Heard it’s a sweatshop over there and they fire you after 2 bad quarters.
Also you only get 120 accounts? Thats crazy. I bet they’ve been hit 1000 times already
Hey everyone,
Looking for some advice because I’m in a pretty weird situation.
I’ve been an AE for almost 3 years and came up through a Founding BDR role before moving into leadership and eventually full-cycle sales. Heavy outbound background and I’ve always built the majority of my own pipeline.
Earlier this year, a health-tech SaaS company reached out to me on LinkedIn and recruited me away from my previous company. I wasn’t actively looking to leave, but the opportunity sounded like a great next step.
Things were going really well. I self-sourced roughly $100K in pipeline within my first 60 days and had multiple opportunities progressing into later stages.
Then came my 60-day check-in.
I joined the call with my new Sales Director, noticed HR was there and assumed it was standard. Instead, I was told I was being terminated effective immediately.
No warning, no PIP and no previous conversations about poor performance. I asked for feedback and wasn’t really given an explanation.
Once the news spread, multiple teammates messaged me privately saying they were shocked because they thought I had been killing it.
A few days later, I received my ROE and it listed “poor performance,” which confused me even more considering the pipeline I had built and the fact that I hadn’t received any negative feedback.
I had negotiated my compensation when joining, and the company also had a ramp accelerator where closing $100K ARR during probation could result in roughly $30K in commission. Some of my deals were progressing toward closing within that period. Could that have played a role? Maybe, but without an explanation it’s just speculation.
The hardest part is that I left my previous SaaS company while performing well, with roughly $400K in pipeline, closed-won business and commissions still on the table. I left because they approached me and I genuinely thought it was a better long-term opportunity.
Now I’m trying to figure out how to navigate the short tenure without letting 60 days overshadow several years of strong sales experience.
Appreciate any advice.
I’m most likely gonna get put on a pip at the beginning of September. I’m curious if anyone has been honest about it and if so, what follow up questions were asked.
Worried I’ll sound like an idiot in QBRs with 50 ppl in the room. 10 years later… work at top company.
How to get over this? Any of yall in this boat?
I'm the lead AE on a F500 account. I recently took paternity leave after an awkward time at the company and have returned to an awkward situation. I need help understanding what to do and what my potential options are.
I'll try to keep things brief (TLDR at the end). I was hired to be the number 2 salesperson on this specific account more than a year ago. The number 1 salesperson was talked about very highly when I was interviewing, and after being hired I learned that it was not true and they were being forced out overnight. So now I'm the number 1 salesperson by default. This job requires a lot of people management across teams, including my own. After a long period of time, I got the whole team moving in the right direction and leadership was generally happy. The problem is that the account has an extremely different culture to our own and there are a lot of ways that they don't work well together. For example, the account moves slow and requires a lot of people to make even minor decisions. It gets awkward when my company requires we hit certain metrics that aren't revenue focused. The shortest way to say this is we can't hit those metrics on paper because of how the account works in reality. Over time, my whole team started to get internal pressure to make things appear to look right, even though that didn't match the reality on the ground, ie. we're doing the right things but it won't look that way until we're actually closing the deal. Performance improvement plans started to be hinted at for everyone on my team but never actually arrived. I learned that some of the leadership exerting the pressure on my team were going to leave the company. This aligned with my baby arriving and so I took paternity leave.
I've returned recently and after more than a week, no one from leadership has reached out to me. When I look at our HR system, I can see that I'm not assigned to the team that I was previously (which I assume means I'm not on the account anymore). I've been removed from the account's team calls and Teams chats that I was always on.
TLDR: In the lead up to my paternity leave, my situation might have resulted in a performance improvement plan, but now I've returned and theres no communication or a plan for me. I've likely been removed from the account that I was assigned to.
I don't necessarily want to stay at the company, but I definitely want to get the best outcome for me and my family (considering the state of the economy and job market).
How do I handle things from here to get the best outcome? Do I reach out to HR and say what's going on here? Do I reach out to my sales leadership and ask if they've removed me from the account? Am I on the hook for not saying anything for the last week even though none of them have reached out to discuss the state of things and what's next? How long before they can put me on a performance improvement plan? Should I try to have a frank conversation with someone and negotiate an exit?
Hey guys, my role is changing from mainly cold calling to handling the initial sales calls with prospects.
I’m in tech, selling cloud services, and I’d love some advice from people who’ve made a similar move.
What should I focus on during the first call? What questions should I be asking, and how do I avoid just jumping into a product pitch?
Also, any tips on how to qualify faster and move the deal toward a close without being too pushy?
I’m about to enter my 4th round with Gartner and I’m a little weary. I’m currently unemployed due to being laid off but was in a previous role with previous leaders who were very laid back and really weren’t good leaders. I’m looking for structure which is why I’m drawn to Gartner. Goals were also unattainable in my previous role so it gave me a bit of imposter syndrome and if I’m actually good at sales. Anywho, how difficult is it to hit quota at Gartner?
I’m currently in the interview process for a commercial AE role at Salesforce, specifically on the “Qualified” team.
Does anyone have any insight into the role or the Qualified org?
Would love to get a company like Salesforce on my resume but not sure what it’s like being with a specific business in this structure.
Any insights help!
Ive been in SaaS sales for 4 years (same company) and there is an opening for an enterprise role which my manager is encouraging me to apply for.
Im super comfortable where im at and have lots of autonomy and time to kill throughout the day, but also dont want to become stagnant in my career/life.
Im curious to hear from those who made the jump - whats something you learned after making the move that you wish you knew before? What are some things to consider?
What something you wish you knew before moving up from commercial/mid-market to enterprise sales?
does anyone happen to know if/what rippling offers employees in terms of maternity/paternity leave?
Would you move to company B given the below?
I've been at current company a short time
- 35-40 percent travel with most of that coming from flying to office half way across the country from me for a week once a month (plus maybe 4-5 annual conference).
-mix of current accounts and have been prospecting. Finally was added to inbound list recently, but sales cycles are often 60-90 days +.
- Problem is a lot of these are stalled accounts and the top one is cutting 40% their spend with us due to various reasons (internal and externally) which would likely negatively affect my quota unless they make an exception. Also a third of them have churned, are churning, or have said we have no growth plans.
-I've been prospecting on my own to fill pipe. Current accounts would get me to 35-40% quota most months but if there's churn that hits against me too.
-CRO has older kids and rubs me like used car salesman. he thinks there's sale cycles can be discovered and closed in 3 weeks LOL. It definitely seems like all he does is work with no outside life
-I'm only one quota carrier with young family and a special needs child. Every other rep has no kids
-Also found they laid off a few reps last year. And just fired rep last week.
-285k OTE at 100%.
Company B
-I had a verbal offer months ago but turned down because I was WOW'd by company A OTE. (I know I know).
-New logo acquisition and growing accounts from there. Was told 50 percent inbound (mix of website submissions and BDR). Rest is conference and self prospecting. I have some of my own leads I can prospect
-Same time zone, travel is much less (every 6-8 weeks for 3 days 7/8 trips a year). Fully remote otherwise
-They close from Christmas to new years plus offer 3 weeks PTO and a week flex.
-Seems to be older reps (some with kids) and my VP (direct report) has two younger kids himself. Also a big sports guy like me
-Company B could compete with current company but it's been rare from what I've seen. They do sell to same vertical but neither are the leader. They aren't listed as company on non compete.
-Reps on average have been here around 9 months more and not including ex reps. Overall company tenure is roughly 3x more (4.5 years). Half hit goals last year and the other half were close apparently. Sounds like better vibes
-OTE would be 250k
Getting looped into an interview process at Salesforce right now and trying to cut through the recruiter fluff.
It’s been less than a year since the Informatica deal wrapped up. Given everythings around core Salesforce products seems pretty mixed right now, I’m curious how things are looking on the Informatica and data side.
If anyone has any insight on that, that'd be really great.
Trying to figure out if it's a good team to step into right now
Currently an Enterprise AE with 6 years AE SaaS experience (10yrs in sales). Been in Disaster Recovery and most recently in GRC. Im doing pretty well but looking for a better product segment long term.
Most SaaS companies are really just workflow automation trying to be something more important but they’re just not.
Any suggestions on products, segments that I should look into for my next role? Ideally looking for a company that solves a real problem or has tangible value.
Edit: not saying im trying to leave tech or even SaaS just trying to filter companies that solve a real problem
I have 4 yrs total in experience. 2 years in SMB, 2 years selling to a strategic account as an IAE. I closed two massive deals during my tenure and on the path to EAE. I see two roles open for a company I really want to be at. It's a level above where I am now. One role is for a mid-market AE that requires 3 years of experience. I fit the experience requirements easily, but not the high-velocity sales requirement. The EAE role requires 5 yrs of experience, of which I have 4. What do I do? Really want to work at this company but don't want to undersell myself or get stuck in a mid-market role I can't get out of.
First off I know I am lucky to have both options on the table so want to get that out of the way. Trying to think this through and would love takes from people who’ve made this call.
For context, I’ve got 15+ years in high level sales mostly in early stage companies and I’m honestly a bit burnt out on being the Nth seller taking direction. The startup scratches the “run the show” itch and gets me a title I used to not want (I used to always prefer IC) but at my age thinking might be a better play.
Two roles on the table.
Option 1, Series A Company. $200K base, $200K variable, structured comp plan, real product market fit, but I’d be one seller of several running names accounts. Standard IC seat on a small-ish team. There is lore of 7 figure sellers from last year but thinking with the hiring plan that won’t be the case anymore. New vertical for me but it has been for most sellers, I think I have a strong chance to exceed quota but would have to work very hard to do so.
Option 2, early startup with funding, 30 people. $150K base, $150K variable. Roughly 1% equity (options), on a standard 4 year vest. Would have full autonomy to do what I think would work, plus would be a seller in the early stages. The whole pitch is a fast exit. Founder openly says he wants to sell in the next 1 to 2 years once they hit a revenue milestone (that they’re currently a few multiples away from). Sales motion is admittedly still being built and not successful yet although there is strong product market fit. Upside case, if it exits well, is somewhere in the six to seven figure range on the equity. I’d have real autonomy here and basically own the go to market in a vertical I’ve been in before.
I’d have more fun at option 2 I know it, and financially I can take a risk at the moment. Would love to hear everyone’s thoughts.
What would you need to see from the startup to make it worth the risk?
Please share any insights that you may have for Datadog MM AE role.....I know its purely NN business but is it worth taking a shot at this and possible so stay for atleast 2 years
Also curious to know about culture, benefits and travel policy for AE's
TIA
I’m on the job hunt. Feels like I’m looking for something that doesn’t exist though. Was let go a few weeks ago
Based in NYC and open to remote/hybrid model.
Can’t do the whole “hunter rockstar fast paced” bullshit. Just need a solid company where I can make decent money to afford my rent..
Looking for AE/AM roles or maybe even CS.
If you like your job or company lmk which one :)
(Sorry if I sound down. I am lol)
For context :
-AE for about 6 months
- VAR
- ote 70k
I know most AEs are making my ote as a base but when do you think I should leave. I think people get comfortable here because of the work life balance. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
What is everyone's take on how much you need to earn from sales until you've had enough and decide to leave and coast?
I see so many experienced enterprise reps with like 15+ years of experience clear 400k OTE, get amazing job offers, risk it for equity in startups, etc
When is enough enough for everyone?
Paid off house? College fund secured?
I'm sitting here thinking, if you are smart with the money, manage your expenses, invest accordingly, you'd be pretty set financially.
Or do the people here just continue on for the love of the game?