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buyhighselllow

sales

Good Citizen
Contributor
Fire Starter

Ageism in sales? (For I/Cs)

career-regression post got me thinking: recently had a chat with some retired/ex- tech folks, in retrospect, they said there's a steep hiring cliff at 40yo (especially in tech/SaaS etc). 

I know no one admits it cause ageism is bad mkay?, but the subtext that a 40yo+ something cannot/doesn't want to grind the same way someone in their mid-20's can, makes some sense.

as a life-long (and very happy) Ent AE (IC) do I need to make plans to grow into a manager as I approach my 40's to safeguard my value in the tech/sales world (all I've known is SaaS)?

wondering if anyone can shit on this notion, and reassure me I'll be able to sell till I die, otherwise, let me know what I should expect as I approach 40 and beyond.

much love
🕧 age-related
🏙 Corporate Experiences
✍️ Sales advice
18

26 comments

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jefe
Arsonist
9
🍁
God this is a scary thought when you're approaching 40. AGEISM IS SUPPOSED TO BE FOR OLD PEOPLE AND I'M NOT OLD! Or am I?

Please excuse me while I have an existential crisis.
buyhighselllow
Good Citizen
4
sales
You and me both, thought 40 was career-prime
jefe
Arsonist
7
🍁
At least I can talk SaaS-y, understand AI use case applications AND STILL UNDERSTAND HOW TO MANIPULATE A PDF.

Take THAT, Gen-Z.
oldcloser
Arsonist
3
💀
That’s right, bitches
Sunbunny31
Arsonist
3
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
DAMN STRAIGHT
SportsSalesGuy
Tycoon
8
Enterprise Account Executive
To be honest, my experience has been the opposite when I was searching for a new job. I'm in my late 20s, and I repeatedly lost out to older, more veteran salespeople for years. I was told explicitly that experience — measured in years — was the deciding factor, not necessarily performance. I progressed very quickly in my career then hit a wall.

From a resume standpoint, my achievements were just as strong, if not stronger, but the number of years I had spent in sales, particularly in roles like Enterprise AE, wasn’t enough. There's only so much I could do about that.

I tried to position myself as the "hungry dog runs faster" candidate — younger, more able to redline, and push harder than someone further along in their career. I also emphasized that I was more adaptable and willing to learn, without the "this is how I've always done it" mindset that can sometimes come with decades in the industry.

Compensation also highlighted the age gap. I discovered in my old job that colleagues with the same title were earning significantly more than me — higher base, higher OTE, and a better cut of deals — even though we were on the same team and level.

This pattern continued in negotiations for new roles. Sometimes my asking price matched or even exceeded older candidates’, which probably didn't help my case, and sometimes it was well below, but either way, the preference often leaned toward the candidate with more years on paper.

I can see the flip side though, and your concerns...which is why I used it in my justification and fight for myself in these interviews lol

Pachacuti
Politicker
7
They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy
Your resume is what you make it. You don’t have to list ALL your experience. Just enough to prove you can do the job.

SaaS does seem to like the younger, less experienced people.
SteveD
Member
1
Sales Director
Good tip - remove the years from your University time if you have that. Skip over +25 years ago roles and focus on last 15 years.
Sunbunny31
Arsonist
0
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
I dunno, all my experience is there - but all my sales experience has SaaS delivery (f/k/a ASP), so it's all relevant to tech sales.
DollHairs
Opinionated
7
Owner
It is a scary thought, time flies
oldcloser
Arsonist
6
💀
Can confirm. This is a very real thing. Sure, you can chop your resume off where you want. But someone with a 35 year work history with sucess metrics measured in rocks is irrelevant to most. Personally, I say fuck most. I have a plan. Go ahead. Ask me about EQ at scale. Or don't. It's probably irrelevant.
Revenue_Rambo
Politicker
4
Bad MFer
I’m just impressed that someone your age can even spell EQ
oldcloser
Arsonist
3
💀
I fart dust older than you
Revenue_Rambo
Politicker
4
Bad MFer
Sounds like a shirt that needs to be added to the commission store
oldcloser
Arsonist
3
💀
👆👆👆
poweredbycaffeine
WR Lieutenant
6
☕️
My favorite AE I ever was a BDR for (back in 2011) was in his early 40s. Always an IC and always a value adder. Still an IC today and absolutely employable.
Sunbunny31
Arsonist
4
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
We had a BDR who had done his time across all levels of sales, but decided to end his career as a BDR for us. He was outstanding. And actually retired recently after spending a couple of years making a little extra money and being awesome.
FoodForSales
Politicker
5
AE
Some places value age and experience. "SaaS-bros" don't.
Kosta_Konfucius
Politicker
5
ERP Sales
Outside of removing experience on your resume and use an old photo for LinkedIn. But feel like that’s not the best solution at all
Sunbunny31
Arsonist
5
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
The exception doesn’t prove the rule, but I’m a lifelong IC. I never wanted to be in management in my sales career. I’m beyond 40, and moved to another company in 2021. The company valued that experience and never once questioned my age, capabilities, or adaptability.

So if you want to go into management, fine. But also don’t think you have to.
QWhiz
Tycoon
4
Founding AE / ex-SDR
Corporates want the maximum possible output from an employee by paying them minimum possible wages. Employees want to get paid as much as possible for doing least amount of work.

I rest my case.
Gasty
Notable Contributor
3
War Room Community Manager
If you're skilled, you'll get by just fine. Regardless!!
TargetFocused
Executive
3
Account Executive
Tech companies are salivating at the idea of giving AI to less experienced reps to get 80% of the output at 1/2 the cost.
buyhighselllow
Good Citizen
2
sales
Why stop there? If 80% at half the cost is now-ish, then shouldn’t be long until it’s 150% at 1/4 the cost, then who needs reps at all if the ai can get 100% at 1/5 the cost 🤷🏻‍♂️
pirate
Big Shot
3
Account Executive
My company cannot be bothered with coaching so we have had 3 people over 50 start recently so don’t think it matters that much what age you are
SteveD
Member
0
Sales Director
Oh hell yes. Over 50 is not going to make it through the recruitment process in Tech. If you are looking you need to connect with your network and find one of those roles that are not being advertized to get a sales role in tech.

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