Public vs. Private Companies: Sales Team Differences?

In my job search I have a few companies on my list that seem great to work for, but they are public companies. I have only ever worked for privately held companies, and I am curious to hear from those in the WR about the major differences you have seen from working in public vs. private.


My anticipation is that public companies will be more rigid in structure and have more organizational goals aligned to making the shareholders happy. I would anticipate things like more strenuous end of quarter sales pushes. and/or being quicker to put you on a PIP for underperformance. But also offering more stability as a company and stronger brand recognition on your resume.

What have you experienced?


Most of the threads I found were about selling into private vs. public rather than the differences in structure, so here we are. Thanks in advance for your insight!

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hh456
Celebrated Contributor
3
sales
Public companies are less enjoyable. They have the same sort of laughter and goofiness but the invisible electric fence is pretty rigid.

At a private company the owner has as much leeway to run things how they see fit. At a public company you get the binder of policies & procedures and the CEO has to stick with it to keep control of his company.

If you're in sales, stability is sort of a four letter word. You're not in it for stability and if you are and you are getting away with it, when someone finds out you're gone. So public v private I never felt a difference in that regards. Produce or be gone.

Private can be frustrating because the smoking hot blonde smashing the boss will be your boss one day even though her only skill is getting piped. But in a public company, the bald headed idiot who barely hits quota each month (minimum) will be your boss cause he's older and has been there longer, even if he is less deserving.

I guess what I am trying to say is they're the same song, different verse. I say this to every person I reply to in a thread like this because it is most important.

What are YOUR goals? Determine those and then the community can help you with advice on a path to move forward with while avoiding some of the experiences we've all had.
DungeonsNDemos
Big Shot
0
Rolling 20's all day
Thanks for the solid input. Very true that sales should more naturally correlate with risk. For myself I want to make my way up to enterprise selling and I'm looking to get back into SaaS/tech. 
Looking long-term is my main focus as I'm vetting opportunities.
ChumpChange
Politicker
3
Channel Manager
As someone who's worked for both.  I totally see Grizzle's POV and it's spot on. I always use this analogy when discussing the difference.  Big corp is akin to a massive cruise ship and sales reps are pretty much on the bottom/lower decks.  No real feedback.  Hardly any visibility towards the direction/guidance of where the company is going.  You're being fed what is being mandated by leadership.  Working for a private company is akin to a pirate ship.  Everyone is pulling their own weight and more often than not... you're doing things well outside of your job description.  I felt more "connected" towards the company's goals/direction.  However, stability is always a risk factor to consider.  Things could be going great and then a month later everything goes tits up.  Saying that... I could never go back to the big corp gig.  I only get one shot at this life and I ain't spending it being pissed on by a tenured asshat executive convincing me it's sunshine.  Good luck!
DungeonsNDemos
Big Shot
3
Rolling 20's all day
I definitely agree about wearing many hats and having less stability. Pirate ships vs cruise ships is a GREAT analogy!
I'm definitely not looking for something with a boiler room. At this point I'm more inclined for an org between seed A - B.
E_Money
Big Shot
2
💰
I have worked for a company as they were going from private to public and it was a mess. Totally disrupted the awesome culture we had internally and I ended up leaving. Not saying this happens every time a company goes public, but I can see it happening most times.

Public companies seem to be a lot more corporate- and for good reason because their share prices depend on performance. Just a lot more pressure on the sales team specifically that I am not into.
CaneWolf
Politicker
1
Call me what you want, just sign the damn contract
I haven't found much of a difference when they're at some sort of scale.
CuriousFox
WR Officer
1
🦊
I think they both have advantages/disadvantages. You need to weigh out the pros and cons derived from your observations and do what's best for your future.

Shareholders can suck. Being public that goes private and gets bought out by private equity can suck. It's also pretty easy to go from one giant to another.
MSPSales
Politicker
1
Partner Development Manager
I have worked for both. Private companies, in my experience have been more fun and lucrative. I felt like I was contributing to building a company I actually enjoyed working for.

Public companies can still be a lot of fun but everything is about the shareholders and the bottom line 
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