bostonsalesgal

BDR Manager

Valued Contributor

sdr career path advice

been an sdr& teamlead for 5 years - trying to figure out what i want to do next.

i switched jobs a year ago. before that, i was always making commission. the company i work for now, does not do commission. just a flat salary with equity. ive thought about it, and i really dont want to switch companies just to be an SDR again. but i also really miss that sweet commish and feel like ive outgrown SDR land.

can you guys list me some pros/cons or any kind of experience you guys have working as:

customer success manager, account executive, sales enablement... i might be missing some so feel free to add any suggestions. i know AEs make commish, but do CSMs or any other role?

lastly, i really dont want to sound ungrateful as i know there are folks in our field and all over struggling in this job market. im just tryna figure out what i want to do next. thank you in advanced 💓

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6

9 comments

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braintank

Politicker

6

Enterprise Account Executive

You took a job that doesn't pay commission...?

CuriousFox

WR Officer

4

🦊

Yeah I don't understand 🤔

GDO

Politicker

1

BDM

I would only do it for a huge salary. I would make me lazy though

bostonsalesgal

Executive

0

BDR Manager

Thats the thing- I got a really good offer, im 105k as a senior sdr. I was a TL at my last job and getting ready to be an account manager but the pay was horrible lmao; so I went for the new job, less work and wayyy better salary. to me, that was more than enough money to not care about getting commission. I also never went to college & when I first became an SDR, I was only making 35k plus commission. And not to be cheesy, but I grew up poor- we never had food in the house and my mother was always going to food pantries or getting some sort of government assistance- That was something I never wanted to deal with as an adult. So I was always hustlin on the phones because the commission checks were wilddd and I never thought I'd be in a position to make guap like thatt.But that was at my last job. And as GDO mentioned above, not making commission, deff effects my work ethic. lately, even when i force myself, its so hard to stay in the zone. im like wtf is wrong with me. im not a lazy person like this and i think im just burnt out but idk.it's an amazing paycheck but ive just been feeling like BLAH and like i have no growth or motivation to work for this company lmao. literally they dont even reward us for smashing goals. they just increase next quarters quota. v annoying.Anyway, I've got alott of experience teaching & coaching new SDRs how to cold call, source, objection handle, create email sequences, and everything in between. Im not really sure being an AE is for me, but Im definitely starting to think about it.

jefe

Arsonist

4

🍁

5 years as an SDR seems like a LONG time. To me, and probably to any hiring manager.
Most SDRs take the job as a path to something like an AE, and to my understanding most orgs understand and facilitate it to some degree.

The big question that occurs to me, and likely to others would be:

Why haven't you moved up in your current organization, or any of the previous?

Could be viewed as a red flag - that multiple organizations haven't seen that potential within you, so why should they take a chance?

Also, your tagline says BDR Manager while your post says SDR & Team Lead. Those are pretty different things in my mind.

Sunbunny31

Politicker

1

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

Yep, as with anything else, be prepared to explain the amount of time spent as an SDR and why it will be good experience to apply to your next role. (Hint: many companies value full-cycle reps these days). Be sure to be able to discuss how you'll be able to close business and why you never moved up (unless there's something in your CV that indicates you did move up).

poweredbycaffeine

WR Lieutenant

4

☕️

Boston based? Grab an AE role at some of the big sales orgs in the city. HubSpot, Klaviyo, Datadog, Salesforce, etc. Build up instead of sliding sideways.

Diablo

Politicker

1

Sr. AE

I assume you we were quite happy being an SDR for so long, most switch early. CSMs do make some commissions (depending on the company) but not as much as an AE. What are you leaning towards?

Beans

Big Shot

1

Enterprise Account Executive

5 years is a very long time in an entry level role, how many orgs have you been at and what kind of tenure?
Why hasn't there been upward trajectory internally or when hopping?

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