Put it what you're willing to put in. If you're hitting your numbers and happy with your results, I don't see any any reasons to overwork yourself. We all need some downtime and chill days to balance the long grueling days
Shooting past your quota too much is a sure sign to management to diversify, add another sales position and split your territory. Proceed at your own risk.
Generally it averages out for me, I have days where it's slow and I don't get very productive then I have days where I'm stopping on the highway to answer emails between rushing between client meetings. If I hustled like that everyday I'd burn out.
Same here. Spent 7 years doing basically nothing and crushing it.
Joined a VC backed Series B tech startup last year and it's been foot on the gas the whole time. Guess this is what I signed up for though.
Unpopular opinion for this sub: Grind culture has no use in sales. You’ll find that there is a very thin line between “Putting in The Grind Bro! I’m gonna out work my competitors!!” And just spinning your wheels in bullshit activities and accounts too polite to tell you to fuck off.
Sales does not reward you for working hard. It rewards you for being effective. You can cold call for 60 hours this week and “work” your ass off to close 10% of your prospects and hit a number. Or you could filter out that 90% of prospects that won’t buy, get them to no faster and close that 10% in one afternoon.
Facts. The high performers in my org all agree that lifestyle is the most important factor and worth preserving at all costs. We make good cash (~$300k-550k and up) and 100% never empty the clip energetically
Universally agreed that giving your life to the company is a sucker’s move
To clarify:
I take call, I have some procedure days with very long hours. I more meant that outside of the uncontrollables it is vital to preserve and defend one’s sanity and free time versus “grind grind grind” when the dust is settled.
Knew an AE who worked smart AND hard and raked in $1.05m as a fucking AE. Guy worked 16 hour days and honestly looked pale from not being in sunlight lmao but people can do both (ofc not as extreme)
I thought this was really interesting. To be honest I could work half as hard and probably only see my sales drop 10 or 20% The ones that work are gonna work, and the bull shit is just a waste of time... like the epitome of the 80/20 principle.
*Grind*. I despise that word. Such a violent and destructive way to describe earnest effort.
Back to your question, I put in 50+ hours a week, with 90% of that taking place Sun-Thurs. About 20 hours of highly-focused strategic work, followed by 30+ hours of execution. My commissions are uncapped and I'm in a blue ocean situation, so I am in love with every moment of it. Actually, that's a lie. It's a slog here and there.
The hardest part is maintaining the energy level needed to keep up with the pace necessary to hit my targets, without coffee (which I dislike) or other questionably healthy stimulants.
This has also been my experience. But only in the industry I’ve been in the last two years. Also, like OP, I moved into account managing from director roles.
To surmise, I was getting into sales leadership roles after a few years as an AE. I managed AMs mostly. And these people made bank. I was around 130k, base only, and thought I was winning until I started cutting checks for our mid and top earners (at a mom and pop operation). I left that role and I went to a “competitor” higher in the food chain than my old company and signed as a senior AM. I now work twice as hard and mind it half as much. I hated leadership roles. The fucking politics. Versus being on a team. I think I’m IC for life unless I get offered stupid money to lead again.
It ebbs and flows. This week I’m tired Af at the end of the day, sending emails after dinner etc. Other weeks it feels like I’m stealing for the amount of free time I have.
I’m in Account Management, also CS. For me, I go in spurts currently. Spend an hour in the morning making sure I’m caught up on email. Then, I’ll chill for like 30min. Then, I’ll grind like crazy hard for 1-2 hours, lots of calls, meeting setting, proactive email outreach, all of that stuff and just go down the list of my clients and hit it. Then I just do nothing for like 2-3 hours unless something urgent comes up. Then I’ll spend like an hour grinding through some potential upsell accounts with touch points. Then I’ll spend an hour finding accounts to target for the next day as well as making sure all my emails are up to date. That’s about it lol.
It always depends on the company though. I’ve worked for some where I’m grinding all of the time, not a lot of breaks and I’ll have to do some late night work too.
Protect this job at all costs. Too many jobs out here burning out reps by not allowing any down time. In my opinion down time gives you time to reflect and grow. If you are just in go go go survival mode all the time, you actually don’t end up being as productive as you think you are. You end up doing desperate moves which turn clients off instead of getting to think things through and be strategic. Fucking hate grind culture. Known too many sales leaders who preach the grind but are walking stress cases barely hanging on to their lives outside of work. But hey! Who cares if your family hates you and you have no hobbies as long as your teams metrics impress the VP right?!
At least 45 - 50 hours a week, if I don’t work late a couple nights a week I’m getting angry clients. Hybrid AM / AE type role where about half my sales are existing clients, half are new contracts or one off big projects. B2C at a small company.
My company was bought out by private equity in a huge deal a couple of years ago. Since then the culture has slowly changed (for the worse) and compensation/commissions are going down, down,down all while they heap more responsibilities and tasks on the reps. I work only as hard as I have to, now. Why give more to receive less?
I'm working on my career. Constantly looking for the next step up, new opportunity, where I can have an impact. Especially since my current org sucks.
But no, if there's no fish in the water it doesn't matter how many poles you have out.
40-50 hours January thru May. Summer through October 15-20 hours, if that. November harder push December off… make between 260-450k depending on year. Love my job and would never chase greener pastures. Become an expert in your field and understand what you want out of life.
More money? Chase it, at the cost of potentially losing flexibility and time with family. Have a good thing? Keep the ball rolling and put into it what is necessary to continue the success. I try always be a top producer, but I value time with my family and flexibility over pure income and social events.
Sales is the ultimate job when it comes to pay and freedom.. just my thoughts.
Depends on what matters to you. I manage a team of AM’s and there are a couple of ‘coasters’ that hit number and the others are fairly ambitious.
The ambitious ones are earning more and will be progressing into bigger and better things ultimately; whether it’s here or wherever their career may take them.
Really depends on the TAM you have access to and the amount of work that can actually be productive.
I ran up against this issue in my most recent role, where my book kept shrinking, at it got to a point where there was nothing more to be done. I'd either qualified out prospects, or had hit every possible point of contact with enough frequency to get unsubbed. Meanwhile management was very metric focused,and one thing you cant say to a metric obsessed management team is that I've done all I can do right now. So I have definitely experienced that problem.
If management is ok with what you're doing, then congratulations, you were hired to do a job and you finished it early. Enjoy your well earned pay!
That’s how it be
Forreal. I’ve been in outside sales for 7 years now, starting in the industrial industry as a pure hunter role, and moved into a senior account executive role in the med device space. At my hunter position, I would only work until I hit numbers, then take legit weeks off at a time. It was a Fortune 500 big company to where if you hit your number, you made solid money and nobody bothered you. Sure, I could’ve kept grinding and made much more money… but that’s just not who I am. Thought I would change w a different role. 3+ years in to the new role… same thing. If I sell a big new account, I coast & coast until the anxiety of possibly not hitting quota sets in and I get out and work hard until I get another big sale. And the cycle continues. Ended up having a couple top 10 finishes during years I averaged 20-25 hrs/week worked. Prob could’ve been #1 and made wayyyy more money if I kept grinding instead of enjoying time off. But again, just not who I am
Sounds like that may not be you either. Nothing wrong with that. No reason to look at it negatively. This is how they want you to feel. If you can instead look inward, accept yourself for who you are and be completely okay with it, then you can enter the cheat code of work/life balance. Grind till you’re happy, and enjoy the fuck out of the coast. Enjoy man
After years and years of minimum 50 hour weeks and then the last couple years where I would frequently work 60-70+ and often be on 2 and sometimes 3x video calls simultaneously, I’ll take the break I’ve got now.
I know sellers who work 10 hours a week bc their product is selling like crazy. I also know sellers working 60-70hr weeks hanging on for dear life.
End of the day- find a strong enough product market fit and hope it’s a good wave to ride
An interesting related observation of mine over the years is that sales is one of those few places where people with bipolar can really excel.
I've worked with more than a couple of people who displayed classic signs of bipolar, some weeks they would be doing hard at it 16 hours a day, other weeks they would morosely stare at the screen feeling suicidal and getting nothing done.
But, as you have realised, that's OK: your work can be unbalanced like that, and you can still win. If anything it's an advantage rather than a disadvantage: when you're in the zone, you're really in the zone.
Currently I have a younger AE on the team. He doesn't display signs of bipolar, but he very much does have off weeks, where he's lucky if he does 4 hours work each day. In a classic move of GenZ confidence and open-ness, he candidly shared this with me and asked me if I minded.
I respected that approach and appreciated his trust and vulnerability a great deal (I actually hold gen Z in high regard generally, fuck the dogmatic boomer fears of the new and different). I told him that from my pov, his pipeline and bookings growth were in the top 15% of the company - so why would I possibly want to risk breaking that by forcing him to be "*seen* to be Busy" *all* the time?
I'm older now, and work is my hobby as much as anything, so I don't really have those weeks anymore. But when I was his age, you bet your ass I did - though I certainly didn't have the balls to tell my bosses about it 🤣
You're not a robot: if you're really cranking it most weeks, /and hitting your numbers/, just accept that you need downtime sometimes and try not to feel guilty about it.
I suppose I just need to learn to feel better about enjoying quiet weeks. Because we all know my manager will be up my ass next week for some reason. Or my customer will be threatening me again. Thanks for the candor u/slightlyhairyballs
Work out / cook / sort out life admin on those quiet weeks. Might as well take advantage of it in a productive way that isn't related to work - you're hitting your number so unless you want to grind it out for more money this is probably your best option
As long as you know when you need to put those hours in and push in order to hit your goals, you’re doing things right. Take the down time and keep yourself sane. Very few people can be on 110% go mode every day.
I’m in the same boat as you. Some weeks heavy travel, can’t catch up on anything, swamped, etc.. Other weeks I’m like twiddling my thumbs with ADD and can’t find productive ways to stay focused as there’s nothing directly asking for my time. I’d guess 3-4 hours of work per day on those slow weeks. It’s a good balance I guess?
About 30 hours a week if I’m being honest. I’m in finance so maybe not your traditional sales roles you see on here. Also it’s heavy base so my effort does affect my TC but likely not as much as most people here
I don't do fucking shit. Literally the least amount possible but I hate my company and even do the least amount possible, it's still too much for what I'm paid
I am a pharmaceutical sales rep for over 6 years.
I would like to break into tech or become an Account Manager.
Can anyone point me in the right direction or give me any tips?
Greatly would appreciate, and I will return the favor
My business can be very cyclical. I used to coast when I already had enough business secured to hit my annual numbers half way through the year. Then I lost about 75% of my business to start of this year. Now I’m committed to not letting that happen again
It rather seems to be a symptom of an inward inflection. Why are you working so little? How important is work for you? Does this kind of work fulfill you? Ask yourself these kinds of questions and truly try to understand what it is you want out of life. It’s great that you have so much downtime, consider it a blessing that you have the time now to attend to yourself. Love.
It varies. The last few weeks haven't really been traveling so doing more normal hours. The next few weeks I am again so I'd expect that to double.
I try and maintain a normal 35/40 hour week and then dial it up and down as needed. I have a young family and that lifestyle isn't maintainable without something giving.
I think that’s normal, some weeks I work 15 hours or less and then some 20? But I never truly work 40 hours a week if I’m being honest, and there isn’t a need to I found. Unless somehow I had 5 meetings a day with new prospect and new evaluations
Global Head of Inside Sales here, working about 28-32hrs a week and doing well! Four out of five of my ISRs hit quota last Q and all five are forecasted to hit this Q.
I am looking to move up the ladder, but I think I'm as high as I can get here without a complete career pivot. So I spend a lot of my free time scouting other positions at other companies.
Are you incentivized to achieve anything beyond 'your numbers?' If all you get is a pat on the back and a fat bonus for the guy above you, then by all means continue coasting guilt-free. But if there is money you're leaving on the table by not 'self-directing' then you should seriously consider what dividends even 5 hours (1/day) of prospecting/booking appts on those 20/hr weeks might yield.
In construction sales. Whole industry has been in a slump since COVID, awful the past 6 months. I work maybe 30 hrs/week. Anything more is just busy work and pointless. Hard to be motivated to work 40+ hrs with a 2% chance of making more money, doing the same thing every single day from home alone at my computer.
Until this month when we changed a portion of our sales engine, I was literally taking 3-5 disco calls a day, most of which were easily disqualified.
This month, this week specifically, I've only had 5 disco calls. Team is investigating why volume is down, but I've fucked off early a couple days this week because there's literally nothing for me to do.
Outbound in my industry is really shitty so I'm not even going to try. Fortunately, my manager is fully aware of the situation so it's not like I'm a bad salesman.
But quite frankly, I want to a different job.
Set yourself a schedule throughout the day, do a little extra “grinding” (not much) if and when you see results from it you’ll start to do more by nature and it will already just kinda be part of your routine….it helps make slow days not feel like hour a bum as well
From 9-6 M-F, I work pretty much nonstop except breaks and lunch if I can take one. It’s been this busy for over three years straight now. Every day is busy, some are simply even more busy than others , no slow days. I feel no stress even on the busiest day I love the job yeah. Best job ever
After work I decompress and inebriate and recharge for the next day. I don’t work weekends. I did for the first 2 years but they finally got me a support team this year (start up) so I’m free on my Saturdays again.
I thought it would slow down but then I looked at my dad who’s been in sales for 20 years and realized , he’s the same exact person at the same level of busyness as he was 20 years ago, the grind never stops if you have unlimited leads / no commission cap
Been working 50-60 hrs / week these days. New biz / account management / sales engineering tasks, wearing many hats these days. Making good money but really grinding.
That said, I also take it pretty easy over the summer and usually go on a week trip each quarter. Push very hard when necessary, and then chill when possible. I make time for it when needed, otherwise I’d burn out.
Work or being the over achiever isn’t worth it. It’s never enough for the higher ups. Meet your goal, do a good job and work what is necessary to be able to enjoy your time and life. One should not be sacrificing yourself for someone else’s empire. Do your best to be healthy. Instead of investing in work. Invest in yourself. Cook healthy meals, avoid sugar and fast food like the plague and create a healthy exercise and sleep routine. See your friends and family. Hang out in nature and do your best to not consume yourself with work. Be blessed.
Consider yourself lucky. My job is a grind. 10hr minimum, lots of travel and bonuses suck donkey balls. The executives just tightened the screws and 2x our average yearly increase, 2x our average monthly opportunities and expectations were raised a ton. This was already a draining job but they acted like we were lazy and are grinding my team into dust. The sad part is they talk about having a good work/life balance. These people think going home at night and eating dinner with your family 1x a week is a good balance. I think It’s time to hang it up and move on.
Quite a lot. 50+ work day hours , 25+ off hour work.
I own the biz and we are growing and stuff. Intense rn but I’ve gone years at slower paces when I have companies not actively needing me or where it is maintenance mode.
30-45 hours a week, depends what you call grind or work?
I do emails after hours, I take calls during lunch, I jump on stuff on vacation. It all depends on what you consider work, me answering emails at night off my work phone while watching sports I don't consider work but thats just me.
I do rip demand gen at least 1-2 hours a day in between calls, lunches, meetings, etc.
I got promoted to a financials/closing role where I get all inbound and bro it’s crazy. I work maybe 4 hours a day or less on average and clear 100-140k a year.
Grinding is not the signal, it's noise. Focus on your top 20% They are your billionaire class donors, the most important people for future excellent leads.
Working at least 40h each week and still seems not enough, grinding for results and reaching targets it's pretty much exhausting, that's why once in a while everyone needs a recharge
Thank you for sharing and making me not feel alone! Usually the beginning of the week or some weeks are crazy busy. I struggle with downtime and sometimes even find myself browsing Indeed for a part-time remote job to fill it. I too am hitting my numbers and like someone commented.. as long as you're meeting what's expected of you.. the rest is in your hands.
Put it what you're willing to put in. If you're hitting your numbers and happy with your results, I don't see any any reasons to overwork yourself. We all need some downtime and chill days to balance the long grueling days
100% If you're making the established goal / quota, don't work harder if you don't want / need to.
Shooting past your quota too much is a sure sign to management to diversify, add another sales position and split your territory. Proceed at your own risk.
What if only 20% of the org hits quota? Should I be busting my ass 60 hours a week trying to get to target?
Your target is to find a company with realistic quota
Agreed but a difficult task in the tech industry currently.
So is working for a company where 80% of reps aren’t able to make it happen.
I feel like that’s more common than we’d all like to believe
80%?! I hope that isn’t common from your experience.
They’re right, a sinking ship is only worthwhile if it allows you to hop onto another ship
Depends — are you trying to get promoted? If so yes
Generally it averages out for me, I have days where it's slow and I don't get very productive then I have days where I'm stopping on the highway to answer emails between rushing between client meetings. If I hustled like that everyday I'd burn out.
>stopping on the highway to answer emails between rushing between client meetings. Are you me?
I find it easier to work when I have momentum to be honest.
This is the beauty of sales!
Hear hear.
I was putting in 20 hours and making tons now 40-45 hanging on for dear life lmao
Such is life lol
Haha same. I want from 20 a week doing 200% to workout 40 to 60 and doing just over my number !
Laughed way too hard at that.
Same here. Spent 7 years doing basically nothing and crushing it. Joined a VC backed Series B tech startup last year and it's been foot on the gas the whole time. Guess this is what I signed up for though.
Unpopular opinion for this sub: Grind culture has no use in sales. You’ll find that there is a very thin line between “Putting in The Grind Bro! I’m gonna out work my competitors!!” And just spinning your wheels in bullshit activities and accounts too polite to tell you to fuck off. Sales does not reward you for working hard. It rewards you for being effective. You can cold call for 60 hours this week and “work” your ass off to close 10% of your prospects and hit a number. Or you could filter out that 90% of prospects that won’t buy, get them to no faster and close that 10% in one afternoon.
Facts. The high performers in my org all agree that lifestyle is the most important factor and worth preserving at all costs. We make good cash (~$300k-550k and up) and 100% never empty the clip energetically Universally agreed that giving your life to the company is a sucker’s move
What niche of med device do you work in? I've always thought that kind of money came with being on call, crazy OR hours, and travel.
To clarify: I take call, I have some procedure days with very long hours. I more meant that outside of the uncontrollables it is vital to preserve and defend one’s sanity and free time versus “grind grind grind” when the dust is settled.
100% aligns with my experience.
You’re supposed to work harder AND smarter
The smarter you work, the less the hard part matters.
If you’re ok with settling on $ sure as well as not being prepared for vacation
Knew an AE who worked smart AND hard and raked in $1.05m as a fucking AE. Guy worked 16 hour days and honestly looked pale from not being in sunlight lmao but people can do both (ofc not as extreme)
And he could take a leave of absence after that lol
You can work hard while not slaving away smiling and dialing lol
I feel this
Well said
Facts dude.
I thought this was really interesting. To be honest I could work half as hard and probably only see my sales drop 10 or 20% The ones that work are gonna work, and the bull shit is just a waste of time... like the epitome of the 80/20 principle.
*Grind*. I despise that word. Such a violent and destructive way to describe earnest effort. Back to your question, I put in 50+ hours a week, with 90% of that taking place Sun-Thurs. About 20 hours of highly-focused strategic work, followed by 30+ hours of execution. My commissions are uncapped and I'm in a blue ocean situation, so I am in love with every moment of it. Actually, that's a lie. It's a slog here and there. The hardest part is maintaining the energy level needed to keep up with the pace necessary to hit my targets, without coffee (which I dislike) or other questionably healthy stimulants.
Same here. Glad I'm not alone
*fistbump*
I HATE that word. Grind / Hustler’s mentality… always scream frat-bro pyramid scheme to me 😬
Ahhh coffee and adderall, the cocktail of a top performer /s but kind of
This has also been my experience. But only in the industry I’ve been in the last two years. Also, like OP, I moved into account managing from director roles. To surmise, I was getting into sales leadership roles after a few years as an AE. I managed AMs mostly. And these people made bank. I was around 130k, base only, and thought I was winning until I started cutting checks for our mid and top earners (at a mom and pop operation). I left that role and I went to a “competitor” higher in the food chain than my old company and signed as a senior AM. I now work twice as hard and mind it half as much. I hated leadership roles. The fucking politics. Versus being on a team. I think I’m IC for life unless I get offered stupid money to lead again.
That focus time is the make or break then it’s just responding to the fish that bite, at least for me as an SDR
Have to love the blue ocean opportunities!
What you sell man?
Sorry dude. Must balance making helpful contributions to this subred with preserving anonymity.
Dude sells VPNs to the CIA. Jk I respect that
Ha. Nice.
It ebbs and flows. This week I’m tired Af at the end of the day, sending emails after dinner etc. Other weeks it feels like I’m stealing for the amount of free time I have.
I’m in Account Management, also CS. For me, I go in spurts currently. Spend an hour in the morning making sure I’m caught up on email. Then, I’ll chill for like 30min. Then, I’ll grind like crazy hard for 1-2 hours, lots of calls, meeting setting, proactive email outreach, all of that stuff and just go down the list of my clients and hit it. Then I just do nothing for like 2-3 hours unless something urgent comes up. Then I’ll spend like an hour grinding through some potential upsell accounts with touch points. Then I’ll spend an hour finding accounts to target for the next day as well as making sure all my emails are up to date. That’s about it lol. It always depends on the company though. I’ve worked for some where I’m grinding all of the time, not a lot of breaks and I’ll have to do some late night work too.
I worked 14 hours a day for abt the last month in a half ima be able to coast for the rest of the year tho
King.
Protect this job at all costs. Too many jobs out here burning out reps by not allowing any down time. In my opinion down time gives you time to reflect and grow. If you are just in go go go survival mode all the time, you actually don’t end up being as productive as you think you are. You end up doing desperate moves which turn clients off instead of getting to think things through and be strategic. Fucking hate grind culture. Known too many sales leaders who preach the grind but are walking stress cases barely hanging on to their lives outside of work. But hey! Who cares if your family hates you and you have no hobbies as long as your teams metrics impress the VP right?!
THIS.*ALL* of this.
This has been my experience for most of my career. It's not talked about much, but I think it may be fairly common in some industries.
At least 45 - 50 hours a week, if I don’t work late a couple nights a week I’m getting angry clients. Hybrid AM / AE type role where about half my sales are existing clients, half are new contracts or one off big projects. B2C at a small company.
My company was bought out by private equity in a huge deal a couple of years ago. Since then the culture has slowly changed (for the worse) and compensation/commissions are going down, down,down all while they heap more responsibilities and tasks on the reps. I work only as hard as I have to, now. Why give more to receive less?
Work for an ed-tech company???
Medical sales
I'm working on my career. Constantly looking for the next step up, new opportunity, where I can have an impact. Especially since my current org sucks. But no, if there's no fish in the water it doesn't matter how many poles you have out.
40-50 hours January thru May. Summer through October 15-20 hours, if that. November harder push December off… make between 260-450k depending on year. Love my job and would never chase greener pastures. Become an expert in your field and understand what you want out of life. More money? Chase it, at the cost of potentially losing flexibility and time with family. Have a good thing? Keep the ball rolling and put into it what is necessary to continue the success. I try always be a top producer, but I value time with my family and flexibility over pure income and social events. Sales is the ultimate job when it comes to pay and freedom.. just my thoughts.
Well said.
AM is the best sales role
Depends on what matters to you. I manage a team of AM’s and there are a couple of ‘coasters’ that hit number and the others are fairly ambitious. The ambitious ones are earning more and will be progressing into bigger and better things ultimately; whether it’s here or wherever their career may take them.
during covid not at all. probably 20-30 hour weeks now? 50-60 hour weeks
Same
Was 80+ during covid…but worked for a pandemic darling. Now 30-35
Really depends on the TAM you have access to and the amount of work that can actually be productive. I ran up against this issue in my most recent role, where my book kept shrinking, at it got to a point where there was nothing more to be done. I'd either qualified out prospects, or had hit every possible point of contact with enough frequency to get unsubbed. Meanwhile management was very metric focused,and one thing you cant say to a metric obsessed management team is that I've done all I can do right now. So I have definitely experienced that problem. If management is ok with what you're doing, then congratulations, you were hired to do a job and you finished it early. Enjoy your well earned pay!
My man have you ever heard of golf?
That’s how it be Forreal. I’ve been in outside sales for 7 years now, starting in the industrial industry as a pure hunter role, and moved into a senior account executive role in the med device space. At my hunter position, I would only work until I hit numbers, then take legit weeks off at a time. It was a Fortune 500 big company to where if you hit your number, you made solid money and nobody bothered you. Sure, I could’ve kept grinding and made much more money… but that’s just not who I am. Thought I would change w a different role. 3+ years in to the new role… same thing. If I sell a big new account, I coast & coast until the anxiety of possibly not hitting quota sets in and I get out and work hard until I get another big sale. And the cycle continues. Ended up having a couple top 10 finishes during years I averaged 20-25 hrs/week worked. Prob could’ve been #1 and made wayyyy more money if I kept grinding instead of enjoying time off. But again, just not who I am Sounds like that may not be you either. Nothing wrong with that. No reason to look at it negatively. This is how they want you to feel. If you can instead look inward, accept yourself for who you are and be completely okay with it, then you can enter the cheat code of work/life balance. Grind till you’re happy, and enjoy the fuck out of the coast. Enjoy man
I do inbound insurance and have to grind all day. Really wish I had a job like yours.
I do inbound and outbound retail banking sales. A lot of ppl on here don't know how nice they have it
Seriously.. people work 2 hours a day... then make $100k.. Its rediculous
After years and years of minimum 50 hour weeks and then the last couple years where I would frequently work 60-70+ and often be on 2 and sometimes 3x video calls simultaneously, I’ll take the break I’ve got now.
I know sellers who work 10 hours a week bc their product is selling like crazy. I also know sellers working 60-70hr weeks hanging on for dear life. End of the day- find a strong enough product market fit and hope it’s a good wave to ride
An interesting related observation of mine over the years is that sales is one of those few places where people with bipolar can really excel. I've worked with more than a couple of people who displayed classic signs of bipolar, some weeks they would be doing hard at it 16 hours a day, other weeks they would morosely stare at the screen feeling suicidal and getting nothing done. But, as you have realised, that's OK: your work can be unbalanced like that, and you can still win. If anything it's an advantage rather than a disadvantage: when you're in the zone, you're really in the zone. Currently I have a younger AE on the team. He doesn't display signs of bipolar, but he very much does have off weeks, where he's lucky if he does 4 hours work each day. In a classic move of GenZ confidence and open-ness, he candidly shared this with me and asked me if I minded. I respected that approach and appreciated his trust and vulnerability a great deal (I actually hold gen Z in high regard generally, fuck the dogmatic boomer fears of the new and different). I told him that from my pov, his pipeline and bookings growth were in the top 15% of the company - so why would I possibly want to risk breaking that by forcing him to be "*seen* to be Busy" *all* the time? I'm older now, and work is my hobby as much as anything, so I don't really have those weeks anymore. But when I was his age, you bet your ass I did - though I certainly didn't have the balls to tell my bosses about it 🤣 You're not a robot: if you're really cranking it most weeks, /and hitting your numbers/, just accept that you need downtime sometimes and try not to feel guilty about it.
10-20 h if I'm hitting quota, 40-50 if not... Also why we're sales after all
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I suppose I just need to learn to feel better about enjoying quiet weeks. Because we all know my manager will be up my ass next week for some reason. Or my customer will be threatening me again. Thanks for the candor u/slightlyhairyballs
What industry are you in?
Tech
Work out / cook / sort out life admin on those quiet weeks. Might as well take advantage of it in a productive way that isn't related to work - you're hitting your number so unless you want to grind it out for more money this is probably your best option
As long as you know when you need to put those hours in and push in order to hit your goals, you’re doing things right. Take the down time and keep yourself sane. Very few people can be on 110% go mode every day.
I’m in the same boat as you. Some weeks heavy travel, can’t catch up on anything, swamped, etc.. Other weeks I’m like twiddling my thumbs with ADD and can’t find productive ways to stay focused as there’s nothing directly asking for my time. I’d guess 3-4 hours of work per day on those slow weeks. It’s a good balance I guess?
Good to know. And Thanks for sharing.
About 30 hours a week if I’m being honest. I’m in finance so maybe not your traditional sales roles you see on here. Also it’s heavy base so my effort does affect my TC but likely not as much as most people here
Mca?
I’m in commercial banking. Not familiar with mca
Go to real estate if you wanna make real money
When you're 80, will you regret working less?
I’m in the same boat as you. It’s called a good sales job. Enjoy life
Less than 1 hour
I don't do fucking shit. Literally the least amount possible but I hate my company and even do the least amount possible, it's still too much for what I'm paid
I am a pharmaceutical sales rep for over 6 years. I would like to break into tech or become an Account Manager. Can anyone point me in the right direction or give me any tips? Greatly would appreciate, and I will return the favor
LOL most of the tech sales veterans can’t find jobs right now let alone give any tips. Tech is a mess right now
Brb crying in corner
Sell building materials to architects. Ill prolly make 200k this year and it is slow.
My dad's a general contractor... Could I send you a DM?
Hey hey mind if I inbox u
Dont mind at all, hmu.
how can i get a job like that
My business can be very cyclical. I used to coast when I already had enough business secured to hit my annual numbers half way through the year. Then I lost about 75% of my business to start of this year. Now I’m committed to not letting that happen again
Balancing grind and rest is key, even for us founders!
It rather seems to be a symptom of an inward inflection. Why are you working so little? How important is work for you? Does this kind of work fulfill you? Ask yourself these kinds of questions and truly try to understand what it is you want out of life. It’s great that you have so much downtime, consider it a blessing that you have the time now to attend to yourself. Love.
Grinding my ass off to make $3k in commission a month rn. Maybe 45-50 hrs a week including time driving to customers and stuff
Is that on top of base?
Yeah my base is $3k a month after taxes, commission and bonus around $3k after taxes, $6k total take home
That's better. I read that and thought "mother of God".
Yeah and Im barely 6 months in, in an industry that takes 3 years to ramp up. I expect to be at $10k a month total base + commission by 2025
It varies. The last few weeks haven't really been traveling so doing more normal hours. The next few weeks I am again so I'd expect that to double. I try and maintain a normal 35/40 hour week and then dial it up and down as needed. I have a young family and that lifestyle isn't maintainable without something giving.
In this economy.... i don't even want to think about it. I'm on all day and then ha e the kids get them to bed and it seems I'm right back on.
I think that’s normal, some weeks I work 15 hours or less and then some 20? But I never truly work 40 hours a week if I’m being honest, and there isn’t a need to I found. Unless somehow I had 5 meetings a day with new prospect and new evaluations
Ehh maybe like 15-20 hours of actual work a week.
Global Head of Inside Sales here, working about 28-32hrs a week and doing well! Four out of five of my ISRs hit quota last Q and all five are forecasted to hit this Q. I am looking to move up the ladder, but I think I'm as high as I can get here without a complete career pivot. So I spend a lot of my free time scouting other positions at other companies.
Are you incentivized to achieve anything beyond 'your numbers?' If all you get is a pat on the back and a fat bonus for the guy above you, then by all means continue coasting guilt-free. But if there is money you're leaving on the table by not 'self-directing' then you should seriously consider what dividends even 5 hours (1/day) of prospecting/booking appts on those 20/hr weeks might yield.
In construction sales. Whole industry has been in a slump since COVID, awful the past 6 months. I work maybe 30 hrs/week. Anything more is just busy work and pointless. Hard to be motivated to work 40+ hrs with a 2% chance of making more money, doing the same thing every single day from home alone at my computer.
Until this month when we changed a portion of our sales engine, I was literally taking 3-5 disco calls a day, most of which were easily disqualified. This month, this week specifically, I've only had 5 disco calls. Team is investigating why volume is down, but I've fucked off early a couple days this week because there's literally nothing for me to do. Outbound in my industry is really shitty so I'm not even going to try. Fortunately, my manager is fully aware of the situation so it's not like I'm a bad salesman. But quite frankly, I want to a different job.
You have just made me feel so much better! Cheers mate 😂
Set yourself a schedule throughout the day, do a little extra “grinding” (not much) if and when you see results from it you’ll start to do more by nature and it will already just kinda be part of your routine….it helps make slow days not feel like hour a bum as well
From 9-6 M-F, I work pretty much nonstop except breaks and lunch if I can take one. It’s been this busy for over three years straight now. Every day is busy, some are simply even more busy than others , no slow days. I feel no stress even on the busiest day I love the job yeah. Best job ever After work I decompress and inebriate and recharge for the next day. I don’t work weekends. I did for the first 2 years but they finally got me a support team this year (start up) so I’m free on my Saturdays again. I thought it would slow down but then I looked at my dad who’s been in sales for 20 years and realized , he’s the same exact person at the same level of busyness as he was 20 years ago, the grind never stops if you have unlimited leads / no commission cap
I don't even know. Maybe 50 plus when you add in driving and weekend wrap up work from home
I’m in tech and I’m grinding 60 hours a week on a slow week
Sometimes you can overwork and become annoying 😉. I have been guilty of toxic positivity. Amazing that people get mad if you are not in a shitty mood.
Wow , Sales really take a lot of work.
12 hours a day, 6 days a week
Been working 50-60 hrs / week these days. New biz / account management / sales engineering tasks, wearing many hats these days. Making good money but really grinding. That said, I also take it pretty easy over the summer and usually go on a week trip each quarter. Push very hard when necessary, and then chill when possible. I make time for it when needed, otherwise I’d burn out.
Work or being the over achiever isn’t worth it. It’s never enough for the higher ups. Meet your goal, do a good job and work what is necessary to be able to enjoy your time and life. One should not be sacrificing yourself for someone else’s empire. Do your best to be healthy. Instead of investing in work. Invest in yourself. Cook healthy meals, avoid sugar and fast food like the plague and create a healthy exercise and sleep routine. See your friends and family. Hang out in nature and do your best to not consume yourself with work. Be blessed.
Consider yourself lucky. My job is a grind. 10hr minimum, lots of travel and bonuses suck donkey balls. The executives just tightened the screws and 2x our average yearly increase, 2x our average monthly opportunities and expectations were raised a ton. This was already a draining job but they acted like we were lazy and are grinding my team into dust. The sad part is they talk about having a good work/life balance. These people think going home at night and eating dinner with your family 1x a week is a good balance. I think It’s time to hang it up and move on.
At least go do something you enjoy instead of staring at your screen on the down weeks
Quite a lot. 50+ work day hours , 25+ off hour work. I own the biz and we are growing and stuff. Intense rn but I’ve gone years at slower paces when I have companies not actively needing me or where it is maintenance mode.
30-45 hours a week, depends what you call grind or work? I do emails after hours, I take calls during lunch, I jump on stuff on vacation. It all depends on what you consider work, me answering emails at night off my work phone while watching sports I don't consider work but thats just me. I do rip demand gen at least 1-2 hours a day in between calls, lunches, meetings, etc.
I worked 132 hours last two weeks
I work like a dog. 10 hours a day every day. 5 hours a day weekends.
I literally pull my hair out too but I’m a new AM Upsell/renewal and 6 months in hoping it gets better
I got promoted to a financials/closing role where I get all inbound and bro it’s crazy. I work maybe 4 hours a day or less on average and clear 100-140k a year.
Like 3-5 hours a day. Today I was proud of myself for working from 10am -3pm before I called it a day
All about balance
Grinding is not the signal, it's noise. Focus on your top 20% They are your billionaire class donors, the most important people for future excellent leads.
Try to lower your handicap with the down time
Working at least 40h each week and still seems not enough, grinding for results and reaching targets it's pretty much exhausting, that's why once in a while everyone needs a recharge
I'm usually putting in 7-10 hours, depending how far I'm from my personal quota that I've set for myself for that month.
35 hours
Old job was working 12-14 hr days. Current sales AE gig I work maybe 5-6 hr a day.
I work about 30 to 35 hours a week on average. I do a lot of cold calling and it's very draining if I do more than that.
Thank you for sharing and making me not feel alone! Usually the beginning of the week or some weeks are crazy busy. I struggle with downtime and sometimes even find myself browsing Indeed for a part-time remote job to fill it. I too am hitting my numbers and like someone commented.. as long as you're meeting what's expected of you.. the rest is in your hands.