CanadianSales

MBA graduate

Valued Contributor

I am old, but I am good) What pathway should I choose?

Hi guys,

I’m pivoting my career now and would love to hear advice from you.

Discovery info:

I am 43 yo, graduating from Ontario MBA school and I am a newcomer in Canada. My previous experience is mostly related to Marketing in Pharma and Medical Devices (not in Canada).

My goal is to land a job in SaaS Sales.

On one hand, I have the following advantages:

- MBA degree from quite a good business school in Ontario

- Previous experience in the brand-name multinational companies

- Some experience in Sales and Sales-related functions

- Some education in Tech

On the other hand, my disadvantages are:

- No experience in Tech companies at all

- Limited Sales experience (1.5 years) and Sales-related experience (6 years)

- Age (43 yo)

- No work experience in Canada

- My work experience is mostly in Marketing (13 years out of 21 years)

- My work experience is mostly in Pharma and Medical Devices (11 years out of 21 years)

I’m grateful for all articles and posts on this resource – I’ve read all relevant ones. And I would love to hear your advice on what pathway I should choose.

My possible pathways:

1) SDR position in Sales in Tech -> Account Executive in Sales in Tech (within the same company)

2) Marketing position in Tech -> Sales position in Tech (within the same company)

3) Sales position in Life Sciences -> Sales position in Tech (in Tech company)

4) Marketing position in Life sciences -> Sales position in Life sciences (within the same company) -> Sales position in Tech (in Tech company)

What pathway would be the fastest and the most profitable for me?

Thank you very much in advance!

☁️ Software Tech

🤓 Sales Tech

26

83 comments

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poweredbycaffeine

WR Lieutenant

15

☕️

Why did you invest in an MBA to go into an entry level sales role? Not to be rude, but isn’t the logical move consulting or VC? Which is sales…but with better pay.

CanadianSales

Valued Contributor

1

MBA graduate

Hmm, very fair comment! Maybe I should analyze this pathway too. Thank you for the idea!

ZEnabler

Good Citizen

1

CEO of Sales

Happy to talk about the consulting path @CanadianSales. Don't have an MBA, but did 4 years at McKinsey. It comes down to what you are really looking forward to (i.e., work type, lifestyle, knowledge, etc.). I don't agree with @poweredbycaffeine though that consulting is like sales, but with better pay. It gets similar to it only once you're a partner.

CanadianSales

Valued Contributor

1

MBA graduate

Thank you @ZEnabler! I will keep in mind this opportunity. In the meantime I'm in the process of cracking a sales field) Finally got one interview, we'll see

ZEnabler

Good Citizen

1

CEO of Sales

Keep killing it!

KB_FarmerType

Opinionated

0

Strategic Sales

By VC -> you mean venture capital

poweredbycaffeine

WR Lieutenant

2

☕️

Yes.

RealPatrickBateman

Politicker

9

🔪Amateur Butcher🔪

Hey Sport, quick question….. did it REALLY take you to age 43 to figure out that Sales is better than Marketing?

And a quick followup, now that you have realized this, why tf did you wait so long to try and make money???

CanadianSales

Valued Contributor

1

MBA graduate

))) To be honest, I had a side-hustle along with my corporate job and it gave me quite a good income in addition to my salary. Now that small business is over (

RealPatrickBateman

Politicker

4

🔪Amateur Butcher🔪

Gotcha, makes sense.

So I think you're best career move here (given your background and experience) is to become a LinkedIn influencer on everything Sales. I've seen MANY people with your background and experience take this route and get thousands of followers and endorsements from it (somehow 🤷🏻‍♂️)

CanadianSales

Valued Contributor

0

MBA graduate

Wow, I've never thought about it. Thank you for the very interesting idea! I need to contemplate it.

playerone

Politicker

1

Regional Account Executive

Very wise and constructive advice!

RealPatrickBateman

Politicker

2

🔪Amateur Butcher🔪

@funcoupons come get your Canuck please 😂 🤦🏻‍♂️

CuriousFox

WR Officer

3

🦊

She's otherwise occupied how can I help?

RealPatrickBateman

Politicker

1

🔪Amateur Butcher🔪

Oh you know 😏 😏

CuriousFox

WR Officer

3

🦊

Got your back boo.

RealPatrickBateman

Politicker

1

🔪Amateur Butcher🔪

🥰🖤🖤🖤🖤

Pachacuti

Politicker

6

They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy

MBA and Sales don’t usually mix because many hiring managers will see you as overqualified and pass. Doesn’t your mba school have some career guidance/ placement assistance?

Don’t let your age dissuade you though - you bring a lot more to the role than some 20 something. You need to articulate it on your resume.

CanadianSales

Valued Contributor

2

MBA graduate

1. But I love Sales. I like convincing people, closing deals, and earning decent money. How can I use my MBA to my advantage for a sales position?

I don't like the positions that my school provides on its job board. And their career guidance is quite superficial. That's why I came here.

2. Thank you! You are right that I need to emphasize something about my maturity, business acumen, and reliability.

Pachacuti

Politicker

1

They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy

Might be worth hiring a professional resume writer. I do that on the side and the 1-1 help you get from a pro can make a huge difference.

Find one who knows the space you want to get into. Maybe even ask a recruiter for help retooling your resume.

CanadianSales

Valued Contributor

1

MBA graduate

Noted. Thank you! Good idea

Boutdamtime

Politicker

2

Client Executive

Sorry but I disagree. I’ve worked with a lot of sales professionals with MBAs. Also if this is something you’re concerned about, don’t telegraph it, keep it off your resume and linked in, get a job then turn it back on hahaha

jefe

Arsonist

1

🍁

Agreed. I've definitely seen a ton of sales positions with 'MBA preferred' listed

ABCvs

Valued Contributor

2

VP of Growth

Feels like a waste of an MBA to move to AE. Don’t get me wrong. Lots of AEs make way more than lots of MBAs. But your talents are probably better suited for VC, pharma, or med device

CanadianSales

Valued Contributor

0

MBA graduate

Hmmm, thanks for your perspective! The decision about MBA is a long story. I know that for Sales it's not important. But it was the best option at that moment.

ABCvs

Valued Contributor

1

VP of Growth

I 1000% get that all our journeys Are unique. I just think that once you have an MBA you could set your eyes on a different target. Also, per your statement of fastest path and most profitable… you could probably get a job with a higher salary fast outside of the AE path. Long term upside may or may not be higher depending on if you’re a good sales person or not.

CanadianSales

Valued Contributor

1

MBA graduate

Very very fair. Thank you! I will contemplate it.

TreTime

Catalyst

2

Account Executive

Age is just a number. If the companies you apply to can’t see past it then that’s on them. As long as you are an open minded individual you will succeed in Sales.

If anything with your experience and aged wisdom it will lead to better conversations.

Welcome to sales!

Jbeans

Opinionated

1

Director of Sales

Agree!!! Age means fuck all. I have reps ranging from 23 to 56 maybe? All bring diff value to the table ..and diff accounts need diff approaches and Styles!!

CanadianSales

Valued Contributor

0

MBA graduate

Thank you @Jbeans ! It gives me hope

CanadianSales

Valued Contributor

0

MBA graduate

Thank you very much for your support! As for age, I hope so. In my native country, there is a huge problem with ageism. I hope in Canada/USA it's not.

SerialBiller

Executive

2

Account Executive

I worked out that I sent out 126 applications, I got 4 SDR interviews. And 2 AE Interviews…..

But you can reduce these numbers if you follow the steps in @SADDNESSLieutenant post and my post, just see if you can find it by clicking on my profile. I’m not sure how to copy and paste, I am only a basic sales savage

CanadianSales

Valued Contributor

1

MBA graduate

Wow, thank you very much for sharing your experience! I've found your post:

https://bravado.co/war-room/posts/how-to-go-from-b2c-to-b2b-in-sales

I will utilize your recommendations. Thanks a lot!

P.S. 20 applications should lead to at least 1 interview. Interesting statistics. Thanks!

SerialBiller

Executive

1

Account Executive

Awesome, look at my very first post for tips on sorting out your CV too, good luck and keep us posted 💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼

CanadianSales

Valued Contributor

1

MBA graduate

Thank you very much 🤝

bellaccione

Valued Contributor

2

Growth Consultant

You said that you are old, and that you are good.
Who told you that you are good? And good at WHAT?

If you want to be good in sales, you'll have to do what every other person who got good in sales did - start from the beginning. Which means setting or being an SDR, knocking doors, picking up the phone.... then closing or being an AE.

In that order.

CanadianSales

Valued Contributor

0

MBA graduate

@bellaccione thank you for your perspective! I will contemplate it. Noted

Notmyrealname

Politicker

1

AE

I work with an AE who is probably older than you. He only started in sales in the last 2 years, but he worked in the industry we sell into for decades. Instead of a tech SDR, maybe pharma and med devices sales might make more sense? You'd have more relevant experience than most applicants and, from what I've heard, can make as much money.

CanadianSales

Valued Contributor

1

MBA graduate

Thank you for sharing your experience! It's fair comments. Noted.

SADNESSLieutenant

Politicker

1

Officer of ♥️

AE. Tech company.

CanadianSales

Valued Contributor

1

MBA graduate

Thank you! Do you think it's realistic? My experience by now is the following: I've applied for 20 positions, 0 interviews, 3 rejections. I guess they just screen me out after seeing that I don't have any experience in Tech and little in Sales.

SADNESSLieutenant

Politicker

2

Officer of ♥️

yeah real salespeople dont apply for jobs, they apply sales for interviews

SADNESSLieutenant

Politicker

3

Officer of ♥️

https://bravado.co/war-room/posts/how-to-go-from-jobless-to-offer-in-4-days-update-on-job-hunt-1-offer-2-next-stage-3-in-1st-stage-lfg

SADNESSLieutenant

Politicker

1

Officer of ♥️

and your screened out by AI before a recruiter even sees ur resume. use outbound prospecting as described in my post to land an interview, translate ur skills in sales applicable shit. gl

CanadianSales

Valued Contributor

1

MBA graduate

Wow, thank you very much! I will definitely do it 🤝

SADNESSLieutenant

Politicker

1

Officer of ♥️

you got it. @SerialBiller just did this.

braintank

Politicker

2

Enterprise Account Executive

How many pages is your resume?

CanadianSales

Valued Contributor

0

MBA graduate

Whose? Mine? It's 2 pages. I've kept only relevant experience and squeezed the positions that are older than 10 years.

University's career counselors say that resume is good. The problem is not in it. I guess the problem is in the job search strategy. That's why I'm asking for a piece of advice.

braintank

Politicker

5

Enterprise Account Executive

If you haven't got any interviews it might need some tweaking. The community helped @SerialBiller with theirs and it turbocharged results.

SADNESSLieutenant

Politicker

1

Officer of ♥️

Uni counselors dont knoe shit

SerialBiller

Executive

2

Account Executive

Check out my first ever post 💪🏼

ZEnabler

Good Citizen

2

CEO of Sales

Try to get warm intros in the target companies. You'll have a much better conversion rate to interview - where you can show your true worth. Build your own interview CRM - target companies, open job reqs, stakeholder, warm into. Know that most often, they are hiring without having an open job req. GLuck!

CanadianSales

Valued Contributor

1

MBA graduate

@SerialBiller noted. This is the post:
https://bravado.co/war-room/posts/desperate-to-go-b2b-from-b2c-uk-based-please-help

Reading it. Thank you!

CanadianSales

Valued Contributor

0

MBA graduate

@ZEnabler thank you! In the meantime they don't even add me on LinkedIn ( Maybe I will write another post-help-request about it later.

CanadianSales

Valued Contributor

1

MBA graduate

@funcoupons they say you are from Canada, I'd be glad to hear your advice. Thank you!

10XQLA

Politicker

1

Medical Sales Assassin

Stop going to school, degrees are dead, unless you are a doctor or attorney, I went to Wharton B school and my education NEVER got me a job....I have been in medical and medical device for over 20 years nothing replaces in field experience!!! Good Luck bro either way 💪

CanadianSales

Valued Contributor

1

MBA graduate

🤔 Wow, even Wharton didn't open many doors?? Sh*t. Seems like degrees are dead, indeed (
As for me, it was a pathway to immigration for me. So, basically, I didn't have much choice. But I will keep in mind your advice in the future. Thank you!

TheDude

Politicker

1

Partnerships Lead

I'd say look at the consultant track or look up some med/pharma-tech companies and get into product management. You can impact sales teams in a positive way!

CanadianSales

Valued Contributor

0

MBA graduate

🤔 Very interesting perspective. I will consider this track too. Thank you!

Jbeans

Opinionated

1

Director of Sales

Why is 43 a disadvantage? Don’t limit yourself bc you perceive ageism . I’d hire someone based on a lot of things …and age is a number not a personality or experience. Just saying :) don’t let that mess with your mind.

CanadianSales

Valued Contributor

0

MBA graduate

Thank you for your support @Jbeans ! I appreciate it

Fnord

Praised Answer

1

VP of Sales

So first off, forget the SDR path. It’ll take you at least 3 years to get somewhere comfortable in sales if you start as an SDR.

I think you can leverage your marketing background and MBA and tell a very interesting story. You can definitely land a job in sales, but go in through the side-door: Get a job in Revenue Operations or Sales Enablement. Sales Enablement sometimes sits within marketing departments, so it’ll be an easier fit for you to land that role and you’ll interact with sales leadership and sales management all the time. Which means that once a role opens up, it’s going ti be easier for you to make an internal lateral move than apply through your resume.

happy to chat more via DM. VP of Sales here with MBA, and I went from Sales to Marketing and then from sales to Product. I keep going back to sales roles because they are the most fun.

CanadianSales

Valued Contributor

0

MBA graduate

Wow @Fnord what an impressive career path you have! Thank you for your recommendations! I have one question: isn't Sales Enablement analytics? I'm tired of analytics, I want actions)

Fnord

Praised Answer

1

VP of Sales

Not at all. Sales ops or revenue ops is mostly analytics and KPI’s. It also involves CRM, compensation plans, forecasting, etc. So it’s super related to analytics and the non-analytical path involves sales processes.

Enablement is a completely different path. It’s about learning and development. Sales enablement usually owns a few things: sales onboarding, sales training, sales playbook, etc. Check out sales enablement society l, they have a ton of resources on what enablement is about. But I can also chat, just DM.

CanadianSales

Valued Contributor

0

MBA graduate

Wow, indeed Sales Enablement could fit me. Thank you for this valuable idea! I will dig deeper into this.
P.S. It's impossible to chat or DM here (

Fnord

Praised Answer

1

VP of Sales

I just noticed I keep telling you we can chat via DM, but I guess I’m a n00b here and didn’t even noticed that there’s no such thing a private messaging built into the app. So just keep shooting messages here with questions and I’ll try my best to respond.

Hoopnip

Politicker

1

Commercial AE

Take your experience and go into Healthcare & Life Sciences sales. Much easier learning curve since you already understand the industry. Close some deals and use your MBA to get into management. No reason to have an MBA at this age and just be a normal sales rep. Btw - 43 is not old. We need to stop with that narrative.

CanadianSales

Valued Contributor

1

MBA graduate

Thank you very much for your advice and support! I keep on searching.

The_Sales_Badger

Notorious Answer

1

Account Executive

Why do you REALLY want to make this move in the first place?

CanadianSales

Valued Contributor

0

MBA graduate

Sorry for the late reply! I've burned out from Marketing. I'm fed up with it. Pharma fascinates me though.
But Tech has great perspectives for growth in the next 10 years. If I've changed the country, why not change the industry too?

Updmamt

Opinionated

1

Business Development

Why don’t you go for a Sales Leadership role? Has the MBA enriched your leadership skills?

CanadianSales

Valued Contributor

0

MBA graduate

Sorry for the late reply! They don't hire me for a Sales Leadership role (

NotCreativeEnough

Big Shot

1

Professional Day Ruiner

If your goal was sales, spending the time and money to get the MBA probably wasn't worthwhile. However, now you can at least say you have one which is cool 🤷‍♂️

SDR -> AE is the route I would suggest. trying to hop between industries doesn't really work. It doesn't matter how much sales experience you have, tech companies still want you to start out as an SDR unless you have SaaS experience already. Tech can be super annoying to get into, but super rewarding once you do.

CanadianSales

Valued Contributor

1

MBA graduate

Sorry for the late reply! It seems that you are right. Soon I plan to write about my impressions of trying different pathways. Thank you!

playerone

Politicker

0

Regional Account Executive

Start with the pathway you can get now and don't hold too much loyalty to the path.

CanadianSales

Valued Contributor

0

MBA graduate

Thanks for the reply! The problem is applying for so many jobs will be super time-consuming. I have to focus my efforts on 1 or 2 pathways. Could you advise, please?

playerone

Politicker

1

Regional Account Executive

It’s honestly going to be more time consuming to prospect and win deals. This is good practice. You should apply straight to AE positions and sometimes they may offer SDR. But don’t bank on promoting within the company. Sometimes jobs typecast you and don’t see you outside your current role. End up getting left in the role too long

CanadianSales

Valued Contributor

0

MBA graduate

Hmmmm, thank you for the insight about the risk of adhering to one role. Indeed, it may be difficult to move inside a company. I had the experience of moving inside one company, but usually, it took at least 6 months without any guarantees.

Baylor24

Executive

0

Senior Account Executive

I would try and leverage your network(1st degree connections you know really well) to try and get a job as an AE at a decent company. Second choice would be (if you can tolerate it financially) go to SDR immediately at a big company that has a history of promoting in the 12-18 month range. Once you get an AE title at that good company you should be good to go from there. Hard to say what the absolute quickest path will be due to all the variables.

CanadianSales

Valued Contributor

0

MBA graduate

Noted. Thank you! Fair point. I noticed that many people got promoted within 1-1.5 years. It's a reasonable time to "suffer" for future perspectives.

Hoopnip

Politicker

1

Commercial AE

No chance you land an SDR role with your experience let alone should be applying for that role in the first place …Terrible advice. Stick to AE roles in Healthcare SaaS mostly likely Mid Market.

CanadianSales

Valued Contributor

0

MBA graduate

🤔 Noted @Hoopnip . Thank you!

pawfv

0

Il Capo

.

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