Beware of Working Here in Sales - Account Executive Salesforce Employee Review

2.0
18 Feb 2010
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

great benefits, great technology, compelling product suite, big brand name in the space, leader in the industry, good HQ location, fun parties throughout the year, great benefits package, nice offices and amenities

Cons

terrible middle-management, bullying of employees protected by HR, ability to get ahead rests solely on having a corporate "sponsor" internally (you get it) , bait and switch on territories, territories always very unequal even though they claim that they are all equal, high turnover has resulted in employees being given $10,000 spiffs this year for all hired sales referals - they claim this is due to growth but it is because AEs are often miserable, given an impossible job with an absurd quota, bullied until they experience physical and mental health problems (see ALL of the other reviews and associated comments posted here - click on the comments after each review, there are dozens or these reports), and then shown the door. you are either part of the "old school" crowd here who was with the company pre-IPO so like 5+ years at the company, or you are having a personal relationship with someone in management who is "taking care of you," and then you are given preferential treatment i.e. vacation days not being tracked by your manager, cash-cow best territory year after year, etc. etc. ** OR YOU ARE NOT ** ... in which case you will probably not last here for more than 1-2 years, and probably not that long, because you will be treated poorly, given a territory that Benioff himself couldnt sell into (think rural Indiana and Idaho) and completely miserable. I can't count the # of AEs who fled this place in the 2009 timeframe - dozens. If you are crazy enough to take a job here, be sure you get the exact territory you will be covering written down as part of accepting the job offer - the bait and switch to lure people in here is well-known. You will be promised Chicago and leave your current job, get in the door, take your seat, and be given Louisiana (the boss' girlfriend will end up getting Chicago and no one will remember that you got told you were getting the Windy City - plus the boss' BF probably works in HR so no one to turn to in order to complain). Further, read ALL of the other reviews and comments here on Glassdoor.com - specifically the comments. Again there is a reason this company is giving out 10k referal bonuses to all employees who refer a salesperson who gets hired - and the employee(s) there will tell you how wonderful it is - they're desperate for new people to take the crap jobs so the AEs currently there get the good ones .... and the AEs want the 10k bonus for submitting your resume. They're so greedy for it - its all over LinkedIn constantly. PS - Don't believe the Forbes average salary hype either - that salary figure includes a tiny percentage of Sr. AEs who make $1M plus per year. Countless AEs didnt make jack above their base salary last year - ask about this. And if you get pushed out .... DO NOT LET THEM TALK YOU INTO SIGNING THEIR LEGAL WAIVERS TO PROTECT THEMSELVES

Explore other reviews about Salesforce

4.0
9 Jul 2014
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I've spent over 8 years with Salesforce in various management and individual contributor roles, all customer or partner facing. Some of the pros: - vibrant, fast paced culture - smart, fun, aggressive colleagues - management is focused on latest tech trends and staying or becoming a leader for many of them - by and large, customers and partners are very positive about the technology - good benefits and perqs - hip urban culture at HQ - a chart-your-own-course mentality that rewards those who aggressively seek out the job they want and pursue it, or sometimes even create it

Cons

After my long tenure and many Dreamforce conferences, I'm nearly fried. To say the culture is fast paced and the focus is always changing is an understatement. The reason Salesforce always seems on top, and chasing the latest trend, and in the press, is because employees are expected to run harder, carry more, cheer loudly, and pivot constantly. It's the world's biggest startup in behavior. But at the same time, with the recent influx of top career sales leaders from Oracle and what appears to be a board-level mandate for doubling revenue, employees are being asked to do even more with even less, fill higher quotas with smaller territories, less help, and the big company bureaucracy is rearing it's ugly head. Worse still is the politics. When you hire a bunch of smart, aggressive people, and put them in an environment of outsized expectations, throw in a bunch of re-orgs and changing management, and sprinkle with uncertainty and constantly changing priorities, you inevitably get people back stabbing each other and throwing others under the bus to appear smarter and more worthy of promotion. The few at the top will get very, very rich. The rest will lose the sense of personal ownership and start to wonder why they've given up health and family

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Salesforce Response
1y
It's not often that you get the opportunity to respond to a review 10 years in but your comprehensive and thoughtful review has managed to hold on as one of our most popular even a decade in :) It’s exciting to see that the things we love most about the Salesforce of today — super smart colleagues, being at the forefront of tech trends and establishing ourselves as leaders in the space, great benefits and perks to name a few — haven’t changed in the past 10 years. We acknowledge the challenges you faced, such as the pace, shifting priorities, and internal politics. Your advice on maintaining our foundational vision while avoiding big-company bureaucracy is helpful as we continue to grow as the #1 AI CRM. Salesforce is committed to balancing growth with employee well-being and staying true to our core values. We appreciate your insights and dedication over the years. Thanks again for your feedback!
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