Rate my 1St AE Position!!

Hello all I've been in sales for just about 2 years now. most of that time was in retail selling mattresses. now I sell MFP copiers and all sorts of stuff. This is my first B2B sales job and I'd like the sales gods to judge the environment. 

I spend 5 days in an office ass glued to a chair. The main prospecting method is phone call, we call the number and ask who the DM is and try to get referred. we just recently got 1 account to Zoom info that doesn't integrate with our CRM (Soaring CRM by Falcon Technologies). We use email to communicate but it as well as social, snail mail, and other forms of prospecting are discouraged heavily. Phone or in person door knocking is what the bosses want, they want high activity and apparently they built this off the 1 and 2 unit sales not the enterprise level stuff. I have connections I'm working at enterprise level locations scores a meeting with John Muir and I still get passive aggressively told to stop focusing on that and focus on high output. That doesn't mean they will pass it up though we have the meeting set and ready for next week. 

That being said Data enrichment, customer support, deal writing, prospecting, etc are all done by yours truly for my territory. on the other hand the company did get acquired, the coworkers are very nice, the managers treat me the way they believe I can perform so they are always interested to help me improve. 

Not sure if we talk openly on comp plans here in the war room since this is my first experience here. Looking forward to the comments. Thanks everyone!
🏙 Corporate Experiences
🤠 Culture
12
BmajoR
Arsonist
7
Account Executive
Please venmo me first my handle is @bigfister69
InQ5WeTrust
Arsonist
2
No marketing, mayo isn't an MQL
If you go past the elbow you've gone too far 
goose
Politicker
1
Sales Executive
Have you found my watch yet?
BmajoR
Arsonist
1
Account Executive
Is that what that was? Ripped me apart
Mr.Reddington
Executive
0
Account Executive
🤣
funcoupons
WR Officer
4
👑
69 
UserNotFound
Politicker
3
Account Executive
I cut my teeth in that industry and was wildly successful- but alas you can only talk about copiers every day for so long before you get burnt TF out. 

That is an industry where input is measured and valued heavily, and leadership in those companies hasn't quite caught up to the sales landscape of 2021. That said, here are my tips for success in the OEQ world. 
Account Management:
*Always set expectations, and always meet them. Even down to toner delivery timeline, over communicate and it makes you look like an over achiever. 
*QBRs are important. I've been out of that industry for nearly 2yrs and I still get call/text complaints from my old customers about new rep never being around. It means a lot. 
*Ask for referrals from current customers... they love it. Makes them feel important and gives them some skin in the game of your success. 

Prospecting:
*Remember that no one LIKES to talk about copiers or any of the ancillary software that goes with them. The most exciting conversation of your day is likely to be the most boring of theirs... to them you're a necessary evil line item in the budget- make it less about the the device and more about you/your company. 
*Network, network, network... in a transactional world you need to be seen as the one to buy from, the one to recruit, and the one to beat- visibility is key. Get out there and make some friends. 

It's a good industry to learn in, give it 2 years and jump to something that makes real money and is a real use of your talents. Good luck out there! 
Mobi85
Politicker
2
Regional Sales Manager
Is your company based in 2002? The fact that they shy away from other forms of tech (email, the internet, social media) is only slightly concerning. It sounds like they may be a bit behind the times but good on them for still being successful and just remember to smile and dial.
Mr.Reddington
Executive
0
Account Executive
My manager pounds that into my head every week “SMILE AND DIAL!!!”
CuriousFox
WR Officer
2
🦊
You don't work for a manufacturer eh?
funcoupons
WR Officer
2
👑
Eh???
CuriousFox
WR Officer
2
🦊
I knew you'd catch that 😏
funcoupons
WR Officer
2
👑
I see my influence is rubbing off.../sips maple syrup
Mr.Reddington
Executive
0
Account Executive
I do not. I work for a supplier. Why?
Kirby
Politicker
2
Sales Representative
Take success into your own hands. Pay $99 a month for Interseller (a cheap but workable lead gen and SEP all in one) and build some email sequences for yourself.
I have a buddy in medical sales, where methods are also a bit behind. He added emails to the strategies they gave him and booked 4 meetings in the first 10 emails he sent. You won’t have much sales competition in the inbox if the industries are similar.
justatopproducer
Politicker
1
VP OF SALES -US
Lol, this company is outdated. Take your talents elsewhere. Sounds like a bunch of old farts telling people what to do, then most likely blames them for their lack of success. For sure talk as open as you want, I wish we would name these companies so we can all avoid their BS.
heelonthephone
Praised Answer
0
Inbound Closer
Yikes
Mr.Reddington
Executive
0
Account Executive
Mmmmm I agree but perhaps expand on this idea of “yikes”
heelonthephone
Praised Answer
0
Inbound Closer
You’re shouldering a heavy load man, leverage your experience and move on.
Diablo
Politicker
0
Sr. AE
Hey man not sure why you guys still using outdated products when the world has such great products (some even have free versions). I'm sure you're doing great but you will far better by automating some of manuals tasks that you guys are doing.

All the best!
Mr.Reddington
Executive
0
Account Executive
Thank you! I told them this and all I got back was trust the process do it our way.
hh456
Celebrated Contributor
0
sales
I feel for copier salesman. That’s rough. I love you so much @mr.reddington.
Focus on companies that require fax & paper. Health care providers love fax, especially ones with old stupid physicians making the decisions. All the smart ones are moving to health tech and iPads and efax.
Go get them. I love you.
PKTHUNDURUS
Opinionated
0
BDR
8

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