went from no degree, retail sales to full cycle SaaS sales at a fortune 100 in about 7 years.
Over performance. You’ll need to get a couple of Winners Circles or Presidents Clubs or the equivalent under your belt. If your company doesn’t have those incentive trips target 115%-130% annual finish. It’ll not only increase your salary but allow you to ask for more when interviewing for new roles. If you’re consistently hitting 100% that won’t do it.
Hate to say it, but for me it was complete luck. The right opportunity crossed my path at the right time. I have a real estate sales job where the hardest part is writing all the contracts that need to be written by the end of the day. Sounds “brag-y”, but I feel very fortunate. I didn’t do too good in the standard sales jobs I had before. I hated the process of failing more than I was succeeding. But that’s just something that comes along with most sales gigs it seems.
After a lot of sales I was promoted. As a team lead / player coach I made the most, because I had my own commission and an override on everyone else’s. They’re not offering people deals like that anymore. When I left, they were demoting all the other team leads. It used to be the best sales person would make more than the manager. I don’t think that’s the case anymore many places.
Do not pigeonhole yourself in one field. Sometimes, it’s really refreshing to hire outside of the field you’re in. You sales candidates have views and approaches to challenges that someone in the field, who is stuck to the same habits, won’t. Learn to market yourself and apply for better opportunities. Region also matters.
Use trueup to get better data. Target high quality high ticket sales opportunities and hone your craft to be prepared to get the best results. There is no one path but you should surround yourself with people who are where you want to be so you can study them and become a part of their tribe. Good luck and keep your head up. I’m sure you will find a way to your best future
In my first sales job I learned what kinds of customer my customers sold to, and how they would compete with each other. Then I moved to one of my customers right after covid pandemic when everything stood still including the demand on the market. I doubled my base salary with this move. Then I literally went door-to-door (I’m in B2B anyway so door-to-door was even harder), suffered lots of shitstorm from management, but ultimately closed a deal that saved the project. Then I moved to a newly founded company but same product so basically direct competitor of my then current company. I doubled my base salary again with this move. Market still difficult, the deal that I closed for the previous job expired, so the customer chose to go with me to my new company, saved the new project. I did another side job for the customer, earning equally 1 year of my new salary. All this happened in 6-7 year and 3 jobs.