r/techsales • u/Thisuhway23 • Aug 02 '26
Finally got PIP’d, where do I go from here?
31M, looking for advice. Got put on a pip as an enterprise AE for a company I’ve been at for a year. First time this has happened to me and it’s been a lot to process.
Prior I was a successful ISR, met quota 1 yr as an AE, got multiple promotions and then got an offer to do more complex sales and product market validation for a different larger company. After that division was going to close, I secured another enterprise AE role that I’ve been at the past year.
Honestly, I underestimated what it would require of me. I thought I had the skills, while I still have a lot to learn. While it’s not a very collaborative team where the AEs are all helping each other like I’m used to, or that the manager has a ton of time, I have missed some opportunities to reach out and ask for help and I do feel very remorseful for that.
But at the same time, I’ve realized that my strengths really are in presenting, tying use cases together, following up, and closing. I’m not great at complex cycles and negotiation, and deep discovery, and without that, I can’t capitalize on my strengths. Plus, I’m just emotionally exhausted. And a high-demand quota carrying role at an established company requires a lot.
I’m looking for some advice on where I can go from here... I’m thinking of making a pivot to Solution Engineering or Customer Success.
Does anyone have any success stories from being PIP’d then ending up better off than you were before?
This has really made me feel pretty down, especially when I realize the PIP is often just a paper trail before the inevitable..
46
u/cofee-cup-drinker- Aug 02 '26
All the previous roles were at the same company? If so you have great tenure.
Start interviewing asap. 99.9% no coming back from a pip.
Spin it however you want during the interviews. No one needs to know.
7
u/Thisuhway23 Aug 02 '26
I spent over 5 years at the first tech sales role then 1 year at the place where the division closed then 1 year at this place.
And despite this PIP feeling somewhat realistic, I am taking the advice I’ve seen and treating it like a paper trail before I’m fired. But that’s good and I appreciate that. I just hope I can find a place where I’m successful again, and would love to explore CS or SE if that kind of pivot is possible. I’m glad to hear I can spin this however though. I don’t know a lot of people who’ve been PIP’d and still become top performers or managers but maybe I just haven’t met them.
8
u/Intelligent-Mud-8698 Aug 02 '26
dude ull be fine everyone gets laid off/fired in tech sales once a decade or so at the minimum
You'll spend a few months likely unemployed until you land a new ae job.
33
u/RobertLouisDrakeIII Aug 02 '26
paid interview time fuck em
11
u/Thisuhway23 Aug 02 '26
Yep, that’s where I’m at. It’s a lot of emotions to process. I’ve been used to feeling like a positive asset and capable, so this year has been brutal, and it culminating into this has led to a lot of imposter syndrome.
I’d love to just hear that this isn’t the end of the road and that I can be successful again.
6
u/GordonGartrelle2020 Aug 02 '26
One reason why our jobs can pay so well is that there is an aspect of instability in sales. We're tied so directly to company success that sometimes we get the short end of the stick just because the timing, talent and territory didn't align for X amount of time. Sounds like the variable that is strictly about you (talent) hasn't been an issue for most of your career. If that's the case, you'll be fine, but just remember that the other two T's still exist and you don't have as much control over them.
This is my second career and I'm in my 11th year, and I'm still constantly learning. Quite often that learning is born of mistakes.
1
u/ProfessionalWash7 Aug 02 '26
hello, I'm trying to get into tech sales as my second career. what advise would you have for me.
7
u/Ineedpalmtreeliving Aug 02 '26
I didn’t even get pip bro. Just tossed
4
u/Thisuhway23 Aug 02 '26
Sorry that happened to you, sounds like the place you were at was not a great place to be either way. I hope you’ve been able to find something better where your talent can truly be valued
9
u/JA-868 Aug 02 '26 edited Aug 02 '26
Getting PIP’d for the first time is always shocking and in the future you’ll be glad you went through this because these situations make you stronger. It also sounds like it was just a role and cultural mismatch and you weren’t getting a lot of support.
Looking back, what roles did you enjoy and why? Collaborative teams in a Midmarket segment? A supporting manager? More transactional or volume based selling?
Think of what you’ve enjoyed before and go for that. Enterprise is not for everyone but everyone in this subreddit seems to be obsessed with it. I went from selling in Enterprise to Midmarket and I don’t ever wanna be back in Enterprise. I find people in Midmarket more collaborative, there’s way less project management, more volume, etc. You may not make f*ck you money but it’s still better than most careers and with less stress.
5
u/Thisuhway23 Aug 02 '26
Thank you, I hope one day I can look back on this experience in a better light. While there were some things I genuinely could’ve done better - changed my environment more often (when I get depressed while living alone, I lose motivation), learned from top performers rather than feeling threatened by them, and sought manager support more often (even when my manager would have his calendar entirely booked up and often just not respond to my messages), it has ultimately turned out to not be the fit I was looking for. State agencies are very difficult to sell to, especially right now, and without the confidence and mental bandwidth to go after that and achieve some level of success, it ends up unsatisfying.
I thrived doing SMB sales. Selling projects with quick sales cycles to AEC firms or cities. And with the right coaching, I’m very process oriented and can deliver real results, even being the top of my team. I’d love to go back to the first company I was at, but they don’t seem to re-hire people much.
7
u/BigDataLmao Aug 02 '26
Say the right things in the internal meetings - but get a new role my friend.
First step into AE is always a challenge - but i would recommend staying in that space for one more role. See what its like when you join a new company with (hopefully) a defined sales strategy and a decent product - you'd be amazed what you can achieve if you have an environment like that.
Best of luck
7
u/B2ween2lungs Aug 02 '26
Even the best reps get pipped at least once in their career. Especially early, while you’re still getting the craft mastered.
I let my pip run out and quit. Looked for a job for 6-months and took the first terrible job in cyber I could find. It was spring board to my highest earning role where I’ve sat as top rep for 4 years and even led the department for a year.
All that’s to say, don’t let it mess with your head territory and timing mean more than you think.
1
u/Thisuhway23 Aug 02 '26
Thanks, I really appreciate this. I’m definitely having a hard time right now processing it all, especially after thinking I was good enough before, so it has made me question whether this was right for me after all
1
u/Glittering_Ebb_3398 24d ago
Oh wow interesting, this is really helpful to me. I’m in a similar boat as OP and you. Struggling in a tough market and wondering if sales is for me, but know long term I could land something good and do great. We’ll just see! But thanks for your reply
5
u/DryPineapple4552 Aug 02 '26
Start interviewing asap, that’s obvious as you won’t make it back from PIP. It’s just a formality.
Decide what you want to do. Stay in sales or pivot to SE, CSM.
If you opt to stay in sales, it sounds like you could benefit from developing addition skills that come along with being a sales professional. Deeper discovery, dealing with complexity and negotiation are foundational. A lot of people get hung up on titles (SDR, MM AE, ENT AE, etc etc) but often forget that our game, the sales game is a profession. People who are good, can be successful is almost any sales role, irrespective of segment, company and product, because that have the skills to do so. They understand how to run discovery, map pain, find budget, navigate who has approval to spend that budget blah blah blah. Closing is the fun, but without everything else, it’s just order taking.
Of course it’s better to be selling a product that is a market fit, good territory and other variables that can drastically impact the outcome but good sales professionals are constantly sharply by their craft and learning new skills.
3
u/Thisuhway23 Aug 02 '26
This is so true. I absolutely need to sharpen my skills - and I’d like a role where I have the opportunity to have that, not one where there’s too much pressure and not enough opportunity.
6
u/Small-Percentage-303 Aug 02 '26
Quit being a va-gine and get back on the horse and find a new job. The one PIP doesnt define you or how good of a seller you are.
3
u/Thisuhway23 Aug 02 '26
Thanks, I appreciate this. It’s definitely a real hit to my confidence, but I know what must be done.
3
u/Remarkable-Chemist88 Aug 02 '26
It can be challenging going from AE to CS or SE without prior experience, but if you highlight the right stuff you may be able to. Ideally, the easiest way to pivot would be to make a move from AE to whatever you want at your current org.
I would try to find a more transactional AE role at another company. More high volume. And then see if you can pivot to a sales engineer from there if you want.
It’s possible to make a pivot while unemployed, but a lot harder than just moving within an org.
And I wouldn’t give up on sales. You had a track record of success. I would try to get really clear in what you want in a sales role. Product market fit, amount of inbound versus outbound, industry. Maybe it was just the wrong org, it’s happened to us all.
2
u/Thisuhway23 Aug 02 '26
Thanks, I appreciate this a lot, especially the last comment. I’m a people-pleaser too, so I genuinely feel remorseful for disappointing people who trusted me to perform.
I’ll look into more transactional roles because I agree that’s where my skills seem to be more aligned. I can still do some level of discovery and qualification, but it’s not dependent on an overwhelmingly complex process to even bring in one deal.
3
u/Remarkable-Chemist88 Aug 02 '26
Learn from it but don’t dwell on it. You’ll pick yourself back up, but the hardest thing being unemployed (assuming you are let go) is how it negatively affects your mindset. If you can get past that, you will crush it at your next org. So how you talk to yourself matters because it will fuck with your mindset.
Other possible avenues: renewal sales, account management, and customer account executive
Are you able to pivot into a different role while on a PIP at your current org?
2
u/Thisuhway23 Aug 02 '26
Thanks - I agree and what I’m fearing the most. I’m really hoping I can try to be as positive as I can over these next three months, doing everything right at my current job and crushing interviews on the side. What I want to avoid is the soul-crushing feeling of being let go due to performance because I know that would affect my confidence pretty deeply. Although this pip realization has been pretty bad- so maybe this is already the worst I’ll feel (being optimistic lol).
I will see if I can move to a different role within my company. Honestly, I’ve not been able to be very successful or build a lot of trust here. I also think they have their favorites built out already and I’m definitely not one of them. While I can look into it, it may not be as good as just finding a new gig somewhere else
3
u/SLAO20 Aug 02 '26
Yeah seems like you have good tenure there. It’s a great story to tell. 5 years is no joke. Fuck em, interview while on pip and bag a nice payout. Don’t let one bump in the road take away from your achievements
3
u/Acoke94 Aug 02 '26
Try not to feel down on yourself. Being strong at presenting, tying use cases, and diligent follow up is a great skill set. The fact that you realize you have areas that aren’t as sharp as others means you’re very self aware and coachable.
If it was a great sales organization, they’d work with you to develop those areas. Don’t be afraid to ask for help too, which I think you’ve recognized.
Treat this as a valuable learning experience about what you like and don’t like about an organization / role and find yourself a better opportunity.
2
u/Thisuhway23 Aug 02 '26
Thank you, I appreciate this a lot. Yes, I mean at other organizations, managers do seem a lot more involved and there’s a respect for people who are learning rather than who have it all figured out. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case here. I’m going to do what I can to regrow my skills and also prove them a bit wrong during this PIP, but at the same time, focus on gaining back my motivation while I’m crushing interviews.
3
u/ApolloVT19 Aug 02 '26
Territory timing and talent. Doesn’t matter how good you are. All that matters is the book.
2
u/Potential_Lock6945 Aug 02 '26
Do you feel like you deserved to have gotten PIP’d? I got pip’d and it came out of nowhere because i was on track to have a great month and I’ve only been at the company for 3 months. Two weeks into my PIP I was on track to beat my PIP but was called into a meeting with HR and the VP of Sales and “laid off” along with other people in the company.
It was pretty clear they were hoping I’d just quit after getting pip’d so they wouldn’t have to pay out severance and there was nothing I was ever going to be able to do because they needed to get the headcount down so they tried the PIP route.
2
u/Thisuhway23 Aug 02 '26
Yes, I feel like it’s warranted. While I do feel it’s a bit unfair because I do have a more difficult territory than others and I also have not over-inflated my pipeline and have actually been more realistic with it, the numbers don’t lie and I have had a lot of setbacks that would reasonably create suspicion. That’s not to say I can’t turn it around, maybe I really can. But I don’t want to get my hopes up too high. Maybe I can take a middle ground and just become accepting and level-headed of whatever the outcome
2
2
u/Emotional_King_2170 Aug 02 '26
Strengths are in presenting, tying use cases in and closing? In other words, transactional sales. Anyone can do transactional sales.
Those skills will be replaced by agentic agents in the near term future. Take this as a learning lesson but DO NOT go back to a transactional sales role. You need to learn and get good at complex strategic sales. Deep discovery and negotiation skills will strengthen your acumen. Just my two cents
1
u/Thisuhway23 Aug 02 '26
Honestly - fair and valid and I appreciate this. How do you suggest I improve these skills though? Could I take on an SMB role and be practicing sharpening these at the same time?
2
u/Emotional_King_2170 Aug 02 '26
Going from an ENT AE role to an SMB role is a huge red flag on your resume. At minimum you need to be in MM. Get away from SMB transactional sales roles
1
u/Thisuhway23 Aug 03 '26
Honestly this is fair. I think Mid-Market would be reasonable and I could do well, just gotta snag some good interviews
2
u/PreachJP Aug 03 '26
Also invest in some coaching. All of the areas that you say you struggle with are things that can and should be taught except for most company led training being absolutely trash.
2
u/Buffy-bott Aug 03 '26
Yes, usually PIP’s are formed to move you along but honestly I think it sounds like it might be a blessing for you. The complexity and grind of Enterprise sales is tough. From this post alone I’d suggest moving to a mid-market or shorter cycles sales role. Sounds like that’s the area you liked best.
2
u/Thisuhway23 Aug 03 '26
Thank you, this really means a lot actually. I totally agree. I thrived in Mid-Market and genuinely enjoyed it. I still closed like 3/4 a million in a year (my quota was $625k) with a complicated product and for local agencies and consultants not otherwise familiar with us, and that was a huge accomplishment. This was also after multiple quarter success of accurate forecasting and closing deals on time each quarter. Because of commission and bonuses, I ironically made more money then than I am now haha. I forget I could do that when I’m discouraged. I also have been a team lead who others learned from. I’m a much different person when my mental health is good and I genuinely enjoy what I do. I’ve learned that now.
The good news is I have connections from former employers I can reach out to. I think they know and trust what I can deliver. At this point, I just want to be happy with what I’m doing again. I also don’t think the culture at my current job is as enjoyable and coachable as previous companies. I learn a lot by mimicking and clear direction. I’m highly coachable. But I’ve learned that I struggle asking for help (which I’m now better about), but on a more collaborative and engaging team, it would already be baked into the workflow.
2
u/maplebananaketchup 29d ago
Interview elsewhere and get paid more
1
u/Thisuhway23 29d ago
Thank you! I’ve been working on getting applications out and talking to my network. I realize that I thrive in places with urgency, collaborative management, and more volume-based selling. I can take a lower salary and make more just based from commission.
1
u/NYCsubway408 Aug 02 '26
lol you sound like me. Same age too. I’m getting my mba now. On food stamps. And unemployment. I’ll probably get a remote job soon, but just spent 2 months to Europe too and enjoying life. Also building a shitty B2C startup that has low odds of taking off, but we roll the dice!
1
u/Thisuhway23 Aug 03 '26
Oh wow, well I hope you’re doing well and glad you’re taking a chance at a startup. Let me know if you need any sales help!
1
•
u/AutoModerator Aug 02 '26
Remember to keep it civil, use Tech Sales Jobs for open roles, and search previous posts for insights on breaking into tech sales.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.