Dead End in Sales Career

DAC
SIRSQUID

DAC

SIRSQUID
2d 8 Comments

Hey Everyone,

So I currently feel like I am at a dead end in my career. I graduated in 2017 with a major in Advertising and got a sales role within an ad agency right after school. I’ve worked my way up and I am currently a team lead (acting as a supervisor while still selling). I’ve broken records at my company and consistently outperform the rest of my sales team. There is no incentive to be promoted to supervisor as I would be pulled from the phones and my OTE would drop by 50%.

My role has changed tremendously and our senior leadership continues promising the world to our client while setting us up to underdeliver. We have 90+ internal projects going on while we are spread so thin on our day-to-day, and senior management refuses to take feedback to make things better.

I’m unsure where to go from here. I don’t make a ton by any means - my total compensation has grow YoY and last year I grossed 150k. Unless I’m hired by a large enterprise company (which I’m not against at all) I don’t see myself making more then I make now, but maybe I’m wrong.

I was recruited to interview at Google and got to the last round but was passed over.

Any advice for someone who seems to be stuck with no upward mobility?

#ae #enterprise #sales

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TOP 8 Comments
  • Splunk
    yNtG42

    Go to company page Splunk

    yNtG42
    There are companies besides Google that sell things. Good sales people in tech clear 500k+ in a good year. I think you feel like you're a big fish, but I don't think you've actually gotten to the pond yet.
    2d 2
    • DAC
      5QU1d

      DAC

      5QU1d
      Definitely feel like I’m a bigger fish in the TINY pond I work in, but I am also fully aware I’m only beginning my journey and have a long way to go. I sell Google Advertising to insurance clients so it’s very niche and a very easy sale. I would live to work in tech but feel unsure about the longer sales cycle.
      2d
    • Splunk
      yNtG42

      Go to company page Splunk

      yNtG42
      Even within tech sales, you can find products with shorter sales cycles, especially in the commercial tier. It's worth exploring what's out there, reaching out to sales people or recruiters, and learn some more about it.
      2d
  • TikTok
    awoiarq

    Go to company page TikTok

    awoiarq
    The issues involving your agency shouldn’t be reflective of the progress you’ve made in your career. On the contrary, by every measure you’re killing it. My advice: ditch the agency and go work for a publisher— that’s where the money and the staying power is. Sorry to hear you didn’t make the cut with Google, but don’t let that hinder you. That’s precisely the sort of place you need to take your talents to. Amazon, Meta, Snap, TikTok all have strong advertising platforms in need of strong salespeople (except maybe TT, we’ve hired too many fucking sales people lol)
    2d 1
    • DAC
      5QU1d

      DAC

      5QU1d
      I appreciate the advice! It’s been so long since interviewing, so I truly was not as prepared as I should have been for my interview with Google. I studied as best as I could, but I had about a one week notice from the time the recruiter reached out to my first round. I’m going to sharpen those skills, make a list of companies that make sense for me, and go to work applying!
      2d
  • I think it's just time to switch. AEs make 200+ on the regular in non faang companies you just need to interview more i think and you'll see a jump
    Yesterday 1
  • Amazon
    bandgeek

    Go to company page Amazon

    bandgeek
    Former advertising rep- DM me for Amazon referral. Happy to give you a few avenues to explore that work well with your experience
    2d 0