It was 2018, and I had been working at a privately owned ICT Services company (Access Testing) and decided to leave and join a publicly traded company, DWS.
At the time my manager was retiring and I was convinced I had reached my limit in that company. I would have stayed if they had given me my manager’s old job, but that’s another story!
In the first 12 months at DWS, I worked hard and found some moderate success. Overall it was a good company. At times there were sales pressure and stress, which is normal to any sales job.
Then on one sunny afternoon I was contacted by a recruiter to entice me to a “new company” that peaked my interest. To this day I regret even listening to that guy! If I had of stayed at DWS, there would have been a few bumps, but I was on a good wicket and hitting my sales targets.
Instead I ended up accepting a role with a mobile app developer that was a bad fit for me and for them. If I had my time again I would have stuck with DWS and enjoyed a successful sales run.
The first two years of a sales role is the most challenging. You are yet to establish a track record of sales as well as mature relationships with important people in the organisation and industry that you work in.
Not surprising, according to According to HubSpot, the average sales rep tenure is only 18-20 months! That’s not even two years!
It’s a great tragedy when sales people do not stay for a good tenure. They waste all the energy of building external relationships with buyers and learning the product. Both the sales person and the company do not realise a full return on their investment.
So if you are starting a new job, consider the following:
Read The First 90 Days book. It guides you how to establish yourself in any new role.
Work your but off in the first two years! You need to achieve both short-term and long-term wins.
And be ready for a bumpy ride! You will get challenged by senior management to see if you are delivering. Show them both sales results and activities that lead to long-term success.
This strategy will work if you try it.
And finally if you manage to stay for two, three or four years, the job will get easier. You will understand the role and what’s needed for success.
Being successful in the role will give you more freedom.
Enjoy the ride!
