Feel like I'm at the top of the pay band in my field without going into management, what to do

I've been in the app advertising/ad tech space for the last 9 years. I'm making about 270k OTE, and have hit my quota all quarters this year. This is my 4th company in this field and every time I jumped, I had a huge increase in pay and a title bump (I'm now a director).


However, I think I've capped out. I started looking for a new job earlier this year just to see whats out there, but everywhere I interviewed (competitors, adjacent companies, even at Apple), the pay was pretty much what I'm making now, at most like, 5k more a year.


It's a fairly specialized industry, my boss is great, the company is doing well, I'm fully remote and I have the opportunity to speak on panels, be on podcasts, etc. But I want more money, however, I don't want to be a manager.


What would you do in this situation? Stay in my current role as IC and get tiny 3% raises each year? Suck it up and become a manager? Leave for another industry where I have 0 knowledge or social capital?

๐Ÿ’ฐ Compensation
17
Pachacuti
Politicker
8
They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy
$270k isn't enough? Has anyone given you the advice to "sell more"?
AdsMakeTheWorldGoRound
Valued Contributor
2
Sales Director
Bay area, shit's expensive.
TheIncarceration
Politicker
0
SDR Manager
I feel your pain
sora
Opinionated
0
RevOps Automation Consultant
If you're remote why not relocate to a LCLA?
AdsMakeTheWorldGoRound
Valued Contributor
0
Sales Director
lots of reasons, family, friends, bought a house here, wife's job.
CuriousFox
WR Officer
6
๐ŸฆŠ
Or if you have a good thing going why fuck it up?
AdsMakeTheWorldGoRound
Valued Contributor
4
Sales Director
MORE. ALWAYS WANT MORE
jefe
Arsonist
4
๐Ÿ
If you won't enjoy management and be fulfilled by it, I think you just need to embrace what you have.
AdsMakeTheWorldGoRound
Valued Contributor
1
Sales Director
I think I just need to learn how to do that, I was always looking for what's next and I never thought about what I'd do when I got to a spot without a next step.
jefe
Arsonist
0
๐Ÿ
Try mindfulness - meditation and other exercises. They help you live in the now and enjoy what you have, instead of just striving for the next.

Headspace has great guided meditations, and Calm is the other big one.

I really like Jay Shetty's podcast 'On Purpose' if that's more your speed.
ChumpChange
Politicker
3
Channel Manager
As someone who transitioned from a high-performing IC to a Manager. It's an entirely different role and responsibility. IMO a lot more work is needed and your paycheck is now determined by the actions of others.
AdsMakeTheWorldGoRound
Valued Contributor
1
Sales Director
Yeah, I tried managing in a past role didn't like it.
KingofGIF
Politicker
0
AE
Iโ€™m going through this transition and by next Q Iโ€™ll have to officially decide if this is what I want or if I want to go up on enterprise. Feel weird that my pay is affected by others- being real and from your experience whatโ€™s the trajectory of Sr AE to , team lead, manager and Head of Sales like, and is this the way to go for $$$&?
ChumpChange
Politicker
0
Channel Manager
This just depends on your industry and product fit. If you're hitting quota consistently without a ton of BS then you're in a golden spot. By that I mean... you're pretty much in control of your day-to-day and making money easily with little to no oversight. Check, Check, Check. Management is stressful because the role extends beyond what your team is bringing in. I speak to 4-5 departments consistently and I have to attest to our team's production when we go into org-wide meetings. Every week it's developing or strategizing on what to do next or what to revamp or what to completely remove. I've never had a "slow" week in the management role. As far as compensation depends on multiple variables. There's high performing IC's on my team that makes more than I do which is great. Last note, SAAS managers/directors/partners get hit up A TON on LinkedIn by recruiters. I receive an average of 3-5 a month so it's reassuring that you have fallback options in the event you want to leave your current company for another.
SoccerandSales
Big Shot
1
Account Executive
Why are you against managing?
AdsMakeTheWorldGoRound
Valued Contributor
2
Sales Director
I tried it out in a past role, I don't think I'm cut out for it.
SoccerandSales
Big Shot
1
Account Executive
Super tough spot then, I feel like your option then is to close more or go to big software orgs with higher ceilings
salesgolfer
Personal Narrative
1
Low Handicapper
Ok, so what do you want to do? Sounds like you have a great opportunity rather than being hemmed up.

You're clearly good at what you do. By the rest of the comments, you don't want to go into management (and yes, it's a completely different role, likely with less pay).

So what's going to stimulate you? It's probably not more cash. What's the next challenge you're inspired to take on?
AdsMakeTheWorldGoRound
Valued Contributor
2
Sales Director
That's an interesting way to think about it. I guess I need to evaluate what I really want for the rest of my career.
salesgolfer
Personal Narrative
0
Low Handicapper
When youโ€™re doing the right things for the right reasons, thereโ€™s a fulfillment that money canโ€™t buy. Sounds like thatโ€™s what youโ€™re chasing.

Donโ€™t get me wrong, moneyโ€™s great, and boy do I love to spend it, but at the end of the day, I think weโ€™re in this for something bigger.
Kosta_Konfucius
Politicker
1
Sales Rep
I dont think you are capped, I am sure there is always a bigger fish
GS5
1
Director of Business Development
Have the ability for a side hustle?
Gasty
Notable Contributor
0
War Room Community Manager
@GS5: you have one is what I assume? ๐Ÿ‘‚
MoneyAintAThing
1
CSM
So, you're a director but you don't want to be a manager? Meaning you don't want to downgrade your title even if it means more money? Bay Area or not, 270k is damn good money anywhere. Unless of course there isn't gambling or other addictions involved. Instead of changing the great job you already have, try to invest a portion of your earnings into something for a long-term income or start a side business. There are tons of options if you have some capital which I'm guessing you should have.
AdsMakeTheWorldGoRound
Valued Contributor
0
Sales Director
Yeah my title is inflated i suppose. I'm an IC and when I said I don't want to be a manager I mean I don't want to manage people.

We're investing in real estate and stuff but trying to make as much as i can now so I can retire sooner rather than later
ManifestSuccess
Good Citizen
1
Account Executive
I feel like you're in an amazing position. Finding a sales job where you can be an individual contributor, for a company that creates enough opportunities that you can easily hit your number every quarter is pretty fantastic.

Lots of good advice here, but the one thing I would say is maybe you could find a side hustle that you might enjoy that could bring you some additional income. You mentioned having some extra time on your hands because achieving your goals at work allows this. That way you keep a good thing, and use your extra time to generate additional income.
Bakawun
Fire Starter
1
Partner
I used to work in ad tech and have done growth consulting and executive search the last seven years.

I work globally and have personally seen top individual contributor sales people earning 500k total comp in some markets. Bigger cash packages tend to be for bigger ticket Enterprise products with longer sales cycles and quotas starting from $2.5 million.

That all said, in a single market role in the ad tech industry you're doing well.

Your success could translate well to other sectors within Enterprise SaaS sales. Think about who you rivals sell to and who else might sell to them; those are great opportunities for you to drop in and clean up.

Hope that helps!
antiASKHOLE
Tycoon
0
Bravado's Resident Asshole
Iโ€™d be pretty set making 270k/year so I donโ€™t have a ton to add.
TennisandSales
Politicker
0
Head Of Sales
so yes you could do any of the things you mentioned. you have to then think, what would i value more, more money or to keep your current life the same.

sounds like if you want to take the routes you mentioned your life will change in some capacity.

The other route you could take is the whole side hustle thing.

Doesnt have to be related to sales but focus SOME energy and time to building something that can create another income stream.
serialbizwiz
Executive
0
CEO
Are you sitting on any equity??? If not, that is an option on your next shot. Go with a company that can meet your total cash comp needs AND hand you a big chunk of equity. If you catch the right train, it can be a massive payday in the multiple 7-figures. Worked for me when I was in Silicon Valley back in old .com days.
AdsMakeTheWorldGoRound
Valued Contributor
0
Sales Director
Thats a good idea. My company is public already so we don't get any options here. Might look into that although I've been at 3 start ups that had an "exit" and I had plenty of options in. Thought I'd be making Ferrari money, didn't even make used 1992 honda civic money
jbusiness
Catalyst
0
Sales Manager
Are you up for a risk?
If so, ask to half your base and double your variable. If you win more then everyone wins more.

the grass isnโ€™t ALWAYS greener if you like your current gig.
AdsMakeTheWorldGoRound
Valued Contributor
0
Sales Director
ooh. This is interesting.
MrAnderson
Executive
0
AE
As other people said, try mindfulness and gratitude.

BUT, you can always start a side hustle. The 2 things I do are selling consulting services (some my own, some from others) and Real Estate investing.
AdsMakeTheWorldGoRound
Valued Contributor
0
Sales Director
How did you get into consulting/selling consulting? I have a ton of knowledge in my industry but I guess not really sure how to get started doing the consulting thing.
MrAnderson
Executive
0
AE
It's far simpler than what you may think.Here are 2 options, that can get you paid fast without having to spend years finding product market fit, raising prices, etc.

1. Sell consulting on selling, seriously we sometimes forget how much we know, but there are many companies that have a terrible process on prospecting/discovery/follow up, etc. Hell, some don't even know what tools to use, they are amazed something like ZoomInfo even exists. I'm not even talking about small companies, startups that raised 100M+ can sometimes be highly naive in many of their sales processes. Also, it's a good idea to look at other 7 to 8 figure traditional B2B businesses outside of tech.

(They can be bigger than that, but I found that to be a sweet spot on big enough to pay me and still be open and not terribly bureaucratic) .

2. Option 2 is to partner with someone else that has a successful consultancy. Many consultants can be making 7 figures a year with a small operation, less than 10 employees, sometimes even just 2 or 3. They rely a lot on referrals and have very basic selling skills.

For example, a family member of mine helps companies with financing and acquisitions, I recently started helping him land some extra clients and I just sell his services.

If you are in the advertising space maybe partnering with an agency can be an option, but it doesn't even have to be a space that you know. I seriously had no clue about financing and acquisitions, but I know how to get meetings and ask questions that make people consider change. The cool thing is that because they don't have a lot of fixed costs, you can negotiate high percentages of the sale, for example I get 40%.

Feel free to ask hit me up and ask any more questions if you like, but again I promise this is very simple once you start.
1001
Executive
0
Account Manager
You can make a lot more (400-500k) as an IC in big tech Strategic or Enterprise accounts. Thatโ€™s OTE - and above that if you crush quota
5

First day at an analytics start up coming over from a 5k+ employee dinosaur. What should I be on the look out for in terms of different culture, expectations, drama, etc?

Question
11
16
Members only

Can I make >$500k / year repeatably in a sales role (non management)

Discussion
35
Can an individual contributor realistically get to an OTE of $500k+/year?
74% Yes
26% No
183 people voted
13

Has massive growth ever led to mental breakdown? I have been hustling since 17 years old chasing to strive for success doing odd jobs and unintentionally ended up with Edtech K12 Sales as my first official sales job - A toxic culture with no employee respect eventually me to switch after 18 months. Since reps in Edtech are highly valued, had no option but to continue in Edtech sales. This time it was higher education segment, things looked good in the first few month but slowly it started adapting methodologies like the old Edtech since the management was changed. I decided to move out and switch to B2B SaaS. After 13 months of learning & success, my aspirations werenโ€™t matching with the growth vision shared by my manager and ended up being desperate to switch. Got to a AM-Inside Sales role with a 50% hike. Guess what? It led to my mental break down since the culture is pathetic. In entire journey, all challenges never affected my performance but l am losing the spark to glow and hustle eventually. While I plan to switch, a token of guilt is still alive. The experiences have made me far better and strong as a BDR but blank about the next steps in my career. Thanks for reading. Do share your thoughts.

Question
15