BitcoinAddict

AE

Valued Contributor

Boo this man: I don't think a lot of salespeople out there deserve to have jobs

I know, I am coming off as an a**hole for saying this and will get called every crappy name under the sun which I probably do deserve. As someone who has been laid off in the past, I understand how much a layoff can hurt. I do, however, want to propose that this might not be the worst thing for sales.

After being in sales for quite a few years now, I cannot help but wonder how the hell a lot of the AEs I have worked with even have jobs. There are so many sales reps out there who:

Are being unnecessarily pushy with clients who have made it clear why they can't sign but want to keep pestering them regardless, all this while not adding any value in the sales process other than mindlessly rambling on about their product
Cannot shut the f*ck up on a discovery call and don't even bother to hear a client out
Are entirely uncoachable due to their arrogance
Steal leads from their teammates
Have no empathy for others, especially not for their clients who are hurting (have heard some say it's all about pushing them for a signature and nothing else)
Make for awful teammates because they are either stealing leads or trying to push their broken sales process on others out of some sense of validation or chase for a leadership position they are entirely unqualified for

I have found the above to be true for a certain company in the news lately for massive layoffs, won't say what name.

It sounds awful and for the good people in sales who were affected by layoffs, this was not meant for you and I hope you get back on your feet ASAP.

I feel that many unqualified people who couldn't get into other jobs lucked into sales, made some money due to the high demand years ago, and now the market is just correcting itself. The sales reps who don't embody a lot of the bad traits, care about their clients, are empathetic, and listen more (and know how to STFU on disco calls) will be alright and deserve all the good things in life they get

What I feel is that companies are catching on to what a value drain your typical sales rep is and how a lot aren't making lives better for clients or others at the company.

Bring on the boos.

☁️ Software Tech

29

36 comments

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TennisandSales

Politicker

12

Head Of Sales

so i feel like there are many ppl who agree with you.
there are a ton of shitty sales ppl.
It will be interesting to see if the quality of sales ppl will go up because of all of this.

for some reason I dont think it will
but we will see.
i hope the real good sales ppl can get on their feet.

I also feel like there isnt alot of good sales training and these bad reps are kinda forced to figure it all out on their own which is NOT a good idea.

punishedlad

Tycoon

6

Business Development Team Lead

Not really optimistic, either.
Unfortunately, the shitty sales people I've come to know over my career are often there because of nepotism/relationships with higher ups.
We had a guy in my first job who was just awful. Customers hated him, he was purely self interested, and actively stole shit from other reps (myself included). CEO wouldn't listen to any criticism because he was a family friend.

BitcoinAddict

Opinionated

2

AE

I feel like as things get tougher, people will realize how bad it is and be forced to get rid of some of these parasites.

BitcoinAddict

Opinionated

5

AE

I think you are being nice in saying a lot of the shitty sales reps are how they are because of bad training. From my experience, they are often shitty people outside of work and just got a sales job handed to them.
Your pessimism is also fair. I have found that a lot of good salespeople often burn out of sales or leave due to the BS. The scum stick around because of the nature of sales as it is right now.

antiASKHOLE

Tycoon

9

Bravado's Resident Asshole

Those that steal leads are worse than scum.

SaaSsy

Politicker

7

AE

Yupppp, one time lost out on $25k in commission from a clearly stolen account just because another rep (10 years in), had talked with them before. She lost the deal btw to our shittiest competitor and I opened it up again when that implementation failed. FURIOUS - I quit 2 weeks after with a way better job, way higher pay and 50% of the team turned over in the next 90 days. I love watching their stock price just get destroyed LOL

antiASKHOLE

Tycoon

2

Bravado's Resident Asshole

Yea, love those people. I had one at my last job that would steal leads and accounts.. then accuse everyone else of stealing his accounts when he got caught. I would take my shit back!

BitcoinAddict

Opinionated

2

AE

Even worse are those that steal leads and then somehow want to lecture other sales reps on how to do their jobs when most of their closes were inbounds desperate for a solution.

SaaSsy

Politicker

6

AE

100% agree - the pressure tactics definitely comes from terrible sales managers who don't actually understand how to sell. They watched Wolf of Wallstreet and thought "I want to be like that!". Barf.

BitcoinAddict

Opinionated

2

AE

And they all seem to have the same background too. Former high school athlete that got too high on their own horse, got weeded out of the actual Wall Street jobs that require pedigree, couldn't go pro, but now has to relate all sales training to that one time they made that one tackle in football.

SaaSsy

Politicker

4

AE

Yep - I see a lot of "used to be in a frat, barely skated through school with a 1.5 but is remotely attractive white guy". Their egos are ginormous, and they probably got lucky hitting quota for 1 year. It's pathetic

Gasty

Notable Contributor

5

War Room Community Manager

Why would you get even a single boo on this giant truth bomb?

BitcoinAddict

Opinionated

1

AE

Because....there is a lot of harsh language in there haha.

Sunbunny31

Politicker

2

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

But this is the WR. I mean...your gramma isn't in here. :)

CuriousFox

WR Officer

3

🦊

Shit Gma fox gets down 😉

Sunbunny31

Politicker

1

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

You're not BitcoinAddict's gramma are you? ;)

Mobi85

Politicker

4

Regional Sales Manager

I am not sure why anyone would Boo you on this, this is the truth and honestly it is every industry that these shitty sales reps exist.
They are typically the 1st ones to tell you how great they are (when you didn't ask) and the last to admit to a mistake.

BitcoinAddict

Opinionated

1

AE

Yeah and unfortunately, at certain companies (ahem, the ones doing a lot of layoffs right now and trimming down their "Ohana"), these types of reps are the norm. Then they wonder why over half the team isn't hitting quota.

Justatitle

Big Shot

3

Account Executive

Ok, in sales it's really tough to justify your existence if numbers aren't being met. It's also blatantly clear when someone is ok with doing the bare minimum and collecting a paycheck. that said I do think that is the minority and there are also bad traits encouraged by bad organizations that carry over from org to org. Everything is being reset right now. This same thing happened to agency side recruiters in 2008-2009. The crappy ones went and took a steady paycheck internally and the great ones went on to make more money than ever thought possible.

BitcoinAddict

Opinionated

1

AE

Except in sales you can also get a few good inbounds that were going to close even if a marketing person led the process or get an extremely easy territory with a relaxed quota, boom top performer.

Justatitle

Big Shot

1

Account Executive

Also correct. I think territories should be abolished and it should be round Robin. But that’s for another time.

Fenderbaum

Politicker

3

Retired Choirboy🪕

That's the state of society in general these days. I firmly believe there are more selfish, immoral assholes who are just plain stupid, in the workforce that don't know how to act.

Coastal_crusher

Politicker

3

Sales Director

Good points and often I come across people who I would selfishly think don’t “deserve” the roles they get. But it’s like many professions where the crap eventually gets filtered out and there cream rises to the top. When you are in a role that requires a lot of experience and empathy, you’ll get much fewer clowns.

(I could be wrong, someone more experienced can feel free to correct me) 💀🤡

BitcoinAddict

Opinionated

0

AE

Crap eventually getting filtered out might explain why certain major firms are doing big layoffs lol.

DataSlangah

Politicker

2

SAE

There are shitty people in every facet of a company, not just sales. Do shitty people deserve to have a job? Who are you to say? Maybe people are clueless and are just trying to make the best of it. Arrogance often masks fear. People that don't know what they are doing often come across as arrogant.

Sunbunny31

Politicker

2

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

No boos here. Anybody who isn't good at sales and hasn't taken the gift horse and learned to ride it by now deserves what they get.

GDO

Politicker

2

BDM

I feel people in sales are either a perfect fit or just not a fit at all. Also a lot of the non fit people survive because of luck and roll into middle management positions afterwards

sketchysales

Politicker

2

Sales Manager

Im with you. No boos here, its the same in many industries though, its time for a clear out. Covid created the demand for more workers in sales, it will just reset to 2019 and those in service and other entry level jobs who found themselves in sales through some weird world situation will either need to shape up or ship out.

ChumpChange

Politicker

2

Channel Manager

This is more of a company problem than an individual. Their motivation is self-preservation which you can't knock.

Pachacuti

Politicker

1

They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy

Solid rant.

detectivegibbles

Politicker

1

Sales Director

RandyLahey

Politicker

1

Account Executive

Pretty fair take all things considered

Werkzeug

Politicker

1

Account Executive

We needed a correction. The current job market is over-saturated with crappy sales reps, and for better or worse it's up to the recruiters and hiring managers to snuff those out.
I was laid off in December, and have been asked on every recruiter call or interview about my 2022 and 2021 performance almost immediately. I was able to say honestly that I hit 122% of plan in 22 (thanks, Bravado perf index!), and was laid off due to restructuring. I just hope they're savvy enough to drill down, identify, and qualify out those that are full of shit leaving room for those of us who would bring value to an org.
I managed to land a new gig right before having to dip into the sev. The previous org did me (more or less) right at the end, but there were a lot of hedges that needed to be trimmed. Plus I needed more money, which I wasn't going to get there even if I stayed another 10 years.
The bums will always lose.

SalesinSeattle

Valued Contributor

1

Account Executive

Can I add a BOO for the companies that allow the underhanded BS behavior of sniping someone else's accounts/opps/leads? They take the approach of "the only thing that matters is results" and that is Toxic as hell. Meanwhile those of us trying NOT to be a pirate just doing our best Lee Trevino head shake.

kelvin26

Fire Starter

0

administrative manager

https://timebrookinvestment.com/u/sign_up?r=kryptotitan

https://t.me/+L_3GDbXlz904MDg0

kelvin26

Fire Starter

0

administrative manager

https://timebrookinvestment.com/u/sign_up?r=kryptotitan

https://t.me/+L_3GDbXlz904MDg0

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