Has anyone done Sales?

[FlexpertHamilton]

I interviewed for a sales based role for a digital marketing company and was given an informal offer. Need to review the official offer letter and find out the terms, might negotiate a bit, but the base salary is $50k with a 10% commission on sales, and it's fully work from home. It's not much, but enough to survive, and I may even be able to get away with getting a 2nd WFH job on top of it. It's a small company and the owner is very laid back and doesn't give a **** about anything except what works.

I've never done sales as a primary focus, but I did enjoy it when I actually believed in the product/service. I am extremely introverted, so I do wonder how much energy I'll have in my tank, but I may focus on prospecting qualified leads and networking/reputation over spammy cold calling. I suspect they hired me because of my demeanor which is very laid back, not overly talkative, compared to most salesmen who are obnoxiously high energy and big talkers. I think the stereotypical idea of salesman (tryhard cheeseball clowns who are manipulative and pushy) probably isn't relevant anymore in 2024, and I hear salesman say that being a genuine and a good listener goes a long way, so we'll see.

Anyone have any advice or insight to share?

 

[Chow Mein]

Go for it! I think everyone should be in sales at one point in their lives.
What has made me successful is exactly as you said, being genuine and a good listener

 

[corrector]

All I have done is sales. It depends on the product and how the style of sale fits your personality. For example, the latest sales job has me reading from a long script but you have to think on your feet to come up with a professional and competent response if you get thrown a curveball by the client. The biggest issue in sales is being competent with the product and maintaining control over the call. Once you lost control and credibility (which comes with competence) with a client then you are not going to get a sale. Best thing is to know your product very well.

 

[AAAgent]

Gotta be a tryhard. You can't not try hard in sales, otherwise you won't make any sales. Good salesmen always listen so i don't think that is anything different. Cheeseball clowns, really depends on industry. Total outreach to close ratio is from what i remember, less than 5%. If you have higher, that's a super easy industry and likely won't last long. With a close ratio less than 5%, you can't not expect working hard.

- figure out what your target market is. If the entire world is open, gotta take a deep look at the CRM to make sure you're not stepping on other reps toes.

- I don't think cold calling works much anymore but i've been out of the game for over 5 years. Don't email early mornings or evenings. I spend those times building my lists for outreach. Also don't outreach during lunch time. You ideally want to hit people's inbox's when they're at their desks.

- Learn you product, inside and out.

- Build a 15 second pitch, that you could pitch to a 70 year old grandma. Simple, quick, and to the point.

- Create a batch of leads you just use for practice. Expect these leads to be not top tier, and cold call them to refine your pitch, practice handling rejection, and practice getting by gatekeepers.

- Do not annoy people. If someone says, call me back next week, don't call them back earlier.

- Learn how to small talk

- Always provide free value or information

 

[FlexpertHamilton]

All I have done is sales. It depends on the product and how the style of sale fits your personality. For example, the latest sales job has me reading from a long script but you have to think on your feet to come up with a professional and competent response if you get thrown a curveball by the client. The biggest issue in sales is being competent with the product and maintaining control over the call. Once you lost control and credibility (which comes with competence) with a client then you are not going to get a sale. Best thing is to know your product very well.

I wouldn't do sales unless I was already familiar with the product/service and could get behind it. This sales job is for a digital marketing company which is already something I have experience with I had already been making plans to cold call/visit local businesses for my own company that does the same thing, so I think that part is going to be help a lot.

Gotta be a tryhard. You can't not try hard in sales, otherwise you won't make any sales. Good salesmen always listen so i don't think that is anything different. Cheeseball clowns, really depends on industry. Total outreach to close ratio is from what i remember, less than 5%. If you have higher, that's a super easy industry and likely won't last long. With a close ratio less than 5%, you can't not expect working hard.

- figure out what your target market is. If the entire world is open, gotta take a deep look at the CRM to make sure you're not stepping on other reps toes.

- I don't think cold calling works much anymore but i've been out of the game for over 5 years. Don't email early mornings or evenings. I spend those times building my lists for outreach. Also don't outreach during lunch time. You ideally want to hit people's inbox's when they're at their desks.

- Learn you product, inside and out.

- Build a 15 second pitch, that you could pitch to a 70 year old grandma. Simple, quick, and to the point.

- Create a batch of leads you just use for practice. Expect these leads to be not top tier, and cold call them to refine your pitch, practice handling rejection, and practice getting by gatekeepers.

- Do not annoy people. If someone says, call me back next week, don't call them back earlier.

- Learn how to small talk

- Always provide free value or information

There's only 2 other guys in this company so there won't be much concern there. Why would having a high close rate mean the industry won't last long? 5% or lower seems quite low.

The only issue I have is that i hate small talk. I don't watch or care about sports either so that rules out a very accessible and easy form of small talk for a lot of people I'll be talking to.

 

[AAAgent]

There's only 2 other guys in this company so there won't be much concern there. Why would having a high close rate mean the industry won't last long? 5% or lower seems quite low.

The only issue I have is that i hate small talk. I don't watch or care about sports either so that rules out a very accessible and easy form of small talk for a lot of people I'll be talking to.

The reason why high close rate will be short lived, because once other savvy business people realize that the close rate is so high, they will enter into the market and compete with your boss. Especially the sales people working for your boss. If close rate was higher than 5%, just means the industry is ripe for competition. I had about 3%+ close ratio and I was considered a rising star on my way to being rockstar if I had stayed in the industry. My success was attributed to fast learning and I churned out monster prospect lists and did fvck ton of outreach which resulted in reach industry average typically in 1 month+

Here is ChatGPT's answer.

 

[Chow Mein]

OP,

if this is your first time in sales, do not work for a small company. You need an established company with a headcount of 500+ to help you. You can get an entry level account manager role with $70k OTE, it very common for larger organizations.

 

[FlexpertHamilton]

OP,

if this is your first time in sales, do not work for a small company. You need an established company with a headcount of 500+ to help you. You can get an entry level account manager role with $70k OTE, it very common for larger organizations.

But bigger companies also have tons of bureaucratic nonsense and meddling management who will log everything you do, make you use scripts, follow processes, etc. Smaller companies tend to not give a shvt and let you do anything. I think I'd do well working with a smaller company pushing a service that I'm experienced and passionate about (digital marketing) rather than selling some BS I don't know or care about for a big company that micromanages me.

 

[Chow Mein]

But bigger companies also have tons of bureaucratic nonsense and meddling management who will log everything you do, make you use scripts, follow processes, etc. Smaller companies tend to not give a shvt and let you do anything. I think I'd do well working with a smaller company pushing a service that I'm experienced and passionate about (digital marketing) rather than selling some BS I don't know or care about for a big company that micromanages me.

If you want a career in sales, starting off in a bigger company will help teach you the ropes. There will be mentors there that will pass along their experience and failure for you to learn from. Of course no one likes the politics, but it’s learning how to navigate the internal processes.

In a small company, you do not have mentors. You can’t learn much, and starting out, it’s so valuable to learn from others. After you have about 5 years of field sales under your belt, you can try working for a startup. I started my sales career working for a startup, but I would take lower pay to work for fortune 1000 company if I were to start all over.

-Coming from 18 years of experience in sales

 

[Divorced w 3]

I am in sales, any base is good - i don’t love the payout though - I am almost positive you can get a better deal than that - how much do they do annually in revenue?

 

[Divorced w 3]

OP,

if this is your first time in sales, do not work for a small company. You need an established company with a headcount of 500+ to help you. You can get an entry level account manager role with $70k OTE, it very common for larger organizations.

But then he has no upside or he gets quarterly bonuses from a pool - if you want to sell, IMHO, you need to hit the pavement and be motivated via threat of starvation to sell

 

[FlexpertHamilton]

If you want a career in sales, starting off in a bigger company will help teach you the ropes. There will be mentors there that will pass along their experience and failure for you to learn from. Of course no one likes the politics, but it’s learning how to navigate the internal processes.

In a small company, you do not have mentors. You can’t learn much, and starting out, it’s so valuable to learn from others. After you have about 5 years of field sales under your belt, you can try working for a startup. I started my sales career working for a startup, but I would take lower pay to work for fortune 1000 company if I were to start all over.

-Coming from 18 years of experience in sales

Career are BS in 2024, jobs are just a means to an end. I'm inclined to just have a rotation of multiple WFH jobs (overemployment) at the same time and juggle them all and delegate tasks and constantly switch as new opportunities present themselves. I also don't believe in mentorship in general, you need to trust yourself and learn on your own terms and what works for you, especially starting out. But, I wouldn't be opposed to a mentorship, I'd rather find a mentor outside of my company who can be more unbiased and real, like a business owner.

But then he has no upside or he gets quarterly bonuses from a pool - if you want to sell, IMHO, you need to hit the pavement and be motivated via threat of starvation to sell

Having no base salary or a job that relies on commission/bonus would not motivate me. I'd rather just start with something simple that isn't so high pressure and continue to look for additional jobs to supplement or switch to. I have no intention of staying with 1 company long term unless they're really good to me and pay well.

 

[Chow Mein]

But then he has no upside or he gets quarterly bonuses from a pool - if you want to sell, IMHO, you need to hit the pavement and be motivated via threat of starvation to sell

My compensation has always been 50/50 base/commission

 

[Chow Mein]

Career are BS in 2024, jobs are just a means to an end. I'm inclined to just have a rotation of multiple WFH jobs (overemployment) at the same time and juggle them all and delegate tasks and constantly switch as new opportunities present themselves. I also don't believe in mentorship in general, you need to trust yourself and learn on your own terms and what works for you, especially starting out. But, I wouldn't be opposed to a mentorship, I'd rather find a mentor outside of my company who can be more unbiased and real, like a business owner.


Having no base salary or a job that relies on commission/bonus would not motivate me. I'd rather just start with something simple that isn't so high pressure and continue to look for additional jobs to supplement or switch to. I have no intention of staying with 1 company long term unless they're really good to me and pay well.

You need to be more humble if you want to succeed in sales

 

[AmsterdamAssassin]

It's a shame I don't care enough about money, because I was a pretty good salesman.

Then again, I would've made a good career criminal as well, so it's a good thing I don't always exploit my talents.

 

[FlexpertHamilton]

You need to be more humble if you want to succeed in sales

My comment wasn't about sales but more of life in general. How can people give you advice when they don't understand you? Even therapists can take several months to understand someone. But yes I see your point, and I'm probably clueless at sales so I'd stand to benefit from that, especially since there are probably many universal truths in sales.

 

[Solomon]

If you want a career in sales, starting off in a bigger company will help teach you the ropes. There will be mentors there that will pass along their experience and failure for you to learn from. Of course no one likes the politics, but it’s learning how to navigate the internal processes.

In a small company, you do not have mentors. You can’t learn much, and starting out, it’s so valuable to learn from others. After you have about 5 years of field sales under your belt, you can try working for a startup. I started my sales career working for a startup, but I would take lower pay to work for fortune 1000 company if I were to start all over.

-Coming from 18 years of experience in sales

I actually agree with you on this, I did retail during college then moved to Sales in my late 20s for a small company(this was at the tail end of the recession during the Obama years). It was the worst work experience ever. The office politics were toxic as hell, no real formal training, I remember one guy walked out the first time we put him on the phones after 2 weeks of computer training. They wante dhim to talk to customers. He basically said EFF this and walked out on his break, I didn't blame him lol(they didn't even have an employee handbook, heck they didn't even offer a 401K until my last year there), UBER-Micromanging, there was no HR, just a compromised Office manager (who had the accountant aka the boss's wife breathing down her neck to the point that she had to quit). The pay while it was good was not worth it at all. I only stayed because at the time it was the most money I ever made and I felt stuck. The co-workers didn't give a shyt about each other(The company was kind of a sketch vitamin company for seniors) it was that cut-throat(the owner loved pitting the salesmen against each other as his thinking was that it would make people more competitive, which it did but it also made the work enivorment toxic as heck)

WIth a small company you have no way to move up, I never got a raise in 4 years(I knew this though before they hired me and I improved my income every year by myself except the last 2 years because I was burned out), Also with a small company, the turnover ratio while initially, it was low, it went haywire the last year as the owner was trying to expand his business but he didn't know what the heck he was doing so he hired a bunch of people just to lay them off or fire them. Heck one guy got laid of and he only had been working there for 3 weeks, 3 friggin weeks needless to say he was pissed (It was a dying market as this particularly sales was moving online plus his competitors were kicking his butt on amazon by lower prices and far superior product too in some cases). I got laid off several years ago, I thank God for it now because it was a blessing in disguise last I heard the company went under in 2020 (not shocked at all, as the owner was looking for an exit plan and started doing things which didn't sit well with my ethics)

If I was OP I wouldn't just ask for more but make sure you get a severance package, with smaller company.

My advice to OP would be
-Learn the product inside and out
-Learn a simple effective script
-Practice scenarios to overcome rejections
-Learn how to feel your customers out, some customers like small talk some don't
-You gotta wanna be able to talk to people, if that's not you then learn or else you won't succeed at this job

Personally, I'm burned out from Sales it was good for learning about the psychology of people and heck it even use it in the field

Happy Hunting!

 

[Hamurabimbi]

I’ve done sales. You really should be an extrovert. Otherwise you’ll probably be exhausted. I much prefer in person. During Covid, my organization asked me to do virtual marketing. I refused.

 

[Chow Mein]

My comment wasn't about sales but more of life in general. How can people give you advice when they don't understand you? Even therapists can take several months to understand someone. But yes I see your point, and I'm probably clueless at sales so I'd stand to benefit from that, especially since there are probably many universal truths in sales.

Honest question to you, yourself - do you think the first part of the paragraph is a defense mechanism?

 

[FlexpertHamilton]

Honest question to you, yourself - do you think the first part of the paragraph is a defense mechanism?

Genuinely no, it's part of a general distaste for advice as of late, getting advice/counsel is something I was very open and interested in for most of my life (and criticism, which is different), but as of now I am learning to trust my own judgment and intuition and use that to guide my behavior rather than relying on others. In the context of sales, I will absolutely would want feedback and critiques, and I have a friend who's experienced with sales and I'm going to listen to what he says. However, I find this mindset to be self-limiting if you take it too far. I mean, there are so many cases of people who "break the rules" and go against the status quo and make something work for *them* because they knew themselves and their circumstances well enough to know that going against the grain, developing a niche, taking risks, trusting their gut, etc might just work for them.