S
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salesjoe

AE

Opinionated
Praised Answer
Fire Starter
+2

Is Parental Leave ever possible in Sales?

Hi Ya'll,


Really thinking hard about my career. Been in it for a while and have had a huge amount of success but starting to think about having a family.


For non-sales people all of the parental rights seem awesome. But when 50% of my income is variable, I'm not sure the math, math's, when I think about going on parental leave.


Any one have any advice/tips/things to think of.


I'm at least two-three years out from this but would love to get some early advice.

🧠 Advice
✍️ Sales advice
16

18 comments

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jefe
Arsonist
8
🍁
Take the leave. Your family is what matters

Most men I know take 2-3 weeks, myself included. I do WFH though, so I was/am still helping.

Mothers should take all of whatever is available IMO.
CuriousFox
WR Officer
3
🦊
It's possible yes. You gotta leave the guilt behind.
salesjoe
Opinionated
1
AE
I guess where I'm confused is...what happens at other companies with the variable commission?
Also, what happens with deals in flight? Just looking for accounts of people's experience.
jefe
Arsonist
1
🍁
I mean you're going to take a hit on variable comp from the loss of creation of new opportunities. It's basically unavoidable. But being a parent involves sacrifices so you'll have to get used to it.

I've never dealt with maternity leave, but most companies I've been at have been pretty cooperative environments where somebody will handle your opps for you while you're off. No comp, just helping a colleague out, as they'll do the same for you when you're off.

My experience has generally been 1-3 weeks, but that's what happened.

Hell, I closed half of a colleague's monthly quota while he was off for a little over a week years ago. It was the right thing to do. And made me look really good to management, which didn't hurt.
pirate
Big Shot
4
🦜☠️ Account Executive
I think these are things that only take place once or twice in your career so take the leave. If you start your work career at say 20 and work until 70... it is 50 years of work. Taking a few weeks/ months out of that to spend some time much more meaningful is not a bad thing. I would maybe look at other areas in your life that you could save from meanwhile?
poweredbycaffeine
WR Lieutenant
4
☕️
Simple answer: yes.

A little more detail: you’ll regret not taking leave, and actually disconnecting, if you don’t take it. Hell, I’d judge the fuck out of you.
Pachacuti
Politicker
3
They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy
Yes, but as with anything there’s a cost. And 2-3 years?! Just go find a new job at that point.

It’s one thing to take a few Weeks off when you kid is born and just check in with emails, etc. but no one is going to watch your accounts for you long term.

Any time you take off is money not earned.
BigShrimpin
Catalyst
2
Account executive
You might miss out on an opp or two but a few weeks of leave shouldnt kill you. That said your kids are only born once you should probably be there for it.
SoccerandSales
Big Shot
2
Account Executive
I would think that most sales peoples rationale is that their pipeline would be ok if they are gone a few weeks and that time with a newborn is worth whatever missed commission would come from that time
HVACexpert
Politicker
1
sales engineer
Take what is available to you , don’t miss on family time.
Sunbunny31
Politicker
1
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
If financing the leave is a concern, start saving now. That way you can cover any missing part of your income when the time comes.
And you're going to need to take every precious minute of that leave. You don't get second chances.
MyAnonymousName
Opinionated
1
Sales Leader
I rushed back after kiddo #1 and really regret it.
Kid #2 is coming this summer and I plan on taking the full 3 months (although it’s now easier as my company offers fulls of quota retirement/OTE for those 3 months).
rocketfuelsteel
Opinionated
1
SDR
My company gives us 3 months paid with an avg of salary + base
salesjoe
Opinionated
1
AE
That's amazing and the way it should be done.
Diablo
Politicker
0
Sr. AE
Do I need leaves - yes. Will it impact the cashflow - yes. But these times are irreversible and not worth missing :)
Justatitle
Big Shot
0
Account Executive
possible, yes. Easy, no
saasdatass
Valued Contributor
0
Account Executive
Find a company that has a killer pat leave policy. If you can’t, save enough money so you’re not stressed. Idk what type of person you are. Personally I love it and didn’t know I would love it as much until I had a kid and it was worth the time off
YoureMuted
Executive
0
Regional Sales Director
I took leave a couple of years ago when my daughter was born. I took 2 of the 4 months they offered. Full OTE. Someone else covered my accounts and received credit while I was out.
Came back right at the beginning of a new half and ended up hitting 170% that half and 179% the next. It’s possible to not only take the leave, but to come back and crush it.

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