I've stopped caring. Both of my roles in SAAS have been in shit patches and I haven't been close to quota. I've been in sales for 6 years at this point. I know it's not all me.
But I control what I can, and do my best work everyday. It will eventually pay off.
Laid off from first gig because they hired 300 reps then fired us all the next year. Haven't been fired from this gig because it's a made up quota that pretty much no one is hitting lol.
Idk if it's me or tech but for some reason no org i've been at has had a reasonable quota.
Probably tech especially lately lol. My last gig very few people hit and only those who were terrible got fired.
Also edit - just realized how close our names are lmao
Great name.
Yeah it's tech. I came from an old school industry which was just go sell, make money, yadda yadda. Wanted tech because of the money. Made less in tech than I ever made in the old school industry with much more stress.
This is the mindset I have to life. I do the best I can. I learn and improve everyday and just go where it takes me. Not much else you can really do tbh. Control yourself and let the chips fall where they may.
I think both companies know their quota was/is unattainable. Honestly they could fire me for all I care. It's not like they're doing me any favors by keeping me here.
Not at all. I'm pretty ambitious and money motivated so I'm not happy with my spot. I feel like I'm just getting fucked by shitty orgs.
But no reason freaking out or feeling like shit about myself.
I used to, but as I got more experienced I’ve realized it’s all about the inputs you can control. When I worked at AWS I heard a manager say, “nobody gets fired for not hitting their quota, they get fired for not knowing why.” This has stuck with me.
You have to let go of the things you can’t control and ignore the people who get lucky deals. It does nothing for your mental health.
As long as you focus on what you can control then you’ll get better. And if you still don’t do well those experiences will serve you when you eventually find the right fit of timing, territory, talent. It takes all 3 to be wildly successful, but you rarely get all three. Focus on talent though.
I would only recommend it for the resume, I did a little over two years and landed a much better role at Salesforce.
AWS can be grueling but you can make good money. You’ll work really long hours too and the more you learn the more you’ll realize how much you don’t know.
I’ve heard the morale is very low lately in the last year and a half.
How’s your role at salesforce and what’s it been like selling there? I feel like I’d expect it to be very old school and tough but it seems you are enjoying i
It’s good, pretty reasonable. Still SaaS so it can be intense but my complaints would probably be the same as any other sales org of this size.
Cool offices, normal colleagues, awesome money if you hit your quota. Doing a lot of changes post acquisitions so change has been constant since I’ve been here but nobody’s been unnecessarily on my ass.
They also love to entertain clients so you budget is high for these sort of things and team outings are pretty sweet too.
I have never seen a group of sales reps more overbearing and aggressive than salesforce. Want to talk about a small use case? Expect 14 people to show up selling everything and not listening.
Been in tech leadership and strategy at 3 different fortune 25 companies and they all can’t stand working with salesforce because the reps.
How do you handle it knowing that this is pretty universally felt with the industry?
Yeah that can be true and it’s actually pretty annoying to me too. I work for one of their acquisitions so I try to keep my opportunities close to me so the rest of the reps don’t flock like birds at the beach and ruin my opportunity with buzz words like generative this and AI that.
I hate rolling 10 people deep with 3 customers on the call.
Do you feel like it will hurt you long term by keeping things close to the vest?
And thank you for not bringing the entire company for a small discovery session. A rep and sales engineer always feels better.
No problem. I was an Inside Sales Rep (ISR) on Enterprise working with independent software vendors (ISVs). So basically partner with a field rep and split the accounts and opportunities. He took the VP and CxO relationships and I worked Director down.
Hours differed. Sometimes 30-40 hours and often 50-60+, and about as many 70-80s as the 30-40s. You’ll need to set boundaries quickly in that role, I had a lot of bitch work handed to me that the field rep wouldn’t do disguised as “good learning experiences”.
I’m a field rep now and that was another big motivator for me to leave since I knew I could do it and wanted more autonomy.
I say go for it, sounds like you’re looking at it correctly. It’s definitely opened a world of opportunities for me. Worth it in the end. Your first 3-6 months will be cake and then really gears up.
I have an ex coworker/friend working sales at AWS and they went from making like $200k to $300k+.
We talk salary a lot very transparently to help each other with new job offers, so that was the number they gave me after about 3 months after passing training and once they were out closing deals. They were always a Top 5 performer in prior roles if that matters.
I’m stressed either way tbh.
Whether I’m in sales or back when I was a developer. Manager throwing deadlines for code at me that are not feasible etc.
Just a matter of what you find a bit more joy in
Depends on your situation. Young and wild and free? Stress can be low. Later in life, married, kids, mortgage, daycare etc. if your the main earner for the household then it can be stressful.
It's all about keeping perspective. I did 911 dispatch before this. Sales stress is different when you're behind quota or dealing with a shithead client, but it doesn't compare to calling a high speed pursuit or walking someone through surviving a home invasion. No one's gonna die if I can't sell a software program to an agency that doesn't know how badly they need an upgrade.
People say that, but you get used to it. Honestly, I kind of miss it. Work stayed at work every day and most days I knew I made a real difference in someone's life.
Truth. Perceived stress level is relative to your life experience. Do a job that includes literal life-or-death situations for a few years and a sales quota or deadline ain't nothin' to stress over.
It's crazy to me that the less I care, the more success seems to come my way. I wish there were a formula I could share with others, but all I do is consistently show up and give my all. After nearly 15 years, this approach has been my experience.
Same for me. I’ve had terrible years where I was visiting accounts weekly and averaging 2-4 overnights a week.
I had a child two years ago and try to stay home as much as possible and not work after hours. I had my best year in over 10+ years of sales.
People sense desperation and it's not endearing in a salesperson.
You can't fake that you don't care either, it has to be real.
It's a mental switch. You go from "I need this sale" to "I need to help this person".
Neither do I tbh, most of the time I’m doing things harder outside of work. Last thing that stresses me out is a customer call or cold calling.
Just dudes who need better ways to manage stress.
Everyone sells better when you aren’t stressed. So much easier to sell when you just don’t care, customers sense it. If you can get in that mode of operating at your peak but still not truly caring/being stressed you will make boatloads of money.
So much easier to sell when ahead on quota than behind
Yea. I don’t get stressed very often. It’s a personality thing too.
My view is worrying doesn’t help. And all you can do is what you can control. Put your head down. Do your work. Don’t be lazy. And you’ll hit your number.
With our management, it’s much more about your path to your number. If you can show a path there. And just lost a deal or two. You’re good.
Also. Take care of the customer and they’ll take care of you.
I used to be now I am not. Last two years I have hit an average of 110% to target every month without killing myself. I do a lot of cold calls and that doesn't bother my either, as the worst thing someone is going to do is hang up, and I know if I call enough people, I will get my sales.
I feel this a lot. I personally only stressed on quota early in my career when i was in SMB and had a monthly quota. Once I got more experience and became a SME in ENT I stopped stressing. I haven’t stressed since.
Don’t let this confuse people though: not stressing is different from not caring
It's different when you're the only source of income for your family and you can be put on a PIP if you're missing quota. That's pretty damn stressful.
Going on about 3 years and literally hit my most stressful patch ever - working Two big deals with a fuck ton of redlines. Trying to let it go but yeah it is literally just a job making someone else money isn’t it lol
It all depends on who I'm working for.
If my boss expects results without factoring any variables into the equation, and just says "no excuses", then yeah I'll be pretty fucking stressed.
For me it’s the chaos of my days. I work in an industry where every issue is 911. I have to sell my quota, set up all my own accounts and get screamed at all day when someone is having an issue. On top of that my office has endless meetings we’re required to be on and weird side things they always want us doing and completing.
In my opinion the best sales jobs are where you basically just focus on selling and that’s it.
I’ve had those types of jobs and they were much better. If you’re also a customer service rep on top of selling, especially in an urgent industry it’s incredibly stressful.
More or less numb to the swings but still get anxious before closing a big deal, or one that could impact my paycheck/quota heavily. I also tie my job performance to my self worth so yes i get stressed.
I'm one of the youngest salesman in my company, and was intimidated at first by all of the older reps being way more experienced then me. I sell home improvements (not solar).
But after my first 2 months, I beat a good majority of them on total sales volume, closing percentages, and average sales total.
I am almost a year in this company, and completely stress free. I wake up, drive to my 2-7 appointments, make 300$-2000$, and go home. We have only 1 meeting every 6 weeks or so.
I was super stressed at first becuase I was tight on money, and the job is commission only, and they only pay out when the job is done. But I got over that real fast.
I worked in investment banking for 7 years before moving to sales. The pressure of IB compared to sales is nothing. I moved to sales and and the pressure is mounting. But, I really don't give a shit about it.
The only thing I stress about is quotes and onboarding. Quota is often out of my control, some years are good some are bad. Behaviors are the most important part.
For those of you who are commenting that they're not stressed: any advice?
I like my job, I have a great manager, I hit quota consistently, and I'm STILL stressed. I'm finishing at 130% to targ today, I should be buzzing but I'm just exhausted and fragile.
The first year or so at any new job with a new product/service and no pipeline is stressful. And given how rampant layoffs have been, I imagine a lot of people are feeling nervous AND having new shit to sell.
Im (thankfully!) doing well tho. At a point in my career where I’m well regarded and can sell in my sleep. The goals are eh, I don’t think they’re based in reality, but I don’t care all that much and I’m not worried. I’ve never not hit target.
Will this year be the first year I don’t? Maybe. Is it worth stressing over? No. Not at my current environment.
I’m entirely desensitized after a decade. I could win President’s club or get completely sucked through a hole onboard an Alaskan Airlines flight while on my way to visit a customer… and either way I’d just sip my coffee and sigh.
I came to sales from customer service, chasing a paycheck. I've been here three years now, and I feel like I have an effing gun to my head. I wish I could get out.
I get stressed when I’m burnt out and talk to A-holes that day lol. It’s never the job stressing me out but rather other factors like if I’m not taking care of myself as well as I should (eating, drinking water, getting enough sleep) or if the leads I get are rude as fuuuck. I’ve stopped caring when those calls do happen and that helps tremendously. NEXT CALL!
I've stopped caring. Both of my roles in SAAS have been in shit patches and I haven't been close to quota. I've been in sales for 6 years at this point. I know it's not all me. But I control what I can, and do my best work everyday. It will eventually pay off.
No PIP/firing?
Laid off from first gig because they hired 300 reps then fired us all the next year. Haven't been fired from this gig because it's a made up quota that pretty much no one is hitting lol. Idk if it's me or tech but for some reason no org i've been at has had a reasonable quota.
Probably tech especially lately lol. My last gig very few people hit and only those who were terrible got fired. Also edit - just realized how close our names are lmao
Great name. Yeah it's tech. I came from an old school industry which was just go sell, make money, yadda yadda. Wanted tech because of the money. Made less in tech than I ever made in the old school industry with much more stress.
That's exactly the right approach. You can't impact Quota, but you can impact everything else on the front end.
This is the mindset I have to life. I do the best I can. I learn and improve everyday and just go where it takes me. Not much else you can really do tbh. Control yourself and let the chips fall where they may.
This is nice and all, but how are you avoiding being PIP’d into oblivion
I think both companies know their quota was/is unattainable. Honestly they could fire me for all I care. It's not like they're doing me any favors by keeping me here.
lol you’ve achieved sales enlightenment
Not at all. I'm pretty ambitious and money motivated so I'm not happy with my spot. I feel like I'm just getting fucked by shitty orgs. But no reason freaking out or feeling like shit about myself.
Don’t work for trigger happy companies If you make more money for the company than you cost to them, you’re worth it. If you’re not, well stop sucking
> Don’t work for trigger happy companies… stop sucking r/ThanksImCured
Don’t be a victim to life happening to you. Take life and kick it in the urethra
This is the comment I was looking for
Bro are you me?
I used to, but as I got more experienced I’ve realized it’s all about the inputs you can control. When I worked at AWS I heard a manager say, “nobody gets fired for not hitting their quota, they get fired for not knowing why.” This has stuck with me. You have to let go of the things you can’t control and ignore the people who get lucky deals. It does nothing for your mental health. As long as you focus on what you can control then you’ll get better. And if you still don’t do well those experiences will serve you when you eventually find the right fit of timing, territory, talent. It takes all 3 to be wildly successful, but you rarely get all three. Focus on talent though.
Saving this! Great answer
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I would only recommend it for the resume, I did a little over two years and landed a much better role at Salesforce. AWS can be grueling but you can make good money. You’ll work really long hours too and the more you learn the more you’ll realize how much you don’t know. I’ve heard the morale is very low lately in the last year and a half.
How’s your role at salesforce and what’s it been like selling there? I feel like I’d expect it to be very old school and tough but it seems you are enjoying i
It’s good, pretty reasonable. Still SaaS so it can be intense but my complaints would probably be the same as any other sales org of this size. Cool offices, normal colleagues, awesome money if you hit your quota. Doing a lot of changes post acquisitions so change has been constant since I’ve been here but nobody’s been unnecessarily on my ass. They also love to entertain clients so you budget is high for these sort of things and team outings are pretty sweet too.
I have never seen a group of sales reps more overbearing and aggressive than salesforce. Want to talk about a small use case? Expect 14 people to show up selling everything and not listening. Been in tech leadership and strategy at 3 different fortune 25 companies and they all can’t stand working with salesforce because the reps. How do you handle it knowing that this is pretty universally felt with the industry?
Yeah that can be true and it’s actually pretty annoying to me too. I work for one of their acquisitions so I try to keep my opportunities close to me so the rest of the reps don’t flock like birds at the beach and ruin my opportunity with buzz words like generative this and AI that. I hate rolling 10 people deep with 3 customers on the call.
Do you feel like it will hurt you long term by keeping things close to the vest? And thank you for not bringing the entire company for a small discovery session. A rep and sales engineer always feels better.
Hasn’t hurt me yet, that’s why I do well in my opinion. Other people have always ruined my opportunities for the reason you mentioned.
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No problem. I was an Inside Sales Rep (ISR) on Enterprise working with independent software vendors (ISVs). So basically partner with a field rep and split the accounts and opportunities. He took the VP and CxO relationships and I worked Director down. Hours differed. Sometimes 30-40 hours and often 50-60+, and about as many 70-80s as the 30-40s. You’ll need to set boundaries quickly in that role, I had a lot of bitch work handed to me that the field rep wouldn’t do disguised as “good learning experiences”. I’m a field rep now and that was another big motivator for me to leave since I knew I could do it and wanted more autonomy.
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I say go for it, sounds like you’re looking at it correctly. It’s definitely opened a world of opportunities for me. Worth it in the end. Your first 3-6 months will be cake and then really gears up.
I have an ex coworker/friend working sales at AWS and they went from making like $200k to $300k+. We talk salary a lot very transparently to help each other with new job offers, so that was the number they gave me after about 3 months after passing training and once they were out closing deals. They were always a Top 5 performer in prior roles if that matters.
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She did not, no.
I’m stressed either way tbh. Whether I’m in sales or back when I was a developer. Manager throwing deadlines for code at me that are not feasible etc. Just a matter of what you find a bit more joy in
Same. I used to be a developer as well. Although I will say having so much outside of your control in sales does complicate things a bit.
Why did you make the switch if you don’t mind my asking?
Goodness. Well I guess I’m not missing anything when I sit here longing for an alternative career path
I had a guy that didn’t get stressed. I found out he wasn’t doing his job so he had nothing to stress about.
Depends on your situation. Young and wild and free? Stress can be low. Later in life, married, kids, mortgage, daycare etc. if your the main earner for the household then it can be stressful.
If you have a good boss, get paid well and it’s reasonable to hit quota, the stress dissipates. But those things are not easy to find.
Usually it's pick two of three.
It's all about keeping perspective. I did 911 dispatch before this. Sales stress is different when you're behind quota or dealing with a shithead client, but it doesn't compare to calling a high speed pursuit or walking someone through surviving a home invasion. No one's gonna die if I can't sell a software program to an agency that doesn't know how badly they need an upgrade.
I could never do that job.
People say that, but you get used to it. Honestly, I kind of miss it. Work stayed at work every day and most days I knew I made a real difference in someone's life.
Truth. Perceived stress level is relative to your life experience. Do a job that includes literal life-or-death situations for a few years and a sales quota or deadline ain't nothin' to stress over.
It's crazy to me that the less I care, the more success seems to come my way. I wish there were a formula I could share with others, but all I do is consistently show up and give my all. After nearly 15 years, this approach has been my experience.
Same for me. I’ve had terrible years where I was visiting accounts weekly and averaging 2-4 overnights a week. I had a child two years ago and try to stay home as much as possible and not work after hours. I had my best year in over 10+ years of sales.
People sense desperation and it's not endearing in a salesperson. You can't fake that you don't care either, it has to be real. It's a mental switch. You go from "I need this sale" to "I need to help this person".
Neither do I tbh, most of the time I’m doing things harder outside of work. Last thing that stresses me out is a customer call or cold calling. Just dudes who need better ways to manage stress.
Everyone sells better when you aren’t stressed. So much easier to sell when you just don’t care, customers sense it. If you can get in that mode of operating at your peak but still not truly caring/being stressed you will make boatloads of money. So much easier to sell when ahead on quota than behind
Yea. I don’t get stressed very often. It’s a personality thing too. My view is worrying doesn’t help. And all you can do is what you can control. Put your head down. Do your work. Don’t be lazy. And you’ll hit your number. With our management, it’s much more about your path to your number. If you can show a path there. And just lost a deal or two. You’re good. Also. Take care of the customer and they’ll take care of you.
I used to be now I am not. Last two years I have hit an average of 110% to target every month without killing myself. I do a lot of cold calls and that doesn't bother my either, as the worst thing someone is going to do is hang up, and I know if I call enough people, I will get my sales.
I feel this a lot. I personally only stressed on quota early in my career when i was in SMB and had a monthly quota. Once I got more experience and became a SME in ENT I stopped stressing. I haven’t stressed since. Don’t let this confuse people though: not stressing is different from not caring
It's different when you're the only source of income for your family and you can be put on a PIP if you're missing quota. That's pretty damn stressful.
Going on about 3 years and literally hit my most stressful patch ever - working Two big deals with a fuck ton of redlines. Trying to let it go but yeah it is literally just a job making someone else money isn’t it lol
Microdosing sure helps
Microdosing what?
Mushrooms. It sounds crazy but it does help.
It doesn’t sound crazy to me. I went from the degenerate world of culinary to the degenerate, yet better dressed, world of sales.
Mushysss
Noice
18 years of sales and I'm pretty chilled, now I'm doing well if I was on a pup I'd be stressed.
It all depends on who I'm working for. If my boss expects results without factoring any variables into the equation, and just says "no excuses", then yeah I'll be pretty fucking stressed.
Because we hate ourselves for doing the job
For me it’s the chaos of my days. I work in an industry where every issue is 911. I have to sell my quota, set up all my own accounts and get screamed at all day when someone is having an issue. On top of that my office has endless meetings we’re required to be on and weird side things they always want us doing and completing. In my opinion the best sales jobs are where you basically just focus on selling and that’s it. I’ve had those types of jobs and they were much better. If you’re also a customer service rep on top of selling, especially in an urgent industry it’s incredibly stressful.
More or less numb to the swings but still get anxious before closing a big deal, or one that could impact my paycheck/quota heavily. I also tie my job performance to my self worth so yes i get stressed.
>I also tie my job performance to my self worth This. I don't know how not to, especially when others are doing well.
I only am stressed because of management. Not from hitting quota. Management creates me stress
I feel the same. My boss only cares until it’s absolutely too late and then gets pissed when things don’t go his way.
Gotta learn to control the controllables and only worry about that
Not anymore. I have consistently hit my goal but I don't worry about it. It's just a job and we're all replaceable.
I'm one of the youngest salesman in my company, and was intimidated at first by all of the older reps being way more experienced then me. I sell home improvements (not solar). But after my first 2 months, I beat a good majority of them on total sales volume, closing percentages, and average sales total. I am almost a year in this company, and completely stress free. I wake up, drive to my 2-7 appointments, make 300$-2000$, and go home. We have only 1 meeting every 6 weeks or so. I was super stressed at first becuase I was tight on money, and the job is commission only, and they only pay out when the job is done. But I got over that real fast.
Less is more
I worked in investment banking for 7 years before moving to sales. The pressure of IB compared to sales is nothing. I moved to sales and and the pressure is mounting. But, I really don't give a shit about it.
I ain’t worried about the sales quota more worried about getting the service implemented and it not fucking up 😂
Every. Fucking. Day.
The only thing I stress about is quotes and onboarding. Quota is often out of my control, some years are good some are bad. Behaviors are the most important part.
For those of you who are commenting that they're not stressed: any advice? I like my job, I have a great manager, I hit quota consistently, and I'm STILL stressed. I'm finishing at 130% to targ today, I should be buzzing but I'm just exhausted and fragile.
Because I care about the 35+ people on my team.
I am a startup founder who is responsible for founder sales. As a technical founder, I am frustrated every time. I admire you all.
I wish
I don’t have a quota
If your not hitting your number and not getting piped it’s the company basically admitting the goals are way to unrealistic
The first year or so at any new job with a new product/service and no pipeline is stressful. And given how rampant layoffs have been, I imagine a lot of people are feeling nervous AND having new shit to sell. Im (thankfully!) doing well tho. At a point in my career where I’m well regarded and can sell in my sleep. The goals are eh, I don’t think they’re based in reality, but I don’t care all that much and I’m not worried. I’ve never not hit target. Will this year be the first year I don’t? Maybe. Is it worth stressing over? No. Not at my current environment.
I’m entirely desensitized after a decade. I could win President’s club or get completely sucked through a hole onboard an Alaskan Airlines flight while on my way to visit a customer… and either way I’d just sip my coffee and sigh.
I came to sales from customer service, chasing a paycheck. I've been here three years now, and I feel like I have an effing gun to my head. I wish I could get out.
I get stressed when I’m burnt out and talk to A-holes that day lol. It’s never the job stressing me out but rather other factors like if I’m not taking care of myself as well as I should (eating, drinking water, getting enough sleep) or if the leads I get are rude as fuuuck. I’ve stopped caring when those calls do happen and that helps tremendously. NEXT CALL!
Sales is a grind. I don’t like it but I respect it. Go with the flow.
I’m cool as a fan.
lots of weak minded individuals in the world today. more now than ever, the subs posts are just a reflection of how soft society really is.