lemonard

Catalyst

Valued Contributor

Opinionated

Qualtrics "influencer" AE put on a PIP

*Video attached for context*

This guy seems like a real hard working lad that drinks a bit too much of his company's kool-aid.

Thought I'll share it here so he gets some love from the War Room. It's kinda heartbreaking that altough he acknowledges sales is all about "what have you done for me lately" he's spinning it as a somewhat good thing.

Dunno, I'm all for people owning their failures and not finding excuses but i legit feel this guy is doing both good sales and company promo with his videos just to get pushed to PIP - that's just sad.

If you're here on the war room, dude - start interviewing and keep at it man, you'll get through this.

☂️ Layoffs

💆‍♂ Mindset

55 comments

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aenima

Celebrated Contributor

Principal Account Manager

Sorry but watching this guy for 30 seconds and he strikes me as extremely green with limited sales experience.

Olds school boiler room sales isn’t sales people. Sitting on a headset doing cold calls all day just doesn’t require a high degree of skill — and if your company’s sales are conducted over the phone it means your product is likely highly commoditized, and therefor has low margins.

This guy hasn’t navigated large enterprise accounts or complex sales cycles. Not shocked he’s on a PIP.

lemonard

Catalyst

OK, fair point, but it seems phone is the name of the game for his company. I'm making the point that he seems to be following his sales manager instructions, is putting in the numbers in terms of activities and sales is not going his way.

Comment about it being sad is refers to accepting "what have you done for me lately" mentality - we all know that's how things are but it's fucked regradless

aenima

Celebrated Contributor

Principal Account Manager

I’ve watched this guy a few times and I can’t stand him. I’ve been in sales a long time, and I can sniff something being off about his approach and language.

This will sound harsh, but how I read this guy is he stumbled into his first SaaS role and made over six figures doing a job that requires more time and effort than it does true experience and intelligence. Being from a generation that feels the need to video themselves doing everything, he creates this channel to humble brag — while is masquerades around as sales mentor, he is young in his twenties and knows very little beyond ‘phone tree’ objection handling which is literally just memorizing a playbook someone else wrote.

His audience is predominately inexperienced young sales reps that don’t know their head from their ass. I’m sure their worshipping of him feeds his ego, and that’s the real purpose of that channel.

Someone else in this thread mentioned he moved from SDR to AM. It is not shocking at all he gets a PIP after landing in a customer facing role. If I acted the way he did on his cold calls I’d be walked out of every enterprise I’ve ever sold to.

Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

I believe I read the same things too about him, but couldn't find the source (well, tbh, it's Sunday and maybe I'm feeling a bit lazy), so couldn't confirm.

I'm admittedly anti-"influencer" anything, so I recognize my bias against self-proclaimed experts who have the goal of gaining followers as their goal, but if he's going to take the time to video his fall as well as his rise, it could be a lesson.

aenima

Celebrated Contributor

Principal Account Manager

I’m not even anti-influencer. I’m just anti-bullshit.

Nothing this kid does is original or not already well known. He regurgitates someone else’s work and young people conflate that with him being an expert.

Training and practice can produce the mistaken appearance of expertise.

Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

I just hate "Influencers" because it infers that there's a group out there that can be influenced - and I had many many conversations with my own kids about how the kids in their classes who were popular little divas only had as much power as other kids gave them.

But I hear you. Since I've never watched him, does he ever position his "teachings" as his own, or is he just video blogging his life? He was the one who espoused harrassing people on the phone and disrupting them at off hours, correct?

aenima

Celebrated Contributor

Principal Account Manager

Yeah he’s never claimed anything as his own but he is the Grand Carson of SaaS sales. Bugging SMB with those tactics might work; doing that at any F500/100 company will get you permanently locked out.

One of his videos of “4 pro tips to close more deals” has the number one tip be “have a good sales pitch.” How much more f*ing elementary can you get?

LambyCorn

Arsonist

A mfkn E

dude he makes like a quarter million per year, you cant be a shit salesman and make that amount of money.. you are making out as if he is a complete morron, clearly he is not

aenima

Celebrated Contributor

Principal Account Manager

He took 37,000 cold calls to close only $1M in business. He isn’t talented, he’s just using brute force effort. I also don’t think he makes $250K, his videos claim he makes $130-140K.

I‘d eat this kid’s lunch if we were toe to toe on an enterprise deal. He sells to SMB and mid-market by annoying the shit out of people and stumbling on weak buyers who can’t say no.

Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

Which makes me wonder about the clawbacks he may be getting as well.

Jaytea

Catalyst

-3

N/A

Lmao I don’t think he is bs he just over emphasizes too much. The older generation can’t move as fast and need to pick up these trends come on now. Listen to the guy, it is definitely cringeworthy but give some props to him.

aenima

Celebrated Contributor

Principal Account Manager

^ said from someone with less than 5 years in sales

Jaytea

Catalyst

-8

N/A

Lmao, I bet u ask ur kids to find the remote. Truth is your old and not as good as you used to be. Your drive and intuition has decreased, and you don’t want to learn that much since you have “experience”. Yes you have a lot of skill but technology is moving rapidly. Not being able to catch these trends are crucial imo to learn and pivot in the newer version of sales. My opinion is to step back and just learn from each other. Imo

aenima

Celebrated Contributor

Principal Account Manager

I’m 34 and I work for one of the largest cloud providers in the world, with an emphasis on the aerospace vertical, part of a team bringing cloud processing to on-orbit vehicles. I’m guiding the building of technologies that would make your head explode, and will land at 120% of plan this year which will net me an OTE of roughly $500K.

I don’t have time to watch TV, let alone fuck with some remote.

Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

Did it take you 18,500 cold calls to get to $500k? ;)

SADNESSLieutenant

Politicker

Officer of ♥️

Bro get off this platform with your toxicity @Gasty

aenima

Celebrated Contributor

Principal Account Manager

Can we all just take a second to appreciate your title, Officer of Love 😂 We need more of this. Though I can’t tell if you were calling me toxic or someone else.

Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

Not you.

SADNESSLieutenant

Politicker

Officer of ♥️

Calling jaytea toxic lol

Jaytea

Catalyst

N/A

Not toxic at all, just be open minded. You can learn a lot 😂. Why are all so mad? All I’m saying is in with the new and out with the old? Just my perspective, if u don’t respect that idk I might be right? I think y’all are excellent sales people obviously, but at some point you will reach your peak. It’s gonna happen to me too?

SADNESSLieutenant

Politicker

Officer of ♥️

Ok mr I bet u ask ur kids to find the remote

Gasty

Notable Contributor

War Room Community Manager

@Jaytea: Hello! I see you've joined the War Room recently. Firstly, welcome aboard!

We do have some community rules in here, to ensure we stick to our mission of helping sales professionals become the best versions of themselves.

I read the entire thread, your comments as well as everyones' comments. You have a point when you say we should keep an open mind on the video, and learn from each other.

I also think we can be a little more empathetic here and move away / refrain from anything that sounds like a personal insult.

Maybe you meant it in just good humor; maybe it wasn't perceived in the way you meant it, or maybe you meant it the way you articulated it. I wouldn't know till I know.

Nonetheless, I hope this message is received and acknowledged in the right spirit at your end, and I'm sure this community can add value to your life, with the same reciprocity as you do it for the community.

Cheers!

cc: @SADNESSLieutenant/ @Sunbunny31/ @aenima/ @lemonard

SADNESSLieutenant

Politicker

Officer of ♥️

^^ +1

TonyDollaz

Opinionated

Account Executive

There’s influencers across literally everything in life nowadays. I find it cool that someone can get paid as much as they do for simply being an “influencer” that you hate haha

Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

You’re right,actually. Hate is a strong word for it. I find the whole thing inexplicable, but if people are stupid enough to be parted that easily from their money and just give it up to these folks, fine. I don’t get it. I find them largely tedious and inane, but maybe my standards are too high.

Nairobi

Politicker

I'm not the biggest fan of this guy because of his cold call mentality that if you do thousands of cold calls, you'll be a top performer and blah-blah-blah. But he just went up in my esteem by publicly saying that he is failing. So many LinkedIn influencers make it seem like they're the best, and everything is great when they clearly suck (I know I worked for one of those). So props to this guy!

LambyCorn

Arsonist

A mfkn E

in theory he has hit quota for like 3 years in a row but missed both these quarters, he has gone from SDR to Sr AE which means something I would think.. i don't think anyone is always on top of their game always, but yeah

aenima

Celebrated Contributor

Principal Account Manager

Exactly THIS. I’ve watched this guy and there is no way he’s successful in person as a true AM/AE. “Grinding” on the phone requires brute force, not EQ and intelligence. There is a lack in sincerity from him that I picked up right away. His whole channel seems to feed his narcism than it does to benefit anyone else. I can guaranty you he got eaten alive the moment he had to navigate larger deals and customer personalities rather than dial for customers.

LambyCorn

Arsonist

A mfkn E

idk man, the kid doesnt seem to be that bad, he has definitely climbed the chain in a big company really quick, the dud is 26 and making 250k... a lot of SDRs in that company, and AEs, I know the great majority did not get promoted

I totally understand why you don't like the guy, he definitely is a bit socially off and rubs off the wrong way but, to make out like he is just a kid on youtube who doesn't know shit is a bit unfair I would think

LambyCorn

Arsonist

A mfkn E

he does try to flex too much in every video, that can get annoying for sure, but I have to admit, watching him motivates me - if he can pull 250k in the first 4 years, I know I can aswell

This was my first year selling. Im on track to make about 33k.. this year coming up as an AE, I HAVE to hit 100k at least - so me, being a new SDR starting to climb the ropes, watching some quirky dude in Texas who managed to pull it off, gives me more confidence that I can also LOL

aenima

Celebrated Contributor

Principal Account Manager

He isn’t making 250K, that much I can guaranty. Especially if he is getting PIPed. I’ve looked into the salary bands at Qualtrics and he isn’t at 250K.

Anyone who takes 37,000 cold calls to generate only $1M in sales lacks high sales acumen. I grew my company from $7M in sales to $22M in sales in 24 months and I made less than 50 ‘cold calls.’

Watching him is a mistake in the long term; I get the short term gain you get by seeing that success is a possibility…. but he cements, incorrectly so, that success in sales in the long term is just handling objections and cold calling. It’s not.

Take it from someone whose OTE is $450K+, this guy is monetizing your fear of the unknown and eagerness to succeed, but is offering you very little in terms of functional skill set that allows you to truly make money and be successful.

Gyro25

Notorious Answer

Account Executive

I've watched a few of his videos and tbh, this dude looks like the type of person that attaches everything to his job title and success to his work.

I personally don't like the "Grind at all costs" and quota reflects your self worth mentality, which is what I get from this.

jefe

Arsonist

🍁

Really not a fan of these wannabe influencers. and 37K cold calls to reach $1M in rev is not a great ratio...

SADNESSLieutenant

Politicker

Officer of ♥️

Quality over quantity

jefe

Arsonist

🍁

Always.

Boudreaux

Politicker

Regional Manager

All day long!

bandabanda

Tycoon

Senior AE Mid Market

Have heard of this guy but only watched like 1 of his videos.

He’s been promoted several times which is nothing to bat an eye at @ Qualtrics. I don’t doubt his past success.

At least he’s aware - he knows his previous “grind it out” sales mentality isn’t going to move him further. Has to grow in other areas now…has been banking on his “I’ll outwork you” mentality too long. He knows that.

He said “a $5k deal takes the same amount of time a $40k deal does…”
Now that concerns me a bit. More time should be spent finding and closing those bigger deals. If you spend that time elsewhere, that’s how you end up below quota.

fidelcashflow

Catalyst

Account Executive

I came across this dude like everyone else. I wasn't immediately a fan because his "day in the life video" has so many contradicting points. Then in many of his videos he was already calling out how he is going to be an ENT AE before the year ends. How on earth can you call a shot like that. Then what does your leadership think when they say these videos?

Granted, not surprised given that he works for a huge company. I know many companies that are using PIPs instead of lay offs. Just a disguise. So that sucks for him since the vast majority of his time has been him hitting numbers plus getting promos. I feel for him in that regard.

But let this be a lesson that these companies, big or small, don't care about you at all. Perform for 3+ years then have a bad couple of Q's and you're toast

TennisandSales

Politicker

Head Of Sales

i......dont know how I feel about this haha

BlueJays2591

Politicker

Federal Business Dev Director

At least he's honest.

SirAlex

Valued Contributor

Account Executive

I’ve seen a few of his videos too. He’s currently in sales and making videos about sales to glorify it and monetize it, so he doesn’t have to work in sales anymore.

danbad

Good Citizen

BDR

As someone who is looking to get into tech sales, I came across Trent Dressel a while ago on Youtube and found his content helpful. He reiterated a lot of the info put forth in Bravado's TECHSALESU. He's also pretty motivational and blasts a lot of sales and business content across all socials.

Here is his LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trentdressel/

I think he's a pretty smart guy and has been able to build a decent-sized following in a few short years. If you look at it from an entrepreneurial standpoint, he's developed a source of additional income outside of W-2 work through youtube ads/shorts, etc. He may even be able to create a tech sales course and sell it online or create premium content for subscribers (onlyfans jk). Because he has a brand/following he may even be able to do motivational sales trainings or keynote speaking. He's basically corporate bro just not as funny.

Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

Well. This should be interesting.

VFG

Good Citizen

SDR

This dude is definitely arrogant and rubs off the wrong way, but he earned some major points with me in posting about his failures. He’s been at Qualtrics for over 4 years. He could’ve easily spun getting PIP’d out as his just looking for the next chapter of his career. For that, he’s got my respect.

CadenceCombat

Tycoon

Account Executive

Agreed!

BourbonKing

Valued Contributor

VP of Sales

Land record speed from stage 1 to stage 5 in the stages of grief. #Acceptance

antiASKHOLE

Tycoon

Bravado's Resident Asshole

always funny yet sad when the diehard people or the loudest people tend to be the first that fizzle out or fall behind.

sdrgod

Opinionated

Global Leader, SDR and ISR

Looks like the layoffs have started at Qualtrics now...

FlyingHellfish

Good Citizen

Director of Business Development

I once read a book that talked about the value of your time and the importance of knowing what your hourly rate is in all things you do. For example, pipe burst in your house; spend the time, energy, trips to Home Depot to fix it or pay a plumber, work 3-4 more hours in the week and cover the cost? 🤷‍♂️

Our team has done a handful of videos for so called “influencers” in various verticals. One thing I can tell you, a 3-6 minute video typically takes 1 - 3 hrs to get enough content for a video.

If this fella spent more time actually working instead of trying to create video content, might be a different story for him.

Maximas

Tycoon

Senior Sales Executive

I agree.

Jaytea

Catalyst

N/A

He is fine he just over emphasizes everything. He still make 250k etc and I believe that. But he kinda cringe he says he wakes up at 5:30 every day and works till 6. Which I don’t personally believe. It’s just LinkedIn influencer hype, do some research on it.ofc u need to be dramatic to get views. Lmao

fidelcashflow

Catalyst

Account Executive

Lmao. I died at the "I run and workout at 5:30am". Total BS. Look at your body bro, theres no way you do this consistently so don't pitch us on this "routine" that you don't actually do. It's okay to wake up at 8am

Jaytea

Catalyst

N/A

😂, if I had kids

Kosta_Konfucius

Politicker

Sales Rep

Hopefully it makes it through. Sucks to see someone with so much effort get let go

thatswildtho

Member

-1

Sr. SDR/BDR

I really don’t understand why everyone needed to shit on this dude. Plus the comment “it shouldn’t take 37k calls to hit $1M”, sorry but everyone’s product cost something different and you have to take into consideration what ended up selling after he landed the meeting. That is, if he even gets a percentage commission after the deal has closed.

That being said, I don’t think he’s got anything to lie about, but what do I know? I came across his videos looking for cold calling methods to set quality meetings. I don’t use his script word-for-word as my products are somewhat complex, and intelligence is needed rather than “brute force”.

All I’m saying is everyone’s so quick to hate because of their experience and I can’t say the guy is putting out all absolutely wrong information. If it worked for him, cool. If not, who cares?

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lemonard

Qualtrics "influencer" AE put on a PIP

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