They will try to sell you on the culture and the "Fuelie Values"; however, the organization's actions often do not reflect those values. Here are some examples:
-They hired a BDR team and laid every single one of them off within weeks.
-They decided to double down on their mid-market strategy, hiring and then laying off that entire team shortly after they were hired as well.
- Sales is the constant scapegoat. In the last year, they RIF'd 7 out of 9 sales reps. These folks were very talented and dedicated, and the way it was handled was atrocious. For example, one person drove 6 hours to represent the company at an event. As soon as they arrived, they were told they were let go, and they had to drive 6 hours home. -- They also chose not to pay out ACCRUED PTO to the reps who resided in states where the law does not legally require them to do so. We are talking about folks who worked faithfully for the organization for years.
- Morale outside New Zealand is incredibly low, and burnout is high. Ask US-based employees if they feel they were treated or valued the same as NZ-based employees.
- Accountability is a one-way street. Year after year, the sales team is asked what we need to be more effective, and we consistently made the same requests that continue to be unfulfilled.
The role has always been challenging but has worsened over the years. Here is why:
- There is absolutely zero alignment between marketing and sales.
- The CRO doesn't "lead" or seem to understand the HR buyers we sell to. He also doesn't seem to grasp that organizations buy differently than they did 20 years ago.
- I had three different sales managers last year, with three different methodologies. I had whiplash from the frequency we changed directions.
- Access to SMEs can take weeks, seriously slowing down deal velocity.
Back to doing your due diligence- here is my advice. Walk into this with eyes wide open. Do your research and ask the right questions:
- Reach out via LinkedIn and speak to ANYONE who has left enterprise sales in the last 12-18 months. It doesn't matter who; everyone has had the same experiences.
- Ask to see the leaderboard for the last few years and speak to the top reps.
- Ask existing reps if they feel supported by the leadership team. Ask the simple question, "If when interviewing you knew then what you know now, would you still join the team?"
- Take a moment to compare Fuel50's number of LinkedIn followers to those of its top competitors, Gloat and Eightfold. That will give you insight into how effective the marketing team is.
I would also ask:
- How many people have made plan in the last five years? --Ask to speak to the people who made plan, or came the closest in the previous three years.
- Why is there no CIO or CMO?
- Follow and read the posts from the fractional CRO for the last 6-9 months, and ask yourself if you are confident in your ability to work for this person. FYI, these posts are all about self-promotion and demonstrate a lack of respect for sales professionals, and an overall absence of self-awareness. He is the Dunning-Kruger effect personified.
- When was the last meaningful sales enablement, and what did that consist of?
- What does the business do to drive leads? How many leads can I expect each month/quarter? Then, validate that information by asking current and former reps the same question. Are the responses consistent?
- Most importantly, ask existing sales reps if the company lives up to the values they promote.
In my experience, the organization did not support or value me in any meaningful way. Finally, I can validate that previous posts (minus the April 11 work of fiction) regarding the sales experience are accurate and true.
