Lexer

Sales Development Representative

Just got fired

looking back at my posts, this is obviously no surprise. just got fired from my BDR gig after my first quarter.

so many things went wrong, on both my behalf and my employer. but that being said, if anyone has an advice on what to do in this moment, I would gladly take it all.

I cannot even think about ever doing bdr work again. if anyone has transitioned form bdr work to anything besides a closing role, please if you're willing drop a comment on your thoughts.

😭 SADNESSLieutenant

👨‍🌾 SDR

🌍 stateof sales 2023

25 comments

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Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

I'm so sorry to hear this. Once you've regrouped, I agree with detectivegibbles, drop your experience to this point, and leverage the group for some specific recommendations. In the meantime, as he mentioned, there are some threads here to search for and review.

Again, I'm sorry. Hang in there.

oldcloser

Arsonist

💀

Sorry to hear it. You gotta breathe and get your own mental closure before making your next career call. It likely won't be rational today. Get in the car, crank the music, roll up the windows and scream. Dig deep into what the right next move is for you. Focus and attack tomorrow. You'll land fine.

RandyLahey

Politicker

Account Executive

Hey Lexer, this fucking sucks, and I'm sorry to hear.

I know the BDR/SDR can be a soul-sucking affair. I ended up jumping into a full-cycle AE role, but that ended up being a total disaster and led me to some legit burnout.

There are companies that set it up well; none are perfect, but if I could go back, I would've stayed in my SDR role longer. I was learning.

Best advice I can give, and this hard because I literally did not do this, would be to try and focus as much of your energy as possible on what's next.

I went a little crazy on revenge fantasies, anger, etc. Once I finally focused on the CV update, Cover letter, applications process my mood started to turn.

My DMs are open if you need help with anything in particular. Good luck.

sketchysales

Politicker

Sales Manager

Ah man that sucks, sorry to hear it. Keep your pecker up, take a couple weeks to reflect on it, write down a few things you have learnt, especially in regards to the surroundings you want in your next role and build that into your upcoming job search.

poweredbycaffeine

WR Lieutenant

☕️

Answer the question plainly: what do you want to do?

HVACexpert

Politicker

sales engineer

It’s SUCH are a hard question though, especially after this. Went through it myself and took sometime to figure it out.

detectivegibbles

Politicker

Sales Director

Sorry to hear bruv.

Take a day to process. Have you been applying elsewhere?

What's your experience look like?

Search old threads in here, lot of good advice from job hunting to dealing being laid off.

BTQ

Politicker

Account Manager

Hey man I’m sorry to hear - are you still looking to get out of sales?

Kosta_Konfucius

Politicker

Sales Rep

Really sorry to hear that, when you mention not wanting to be a BDR, what else would you want to be doing? Is it still sales?

FinanceEngineer

Politicker

Sr Director, sales and partnerships

Sorry to hear it. Right now is a tough tough market. Good luck

Gyro25

Notorious Answer

Account Executive

I was a BDR for close to two and half something years before getting promoted to AM and then let go. First and foremost, it's a shit gig, no way around it.

I've had friends and former colleagues scoff at the fact I was cold calling people. However, you learn a lot of valuable skills. Think of what you've learned through the experience and see where it translates best to. A lot of companies are still hiring SDRs/BDRs, but if I were you, I'd look into CSM roles.

HVACexpert

Politicker

sales engineer

Sucks man. Our industry is hiring, if you need help or have questions feel free to hit me up.

Diablo

Politicker

Sr. AE

Sorry to hear that. I had a friend who switched to support. Though the pay was less he was happy as he was still working closely with clients.

Pachacuti

Politicker

They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy

Sorry to hear about your job loss but it may be a blessing in disguise. I’ll be honest - it doesn’t seem like sales is your thing. If you don’t want to get back in the game as a BDR and you don’t want a “closing role” then sales probably isn’t your thing.

Account Manager

Take time and rethink your career goals. Do not swear off sales right away, as so many companies make it an amazing role with high earning potential. That being said, if it really is not for you, make the switch. Marketing roles are usually somewhat easy to transition into from sales. Good luck mate.

Maximas

Tycoon

Senior Sales Executive

Sorry to hear that and hope you would find a better opportunity soon, just wondering if you have closed doors to sales entirely or just BDR!!

Justatitle

Big Shot

Account Executive

What do you want to do. Pretty much every sales person has been fired at some point in their career and likely multiple times. I’m at 4 times, sounds like a bad org and maybe at the right company you’d have a more positive outlook

CRAG112

Valued Contributor

Account Executive

Dauhmn. Nice flex. How did you overcome moving to the next job?

Justatitle

Big Shot

Account Executive

don't have time to feel sorry for myself and accept that it's business and I need to make money.

CuriousFox

WR Officer

🦊

I'm sorry to hear this boo

NoSuperhero

Politicker

BDR LEAD

Getting fired or laid off is tough, both happened to me last year and I just remembered keeping a cool head will get you through most of everything. Take a couple of days if you need to, but remember that you got this and just use this experience to become a better professional

LaidoffCSLeader

Executive

Manager, Customer Success

Sorry to hear it. As many have said, don't be afraid to take some time to process the emotions and feelings from the situation.

After you've taken some time, I'd start by making a plan for what you want and need to do. Consider things like...

- How long can you afford to be without income? I'm assuming since it was a "firing" there wasn't a severance. If not, can you apply for unemployment? Unless there is sufficient documentation, you may still be eligible especially dependent on whatever state you live/work in. Beyond that, can you start doing things on the side like selling things, uber/lyft, delivery, task rabbit, etc. to make extra income

- Obviously BDR is a challenging role, especially if you were in the role 12+ months, but there are a ton of valuable and transferrable skills you acquired in your time there. Instead of dwelling on the negative aspects of the role, think about what you actually enjoyed there. Was it the prospect? Was it the impact of the product/software?

- Now that you've done that, consider the things that you didn't like about the position/company. Was it a toxic culture? Bad manager? Typically people don't quit companies, they quit leaders/managers. Maybe the position and the company were actually decent, but your boss/manager sucked.

- Based upon those responses, come up with a timeline/deadline to find a new position, identify the things you want/don't want from your next position/company and start applying with those things in mind.

- Sending applications won't be enough though, you need to reach out to the hiring/talent/people team at that company and send follow ups. Connect with other people at the company on LinkedIn and ask how their experience has been at the company, what they like, etc. Maybe they can help you get in contact with the right person. Additionally, reach out to recruiters. If you can identify the ideal role/company, try to find 5-10 recruiters on LinkedIn that might be able to help you actively search for roles while you're also applying to jobs.

- Even though you were fired, don't be afraid to be transparent with your network and groups of trusted people. You don't need to scream it from the mountain tops, but sharing that you were fired for whatever reason is a place of vulnerability that people admire and will do what they can to help you. You can discuss it as a lay off in professional conversations/interviews, but in today's market, more people are concerned with the value you will bring an organization rather than what happened in previous roles.

- Lastly, take action! Process, plan, action! Take the time you need to move through those emotions, create a plan of action for moving forward and then take action on those plans. Guess what the best part is? It's likely something you've never done before and you won't be perfect. Give yourself some grace. Have a couple of days where you didn't get many applications in or got rejected after an interview? It's ok! Debrief and make a new plan.

Since I've been laid off, I've come to realize I need routine and structure to be productive. Having "flexible plans" led to disappointment in myself and frustration with my lack of success. Give yourself some grace, identify what didn't work and take action on a new plan.

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk. #habitualoverexplainer

countingmyinterest

Politicker

Account Executive

Look into partnerships or community management. CM is pretty new and a lot of the comms skills you learned as a BDR translate.

Sorry to hear about your firing. We're in the same boat. Keep your chin up, sailor

TheOnlyOne

Member

Solution Consultant

Sorry to hear that... I would take a step back if I were you. To assess what you want to do, totally switch off from electronics for a couple of hours and internalize what you like, what you don't like doing, write down your interests and then try to come up with areas (or roles) that can reflect that. Take your time. If you do this right, then sky is the limit. Stay strong!

Inside Sales

I think you should analyze what you did wrong, and what you excelled in. I think you should promote yourself if you feel that you can level up, but if you do not have a specific goal in mind for your next job, then you should try more options.

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Lexer

Just got fired

25 comments

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