What do I want to be when I grow up?

I'm at a crossroads, and I'm so demotivated that I'm struggling to even think of a place where I might fit. I'm hopeful that my fellow savages will lean on their experience and give this 'small town girl' some ideas of companies to research to get pumped about a job search.


I am a top-notch relationship developer, totally thrive on in-person interaction. Throw me into a convention and I'll bring you more referrals and leads than you can dream of. People person all the way. Scrappy as fuck, if you challenge me that I can't get into an account I'll find my way in. Nobody puts baby in a corner. A sometimes overwhelming dedication to CX. I've been in technology for almost my entire professional career, but I honestly hate it. I look at every deal as a game of chess and every move matters.


What I'm not: a technical SME, down for a role that has me WFH 100% of the time. That's pretty much it.


I'm in a weird spot where my current role has decimated my confidence, so I'm really struggling to think I'm good enough for any of the roles I see. I'm the first ever sales hire for my company, and I'm actually competing against the owners/partners so it puts me in a position to fail every fucking time because owning the place is the ultimate trump card. Realistically I know that I'm a god damn killer I just need out of this environment, but anxiety is a bitch and I can't stop thinking about how I'm going to overcome a completely unsuccessful 18m stint somewhere. I have 3 standing job offers for 'whenever I give up' on my current role from business owners, but none of them are ideal.


Can my fellow savages give me some ideas of what ideal might even look like? I've always worked for smaller, locally owned companies- and every time I've left a job it's been because I was recruited away. I want to change that, but no idea where to start.

🚀 Career Goals
🤘 Personal Growth
11
funcoupons
WR Officer
10
👑
Sounds like you would do best as an outside rep in a non tech related industry. 

Personally, I wouldn't want to be the first sales employee somewhere (not really a startup kind of person,) and working at a mainly family owned/employed company is a hard fucking no from me as well. 

In your next position, you need both a role/product and a culture that makes sense for you. With any company you consider, spend time researching the company, and during the interview stage don't be afraid to reach out to current AEs on LI to see how they really like working there. I won't go into interviewing tips because it's been discussed in other threads ad nauseum.

Good luck!
UserNotFound
Politicker
1
Account Executive
Thanks! Yeah, I'm not really looking for interview tips. I mean, I can sell myself no problem- I just haven't ever shifted focus to the bigger picture and wanted to bounce that off of the WR. 

Would love to hear if you have any hot leads on industries, companies, or even just straight verticals to sell into that I should research! I hear bad things about med-tech, but I've been itching to give it a go anyway. Lol. 
1nbatopshotfan
Politicker
4
Sales
@funcoupons has great advice here. To add to it, start blasting out resumes and get interviews. Treat them as you interviewing the company as much as they are interviewing you. Find a better fit that way. Good luck! 
funcoupons
WR Officer
6
👑
Gotcha.

Well, I'm biased because I'm in the space but I recommend looking into the commercial insurance sector. It can be very lucrative and you can specialize in so many different verticals from healthcare to construction - just ask @Incognito 

Other industries worth looking into are fintech (this space is really heating up and isn't as complicated to navigate as traditional tech imo) and hard equipment sales (women seem to do very well selling to manufacturing companies, for instance and again it can be a very lucrative space.)

Another dark horse I can think of is real estate only because you mention thriving off in person interaction and being a savage when it comes to referrals. RE is all about networking. I'd err on the side of commercial RE (better pay, more challenging, probably a better fit for someone used to dealing with corporate in general.)
Incognito
WR Officer
6
Master of Disaster
Ya, what @funcoupons said. Commercial insurance can get you paid a lot really quickly, but it depends on what vertical you’re selling, what firm you’re at and where you’re located. As a producer, it’s 100% on you to bring in accounts (well, mostly. Don’t expect any leads and it varies by firm). 

Consistent high revenue earners: 

construction
manufacturing/industrial
real estate 
life sciences 
transportation

if you’re located in a state that doesn’t have a high population, I’d go the transportation/ manufacturing route. BIG money in trucking. But you really need to be with the right firm who has access to the right markets. State Farm or some shit won’t make you jack. Always a good choice to look at the big brokerages to get you started, then move once you have a clearer path as to where you want to go. 

Being remote is *meh*

you aren’t going to be required (most places) to be in an office very much, but you ARE gonna have to get out and meet people. Big policies are never sold over a zoom call. 

You also need to get your license. It’s not too difficult, and some companies will pay for you to do it. 

There’s employee benefits, too, but I don’t know much about it. That’s coups gig. 
UrAssIsSaaS
Arsonist
4
SaaS Eater
I just moved into Fintech and can vouch for this. Finance is such an antiquated industry so any tech brings things to the 21st century and its not rocket science to figure out. 
UserNotFound
Politicker
2
Account Executive
Good to know! I have a friend who recently move into Fintech and is loving it... I hadn't considered it for myself, but will add it to my 'to research' list! Thanks :)
UrAssIsSaaS
Arsonist
4
SaaS Eater
Highly recommend. The other thing is if you know how to sell you know how to sell so find somewhere with a culture that fits you, strong product market fit, and let it rip! 
UserNotFound
Politicker
2
Account Executive
That's the dream. I definitely know how to sell, I just don't yet know what I WANT to sell. I'm also still tied to the thought that I don't want to change jobs every couple of years... but I'm beginning to learn that if I want to experience real growth, that's what I'm going to have to do. 
funcoupons
WR Officer
5
👑
Gone are the days where you could rely on a company to take care of you financially and professionally for 5+ years...I think it's healthy to look into changing companies every 3-5 years if you're even remotely unhappy with your current gig. I feel no loyalty to any company.
CuriousFox
WR Officer
4
🦊
It's cause these hoes ain't loyal.
UrAssIsSaaS
Arsonist
7
SaaS Eater
@funcoupons hit everything for you pretty well. Only thing I will add is that you should go somewhere with an established process/recipe to win. In your current role it sounds like you have to build everything from scratch and thats a unique/tough spot to be. 

Find somewhere that already knows what they are doing and you can just go in an execute the plan that has been laid out. 
Incognito
WR Officer
5
Master of Disaster
I wish I did this 😢
UrAssIsSaaS
Arsonist
3
SaaS Eater
Its never to late to change (its always too late) 
Diablo
Politicker
3
Sr. AE
Inagree with funcoupons. Try what you love, research, reavh out to people in the company, get to know from them and decide if that matches your bandwith.

Don't bog yourself down, life is way more beautiful.
Justatitle
Big Shot
3
Account Executive
Personally I just transitioned into trucking and transportation and 60% of our business is generated from attending the various conferences we go to. It’s one industry where I don’t see in person going away. Otherwise medical sales might be a good place to look as well. 
UserNotFound
Politicker
1
Account Executive
Hmmm- that sounds interesting! I’ve heard there is big money in logistics also.
Upper_Class_SaaS
Politicker
2
Account Executive
Totally agree w/ @funcoupons 
QueenSoopers
Opinionated
1
Account Executive
You would probably like a channels role. That’s all partnerships, networking and then of course closing what they bring you. Then hunting for new partnerships.
UserNotFound
Politicker
1
Account Executive
I’ve been thinking about this a lot, actually! Great observation… I’ll search that a bit harder.
Blackwargreymon
Politicker
1
MDR
Inagree with funcoupons. Try what you love, research, reavh out to people in the company, get to know from them and decide if that matches your bandwith.
Clashingsoulsspell
Politicker
1
ISR
In your next position, you need both a role/product and a culture that makes sense for you.
MR.StretchISR
Politicker
0
ISR
Inagree with funcoupons. Try what you love, research, reavh out to people in the company, get to know from them and decide if that matches your bandwith.
11

Do you want to stay a rep or manage?

Question
9
Rep or manage?
31% Rep
65% Manage
4% Leave sales
55 people voted
71
Members only

I had a manager once tell me "You'll need to lose those morals if you want to be successful in sales"

Discussion
81
19
Members only

Help me decide my next career move

Question
27