B2B with long sales cycle

[tetal]

I have experience in a certain industry and have the opportunity to take on a sales role. I do not have any sales experience. I understand the products and can explain the features and all that stuff but it doesn't matter if I can't sell. Also, the sales cycle is long about 3-6 months from what they tell me. For those who work in B2B sales or have experience what advice would you give me?

 

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[JAJT]

For those who work in B2B sales or have experience what advice would you give me?

Need more information.

What's the compensation structure like?
Are you taking over a book of business or starting fresh?
Where do leads come from?
Is the product genuinely valuable?
What's the sales support team like?
Do you have autonomy as a valuable sales person or are the equivalent of a cog that just grinds all day?
Is there training or mentorship?
What do they expect the ramp-up period to be?
What's turnover like at the company?
Do existing customers love the product?

A lot goes into deciding to take or not take a sales job.
Assuming you have the freedom of choice anyway. If you absolutely need a job "right now", none of this really matters and you take what's in front of you.

 

[Denim Chicken]

What's the industry?

Long sales cycles have the potential to make more money they just take longer. Make sure you get paid a base and it's not all on commission or a draw. If you're in commercial RE, it will be all on commission or draw.

If this is your first B2B sales job, I would focus more on finding a company that provides good training and is a good stepping stone to a better job than the actual pay.

I would suggest going with a company that will yield more opportunities in the future and my personal recommendation would be the tech space. Just more progressive, a lot of demand for B2B salespeople.

 

[tetal]

Need more information.

What's the compensation structure like?
Are you taking over a book of business or starting fresh?
Where do leads come from?
Is the product genuinely valuable?
What's the sales support team like?
Do you have autonomy as a valuable sales person or are the equivalent of a cog that just grinds all day?
Is there training or mentorship?
What do they expect the ramp-up period to be?
What's turnover like at the company?
Do existing customers love the product?

A lot goes into deciding to take or not take a sales job.
Assuming you have the freedom of choice anyway. If you absolutely need a job "right now", none of this really matters and you take what's in front of you.

The compensation is commission plus base salary. I am starting fresh which means I need to generate prospects. The industry is a mature stable industry. The way it works is the company has a territory and sales reps work in that territory so I will not be a national sales rep. From what I understand I have autonomy, they basically told me what they want is someone to pound pavement and meet prospects to generate new business.

 

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[tetal]

What's the industry?

Long sales cycles have the potential to make more money they just take longer. Make sure you get paid a base and it's not all on commission or a draw. If you're in commercial RE, it will be all on commission or draw.

If this is your first B2B sales job, I would focus more on finding a company that provides good training and is a good stepping stone to a better job than the actual pay.

I would suggest going with a company that will yield more opportunities in the future and my personal recommendation would be the tech space. Just more progressive, a lot of demand for B2B salespeople.

The reason I am interested in this position is that I have non-sales experience in the industry so I understand the product already. They do not have training for sales rep but they have a market/finance team that will assist.

 

[JustKris]

The reason I am interested in this position is that I have non-sales experience in the industry so I understand the product already. They do not have training for sales rep but they have a market/finance team that will assist.

That actually sounds like a super tough first sales job. How much is an average sale? And how much would a commission be?

Long sales cycles mean a lot of back-and-forth, proposals, and negotiation. Depending on the industry, you might have to get the approval of several people and hope that your product fits in their budget for the fiscal year.

But, anything at an enterprise level is going to be pretty lucrative. Especially if it's software, etc.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[NewYorkCity]

That actually sounds like a super tough first sales job. How much is an average sale? And how much would a commission be?

Long sales cycles mean a lot of back-and-forth, proposals, and negotiation. Depending on the industry, you might have to get the approval of several people and hope that your product fits in their budget for the fiscal year.

But, anything at an enterprise level is going to be pretty lucrative. Especially if it's software, etc.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah this

Long sales cycles can be good. My current one is anywhere from 3-12 months to huge orgs. It might be very lucrative with you making four,five, or even six figures on each deal as a simple rep.

 

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