Curious how my fellow WR'ers feel about this one.
Ovoxoenergy
Individual contributor til I die?
Do you want to stay an IC for the rest of your sales career?
Attached poll
*Voting in this poll no longer yields commission.
11
Although I want to get into management the thought of having 6 people that make up my number is very scary
I totally agree. I made my decision to stay as an IC a few years ago bc I asked myself if I’d honestly want to manage someone like me, and the answer was no ahaha
I'd hate to manage someone like me, I'm a nightmare but I put up numbers so there's that.
Yesssssssss. It’s a give and take. I’ll give you massive ARR but ya gonna have to deal with my bullshit once a while 🤷🏻♀️
My manager yells at me for pipeline and SFDC being clean about once a week.
Hahaha classic
I don't even know what I want for lunch let alone what I want for my career years from now
I like it. But I do wonder what being a trainer is like. 🤷♀️
That’s great! There are so many sales training platforms now where you can pick up hours as you please. My company is working with a group of trainers who train us off of our gong calls. Pretty effective and they rate like 10 calls a week. No harm is checking some out.
i just left a full team quota model and it SUX if you aren't hired that way but if you are and the team meshes well you can accomplish more together
Agreed!
This is what I'm debating. I've won the SaaS lottery with my current role, but the segment above mine is notoriously bad. Top people in my team have been offered a "promotion" to the higher segment 3 times and turned it down, so I feel like I have nowhere obvious to go from here internally. I could go down the enablement or management path, but I'm worried about less money and fewer job options.
Why not just keep doing what you're doing?
That's the plan for the next few years, but I don't want to be branded as an SMB AE forever
Good move. Don't take another role just because it's the "next step". I've seen plenty of people at my org leave lucrative SMB or Mid territories because they're chasing titles and not thinking objectively. Long term it'll be easier to make the move up if you're a consistent SMB performer.
Absolutely avoid enablement. Worse than marketing...
Absolutely avoid enablement. Worse than marketing...
Exactly. I'm consistently smashing my quota and the upper segments struggle to hit. I'd feel better knowing there was a good path to move forward towards since I've always been goal-oriented, but I'm happy enough doing what I'm doing for a while. Company is expanding rapidly so I'd even consider a management role for my current team in a few years if it opens up.
I totally hear you but I agree with @braintankas well. There is so much money to be made in SMB/ MID Market. If you were where you’re at now in 3 years but still consistently crushing and making bank, sure you’ll still be labeled as an SMB AE but your track record will speak for itself and if the right opportunity comes along you will get recognized. Take your time to weigh your options.
I'm unsure. I think I have the makings of a good manager so wouldn't mind trying my hand once I feel like I've peaked in my IC role, then again with uncapped commission what really is your peak?
So true, I was once told that there really isn’t such thing as one defined peak. It’s different for everyone. However, a good way to to get an idea of when you’re ready for something in management is when your personal wins don’t provide as much joy anymore. And Instead it’s the wins of others around you that you’ve helped. Now keep in mind- this is just someone’s opinion, it’s different for everyone.
Nah that makes total sense. Once you're feeling unfulfilled it's time to look at other avenues.
Some folks are not meant to be managers, and that's perfectly fine! As a friend of mine once told me: know yourself. Meaning, if you know that you aren't a leader, then don't put yourself on a path for destruction.
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