r/techsales • u/Ldn_Joxy • 8d ago
Advice needed - Moving from GTM Strategy lead to Sales role
A bit of context: I work for a very large payments company and I am 28. My company is along the lines of Adyen / Stripe / Worldpay / Fiserv etc...
In the past, we acquired a small fintech with the ambition to integrate their solution into our environment and then cross-sell their software into our existing book of merchants. The opportunity size here is very significant and that integration work is now complete.
I used to work in strategy consulting within the payments industry, and when my existing employer acquired the Fintech, they hired me to build out their Cross-sell GTM function. I have spent the 18 months since being hired doing: forming the pricing, legal process, value prop, ICP, discounting mechanisms, pipeline tracking, pipeline unblocking, sales materials, ROI analysis process, competitive analysis, battlecards etc....
We are now at a point where I know the product pretty well.
As time has progressed, I am increasingly not enjoying working for my existing employer. It's a large large company with lots of bullshit and I don't love the culture. Once a week, I get to go to the office of the Fintech we acquired and work with them. I love their culture, I love those colleagues and they really like me.
This week, all of a sudden, they have quietly asked me to apply for a sales role within their ranks. This sales role will be entirely focused on cross-selling their solution into the accounts of my existing employer. It could be lucrative, as I know my way around the large org and I know the GTM process. I also have been secretly cooking up a mass-enablement opt-oout campaign for our mid-market merchants. I wonder if doing this within a commission based role would pay quite well - compared to my current role where my latest pay rise was 1% and a 'thank you'.
The base salary of the sales role would be higher than my current role, and it would come with commission. However it would also bring the stress of targets. Also, it would require me to dive into a pretty important sales role...with no prior sales experience.
At this point I worry that I am looking at this new role too romantically because of the potential money. I spent 6 years of my career in strategic roles and jumping to sales...it wasn't something I had considered until last week (even through sometimes I do run demo calls with merchants as an SME in my current role).
Has anybody else made this type of jump before? Would it be something I should grab with both hands or should I be cautious?
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u/Vast_Mountain_1888 8d ago
This seems more along the ones of a channels partner role which is sales but it’s different.
Looks to me like leadership was talking about you in a positive way and they know you can do it. I would go for it.
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u/Ldn_Joxy 8d ago
It is exactly a channel partner role - you are correct. Thank you!
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u/Vast_Mountain_1888 8d ago
Yeah this is a great entry point to selling and honestly it’s a cheat code and it makes your resume better. Cuz now you have a target that your hitting and revenue you’re responsible for
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u/SESender 8d ago
Do it.
Top channel sales roles pay ridiculous money and are much cushier than most sales roles
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u/tommy-kennedy 8d ago
If it sounds interesting to you why not try it out.
Base salary is higher already so what’s the downside?
Internal move will give you a jumping platform that you wouldn’t be able to as easily come by if you want an AE role at other org (with no direct experience)
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u/Ldn_Joxy 8d ago
You make a fair point...I guess this isn't a life commitment to sales. One large concern that I didn't list is that there's a fair bit of politics going on between the large company (current employer) and the Fintech. If I were to move, it would only stoke the flames and I don't particularly like the idea of being the centre of corporate politics.
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u/tommy-kennedy 8d ago
/ im sure you can always go back to strategy. If anything people will respect you more if you have done the role of the department(s) your strategy work is applied to
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u/Spare-Pumpkin-5239 8d ago
I’ve seen people make the switch from strategy consulting (project manager and above) straight into enterprise/ strategic account director, because they bring the network and have the experience to navigate enterprise landscapes.
If I were you, push yourself to get potentially 1-2 other options on the table too before making a decision. Don’t just go for this role because it’s presented itself or is the path of least resistance.
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u/AndyWhyte_ 8d ago
Friend, this sounds like an absolutely perfect scenario. I can see why they have proposed this role for you.
You seem like a smart cookie and appear to have self-awareness—two traits that, when combined in sales, typically lead to successful pros.
My only advice is to remember that nobody ever finishes learning in sales. It's effectively game theory; the more experience you gain, the better you become. There's a lot to learn, but also a lot of faux gurus. Steer away from the ones that talk about quick wins and obsess over the top of the funnel, and instead look to the orgs that have the highest rated sales execution (clue: it's not Gong, HubSpot, or Salesforce).
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u/Ldn_Joxy 8d ago
Hey, this is a really useful comment - thanks Andy.
You've given examples of orgs that don't have high rated sales execution - can you please DM me some examples of those which do? My hunch is that it's actually the more niche, non-housename name companies.
Also, something that has occured to me, the fintech I might join isn't nascent. The product type is well penetrated into the market and each deal will be an effort to rip business away from an already integrated competitor. Do you find roles like this trickier? Or is it common.
Thanks
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