How to properly evaluate a start-up opportunity Sales and Selling |
- How to properly evaluate a start-up opportunity
- Career advice for young sales people - know answers to these at the conclusion of an interview
- Sales VS R&D
- Branding/Identity - Best email practices
- How to leave a negative employment review
- cold approach/call new clients as a barber
- Any advice on startups?
- Public safety type equipment: can any one tell me more about the industry? Their experience? Women in this industry?
- Does anyone here work at Deel?
- PIP got extended
- Freight Broker Ready To Try Something Else
- What are the fast-growing SaaS companies in NYC?
- Sour ending with previous company not paying my last Q commission. Should I let them know my thoughts or should I move on?
- Pro Services and ego
- Exploring a new sales role, taking over a territory
| How to properly evaluate a start-up opportunity Posted: 01 May 2021 06:12 AM PDT Some of the basics since this comes up often. In no order: 1: What is the background of the founders? Are they experts in the field and filing a niche in the space? 2: How large is the potential market space? 3: Current milestone achievement for revenue? 4: Price point? Subscription? MRR? 3 year agreements? 5: How long is the sales cycle likely to be? 6: Are the first sales founder lead. Most are, so know this. 7: Money. Can't stress this enough. A ton of start-ups are hard up for any dollar they can get their hands on and they will fire quickly to keep the lights on without even giving you a chance to build up the pipeline. So make sure you know the history here for how the company got started, how the sales team will be supported as they build up the pipeline and start to bring in revenue, etc. 8: Money raised? 9: Competition Is it another payroll company? lol. You get the point. 10: Mission selling vs solving an actual problem? Mission selling is the hardest of all forms of start-up selling and most of the mission selling companies go out of business in three years or sooner. 11: Founding date then employee size then sales turnover analysis. 12: for sales, what has worked and not worked. 13: What are the current limitations of the software (if SaaS) and what does the roadmap look like? There are plenty of other topics/questions, but that should help people out. MAJOR RED FLAG - We gotta get x number of deals in by y date (if a very un realistic timeline, they are on the verge of going out of business). [link] [comments]  |
| Career advice for young sales people - know answers to these at the conclusion of an interview Posted: 30 Apr 2021 02:29 PM PDT Some may disagree, but in general, when not speaking to HR, you should have the answers to the following questions to have qualified an opportunity/company and then you should sit back and think if the job is a proper fit for you. In no specific order: 1: Average sales cycle 2: How heavy is the relationship aspect of the sales process? For some sales, if you don't have the relationships it is extremely hard to get meetings/win deals. And in some cases you can start with zero connections/relationships and be fine. 3: Make them describe their sales process. 4: Territory 5: Verticals/industries 6: Close percentage post demo 7: Reason why the opportunity is open 8: Quota 9: Challenges the sales team faces. 10: Company targets 11: Price points of the service/product 12: How large is the sales team 13: How many reps meet quota 14: Make sure to understand if the selling convo is technical, consultative, transactional, etc Never, ever, leave a sales interview without asking for the next step - even if you become not interested during the interview you still need to become comfortable in asking for the next step. You can also decline post interview. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 01 May 2021 10:06 AM PDT With product led growth the new hot topic now, I would like to know what this sub thinks of companies who prioritize either group too heavily. No salesperson wants to sell a shitty product, and no investor wants to leave money on the table. It's a natural tug of war between these two groups at early stage companies, would love to hear some stories of when one side pulls to hard. [link] [comments]  |
| Branding/Identity - Best email practices Posted: 01 May 2021 01:02 AM PDT We have recently acquired a competitor that we would like to keep separate from our main brand. The reason is market. Our EU brand is strong in the EU and the newly acquired US business is strong in the US market. However, our customers can use both brands. Our sales team may email a customer to discuss both products. From which domain should they use? Should we look at a parent domain and have both brands under this umbrella and use this domain? For mass mail (marketing) we use the respective domain when communicating promo's. Our customers know that both brands are now operating as one. Searching returns lots of paid adverts from registrars 🙃 So feedback and practical examples are appreciated! [link] [comments]  |
| How to leave a negative employment review Posted: 30 Apr 2021 09:59 PM PDT Here is a draft of my employment review for Glassdoor. Please let me know your thoughts. Pros: they don't create an environment that is evidently fake, like trying to say that we are family while they are ready to fire you the moment you stop producing for them. A steady paycheck and health insurance are always nice, but even that feels unstable because they're always firing people. When you hit your goals, you may feel very proud of yourself, but it doesn't last long because management will be right behind you asking what's next. It's a good job if you want to grow in an extremely tough environment to become a career telemarketer. They provide you leads, but a lot of the time the leads are not good. If I had to choose any demographic to have to cold call, I would choose ours. They're usually very nice, but can also be kind of terrible. A tough sell when your clients don't even know what they're doing. Cons: many of these reviews are definitely fake, so take them with a grain of salt. The responses from HR are also them doing damage control, so beware of that. You need to be prepared to prove yourself over, and over, and over again. I saw them churn out 25 salespeople in a team of only 40 within a year. It can be a grueling job, and when you stop producing, they put you on a PIP and put you out to pasture. They will claim it's for your improvement, but it's really to prevent you from taking legal action. My friends who are career salespeople informed me that with this many people quitting or getting fired, product and management need a lot of improvement, which is true. So, you have to constantly perform for people who don't appreciate you while not being provided with the resources to be successful. It does not take a genius to do this job, but you have to be willing to do anything to make a sale. The pay was not worth the amount of stress I endured. They will keep you there on the promise of high salary potential, although only a few reps perform consistently. The way they treated my friends left me feeling disgusted. There's one common denominator in all of the people I know who left [insert company here] - they were truly awesome people with much bigger dreams. Advice: when you interview, ask these critical questions: what percentage of your reps are hitting quota? What challenges does your team face? What is your turnover like? When was this position last filled, and why did that person leave? How does this sound? Do I sound like an embittered employee? Does it seem honest and fair? [link] [comments]  |
| cold approach/call new clients as a barber Posted: 01 May 2021 06:42 AM PDT hey i am a barber and i wanted to ask you guys - how would you cold approach a random person on a street with your business card offering a haircut ? any tips ? book recommendations? - thanks edit: i should mention that i cut hair at home - so it is not legit business [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 30 Apr 2021 09:01 PM PDT I am currently interviewing for a few different Saas sales positions. One of them is with a start-up. Is there any questions I should be asking or anything that might be a red flag? I have heard that start ups can be risky. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 30 Apr 2021 06:54 PM PDT I am in late stages interviewing with a company that primarily sells things to "safety" fields like police, ems, fire, etc. I feel like I don't really have a grasp on the culture, profits, lifestyle. I mostly got the impression that I would be "traveling" a lot and cold calling. I'm not even sure if this just means calling to potentially schedule demos or something, or just soliciting. I am also a young woman and the interviewers said it is male dominated, so I am not sure how I would fit in to this world. If anyone could weigh in, I would appreciate it! [link] [comments]  |
| Does anyone here work at Deel? Posted: 30 Apr 2021 03:48 PM PDT I saw that they're hiring and I'm considering applying. Seems like a rocket ship startup right now. Anyone have any experience there or know what comp plans look like? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 30 Apr 2021 09:19 PM PDT So, pretty self-explanatory, but I was put on a PIP this past month. I had several deals pull through miraculously, and the quota was reduced due to shitty marketing. I ended up hitting quota. This was also my first month fully ramped. I had a conversation with my manager and the VP of sales and they told me they would be extending my PIP. I basically argued with them and told them that this was BS, because it is. Several of some of their top reps only sold one deal this month. They told me that even though I hit the numbers, I wasn't where I needed to be qualitatively, and gave me another BS answer for that (my call intros weren't good enough, even though another one of their top reps asked how others have been starting their intros). I even sent my manager a call yesterday, tagging 2 minutes of very positive feedback that I received from a potential client. They still extended my PIP and said it wasn't because they didn't believe that I couldn't do this. I am almost positive that IS the reason based on their actions. This made me incredibly resentful and I'm starting to think this is just a disgusting company to work for. They made me jump through hoops to get promoted (make 1500 calls a month, etc.). I finally did it, and now I'm being forced to prove myself over and over. It feels never-ending. Is this commonplace in sales? Should I look for another job? I'm feeling so repulsed by this entire process. TL;DR: they extended my PIP after hitting my quota for BS reasons. What should I do? [link] [comments]  |
| Freight Broker Ready To Try Something Else Posted: 30 Apr 2021 12:37 PM PDT TLDR been doing inside sales for 10 years last 5 as a freight broker and I want out. Advice? Hey everyone, I've been out of school for 10 years now and slipped into inside sales out of school as part of getting into my targeted field of sports business, but soon realized that I'd never earn what I'd hope to in that industry. I fell into freight brokerage after a few years of mediocrity and tiny paychecks, and found some good success. I moved to a couple different companies and had to rebuild my book each time, but it's served me well for the last several years. Last year, I took an opportunity to start & run a new brokerage for a client of mine, bringing their business in-house. I thought it'd be a huge step in my career but it turned out to be a huge mistake, and after 6 months they let me go. It was clear they didn't bring me on to run it like the conversation started, but just to braindrain me and keep the savings for themselves. I went back to my old company (very thankful they even considered bringing me back) but that client was 99% of my book so I'm basically starting off fresh, again, with no book of business. I think somewhere in that time, I lost my edge. I can't get traction or get motivated...I'm constantly distracting myself (even right now!), staring at lists of companies and calls to make, feeling like it's pointless. I'm fully remote, which I do very much like, but it's hard and a bit isolating, and if I were to come across an actually decent-sized opportunity I am not confident there'd be enough operational support to make it a success. Not to mention this industry SUCKS, the logistics industry is oversaturated with bad brokers, shippers, carriers, and shockingly-dumb & crappy people. I don't know what to do. Honestly my social anxiety has grown so much in the last year I don't know if I can make sales work for me anymore. But I don't know what to do with myself. It's a negative feedback loop I can't break out of. I feel like I've lost complete control of my career, aimless, drifting, and don't know what I could even bring to the table. I feel worthless. I probably need to take some time in a shrink's office but I got to find a way to make work provide for my family. Sometimes I think I've wasted the last 10 years not doing something else. Does anyone here have experience being in a position like this? Did an industry scene-change help? Any way to discuss it with your supervisor? [link] [comments]  |
| What are the fast-growing SaaS companies in NYC? Posted: 30 Apr 2021 01:29 PM PDT Hello r/sales, I'm wondering what are some of the best and fastest-growing SaaS/Tech Sales companies based in NYC? I'm 24 and currently work at a startup accelerator based in NYC. I've been working full time for the past two years (in politics prior to the accelerator) while finishing up my undergrad degree (6 credits to go), and getting into sales has always been the goal for me. I have some wonderful sales mentors and have been offered a position at Outreach and could potentially get into Seismic. Two incredible companies where their sales team absolutely crush it and make stupid money. We like this. I feel like working for either one would give me a wonderful foundation for sales and teach me how to do it right. The thing is— I don't want to leave NYC. Outreach would want me to relocate to Seattle, and Seismic doesn't really have sales positions in their NYC office (would have to relocate to Austin, Texas). Today I was offered a junior sales job at an Israeli startup (Just closed their Series A and raised $3M), but I feel strongly like I'd want to learn at a larger startup with a reputable/tried-and-true sales process. I don't know how I feel about starting my sales career in a company with 20 people...that said, I do believe in the company and its c-level team (founders have already had one of their companies acquired in the past). This is something I could do remotely and be still be in NYC, but then it comes back to wanting to build a solid sales foundation with an experienced team. Am I crazy for not wanting to relocate to take an SDR position at Outreach? I can't help but shake the feeling that it could be one of the best opportunities to start my sales career...but I feel like NYC is where I need to be right now. My friends are here and the woman that I love (yeesh, I know) is coming back to NYC from Europe after getting barred from the US because of COVID. I know there are lucrative SaaS/Tech jobs in NYC and I would be grateful for anybody that has some leads for me. Doing a quick google search didn't really turn up anything "eye-popping". Why are all the slamming jobs out West?! Thank you all so much! TDLR: Asking what the best SaaS/Tech sales companies are in NYC. I have two (maybe three) potential job offers, but they would require me to leave NYC...and I don't want to leave if possible. Grateful for your answers and insights. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 30 Apr 2021 03:03 PM PDT Context - I left my company (saas sales) in March and had a good month/quarter. I was owed around $10k for commission to be paid out today April 30, but received almost nothing. Apparently part of my comp plan states that if I leave, the customers have to PAY the invoices for the deals I closed within 30 days of my termination date. Unlucky for me, about 90% of the deals I closed in Feb/March are unpaid, so I am not going to really see shit of the $10k I should theoretically be owed. I get that this is in writing and I signed it and I have nothing to argue, but boy does this feel like a slap in the face for a company that I busted my ass for and closed so much $$$ for. Should I let them know how I feel about that shitty/greedy move or just walk? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 30 Apr 2021 05:52 PM PDT Help. I'm in a sales situation where what we sell (consultative salesforce.com services) is competitive to the person we are selling to. She knows her team is talented but can't figure out how to do what we know how to do. For this reason, she is trying to jam me on price claiming her boss is going to put her through the ringer, wanting to offload things onto her team. Any advice for a non salesman salesman? Edit:. It has taken us years to figure out this specific methodology. She wants me to give it away which I have no reason to do. [link] [comments]  |
| Exploring a new sales role, taking over a territory Posted: 30 Apr 2021 12:19 PM PDT I am currently in discussion with a company and they are looking for me to take over a territory that is currently averaging 1.6M revenue per year. In my experience, the GPM is around 25-28% in this industry. The initial conversion it was mentioned normally a salary of 50k and a 22% commission on GP. This is not a final offer, just a starting point. This would put me in the 140-150k range in the first year(if I keep the territory stable) Any tips on questions to ask, negotiations(i.e. guaranteed commission for first X months, etc.) would be appreciated. I would be moving for this role, so it makes me a bit more cautious than normal. [link] [comments]  |
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