Source
r/sales•
StringerBull

Switching from outside sales to software sales

I'm advising a friend who is looking to make the change from being an outside, field rep for a company that sells infrastructure components to a software sales person at a SaaS company. He has a lot of experience, is older (~55) and is naturally great at sales. While he's older, he is fairly proficient with most computer systems and understanding the nature of evolving tech. I know that age discrimination is an obstacle, so I'm trying to help him navigate the application and interview process successfully.

What are the chances that he can easily switch from his current position (making about $130K OTE) to a ~150K OTE job in a closing role in software? What are the most important things that he should learn about the SaaS software environment before applying around? What are the best ways that he can sell his non-SaaS experience to a hiring manager?

By the way, he did work in software in the 90's, but that was a different time.

Posted Sep 22, 2019, 7:03 PM UTC

298
plainpatwatupp•

Very easy. I'm in business development for arguably one of the best software companies to work for (think CRM) and the field AE who I support (mid 50s) is clearing 500k came from being a paper salesperson just last year. It's not about what you sell it's about how you sell. If the man is good at relationship building, building pipeline and closing deals hes a no brainer for software companies! Let's just get him to think bigger than 150k OTE.

18
averagewhitebrah69•

is the bdr to ae path still 2+ years where you work? also do you go straight to being the prime ae or do they pipeline you to pardot or the marketing cloud?

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plainpatwatupp•

Roughly 1 yr. You choose what path AE you'd like to go. Some go those routes to pardot/MC others go straight to core. Depends what interests you

3
averagewhitebrah69•

dope. grind it out, i’m in the same boat just went ae from bdr at a logo the same size as you in 14 months or so. hoping the logo is worth it in the future, the sales process is fucked over here lmao

2
StringerBullOP•

the field AE who I support (mid 50s) is clearing 500k came from being a paper salesperson just last year.

That's nuts.

It's not about what you sell it's about how you sell.

I just hope that must hiring managers feel the same way.

If the man is good at relationship building

Extremely good.

building pipeline

Not so sure. SaaS pipeline sourcing is a lot different that the type of leads he works with now. But really, 90% of prospecting is just doing it and staying focused. He's good in that regard.

closing deals

Very good.

Let's just get him to think bigger than 150k OTE.

Yeah, I was a little unsure of how to ballpark what he could make. Surely, he could land something with around $150K, I'm thinking. But if he could make more and enjoy what he does then obviously that would be great too. Given that he has 2 or 3 decades of solid sales experience, do you think he could enter SaaS making closer to $200K or $250? Honestly, the $500K that your rep makes seems a bit out of reach for someone just entering the space, but I do believe you. (I'm thinking Salesforce or Oracle?)

Thanks for the help.

5
PhillyWes•

If only most companies thought this way......

3
NotSpartacusHCM SaaS•

$150 OTE is relatively common for SaaS AEs, so that's not an issue.

It's more about him 1) understanding and translating his skills to a relevant role and 2) finding a company/hiring team that won't discriminate. He can control #1, #2 he can mitigate through volume of applications. On the resume he should leave off graduation date, and maybe truncate it a bit to leave off some of his earlier career experience. He should have a fleshed-out LinkedIn profile

What are the most important things that he should learn about the SaaS software environment before applying around? What are the best ways that he can sell his non-SaaS experience to a hiring manager?

SaaS isn't magic or special. In most cases you don't need really need to know technology to sell it, and frankly I'd recommend anyone shying away from "well, I'm good with computers/technology" in a SaaS AE interview. The technical pieces are handled by the software engineers and the implementation team. The sales person needs to know that tab A inserts into slot B, which lives in this ecosystem, and the business impacts are typically A, B, and C. Much more than that is "good question, I'll get back to you" territory.

SaaS is mostly about selling a potential intangible solution to someone, more than often remotely. You're almost always in a competitive sales cycle, and your buyers are looking to make 1-3 year decisions when they do pop up to buy. The AE's skills (mostly around prospecting and discovery, less so on demo and closing) need to be on point. Understanding sales process and methodology are huge.

I'd recommend leaning into the age and lack of SaaS experience. "I don't have SaaS experience and I'm guessing I'm a bit older than most of the team here, let me go ahead and address that. While I have a lot of sales experience, I always make a point to build a strong relationship with my manager and take his or her direction. You're in this role for a reason, and I'm sure you know how to sell XYZ better than I do, so I'd be happy to take your direction - it'll make us both more money. I know how to be a good rep and employee, and I'm not looking to grow into management, so once I'm up and running I won't take much of your time."

All that aside, the bigger question is... why does he want SaaS specifically? A comfortable inside job? And, what is his sales experience in? Some things are more translatable than others.

9
StringerBullOP•

He should have a fleshed-out LinkedIn profile

This is one issue we're working on right now. Not only does he need to build out his profile, he also needs to add a bunch of connections to get close to or over 500.

I'd recommend leaning into the age and lack of SaaS experience. "I don't have SaaS experience and I'm guessing I'm a bit older than most of the team here, let me go ahead and address that. While I have a lot of sales experience, I always make a point to build a strong relationship with my manager and take his or her direction. You're in this role for a reason, and I'm sure you know how to sell XYZ better than I do, so I'd be happy to take your direction - it'll make us both more money. I know how to be a good rep and employee, and I'm not looking to grow into management, so once I'm up and running I won't take much of your time."

This is a really great way to approach this. Spot on.

All that aside, the bigger question is... why does he want SaaS specifically? A comfortable inside job? And, what is his sales experience in? Some things are more translatable than others.

Well, I work in SaaS and things are pretty good for me right now. I've worked at some less-than-stellar SaaS companies previously (both private and public), but I'm currently with a really great late-stage big data startup that is primed to go public within the next few years. We are treated fairly and provided with an abundance of benefits and leeway in terms of schedules, WFH, time off, etc.

Meanwhile, my friend works from home for a public company that manufactures utility/infrastructure components and sells them to municipalities and utility companies. He's been with the company for about 10 years. He works a lot and is burning out at this point. He complains about redundant and useless administrative overhead that are distracting him from interacting with customers and selling product, while also causing him to work long hours.

He doesn't mind working the long hours but at this point he feels underpaid, and I would agree. Based on my interaction with field and strategic reps at my company and elsewhere, I think he could easily crush his number if he lands at the right company. I could also very easily see him moving into a manager or director position at some point. He is a natural seller, very well liked, has a wide range of interests and experience to draw on and has his nose to the grindstone (much more-so than most people my age).

My main outstanding concern is that he doesn't have experience in a regimented SaaS-type environment. I didn't either when I first got started and I had no idea what terms like KPI and ARR meant. I also didn't really understand the typical org structure and the difference between account execs and account mangers, and so on and so forth.

Obviously I picked up on this stuff pretty quickly and it's not hard to do so. I'm just concerned that some hiring managers would be put off by a lack of exposure to the space.

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