anonymoursalesrep

Head of Sales

Should I accept a role as a Head of Sales?

Hi guys!

I've been in Bizdev for several yeas leading very successful BDR teams.

At some point we grew our ARR from 2M to 19M and I'm pretty confident I'm great at what I do.

However, I never been a closer myself. Never made too much money either because I always worked for American companies out of Brazil and they always chose to pay less.

I currently make 75K base + 100K OTE as a BD Lead but got offered a position for 80K + 200k OTE as the Head of Sales for one of our competitors.

I mean, the money sounds great. Thing is, I'd have to manage a whole team of SDRs, Team Leads, AEs and since the company is a startup, report directly to the CEO.

I'm not big on closing and that's something that I'll have to learn as I go. The CEO is fine with it.

I guess, I'm just curious on your guys' opinion if I should take the job or not and go for the challenge. If it doesn't work I'm still young (24) and I'm able to get back on the market fairly quickly (I have 5 companies I can choose to work for at any point).

Should I take the job?

Should I take the role?

Attached poll

Yes No

*Voting in this poll no longer yields commission.

24

30 comments

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CuriousFox

WR Officer

14

🦊

Don't let fear of the unknown hold you back from something you feel is a good opportunity.

anonymoursalesrep

Good Citizen

-4

Head of Sales

Alright lol

detectivegibbles

Politicker

5

Sales Director

Options give you options.

Can you leverage the offer to increase base with current or other opps?

anonymoursalesrep

Good Citizen

1

Head of Sales

That's the largest offer I've ever received in my life. For what's worth with Base + OTE I'd make 1,213 minimum wage salaries in Brazil. That's just insane here.

I tried negotiating base to 90K but since the CEO said "it's the first time you're doing this and I'm not comfortable with a 90K base at this time" we ended up settling at 82K + 200K OTE.

It's real hard to find jobs that pay that well living in Brazil. Even if you work for American companies they'll generally pay way below American wage to save money and get the same/ or better results.

detectivegibbles

Politicker

1

Sales Director

For what it's worth, that's really good money anywhere. Congrats to you.

I'd say take the challenge of leadership. You'll fail in some aspects that you'll be able to learn from.

Lot of good threads here on leadership. Utilize them.

anonymoursalesrep

Good Citizen

1

Head of Sales

Thanks, Detective. I appreciate your help :)
I guess I'll take it.
I'll also try to be more active here on Bravado and use this as a source of knowledge and not only as my Sales Portfolio. lol.

detectivegibbles

Politicker

1

Sales Director

Of course! You got this.

Stay active in here. Keep us posted.

TennisandSales

Politicker

5

Head Of Sales

it sounds like a great opportunity. although your lack of closing experience would be a concern for me.

Many AEs dont like to have a boss who has never closed deals

saaskicker

Celebrated Contributor

4

Enterprise AE

do it. build in public (share learnings on linkedin or twitter along the way) and you can have an awesome story to tell if it works, and if it doesn't work.

Diablo

Politicker

3

Sr. AE

I would go ahead without any thoughts if I love everything during the interview process

anonymoursalesrep

Good Citizen

3

Head of Sales

I loved every part of the interview.
I think I'll accept it. One more thing to add: my mentor said I'm not ready for that job yet and then HE offered me a job at his current company lol
So unsureeeeee

Sunbunny31

Politicker

0

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

OOoh, the nicest kind of problem. Spoiled for choice. Is the second option a good one too?

RedLightning

Politicker

2

Mid-Market AE

You know the space and how to generate pipeline. Pipeline makes closing much much easier. Also, you know where you're strengths lie and where you can improve.

I would recommend meeting with the top producers and understanding what has made them successful as closers and learn from there.

Will you be actively working on deals yourself?

anonymoursalesrep

Good Citizen

2

Head of Sales

I'd oversee deals and potentially work on them as well. As their Head of Sales I'd lead by example, like I've always done for my SDR teams, that means I'd have to work on deals myself, generate pipeline as well, etc.

RedLightning

Politicker

0

Mid-Market AE

Continuously make sure that you're aligned on the problem you're solve and actionable next steps as deals progress.

Do you have any previous closing experience?

Pachacuti

Politicker

2

They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy

If the CEO is fine with it, then why should you worry. That said, you’re team might lack respect for you if you haven’t “been there and done that”.

DungeonsNDemos

Big Shot

2

Rolling 20's all day

If the CEO is down, I'd 100% go for it.

FinanceEngineer

Politicker

2

Sr Director, sales and partnerships

Take the money and run, unless the product is garbage and you will make nothing. Up to you though

ChumpChange

Politicker

2

Channel Manager

Always test your limits, OP. There's nothing wrong with branching outside of your comfort zone. If anything, that's where the magic happens! I happen to share the opposite view. I find more joy in working/closing deals than when I am managing the team and attending meetings.

Sunbunny31

Politicker

2

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

One of my previous managers had no closing experience when he started managing our team, as he had come from the BDR world and managed a large team of BDRs.
He was a great manager in every other way - cleared hurdles, listened to what we needed, and learned from us. He asked to sit in on our calls and meetings so he could ramp himself up, and was in continual contact with us around process and what worked/didn't work.
It's going to be a challenge, but I wouldn't let that stop you. If you're willing to learn and have the ability to enlist your AEs to help you, you could ramp up very quickly.
Best of luck to you!

Justatitle

Big Shot

2

Account Executive

I wouldn't want to regret not taking the opportunity and you may not get it again for some time. That said the comp seems a little low for a head of sales role. I see they won't budge on base in the comments below however I would ask for a bigger variable for sales targets being met.

Maximas

Tycoon

1

Senior Sales Executive

Sounds great, Go 4 it!!!

punishedlad

Tycoon

1

Business Development Team Lead

Nothing ventured, nothing gained!

goose

Politicker

1

Sales Executive

One step forward can be a learning experience but it can also be two steps back if your next step is looking for documented success and you don't achieve your goals. My opinion; I could be wrong.

aiko

Politicker

1

Sr. Account Executive

They obviously see something in you that is more important than the skill of closing business. Closing is something that can be taught and your past success proves that you can tackle your goals.

italiangolfer

Valued Contributor

0

Area Manager

If i were in you i'd try to deal raising the 80K to 86 (in my country is normal to upgrade from 10 to 20% of the salary) and decrease the OTE. Big money sounds good but OTE is really significant here compared to the fixed salary and with the new position you couldn't control all the numbers.
What if the target is really really demanding (not to say unrealistic)?

GingerBarbarian

Opinionated

0

Lead Sales

Sales leadership is much different than sales itself. A great salesperson is a multi-tasker. They have to balance dozens of prospects all at dofferent stages. A great sales leader/coach is all about simplification. Their job is to keep salespeople busy without getting distracted.
A great SDR is a hunter that focuses on quantity. A great manager is a teacher that trains salespeople to increase efficency. One is impatient and the other is patient. These roles require very different personalities and skill sets.

This divergence in skills is why so many great salespeople make mediocre managers. They were great at one thing, and never adapted to the new role. They keep trying to double down on what they were good at rather than learn new strategies.
All this to say I do not have an answer for you. Try reading some books on teaching and coaching and see if they hit home.

saasisfun

Member

0

Enterprise Account Executive

Closing is about doing great disco, and aligning your value to their problems. As long as you can do that then the closing will come. Just with added confidence

cshelk

Good Citizen

0

National Director of Business Development

You can learn to close, I’m sure many of the peeps on this thread had to figure that piece out in their sales career as well. At a young age, it’s really valuable to get leadership experience, and be able to put that on your resume. Take the job, and grow into the role

kneehigh

Politicker

0

Senior Enterprise AE

As a head of sales the key thing you need to help AEs typically the most on deals is by brainstorming how to get past blockers on the sales process and maybe the last hurdle at piece/contract negotiation. Secondly managing internal expectations around targets and pipeline.

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