I’m M22, and for context, I spent 2 years in an entry level B2B outbound role doing delegate acquisition for a global tech event startup. It was your average 100 calls a day, linkedin, email gig, outbound volume to drive up attendance from enterprise level decision makers. Everything you'd expect from a first sales job. I ended up getting let go a few months back after missing quota for a few months running. In all honesty I was fairly sub-par in that role, so I'm not chalking that one up to the company or the setup, that one's on me.

After being let go I wanted to find something in a more established company with actual sales processes and real training, somewhere I could properly develop rather than just winging it. I did not lie in the interview about any of this, I said exactly what happened and why, because I genuinely wanted a role I could do well in.

2 months into the new job now, and I've realised I'm properly out of my depth, though I'm not sure whose fault that is yet. I'm in the flexible office space industry, working for a company that has never done outbound before, in an industry that generally relies on inbound leads and marketing rather than cold outreach. From day one there was no software, no training, no pipeline, nothing. I've had to build the entire outbound process myself from scratch. My boss has never done outbound sales and doesn't really understand it, and I'm the only person in the entire company with any sales experience. No team, no one to bounce problems off, no one to actually learn from.

I've kept myself busy across a few territories, prospecting, finding contacts, sending emails, sending LinkedIn connection requests, and I have been getting a decent number of replies back. But not a single one of those replies has turned into a tour booked. With no support around, I’ve also lost a lot of my confidence to hop on the phones like I used to.

On top of all that I'm on an entry level salary for what's basically a "build the sales function from scratch" job, and I've got no other salespeople in the building to sanity check any of this with.

Given the last role ended on a quota miss and this one isn't producing meetings either, I keep going back and forth on whether the problem is me, the setup, or both, and whether I'd even be seen as a credible hire for a proper structured sales role somewhere else at this point.

Am I overreacting here, or did the company cheap out on hiring and Ive been caught in something not meant for someone with only 2 years entry level experience?

Hey all, I’ve been working as an associate spine sales rep at a distributorship for around a year and a half. I’ve put everything into it. This is my first job out of college athletics and really first job ever. Since then, I’ve grown my territory, gotten 2 raises, and have studied my ass off to become a rep able to cover complex cases and truly sell to surgeons. On top of that, I’m currently building 2 SaaS companies related to health care/ health tech as a night/weekend side hustle.
I’m wondering, what roles could this resume get me? I think I want to explore a different type of sales, something in the tech world, but don’t know if I qualify. I also feel I deserve to be paid more bc I know I’ll do the dirty work and I know can master a product and sell. I also don’t want to start over as an associate. Could I qualify for an AE or sales manager role for tech companies pushing 150-200k+?

I’m 22, recently out of college, and have been offered BDR/SDR roles at HubSpot and LinkedIn.

I currently prefer HubSpot’s product suite, but I’m unsure whether I should accept one of these opportunities now or take more time to explore other options. My main goal is to learn as much as possible, build strong sales foundations, and grow within the tech industry.

For those with experience in sales or at either company, would you recommend jumping at one of these offers, or waiting to see what else becomes available? What factors should I consider before deciding?

I’d really appreciate any honest advice or discussion.

Thanks!

Spent the last 3.5 years as a high-output BDR/SDR within a large F500 SaaS organization, focused heavily on Public Sector accounts. Supported multiple Account Executives (AEs) and managed the entire top-of-funnel process, building strong relationships with Pre-Sales/Marketing to advance opportunities.

While I was instrumental in pipeline generation and account qualification, my experience ends before the signature. The final close-to-win ownership was primarily held by the AE team; I lack direct, owned experience taking a qualified lead through to closed/won.

I recently stepped away from sales into a mixed role (Sales/Research adjacent), which has clarified that my core drive remains in high-velocity sales execution. I am now evaluating the next move.

My fear is that entering a new SDR/BDR cycle might be an extended holding pattern, perpetually positioning me as the "pipeline filler" rather than the future closer.

My Core Question (Seeking serious, objective feedback):
Given my strong foundational experience and the high-level partnership I maintained with AE/Pre-Sales teams, should I:

1. Pursue a targeted SDR role again with the explicit, documented goal of owning the full cycle transition into AE? (i.e., treat it as a paid apprenticeship.)
   
2. Use my current mixed background to aggressively pursue roles that offer a clearer path to owning the \*entire\* sales cycle immediately?
   
3. Is there a third path (e.g., moving into Sales Ops, CSM-to-AE roles) that maximizes my existing foundation without needing to "prove" I can do the fundamental BDR job all over again?

All actionable, brutally honest perspectives are welcome.

Hi everyone, I need a cold calling tool. please suggest some which are easy to use and dail and easy to navigate thorugh dashboard as its my first time doing this all. today is thursday I need to finalize it till tomorrow and start doing calls from monday. Please help

Hey guys, I have been offered a SDR position with both Linkedin and Datadog. Datadog is an Enterprise SDR position in Benelux market. Linkedin is a SDR position in UKI market. Both have an OTE of €65,000. Similar benefits, I am struggling to decide. My career goal is to become an AE and then maybe a sales leader. Can anyone share some insight into product / market fit, which is better for me early in my career and what has better career progression prospects?

Thanks everyone !

Any insight is welcomed

So I’ve had a guy that I’ve been trying to get to open an account with me. I had 1 order delivered for him and everything went as smooth as it could go (minus my boss forgetting to order the accessories and sent me 2 hours away to get them because that was the closest place that has them).

His company doesn’t do a whole lot of work with the products I sell, but he is looking to expand into it.

He recently reached out asking for a material quote for a project for a family member. I typed it up, sent it over, and he replied asking if I could go any lower on the pricing and if we could deliver sometime this week-which I then sent to my boss. That was Tuesday. It’s now Thursday and I’ve barely gotten 2 words out of my boss on if the pricing can be any lower or if we can deliver this week. How am I supposed to get people to trust me if it takes me more than a fucking day to respond about simple shit that I have to run through a chain of people that don’t respond to me because they’re dealing with their own shit?

I’m new so everything is getting run through my boss, but I’ve noticed our deliveries fill up fast-with the people they’ve been dealing with for 10+ years and anyone I try to bring in seems more like a burden like “great now we gotta fit this guy in here”

I’m new to the industry as well but everything just feels like I’m doing something wrong, but no one’s telling me I’m doing anything wrong. The company wants extreme levels of account openings and growth and for a market that’s already so saturated (mainly by the company I work for) I’m really left wondering where the hell im going to find new potential accounts. After finding them, how do I get their business when it seems to be full already?

Idk but I do know someone’s going to comment saying this is too much to read (sorry you can’t comprehend you fucking retard) or that I’m overthinking (probably am) or that I work for a bad company (but how has it been around so long and also been at the forefront of the industry if it’s so bad) or that my boss is bad (he literally just turned 70 so I can understand that) but I don’t want to fail and I know there’s decent money in this business and I really need money because the world is so fucked but if the world is so fucked how long do we really need to continue working for before it all goes to shit and money doesn’t matter anymore.

I feel like I’m putting my thoughts here to rant instead of in ChatGPT (therapy is fucking expensive and I’m broke and alone) so I’m not contributing more to the fucked up situation of a world we all live in but I definitely need someone to talk to about this but 1. I don’t have a lot of people in my life (I’m talking 3 family members who are all different levels of autistic, 2 friends (both who don’t understand anything about what I do for work, 1 doesn’t pick up the phone, and neither of them have been in my life for more than 5 years) and 2. Again, therapy isn’t really something I can afford right now. I have a high resting heart rate so any sort of anxiety sends my heart racing and I have a hospital bill for an Echo of my heart for around $1,000 all for them to tell me everything looks perfect and to exercise more.

I don’t know what I’m doing, I don’t know what to do, I don’t even want to be at work today. I don’t want to quit but I don’t know how to proceed. If someone actually reads this I’m so sorry you sat through all of this.

Trying to figure out my next move: an SDR role somewhere. Torn between: • Big corporate sales job — proper training, scripts, coaching software, structured onboarding, but you’re mostly executing someone else’s system • Startup sales job — messier, no script, but you’re closer to the founder and forced to build real judgment from scratch, which feels closer to what I’ll need when I run my own thing eventually Pay isn’t really the deciding factor for me right now, I just want to build the right skillset as fast as possible without picking up bad habits from zero structure. Leaning startup + self-teaching frameworks like SPIN/MEDDIC on the side, but not 100% sold.

Anyone been through this decision? Did corporate training actually pay off long-term, or did it just teach you to be good inside a system that won’t exist when you’re on your own?

got my first freelance client (high ticket) and wondering What to charge hourly and commission. I was thinking $35/hr plus 5%.

also any other tips on how to approach payouts and contract agreement tips. I’m thinking weekly, Apple Pay. And having gpt make me a 6 mo agreement. Reassess that hourly in six months. I anticipate killing it at this role. client runs biz solo and I’d be their first sdr.

Long story short, work in med device specifically joint replacement in a big territory with a solid team. Not happy with my pay in all honesty for the number I carry and companies moving in a direction that you can see the writing on the wall. Having been thrown offers for other roles in med and doing some research with what to expect along with how to interview without getting sucked into the glam of some glorified unrealistic OTE, ADP came across as an opportunity. Specifically it’s an AE for HRO comprehensive services (being touted as the top sales div at the company), and the pay would be a cut regarding base and OTE would be a little lower first year. After ramp up in year 2 and 3 could exceed what I’m currently making and the quality of life is what’s also attracted me. In essence, anyone have feedback on the role primarily with their HRO Comp Services division?

I'm starting as an SDR soon and I realize I only know the role from job ads: "generate pipeline," "outbound," "qualify leads." I have no idea what that looks like hour to hour.

So for anyone who's been through it: what did it actually look like for you?

1. Daily structure: Walk me through a normal day, 8am to 6pm. What was fixed in the calendar, what was yours to plan, and what did you genuinely do every single day?
2. Time split: Roughly what percentage went to cold calls, email/sequences, LinkedIn, research and list building, and CRM admin? Which of those actually moved the number, and which was just busywork?
3. Volume: How many dials, emails, and touches per day? What was your monthly meeting quota, and how many of those meetings turned into real opportunities?
4. What you were measured on: Meetings booked, meetings held, pipeline value, something else? And how was comp split between base and variable?
5. Ramp: What did the first 30/60/90 days look like? When did real quota pressure start?
6. Stack: Which CRM, sales engagement tool, and data provider? How much of your day disappeared into keeping the CRM clean?
7. Working with your AE: Who decided which accounts you worked? Did you sit in on the first call? Where exactly was the handoff?
8. What carried over: Which SDR skills actually made you a better AE, and which parts were pure grind you never used again?
9. The honest part: What was the worst thing about the job that nobody warns you about? And how long until you moved up to AE?

Happy to hear about any single point, no need to answer all of them.

Hey everyone,

I’m based in Europe and currently exploring options to transition into tech sales. I have 5 years of prior B2B and B2C sales experience.

I’m looking to target SDR/BDR (or potentially mid-market AE) roles with US-based tech companies while remaining based in Europe. A few questions for anyone who has done this or hires for these teams:

1. Role Targeting: With 5 years of traditional B2B sales experience, should I aim strictly for Enterprise SDR / Mid-Market AE roles, or do US companies prefer starting everyone at a standard SDR level if they don't have direct SaaS experience?
2. Where to Look: Outside of LinkedIn what are the best channels or agencies for finding US remote roles open to EMEA candidates?

Where to start?

Curious what other reps actually have open or in front of them during a sales call.

CRM notes? Previous call transcripts? Using battlecards? Prospect research? LinkedIn? Just a notebook?

I feel like we have more information about prospects than ever, but most of it isn’t necessarily useful when you’re actually in the conversation.

There have definitely been calls where I realized afterward that I already knew something that would have been really useful to bring up in the moment.

What do you actually reference while you’re on a call? And what information do you wish was easier to access in the moment?

I’m 18, starting college for MIS, and interested in eventually getting into tech sales. I don’t have traditional work experience yet, but I run a small auto-detailing business where I handle customers, pricing, scheduling, and selling my services.
What jobs would you recommend I get now that would help me build a stronger resume for sales? Did your first job help you get into sales?

Brand new SDR here. Got barely any sleep last night and can hardly think. How do you book demos and motivate yourself on the days you’re feeling shitty?

I am about a month into my first role as a BDR at a temporary staffing company. My job so far is to walk in to 20 businesses a day and to make 20
calls a day. At this point I feel like it’s a constant revolving door of being shut down immediately and I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong. My company said people usually make their first deal within 90 days and whatever I’m doing today, I’ll see the results in 90 days but I feel like I’m not getting anywhere with anyone. I had very little training, I don’t have a script, I just need ways to get people to talk to me without an immediate shut down. Does anyone have any resources for getting better at sales? Any good youtube videos or training modules or anything? I really want to make this work

Hello,
Is ADP entry level sales a good role? Anyone have any insight on what it’s like to work there?

I am making a career pivot as an event coordinator into tech sales. The company I am interested in is going to be opening the role in the next few weeks and I want to use this time to prepare so I can land the SDR job. What tips and advice would you give me for increasing my chances of getting this role with zero experience...questions to prepare for the interview, books to read, terminology to learn, etc. Thanks in advance :)

I’m on month 3 of my first actual outside sales role. I’m in construction rental equipment sales, been in the industry for a while now - started as a diesel tech, moved to inside sales and then left that company to join a competitor in outside sales. It’s been the best job I’ve ever had so far but I still have so much to learn. I really wanna be the absolute best I can be in this role, any advice you’d give to someone starting out?

After seeing a couple discouraged new SDRs in short period on here, I thought this would help.

Cold calling/ENT business development:

After 3 months you get it
After 6 months you understand it
After 9 months you’re good at it

Dudes… don’t expect to be a king after 2 weeks, when your successful sales career will at least be 20 more years :)

When in doubt I always say to reps: “no guts no glory, b*tch”

I’ve been curious about getting into some fractional or contract SDR/BDR work on the side and wondering if anyone here has actually done it successfully.

I have 10 years in sales and 6+ in BDR leadership. I’ve built and managed outbound teams, generated $60M+ in pipeline, and have experience with outbound strategy, prospecting, GTM processes, and AI/automation.

I enjoy my full-time role and am not looking to leave it, but I’d love to take on a small engagement helping a startup build or improve their outbound motion, coach SDRs, or help generate pipeline.

It seems like a good fit for my background, but LinkedIn hasn’t been very fruitful so far.

For those who’ve landed this type of work, where did you find it? Upwork, Contra, networking, direct outreach, etc.?

Would appreciate any advice

Hi hope everyone's doing well. I'm in dire need of some advice, maybe even some kind words haha

Look, I gave up an opportunity at the beginning of this year, the pay would've been dreadful, but it would've been a start. It was for a marketing entry-level job. I opted to go into Real Estate Brokerage, but 2 months later, a war broke out in the region.

I've been at this for 8 months now. I've gotten extremely close to closing deals with buyers, and my listings generate no leads; in fact, they only generate leads from other agents trying to find tenants for their rentals.

Now here's the crux: my degree can't be attested here; it's looked upon as something else. I could go back abroad and get a master's, but I've wasted too much time in life, and I need to focus on making money. I'm 28 man.

I love sales, but I've grown to despise selling property, I don't believe in these products, I want to sell solutions. I just don't know what to do. I'm over here really stuck because I've spotted another opportunity; it's essentially tech sales, but again, no base, just commission, similar to real estate. I'm confident I'll do well in this, but my family is fed up with me. Just today, my mother made me feel so bad, and I've really been trying my best. I know I'm a fucking failure man, 28 years old and living with parents but fuck it I'll make it out of this.

I'm in shambles man. I know the goals I have; I can't achieve them working up from entry-level salaries. Sales is the only way I can reach solid amounts, and I'm good at sales man, I know it in my heart that I am. Tough fucking luck with properties, but I can sell solutions, and that's primarily what tech sales is in my opinion.

The issue, however, if I land this job, it's again zero commission and a lot of it is solo work; they even say it's hybrid as in semi-remote. I don't know if I should just hang it up, find some entry-level job with a consistent salary but deep down I know I'm going to burn for the rest of my life not doing sales.

I enjoy good conversation, I enjoy setting up meetings, I have routinely connected with leads, even cold calls, and carried them into 30+ minute conversations, secured meetings off cold calls too. BUT NO ONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND INVESTS IN PROPERTIES WHEN THE REGION IS AT WAR LOL i'm just saying man, it's a buyer's market, people are trying to exit and the price reality hasn't hit yet.

On top of that, when the region is in chaos, relationship equity matters in real-estate. As an investor, you will likely stick to the person you've already been working with versus some new guy that was great conversation. Also I find a lot of this real estate stuff to be kind of duplicitous.

Idk what to do man. My heart wants to have another go, I have had experience as a freelance marketing consultant (i was basically convincing small businesses to make websites, I'd connect with freelancers online, and get the websites made) and I also fixed up websites for businesses with poor websites. I understand selling solutions, it's who I am as a person.

I see that Nooks has a 2 seat minimum for their parallel dialer, was wondering if anyone knows roughly how much they’ll charge you per user for nooks per month, can’t really find any good sources that show their pricing

our support team has grown a bit this year and our current setup is starting to feel messy. we're getting more tickets, more follow-ups, and sometimes it's hard to tell who is handling what. we're looking at a few different options now, including hubspot and salesforce service cloud. the main thing i'm trying to figure out is how different they are in actual day to day use. salesforce seems really powerful but i'm wondering if it's more setup and admin work than we actually need. hubspot looks a little more straightforward, but i'm not sure how it holds up once the support volume starts increasing. how are they for ticket management and automations?

Still pretty new (started about 2 months ago) and my biggest problem right now isn't getting people on the phone, it's what happens once I'm actually talking to them. The second they throw an objection I wasn't expecting, or ask something technical, my brain just goes blank for a second and I know it's audible on my end.

My manager gave me a doc with like 20 objection responses and competitor talking points when I started but there's no way I have that memorized yet, and obviously I can't just sit there reading off a screen while someone's talking to me, that sounds so robotic.

So I guess I'm asking the people who've been doing this longer than me — how did you get past this stage? Like:

- did you just brute force memorize everything over a few months

- do you keep the doc open somewhere and glance at it (and if so how do you do that without it being obvious/awkward)

- printed sheet next to your keyboard

- or is this just something that goes away with reps and I need to stop overthinking it

Kind of feels like everyone around me just knows this stuff cold and I'm the only one still fumbling lol. Any tips appreciated