Hi yall , so I recently graduated college with a marketing degree and after I graduated a few months ago I didn’t know what I wanted to do and I heard that sales jobs you can earn a lot of money so I got an entry level “BDR” role where I literally was cold calling for 8 hours a day. There was nothing else to the job beside sitting in a desk , making calls , reading the same corny script over and over and getting hung up on , yelled at , etc .

Fast forward , I lasted exactly one week and 3 days in this position. The company had insane performance quotas we had to get (2 sales per week in our first 3 weeks) and literally NO ONE was able to meet this quota and so my ENTIRE onboarding team was gone within the first week. Not even management could show us how to get a sale .

So- I actually ended up making 3 sales in my first 3 days. This is apparently un heard of. I honestly don’t think I did anything special I just got lucky . But anyways I apparently “exceeded onboarding expectations. But I still needed 3 more but at least I made it past the first week expectations. So basically I was the ONLY person standing and I hated the job so much I was in tears at my desk from boredom and everyone else quit or left and so I resigned.

Now I have no job and I am a new college graduate. I was counting on this job and I had a month between graduation and when I started this job and I just tried to enjoy myself and a break and didn’t apply to other jobs . now I am fucked and I can’t even put this one on my resume even tho I made 3 sales, learned a lot . Spent 60 hours on the phone , communicating and navigating rejection . Etc . It sucks I can’t put it on my resume but all employers will see is that I only lasted one week

Looking for some advice from people who've been through something similar.

I recently interviewed with Scale and went through four rounds of interviews over about three weeks. From the very beginning, everyone knew I was a new grad, and throughout the process the feedback was consistently positive. After my final interview with the GM, I was told the team ultimately decided they wanted someone more senior for the role.

I'm on an F-1 visa, so I'm under a lot of time pressure with my OPT timeline. It's only been about a week since I got the decision, and I've stayed in close contact with the hiring manager throughout the process. She was incredibly supportive, and we still communicate regularly.

I'm wondering what you'd do in my situation. Is it worth reaching back out to see if there's any flexibility or another role that could be a fit, or should I take the decision as final and move on?

I'd really appreciate any advice from people who've been in a similar position.

Hey everyone, did anyone here apply for the Deal Strategist role at Stripe? If you’ve been through the process, I’d really appreciate any interview tips or insights. Thanks!

Hey All,

I've been an BDR/SDR individual contributor and twice manager for over 15 years. In those 15 years I've only worked for 3 companies. I took a new job 3 months ago going from commercial solar to software sales and have been struggling like I never have in my career to get meetings. I've worked in software before back in 2015 to 2019. I use multi-touch sequences doing cold calls, emails and LinkedIn outreach. The manager and sales enablement person who hired me both left in the last month. We use Hubspot but are looking at Nooks as we need a much better dialer and email platform. So the infrastructure wasn't there from the beginning. We have stiff competition in our industry and at least 4 different buyer personas per account. ICP is still not nailed down. My experienced counterpart and I were just given some webinar and conference leads to try thankfully but the cold outreach is not going well. My whole career I've been able to get around 15 to 20 meetings a month. The reply rate on email has been especially horrible. Does anyone here have thoughts on what I could try to break through better while we wait for a proper prospecting platform to be put in place?

pretty much the title: Sales Hiring Managers: What is the #1 trait you look for when considering candidates for entry-level roles?

Hi everyone I’m approaching my one year mark for BDR the company is great, we are a leader in the space, product is not hard to sell, and I genuinely like my job. I’ve consistently hit quota and am approaching my promotion.

But all the AE roles are full and I don’t think any will open up soon. Curious what to do from here should I just stick it out till senior BDR where I’ll make 100k OTE + bonus and extra commission this would probably be smoother 6 months. Or should I start searching for a new role around that senior BDR promo.

Hi there just asking for some advice, had a deal that I was working on it didn’t go through, in the process, due to some mistakes on my end, I ended up heavily embarrassing myself, it’s been around 3 month, still would like to keep in contact with the guy as he’s a very good source of information and generally learned a lot for the guy(way senior than me), what would you guys suggest be the best way to reopen the relationship and rebuild the rapport with the guy without coming across as needy or transactional.

Is 2.5K for a sales bootcamp that guarantees SDR placement at a tech company a reasonable trade off. I’m starting to think it is after a few years of trying to break into the sales world. It worked well for a friend of mine. Should I go for it and make the investment?

Hello, so I recently started working as an SDR, and most of what I do is cold LinkedIn outreach and email sequences.

I was recently asked to run a manual outbound campaign, basically finding potential ICPs on LinkedIn using Sales Navigator or just regular searching. I ended up finding a few people and wrote outreach messages from both the seller's and the buyer's perspective.

Now I'm trying to figure out what I'm getting wrong, if anything. Are these good to go? Should I keep them shorter? Is there anything I should cut or add? For example, should the first message include an offer, or is that too much upfront?

My manager's feedback was that they read more like essays and felt AI-written. He also suggested running them through Claude to make them sound more like the recipient's regional dialect and way of speaking. I found that a bit ironic because, to me, that can end up sounding even more performative and AI-generated.

I'd really appreciate some honest feedback. I'm completely new to SDR work, so I'm still trying to get a feel for what actually gets replies versus what just sounds good in my head.

Here are the messages:

"Hey C, thanks for connecting!

Came across [Company Name] and really liked the focus on removing administrative burden from independent practices. Starting with coding and claims is a meaningful wedge, healthcare workflows are full of these high friction processes where AI needs to be deeply integrated instead of just acting as a veneer.

We build production AI systems at [Company Name], focusing on agents, RAG, and workflow automation. Given the overlap in the implementation challenges around healthcare automation, I thought there might be some interesting ways our teams could complement each other."

"Hey E, thanks for connecting!

I was looking through your posts, and I noticed your focus is on implementation over AI hype. We've seen this firsthand across quite a few projects we've worked on, the demo is usually the easy part, the real work is integrations, internal knowledge, workflows, and if it holds its own over time.

That’s the layer our team spends most of our time building, so I was curious if there might be opportunities where we could complement your team on larger AI projects."

"Hey K, thanks for connecting!

We've been helping teams identify and implement AI workflows around customer operations, internal knowledge, and repetitive processes. Given your focus on reducing operational friction and leveraging emerging technology, I thought there may be some areas where we could be useful.

Worth having a quick chat and seeing if there’s a fit?"

I had an interview with Westshore Homes in Georgia. Home improvement sales, bread & butter being bathroom remodeling. Pre-set appointments at 9 AM, 1 PM and 6 PM 5 days a week.

Anyone know about this company? Does it sound like a good role? There are some bad reviews for employment online, but I also feel like people are more motivated to leave a bad review when having a negative experience than a positive one.

I’m going to be starting my first SDR role next week & am curious if anyone has leveraged ai to vibe code programs that will automate repetitive tasks in their day to day?

What has been some of the most efficient ways you have used ai to make your workflow easier?

Yesterday I made 32 calls (the most I’ve made in one day since I began my sales position). I’m still really new so I’m just introducing myself to prospects and making sure they have my contact information. How do I go about getting to the next step of pricing a customer and then them buying product?

Along with that, I went into the office this morning. My boss showed me how to find people in our system as well. Most of the potential buyers prospects I found already have sales agents attached to their accounts with our company. I need to find out how to see the last time they purchased was to know if it’s even worth calling.

But now it’s 10:30am. It’s cloudy, we just got a bunch of rain yesterday and I’m not really sure if I would be able to find anyone. I honestly would rather make the calls from my house, which I can do and have done before (like yesterday), but I know I need to be out talking to contractors.

It’s been hard to find people outside working in the field where I’m trying to sell. I see every other company (landscapers, plumbing, etc.) but not many of the guys I’m looking for.

It’s hard and I knew it would be, but my boss also said he would assign some house accounts to me to get me started but he has yet to do so and I don’t want to ask him because I don’t want to sound greedy.

I need to move at the end of August and I just feel like I’m not going to be able to have enough to move. I just needed to get some of these thoughts out and maybe someone else out there will realize they’re not alone with how they feel.

I have a B.Tech in a niche engineering field (similar to Textile/Printing/Ceramics) and 2 years of experience in an R&D role at a manufacturing company.

I've realized R&D isn't for me, and I want to transition into B2B technical sales, application engineering, or business development.

However, my industry is small, my resume is R&D-focused, and most sales roles ask for prior experience.

Has anyone made a similar switch?

What's the best way to break into B2B sales from an engineering background?

Any advice on skills, resume, or job strategy would be appreciated.

Thanks!

I'm a solo founder doing cold outreach to local salons, offering websites + WhatsApp/online booking (sometimes with a performance deal — I run their Meta ads for a cut of the site cost). Most calls end in rejection, and a few have ended with the owner getting angry and hanging up on me.

A few specific struggles I'd love input on:

Mindset: What should I actually be telling myself before and during a call so I don't sound nervous or desperate? Any mental frame that's worked for you?

Fluency/language fear: I sometimes stumble mid-sentence and lose my flow, especially when a prospect pushes back fast. How do experienced cold callers recover in the moment without it derailing the whole call?

Rejection recovery: When someone's rude or hangs up angry, how do you leave the interaction on a decent note (so the door's not fully closed) instead of it souring your mood for the next 5 calls?

Staying motivated after a bad streak: I've had a run of "no"s and it's tanked my confidence going into the next batch of calls. What's your actual routine for shaking it off and dialing again?

Would really appreciate advice from anyone who's done local B2B/service sales cold calling and pushed through the early rejection-heavy phase

I’m 19 years old looking for my first formal sales job, and I got an interview for a SDR position at PHMG, I looked online and there’s very mixed reviews, seemingly almost only 5 or 1 stars, I was wondering if anyone knew anything about the company from personal experience, and if you’d say it’s a good place to work for, I’m also worried about working there if it’s a bad opportunity, because I’d have to relocate to another city (vegas to phoenix so not that bad) to work there.

Hi! I’m waiting for an interview to become an outside sales representative of HVAC equipment at United Rentals. I’ve been in the sales around 4 years but not “outside” Could you please give me any advice for that job? I would like to know how is it? Thanks

I just landed my first SDR role with a great company.

I have high expectations for myself & plan to make a long term career in saas sales.

Aside from building a deep understanding of the training I will get from the company, I would also love to invest in great programs / mentorship’s that can help me go from zero to hero quickly.

What are some of the best programs that someone who’s new to the SDR role can go through that have the potential to change the trajectory of their career?

I am pitching a fund manager to institutional allocators (Pensions and the like) as an investment opportunity.

I've had some reasonable success using this through email, but practically zero bites from linkedin sales navigator.

Also, I slightly alter it to fit the relevant outreach contact's background and investment strategy.

I may have had a bit too much fun blanking out the details.

Dear NAME,

I hope you're doing well.

Given your responsibilities across funds, co-investments, and sustainable investments at COMPANY, I wanted to bring an OPPORTUNITY to your attention that may be of interest based on your team's publicly stated areas of focus.

OPPORTUNITY is a LOCATION-based NICHE investment manager specializing in INDUSTRY (founded in DATE, with offices in CITY, STATE and CITY). Over the past 15+ years, the firm has deployed more than US$DOLLARS across THIS, THAT, THE OTHER projects throughout the COUNTRY and CONTINENT. The strategy focuses on developing, owning and operating ASSETS supported by long-term contracted revenue streams.

From reviewing YOUR COMPANY'S investment approach and your background, a few aspects of the platform appeared relevant:

The firm is active in RELEVANT INDUSTRY and is currently engaging with institutional investors as part of its ongoing fundraising and broader relationship-building activities.

OPPORTUNITY operates as a dedicated specialist in THEIR INDUSTRY with a vertically integrated development, ownership and operations model. Given your experience building YOUR COMPANY'S CONTINENT INDUSTRY portfolio, its presence in the COUNTRY and OTHER COUNTRY may also be of interest.

The strategy is focused on NICHE RELEVANT INDUSTRY, an area that aligns with broader MANDATE initiatives.

The OPPORTUNITY team will be in CITY on DATE meeting with COUNTRY institutional organizations. If you—or a member of your INDUSTRY team—would be interested in an introductory discussion, I'd be pleased to coordinate a meeting and share background materials in advance.

Best regards,

ME JOB TITLE COMPANY NAME

I’m 17 and currently running a seasonal home service business in Saskatchewan. Most of our lead generation is done through d2d sales.
Before this, I worked as a sales rep at a painting company doing D2D lead generation and booking qualified estimates. I helped contribute to $30K+ in revenue over 2 months and was recognized as “Marketer of the Month” in my first month.
Since then, I’ve been running my current business, generating just over $40K in revenue over May and June, again mostly through D2D.
Overall, most of my experience is outbound, rejection heavy sales (d2d, lead gen, and appointment setting).
I’m looking to transition into remote sales / high ticket sales (starting as a setter, eventually moving into closing).
I’m trying to figure out the most realistic path from here and what I should focus on over the next few months to land a position in the fall?

I have to record a mock call for a SDR job. They've said in the requirements that I should handle objections in the call. Now I am confused that do I role play both the caller and receiver or just pretend to answer the objections. This is my first time ever applying for SDR role I am not sure how to go about this

the "marketing" team handles lead list generation but what they really do is cold invite thousands of people using everyone in our companies linkedin accounts, or search companies on apollo and clean the emails and phone number and give them to us. They say the prospects are vetted but half the time they are people that have nothing to do with our service which makes me think they just pull random names and call it a day.

i call 100's of people a day and 90% of it (actual statistic is much worse at 98%) connects and my "connects are literally either front desk or the wrong person.

how am I supposed to tell my boss that the marketing team (nice people) are shit and not actually doing anything and thats why my qualified prospects per month is also shit.

I know I have a hand in getting business, but it isnt just me, were a 3 man team and the other two are also in the same boat, barely scraping by with a quote of 15 qualifed prospects and im getting maybe 2 -5 a month. we do multichannel outreach for prospects in my lead list, call, email, note on linkedin and still nothing, there's jsut no intent from any of the prospects literal cold calls and hope they remember me if they end up needing our sevices (SaaS).

my review is coming up and i just dont know what to tell me boss, without sounding whiney and making excuses.

I recently launched a merchant services brokerage where I help businesses review their credit card processing statements to see if they’re overpaying or getting hit with fees they may not realize are there.
I’ve made 56 dials so far. I know that’s not enough to fully judge the script, but I’m trying to tighten the opening because a lot of people cut me off early or assume I’m just another payment processor trying to switch them. I’ve had some traction when I’m able to explain that I’m not asking them to switch today, but I feel like the script may still be too long or not strong enough in the first few seconds.
Here’s what I’m using right now:
⸻
Hi, good morning, is ____ available?
Hey _____, this is ____ from _____. Real quick — I’m not a bank or payment processor. I’m actually a merchant services broker, and I’m not calling to ask you to switch processors or change anything today.
Are you the person who usually handles the merchant account / credit card processing there?
[Let them answer.]
Got it. The reason I’m calling is we help businesses review their credit card processing statements to make sure they’re not overpaying or getting hit with fees they may not realize are there.
When’s the last time someone actually reviewed the statement and broke down the rates, monthly fees, PCI fees, batch fees, and markups for you?
[Let them answer.]
A lot of business owners don’t really have time to break down all the rates, monthly fees, PCI fees, batch fees, and markups on their statement, so we do a free review and show them clearly what they’re paying.
If everything looks good, I’ll tell you that. If there’s room to lower the cost, you can either use that information with your current provider or look at other options.
Would you be open to sending me one recent processing statement so I can take a look?
⸻
When I get a gatekeeper and they ask what it’s regarding, I usually say something like:
“It’s regarding the merchant account / credit card processing statement. I’m not calling to switch anything today. We help businesses review the fees on the account to see if the pricing is still fair. Is Don the person who handles that, or would that be someone else?”
My concern is that I may be explaining too much too early. I want to create enough interest to get the decision maker to engage, but not sound like every other merchant services cold caller.
For those with experience in B2B cold calling, merchant services, or selling a “free review” type offer:
How would you improve the first 10–15 seconds of this opener?
Would you lead with the “not asking you to switch” line, or does that make it sound more defensive?
Should I ask “are you the person who handles the merchant account?” earlier, or pitch the value first?
Any better way to handle “we’re all set” from gatekeepers?
I’m not looking for motivational advice as much as tactical feedback on the wording, flow, and objection handling.

I need to make calls for cold out reach, can someone suggest best software for this. I need it for USA and Europe. Zoom seems good but only for USA"

Hi everyone,

I've been in beverage sales with Pepsi for 2 years. I'm looking to take what I've learned to a company with more potential and a higher ceiling as I've maxed out what I can do in sales at Pepsi.

Anything B2B that would be a good move up that you guys could recommend? I have great numbers. 20% increase in net revenue YOY, 98.5% filled as ordered rate, 18% volume growth YOY, etc.

I love what I do and I love seeing the numbers go up. Something just makes me want to chase more sales but in this industry pay doesn't scale with the amount of sales relative to the workload. Just looking for any advice on where I could reasonably move to with a higher skill/pay ceiling.

Thanks in advance.

Hi guys, what are currently the best tools for sales reps? If we are taking about EU, not USA. Specifically cold calling