Upper_Class_SaaS

Account Executive

👴🏼 Old Sales Managers Say....

Sometimes it is hard to ignore how out of touch these sales managers are. They sold 5-10 even 20 years ago and think the way they sold still works and makes sense.

What are some of the things your out-of-touch manager tries to get you to do that YOU KNOW is completely IDIOTIC??

SOUND OFF IN THE COMMENTS 🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣

👑 Sales Strategy

🧢 Sales Management

🧠 Advice

56 comments

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funcoupons

WR Officer

👑

Managers that read a new sales book every week and try and follow it like gospel in every meeting, training session, or huddle until the next lame ass book catches their attention.

TheOverTaker

Politicker

Senior Account Executive

for some reason when people call meetings huddles...it drives me nuts. If its a huddle put a helmet on me, let me smash my head into a wall, and smack my ass

funcoupons

WR Officer

👑

LOL I hate "huddle" too tbh. It sounds like hug or cuddle which is way more intimate than I ever want to be with anyone at work thx

UrAssIsSaaS

Arsonist

SaaS Eater

I was just introduced to slack at this new company and didnt know "huddles" were a thing. Now whenever someone says it I just think about a group of Karen's in the corner of the office talking shit behind my back.

MCP

Valued Contributor

Sales Director

If they’re short, they’re not really meetings, just a quick “huddle” to get on the same page. Sometimes also known as a “stand up” pre-COVID. But I agree with you. I don’t like them.

ryan_howard

Politicker

Director, Business Development

If I could give my teams helmets you 100% bet your ass they’d have them and asses would be slapped left and right

CaneWolf

Politicker

Call me what you want, just sign the damn contract

It's not some reason. It's because the people who say this are sycophantic suckers who need to stop.

Beans

Big Shot

Enterprise Account Executive

Oooof this one stung.

Sales EQ was our summer must follow.

ryan_howard

Politicker

Director, Business Development

Most “sales” books are terrible. There are plenty of good leadership books, negotiation, and strategic thinking but I’ve always found actual sales books to be silly

Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

Whiplash when that happens.

Biznasty

Opinionated

Lead Business Development Manager

Literally my life.

CoorsKing

WR Officer

Retired King of the Coors Knights

Old sales manager simply used to suggest “well did you show them the ROI”

Like yes, Bro. It’s not the 90s where new tools are suddenly reducing mountains of legacy tech debt. Literally everybody has “ROI” of some sort now. That alone will not win a deal like it maybe did back in the day.

funcoupons

WR Officer

👑

LOL Like no bitch, I didn't show him any benefits to using our product at all. I just said "u should buy dis" and stared at him afterwards.

Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

"Make sure you show the value". "Have you offered executive alignment?" "Do they golf?"

Incognito

WR Officer

Master of Disaster

Golf. ⚰️.

but that also still works in my industry 😢

Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

My previous company sponsored major tournaments and a very large number, possibly all, our senior C-level and SVP execs golfed. It's a good old boys club sometimes.

Nobody start with the "women golf too" business. Yes, I know. Was it part of my youth? Heck no. Am I starting now? Double heck no.

Incognito

WR Officer

Master of Disaster

@funcoupons and I have a plan for that

SaaSsy

Politicker

Glad to hear I’m not the only one!

BmajoR

Arsonist

Account Executive

Aggressively use emojis like a teenage girl

funcoupons

WR Officer

👑

At a previous job I had a manager that still believed that cold swag drop offs were worth the time and effort...never once got a lead from those.

UserNotFound

Politicker

Account Executive

My first sales manager told me he wanted me to take bags of popcorn to places with a note "I'm just poppin' in!"

Puke.

funcoupons

WR Officer

👑

LOL Sounds like the kind of worthless shit my old company did. My favourite was when Marketing decided they wanted to do a Valentine's Day campaign which involved salespeople dropping off heart shaped boxes of candy...most of our prospects were men in blue collar industries. Big fuck that.

UserNotFound

Politicker

Account Executive

Ohhhhmygod hahahaha. That’s hilariously awful.

MCP

Valued Contributor

Sales Director

Cuuuuuuute. Today it’s “I know you’ve been to the website, so here’s some cookies. And yes, you have to accept them.”

MCP

Valued Contributor

Sales Director

We’d LOVE to earn your business…

UserNotFound

Politicker

Account Executive

Omg I might use this, ironically!

buckets1

Politicker

Cold FaceTime 😜. Oh wait wrong thread.

UrAssIsSaaS

Arsonist

SaaS Eater

Whats outreach/salesloft/any tool that can actually help you sell more effectively

UserNotFound

Politicker

Account Executive

I'm really sick of the quantity over quality theme that I hear from the old-guard. My last job had a boomer owner from a sales background who legitimately wanted 50 in-person cold calls per day + 3 (1-hour) meetings + 1-hour of CRM input and if you were hitting your number without it you were still in trouble.

Like, am I supposed to apologize that it doesn't take me as many touches to hit my numbers as it took you back in 1988?

funcoupons

WR Officer

👑

50 in person calls per day? How is that even possible.

UserNotFound

Politicker

Account Executive

It's possible when you count a locked door as a cold call- or any multi-tenant building you go to, just say you stopped at each business.

TL;DR Lies... it's possible through lies.

NoGoodAtThis

Politicker

Sales rep

Was this copiers? Sounds exactly like my first job out of school. Hitting your number wasn't enough if you didn't do it their way

UserNotFound

Politicker

Account Executive

Lol. Yes, yes it was!

NoGoodAtThis

Politicker

Sales rep

Haha Wow, glad to see they all operate the exact same way. Wild time

MCP

Valued Contributor

Sales Director

It’s a numbers game!

RealPatrickBateman

Politicker

🔪Amateur Butcher🔪

Did we work at the same door-to-door vacuum sales org?

UserNotFound

Politicker

Account Executive

Ahhhh, the good ole copier days.

MCP

Valued Contributor

Sales Director

OK, here’s what you do. Call them, and when the receptionist answers, don’t greet her, just ask for the CEO. When she asks what it’s regarding, just tell her that I asked you to call him and aggressively ask to speak with him again. When she says she needs to know what it’s regarding, just say he’ll know and insist she puts you through because the call is important. Works every time.

ryan_howard

Politicker

Director, Business Development

What an absolute knucklehead. Receptionists can’t even get the CEO on the phone anyways

TechSalesQueen

Executive

Sr. Enterprise Account Executive

My boss likes to say “I know you think that’s the right way to do this but I’ve been selling for 27 years. So I know better.”

MCP

Valued Contributor

Sales Director

I actually had the opposite sitch, where I was the boss and some dinosaur on the team told me he’d been doing sales for longer than I had been alive and didn’t need or want any coaching / training from me.

CharmingSalesGal

Politicker

Account Executive

Gooooood fucking bye, I would lose my shit at this one.

Diablo

Politicker

Sr. AE

"Marketing team is the biggest asset we have, leverage their talent"

TheRealPezDog

Notable Contributor

Account Manager

"Sales is a numbers game"
"We are in the conversation business"
"I just want to see you make more money"
"Our ideal client is anyone with a cash register"
"How many checks did you bring me today?"

There is SUCH. AWFUL. SALES LEADERSHIP. OUT THERE.

Filth

Politicker

Live Filthy or Die Clean

"Today is the best day for sales" everyday, three times a day, on Christmas Eve, Black Friday, and any other day it didn't make sense to be in the office dialing.

MCP

Valued Contributor

Sales Director

The modern selling duffer asks if you’ve connected with prospects on Facebook. That’s how they keep in touch with all of their friends and grandchildren now. They can even do it from their Apple phone.

MCP

Valued Contributor

Sales Director

Before you leave Friday, don’t forget to send me your activities sheet. You have my fax number.

Justatitle

Big Shot

Account Executive

Had a manager that tried to get us to say fun facts on disco calls and told him it was one of the stupidest things I’ve ever done and asked what was the desired goal of doing that… it was shut down shortly after that

Mobi85

Politicker

Regional Sales Manager

May not necessarily be an old sales manager but sales managers that feel motivation is done by intimidation/screaming at reps. F off old man, I am not here for you to yell at me. That is what the prospects I am cold calling can do.

CRAG112

Valued Contributor

Account Executive

Being paid well in base and being taken care of just means you will be an order taker.

IE: Excuses to not pay people.

PleaseAdvise

Executive

Account Executive

“We’re going to read a book that helped me tremendously as a young sales rep: How to Win Friends and Influence People”

SQL

Contributor

Senior Manager of Sales

Make sure to leave your number twice during a voicemail.

The_Sales_Badger

Notorious Answer

Account Executive

“When I was a sales rep”

AssistantToTheRegional

Politicker

Enterprise Account Executive

Did you even offer a multi year?

SalesStash

Opinionated

Strategic Account Executive

"I remember back when i started....." shoot me

sommelier2SaaS

Personal Narrative

Commercial AE

“You’ll never talk to them again. Just say whatever you want or need to get the sale. It doesn’t matter, they don’t know you.” Like buddy, they can find me on the internet in 2 seconds. They know my name.

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Upper_Class_SaaS

👴🏼 Old Sales Managers Say....

56 comments

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