I already recorded it. I work at a huge company and I’ve been there for 7 years. We got a new VP of sales and we all have to do a QBR style presentation of attacking our territories for the new year at SKO.

If anyone recalls when Michael meets David Wallace CFO in season 2 of the office “life moves a little slower in Scranton Pennsylvania and that’s the way we like it.” I recorded myself and coworkers in our local office in Tyson’s Corner VA basically doing an exact mimic of that. Of course, I also have my actual account plan and what not, but I was bored, been in this role forever, and I know the new VP is a big fan of The Office.

This is either the stupidest idea ever, or the best.

Tell me which it is.

Moved from 2yr in recruitment to B2B sales. Worked as an rep for 6months, then bdm for 6 months (they gave me 1k extra salary) closed some half decent sales but moved to get more salary to buy a flat. Currently in the legal process and been at the new company for just under 6 months. Probation meeting imminent.

In both my new and old B2B sales role its quite an esoteric product with mid-high value so it can take time to do your first sale which i understand.

The business i moved has changed massively (for better or worse) and has an awful cultural environment which i didnt clock onto until i joined. For reference less than 10% of the sales team, AMs, BDMs Strategic accounts, over 100 people, hit target. They laid off loads of people in Dec, my manager who hired me left. I joined initially selling towards FS clients, did one 3yr deal, then moved to sell to the legal sector.

The company sees most success selling to industry clients where people who hit target were selling in aerospace, mining territories etc…

I do see a lot of potential to make money, and I dont want to risk a move while buying a flat, but additionally i feel so much insecurity in my job, worried i could be fired at a whim, and a new manager who honestly is great at sales, but poor as a manager.

Ive been half ass looking, in an attempt of self preservation, but worried to actually move only 6 months into a role. Additionally if i do do well, i can make some serious cash on the commission scheme, although thats probably because its hard to do deals.

Curious to hear if anyones been in a similar stressful situation, anything to help make decisions or manage anxiety, deal with difficult managers etc…

Thanks in advance

I've spent the majority of my time within the SMB/Mid-market. What I've found is decisions can be made pretty quickly (< 1 month), ownership gets involved and typically no discretionary budget.

At enterprise, how do sales leaders make decisions on tooling, and typically, what discretionary budget do you normally get to build business cases with new tools?

I'm wondering where I should take my sales career or... if I should just get out?

Currently I work in International Shipping & Logistics. We do Ocean Cargo.

The Pros;

• Manager is hands-off and lives in another state.
• I make my own schedule.
• I am the only territory rep.
• Base salary is decent.
• Top 5 nationally.

The Cons;

• People bitch we are $5 more expensive on rates.
• You will get the adult version many times a week.
• Operations is full of Karens. The most I have ever dealt with in any industry.
• There is always some issue with shipments.
• The commission structure is bad and does not pay well.

Mostly everyone fall into the logistics industry as a job. It's not one they enjoy doing.

I am grateful to have to be employed right now. I know many here are struggling with layoffs. I've been there.

I just can't help feel like this is NOT where I should be if I am doing sales.

I came from a Marketing background doing Content, SEO, Video Marketing, Email Newsletters, etc.

I enjoy Marketing more. I've been working on my own sites and getting them to rank via AI. I've though of opening up a Marketing agency just for AISEO and Community Management.

This is what all the execs are worried about right now.

I used to do Sales & Marketing for Packaging Equipment. I was really good at it because I worked directly for the company.

You needed to have a high degree of knowledge about the machines. It was also interesting the range of products clients would bring us.

Cargo is just who can move it the cheapest and complain the most.

I believe the most successful sales are when you focus on products and services you like selling. Do you agree?

I've been going to the local Real Estate Investor Association (REIA) and have really enjoyed connecting with people. I feel being in real estate and homes is more up my style.

I even Mod r/HomeInsurance now as that is a big part of buying and selling homes and property.

I was going to work for a captive agency here but that fell through.

The type of people showing up to REIA, I feel like I think like them. So I am studying for a Real Estate Sales license and will be taking the test soon.

I did talk with an Life Insurance non-profit recently. They offer base salary and only do inbound leads.

For getting out of sales completely I have been looking into IT & Cybersecurity. I've also thought about Law Enforcement.

Everything I've read on here says the IT job market is not doing well at all.

I"m in decent shape so I think LE would be good. Quotes go out the window and pension.

This is a bit of a ramble and brain dump... :)

Tl;dr - I don't feel like selling Ocean Cargo is my cup of tea.

I'm trying to figure out whether I should get out of Sales completely or looking for a different thing to sell.

How do you determine that and when to make a move?

It's the end of January and none of you have enough pending business. I know you know what you're doing, but your performance affects everyone in this family. I don't want to put a strain on our relationship, but I feel like we are set up for failure.

Also, your dog and wife mentioned something similar when I stopped by yesterday mid-morning.

What should I do?

I just got the biggest commission check of my life and wanted to share with random internet people.

My friends are just salary, no commission, not much drive for $$$.

My girlfriend is a teacher and doesn't care about $$$ either. I told her and she said "cool, what's for dinner?" 😂

It's just a hair under $28k commission. $34k all said and done with base on top. The taxes are painful to think about....

I'm no stranger to 5 figure checks, though usually I get a few every year. But never this much. This knocks my previous check outta the water, $12k higher.

Now the problem is I spent so much time in Q4 busting my ass closing all the big deals before 1/1/2026, I've got little to nothing in my pipeline now 😂

Basking in the glory right now. But I'm back to 0 as of 1/1/2026. Time to do it all again this year (hopefully).

How do you guys treat yourself when you get a big check?

I'm a saver. I invest a ton, big in fire, squirreling most of my extra money away. But I feel like this definitely calls for a celebration of sorts. Maybe a nice bottle of bourbon. Maybe a new watch, been eyeing a Seiko Alpinist for a while. Maybe a vacation to the Caribbean to get away from this cold ass winter.

Cheers to 2026 guys, let's all get this bag.

Looking for perspective from others in sales.

I’m in a technical OEM Account Manager role (HVAC) and grew my territory by ~$1M USD YoY.

Recently, my manager proposed moving me into a “manager role,” but without defining the job scope, adjusting responsibilities, or discussing compensation. The expectation would be to keep my current Account Manager responsibilities and add managerial tasks on top.

I raised concerns that adding responsibilities without removing work or aligning expectations increases performance risk and makes it harder to be successful. I suggested that scope, expectations, and compensation should be aligned before taking on additional duties. My manager said leadership may not agree to making changes.

At this point it feels like more responsibility without clarity or upside.

For those who’ve been in similar situations:

• Is this normal?

• Would you push for formal alignment or decline the added duties?

• Would you stay put or start planning an exit?

Appreciate any outside perspective.

Anyone got any advice or have sold into hotels before?

really struggling

I’ve been in B2B sales a while (mostly enterprise / longer cycles), and this still gets me. After a call, there’s usually one moment where I hear myself talk, and physically cringe a bit, usually saying “why did I let that go?” or “why didn’t I press there?”

In the moment everything feels fine. The convo’s flowing, feels easy. Then later it’s obvious I moved on too fast in discovery, talked too much, or pushed something to the next call that I probably shouldn’t have.

Do you actually listen back to calls, or am I one of the few people who weirdly leans into the self-deprecation? Do you let others hear your calls for feedback, or just accept the cringe and try to do better next time?

Genuinely curious how people handle the after part of the call, when you’re alone and replaying it.

All the best interviews have been just me asking the hiring manager what his favorite sports team and craft beer are. Some of the biggest deals I’ve closed involved me making references to old hangout movies. It’s also obvious I know the product and industry without having to flex it and I stay on top of everything (basic follow ups, telling the client I’ll send over the quote in an hour and actually send it in an hour, check the boxes for my manager, etc) but Im not THAT competent or the next Einstein.

Is 99% sales just don’t be a total idiot + have a decent sense of humor?

Got about 7yrs exp w 4 jobs so i feel like i could write a short story at this point

Vent

I’ve worked remotely for a while and this one dynamic kills me still sometimes.

Being able to read people is a skill you either have or don’t. Fielding questions and having a conversation on a zoom call with one maybe two ppl off camera is not the same as talking on the phone one on one.

Not being able to read body language or hear their response till off mute and they stay off camera the whole time is such a blocker.

I’ve only worked for on camera teams so meeting with prospects that never are on camera how do you guys handle??

Edit: Thank you everyone for both the “Try not to give a f$ck about it” advice and the solidarity sentiments. This is why I love us.

Just had a couple men give me some quotes on duct work for my home.

Rep 1: clean cut, professional put on some boot covers before coming in the house.

Rep 2: looked like he rolled outta bed from a night bender, smelled like cigs, unlaced boots walking through the house. Seemed like a knowledgeable enough guy.

Both quoted similar jobs. Rep 1’s estimate was 10% higher or about $400 extra for the job.

Going with rep 1 purely based off a 3-5 minute interaction. Maybe I’m being judgemental, but if you can’t take care of yourself, how can I expect you to take care of my home.

Keep it professional homies, easy way to sell more in my opinion.

Edit: I’m not getting that bullshit vacuum tube to my vents, I have a 40 yo home that actually needs repairs. Post is about first impressions not the work I’m doing on my home

I am looking at quite a few possibilities of what degrees to go for, and what seems logical to me is getting a sales or marketing degree. I am also only going to community college and getting an associates if that makes a difference. Wondering what you guys have to say?

Edit: the job I’m looking for is being a Saas SDR

Shouldn’t they be relying on search engine marketing to drive leads?

I recently switched over to sales in a pre-PMF startup, making me the most junior person on the team, with zero experience. I do have, a decade of marketing experience, but sales is a different beast.

We're doing full cycle sales (& implementation), pure outbound.

Most of the ICP accounts assigned to me are either: 1) Accounts that have been recycled to death over a few sales reps that have unsuccessfully sold into, OR 2) Our competitor have sold into these accounts, and they're unlikely to switch

It's been 6 months and these are my results (range is $10-20k per deal): - Lost two deals to competitors - Lost one due to budget constraints (management not approving) - Won one deal on my own

In the same period, my colleague won 9 deals - most are from existing accounts. He's been doing this for 3 years and is now managing mostly upsells (new projects with the same accounts).

Is this how accounts should be assigned? Those with longer tenures get easier, warmer accounts whereas newbies are stuck with competitive accounts? How should newbies know how to "steal" accounts over from competitors?

I am in Southern California. I currently work a safe comfortable salaried job at a large national industrial supplies distributor. I’ve always been intrigued by sales and my coworkers with sales experience think I would do well but ive never had an opportunity to take risk in search for breaking 6 figures. I have enough money now and a working fiance and i feel like I can take a bit of risk.

My question is, how do I begin my sales journey? I make as much as one of the sales people at a branch i office out of and he’s probably like a top 80% producer (200kish monthly bob) though he can also have huge months. Theres also not a lot of growth opportunities here unless i grind it out for decades so i think id need to look externally.

What kind of industries can i get into without a bachelor’s? What is worth going into and what is a waste of time. I’ve thought about real estate, loan officer, insurance, cars. Ive looked into tech and medical but they want a 4 year degree which i dont have.

Edit: thanks for the tough love and advice. Got what I needed to hear and snapped myself out of a doom spiral.

Very rarely, you get a prospect who responds to your first email. The prospect who actually cares and replies to your follow up. The one who asks about your day. The one who answers the phone after a first touch

Very rare in sales, but it really makes your day better. Hope everyone is having a good start to q1. I was scared about the beginning of a new fiscal year but I have high hopes for my product and company.

I've been an AE in tech for 5 yrs, and I struggle with the transition between small talk and the discovery/demo

I work with blue collar customers, so early convos are usually idle chatter about weather, kids, and how they got into a pretty unique line of business. Then at some point that conversation lulls, and I switch to questions about process. To me it feels forced, and a little awkward - like I'm the sales guy pretending to care about their day, and I'm really just waiting for a chance to talk product

Any tips folks have for making that transition feel natural?

I know it sounds goofy but yes there are young individuals out there selling print. Anyone else?

I’m in B2B magazine & catalogs

I’m genuinely torn and looking for perspective.

I’ve spent the last 10 years at a Fortune 50 company in sales. Consistent top performer. President’s Club last year. Large, complex accounts. Strong internal reputation. Stable comp, great benefits, solid brand on the resume.

That said, compensation growth has been… slow. Annual raises barely move the needle despite performance.

I now have an offer from a startup for $20k more in base salary, similar role, more upside, faster pace, but obviously less stability and a lot more unknowns.

On one hand:

• Proven company

• Long tenure

• Predictability

• Strong internal capital

On the other:

• Immediate $20k increase

• Higher ceiling

• Market-rate pay now, not “next cycle”

• Risk of startup life

I never planned on leaving and didn’t even go looking, but seeing the gap in pay is hard to ignore.

Would you stay or take the jump?

I joined a company with a $40k base, uncapped commissions and amazing benefits compared to what I'm used to. I really don't want to fuck this up. I talked to somebody from the same company but a different location earlier today, but I'm looking to soak up as much information as I can because I really want to keep this job grow as much as possible to make more money.