This is my first time posting on Bravado. Please be gentle (blushes)...
Background:
I've been selling since 2007. Tech sales for the last 7 years. I work for a software company that was acquired (2 years ago) by an organization that's been "one of the best places to work" for the past few years. Post acquisition, my role changed from direct seller to an overlay resource supporting 3 AM teams. I have a strong brand internally. Not to toot my own horn, but I'm confident I'd receive a good to great review from all of the AMs I support (including their leadership). I'm also a new hire "bootcamp" presenter. I run the session on positioning, value messaging and pricing model. I've been successful in my role for just under 5 years. I did initially leave post acquisition, but I was recruited back 4 months later.
Challenge:
My teams had multiple open seats at the beginning of this year. Being one of the remaining legacy seller that come over with the acquisition, I was asked to cover additional regions while the team was being built. I'm on track to hit my number for the year, but most of my revenue came from the regions I was covering. FYI, my primary territory was completely green and our sales cycle for anything over $100K ACV is 6 month at a minimum....
A few weeks back my 1:1s began to heat up. KPI inspection became the main focus of the call. Net-net, the paper trail began and I'm currently a few days away from making a large decision. I can either accept a 3 month severance package, or I'll be placed on a 30 day PIP. My KPIs are within standard. The only issue is, where my revenue came from this year. My manager hasn't given me any confidence that I can fight through this PIP. The whole thing seems odd. The rest of my team are all from the company that acquired my SaaS startup. Now that the ad hoc coverage is no longer needed, there is a definite possibility that they'd like to replace me with a familiar. Side note, my OTE is maxed out for the role...
My Ask:
Can anyone share their experience transitioning from software sales to working for a channel partner? I want to hear the dirt! Tell me what sucks about channel life.
- The channel role is with a strong partner of the company I work for today.
- I have great relationships with the account managers I'd be working with. They're the same AMs I've been supporting for the last 2 years.
- I'm talking to this partner because I was referred by the Regional Manager of one of the teams I support today.
- I have experience working with the channel, but only from the OEM/ provider side of the table.
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