How bad can the Saas Sales Job Market Potentially Get?

This post will be excessively doom and gloom, so thanks for bearing with me.


I keep hearing that its starting to feel like a wasteland in VC world.

Tech sales is among the most cushy and lucrative sales industries.

And a lot of the demand for talent (I would assume) is coming from companies that have received comical amounts of VC funding with little to show in regards to revenue and profitability.


Could it realistically get as bad as 01, 08, or worse?

Am I going to have to get a job bagging groceries?


I've been excited about the prospect of moving out of my hometown with my partner, but now I'm scared that's going to get taken away from me by the economy.


Maybe I'm worrying too much.

🙏 Mental Wellness
☁️ Software Tech
👥 Hiring
22
Notmyrealname
Politicker
13
AE
OK this is Sahil. Not a single BDR on this planet remembers '01. 
bomboclat
Opinionated
2
BDR
I dont, personally, I was very young. But I watched my father lose everything in 08 and it definitely scarred how i view the stability of the economy
CuriousFox
WR Officer
5
🦊
We ALL saw folks we love lose their ass in 401k and such in 08. I'm 92 and I don't even remember 2001 😆
bomboclat
Opinionated
1
BDR
Are you really 92? You've seen a lot in terms of economic shifts then
Sunbunny31
Politicker
1
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
TBH, you look FABULOUS for your age.
CuriousFox
WR Officer
1
🦊
Thanks boo. It's all of the bbq smoke 🔥
JMSwiggidy
Politicker
1
Enterprise Account Executive
Ah a fellow ‘92er. ✋🙌
John_Sknows
Executive
0
Enterprise Account Executive
I think they meant BORN in ‘92 bomboclat
bomboclat
Opinionated
0
BDR
I guess the other thing scaring me is that I keep seeing VC twitter talk about how avg valuations for rounds are starting to go down. Probably not a bad sign given that they were probably way too high (I mean come on, the market went Vertical in 2020-2021). I guess I'm just worried that trend will continue.
DungeonsNDemos
Big Shot
0
Rolling 20's all day
lmao got'em!
Honestly it's not bad to have backup plans but in my opinion it doesn't help to focus too hard on this. Be ready but don't let fear keep you down.

I could die tomorrow from a freak lightning strike but I don't live in fear from it. 
voila
Valued Contributor
0
AE
Now I’m worried about lightning. Thanks. 😆
SADNESSLieutenant
Politicker
8
Officer of ♥️
Most of the people being laid off aren’t salespeople. We drive revenue, sales is everything. Sales is the last function to go before the business closes down because without us there is no business. If anything this increases the demand for us
Sunbunny31
Politicker
4
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
Problem there is once there's no money for development, etc., you have nothing to sell.   It all tends to go at once.  (been there).
SADNESSLieutenant
Politicker
1
Officer of ♥️
That's true, but if you do have a product to sell, and it's a great product, then whether or not it's being improved every month isn't as important as being able to sell what made it successful so far. IE. I imagine whether or not Zoom started adding more and more features it really made a huge impact on sales like blurred background or whatnot. Not sure if I'm missing the main point here or not though
Boutdamtime
Politicker
1
Client Executive
This would be my fear in an economy that we may be headed towards. All these other less than profitable job functions being let go and their responsibilities falling on sales people.
SADNESSLieutenant
Politicker
3
Officer of ♥️
the important thing to note in any recession is thats when giants are born. Ie, slack, zoom, make sure you join a company like that that will actually do better during
SaaSam
Politicker
1
Account Executive
Exactly what I have been saying to buddies in sales. Last thing to go will be the one thing standing between profitability and bankruptcy. 
SADNESSLieutenant
Politicker
1
Officer of ♥️
yeah exactly this is why Sales Are Dope Never Ever Stop Selling. Any other role in a recession is in so much more danger than sales, AND if you can prove that not only can you set meetings or build pipeline but that your meetings lead to revenue and your pipeline grows, than you are selling yourself, a revenue generating beast. Which any dying or thriving company wants.
SaaSam
Politicker
1
Account Executive
Yup, the only time you're in danger in sales is if you suck at it. 
TennisandSales
Politicker
6
Head Of Sales
Honestly you need to keep your head out of the fucking news. 

VCs talking about valuations going down, stock prices going down inflation going up are all bad things. 

but

they are also really normal. Its a cycle that always happens. 
Some companies WILL crash but not every single one. 

Focus on being good at your job and you will always be able to find a job. Also if you are so worried, then take care of the money you have and put some away to protect yourself. 


bomboclat
Opinionated
0
BDR
You're probably right, thank you
Feds_Watchin
Politicker
-1
AE
Don’t forget elections 💁🏻‍♂️
sleepingjaguar
Opinionated
2
CSM, Emerging Markets
I always say, you can always get a sales job. Of course, that is to non-salespeople complaining about not finding a job. Aside from this, you can always find a sales job. Maybe not glamorous, maybe not Saas, but who cares. If you can close, you can eat. Simple as that. PS shut out the chatter, it eats away at your sanity. Seriously
bomboclat
Opinionated
1
BDR
Great response thank you. Still pretty young havent really been at employment age through a bad economy yet
sleepingjaguar
Opinionated
0
CSM, Emerging Markets
Fair enough, I’m sure you’ll figure it out. One of the most important traits in life and work is adaptability.
JohnnyDamone
Opinionated
2
AE Inside Sales
If you're good at sales and thats your chosen profession, you shouldn't worry about other shit. Sell software, sell hardware, sell cars. You can make a ton selling all types of shit
JDialz
Politicker
1
Chief Operating Officer
My college roommate is a literal (almost) shit salesman and has an annual gross of $330k.
JohnnyDamone
Opinionated
0
AE Inside Sales
sewage tank guy?
JDialz
Politicker
0
Chief Operating Officer
Fertilizer at Cargill
NotCreativeEnough
Big Shot
2
Professional Day Ruiner
work for a company who's product is a must have and not a nice to have and perform well. have-to-have products don't get hit nearly as hard be recessions. that's a large reason I work in the cyber security and ransomware space. Bad economy means cyber attacks get worse and companies are more susceptible to them. A lot of budgets get decreased in bad economies, cyber isn't one of them. 
SalesBeast
Politicker
1
Ty
Wise man once said; don’t be shitty at your job, and you won’t have anything to worry about.
But really. If your not one of the top reps, then ya. Maybe should be a bit worried about your current spot, or if not already in a role it could get more competitive and lower bases+ OTE.
bomboclat
Opinionated
0
BDR
Thanks for the input. Historically I've been pretty standout performance wise so maybe I am worrying too much.
Sunbunny31
Politicker
1
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
As a person who has experienced both '01 and '08, yes, they sucked and adverse things happened.    

If you work for a company whose product/solution is differentiated and valuable, not saturated, too niche and not moving, overvalued in the market - yes, there might be corrections coming.    Many of the big players were able to ride 08 out with some belt-tightening, while the smaller early stage tech startups had some losses.

However, my hope is that this isn't as bad as '08 and that any corrections are smaller bubbles bursting.   I expect redundant technologies to consolidate and OTE offers to scale back, with some cautious companies instituting hiring freezes here and there, but we'll see if that plays out.
John_Sknows
Executive
1
Enterprise Account Executive
If sales is your profession, your craft, don’t waste your energy focus on the things you can’t control. At the end of the day, your job doesn’t change. Find what’s the biggest pain your client has, tie it to the solution you offer, and lead with value and insights.

If you do that, there will always be job offers for you.
JDialz
Politicker
0
Chief Operating Officer
Perhaps *among* the most cushy and lucrative, but certainly not the most lucrative. If things don’t pan out for you just DM me and we can explore opportunities with my firm.
bomboclat
Opinionated
0
BDR
If the opportunity with your firm is remote you have my rapt attention
RunDownTheStairs
Opinionated
0
Enterprise Account Executive
I just want to comment on how money your user name is. Wagwan! 
bomboclat
Opinionated
0
BDR
hahaha hell yes
Gyro25
Notorious Answer
0
Account Executive
I'm a little concerned, but I'm not super worried cuz by all accounts, I'm a decent BDR with some closing experience and I've got other offers from companies.

The goal imo should be to make yourself indispensable via your skill set. If my company goes under, I'm still in sales and drive pipeline and revenue. Like the others have said, just do your job, but always keep your dm's open for other opportunities and keep your resume updated. 
CheckBackNextQrtr
Executive
0
Enterprise Account Executive
I think this actually brings opportunity when applying.  You can weed out companies that are overvalued and not flushed with cash.  Try to understand their funding and cashflows, and you can see if they're set up well to make it out of this, 

That said, it is absolutely possible anyone's current company is running out of cash and layoffs could be coming.  
hawaiikai
Personal Narrative
0
Sales Consultant
I've worked with SaaS sales since the dawn of time (the 90s). Yes, there was SaaS then, we just didn't call it that. They didn't call it "Enterprise Sales" either. To make a long story short, a good salesperson will be the last one standing at a company that is stressed. If you are worried, jump ship to a disruptive startup fresh on series C+ (they should be EBIDTA+) or a public company that is experiencing high sales growth and earn your way back up the stack.
bomboclat
Opinionated
0
BDR
Im joining a series C that just raised a truckload of funding, so I think I might be okay. I like their focus and PMF as well
E_Money
Big Shot
-3
💰
Only going up baby. To the moon! We are never crashing NEVER. AND IF YOU THINK WE ARE GOING TO CRASH THEN YOU CAN GET THE FUCK OUT THA CLUB