What's up, team!
Hard to say my first post in this special forum is seeking advice... but I know this is the place to find people willing to share tons of perspective so please stick with me!
I recently got let go from my AE role at a Series F funded organization (for context). Lifetime quota attainment was ~90%. I hit 110% in Q4 to end last year. Then two-thirds of the way through Q1 my manager put me on a PIP...? The PIP wasn't performance-related and everything my manager stated in the "PIP" was very subjective. My manager gave me 25 days to get off the PIP. I had to hit my full quota which was interesting because when speaking with other reps, leaders do not PIP individuals unless they hit below 60% 2 Q's in a row which never happened in my tenure.
I worked with a few close mentors (outside of the organization), two being 10-15+ SaaS sales leaders and the other a tenured HR director for a SaaS org., to help me understand what was happening. All of them said my manager was pushing me out of the company.... it was more than clear. I worked my ass off to stay and ended up hitting 86%. I closed an $80k ARR at the final hour of Q1. Let go not even 12 hours later...
So now while interviewing I'm having a hard time moving along in interviews. I have two short stints on my resume. One due to me switching orgs because of a COVID-19 situation last year then getting let go in my 11th month at my most recent role.
The hesitations I've received so far is
- We don't think you've been successful at your previous roles (I told them at the beginning I have references at every org to speak to my success)
- You don't have enough technical sales experience (what does enough mean? You either have the experience or you don't)
- You don't have enough Mid-Market experience (I was in a Mid-Market role for 1 1/2 years with 3 1/2 years as an AE... their job posting says 3+ years of SaaS closing experience. Anyone else confused?)
If anyone has advice, guidance, maybe a similar story to share... that'd be awesome. Definitely frustrated and confused, but being patient. Thanks, y'all! Appreciate it.
13 comments