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Recently spoke with someone who always knew he wanted to be in outside sales and chose to skip the tech sales world to accelerate his ability to close deals.
His story, perspective, and experiences blew me away and I think many hunters will relate.
Let’s dig in!
Brief overview of his background
After graduating college, he jumped right into the glamorous world of copier sales before moving on to facility/janitorial services.
Then, one day, a recruiter called him about an opportunity to sell credit cards and he jumped! The only problem…there were no open territories in his area so he took a step back in his career and joined them in an entry-level position to bide his time.
Less than a year later…a territory in his area opened up and he got to work!
Overview of the company
The company he works for is a household name in the financial services/payments industry. They specifically focuses on selling corporate credit cards to companies that have between $5 - $300 million in annual revenue.
Their main differentiator vs competitors are:
- Corporate credit cards that roll up under one umbrella
- Strong integrations with various ERP and internal systems used by their customers
- Ease of use
On the flip side, some of their competitors target smaller customers and tout “rewards” as their main differentiator.
They sell to customers in all industries ranging from construction companies to biotech to everything in between. As long as they have employees spending money on a regular basis, he’s going after them.
There are ~100 outside sales reps across the country, each of whom own specific zip codes. In New England (where he lives), he is one of 4 reps.
When he joined the company, he started in a support role helping outside sales reps with their customers & active deals. He felt this was an ideal situation because he learned their back-end (they have lots of tools) which ultimately helped him have more success, faster when he was promoted to outside sales.
Overview of an outside seller at his company
20% of his opportunities come from inbound leads and 80% come from outbound dials, referrals, and networking. He owns very specific zip codes, so whenever a lead comes in from his territory, it goes right to him.
This is a full-cycle role where he qualifies clients, helps them through the underwriting period, onboards them, and ensures they’re set up for success and remains a client for years to come. One advantange is customers are typically self-service after onboarding and don’t require a lot of support from him.
Here’s something I found interesting:
Unlike most SaaS deals, they don’t lock customers into contracts and are free to leave them for another credit card company whenever they want which means customer experience really matters.
In terms of day-to-day, the majority of his time is spent prospecting and setting up in-person meetings with business owners. He’s typically on the road 2-3 days per week.
When he meets with business owners, he digs into the following:
- Their internal processes
- How they make payments (invoices, paying vendors, buying materials, etc.)
- # of employees
- Cashflow
- Whether employees travel, what perks/benefits they offer, etc.
Given the brand recognition of the company he works for, he typically books 1 meeting for every 10 dials. Similar to last week’s hunt, working for a big name brand is a huge benefit when prospecting.
His biggest challenge is finding companies in his territory that don’t already work with them.
Overview of deals & earning potential
A lot of the variance between deal cycles can be based on the customer and the potential challenges that come from underwriting given they offer an unsecured line of credit. For example, a pre-revenue biotech company with significant funding can pass underwriting but may take longer than an established construction company that can show cashflow and other documentation.
An Unsecured Line of Credit allows you to borrow as much as you need, at any time, up to a certain amount — unlike an installment loan, which is for a specific dollar amount. As you repay your outstanding balance, the amount of available credit is replenished — meaning you can borrow against it again and again.
On average, deals take 30 - 180 days to close.
Given he’s selling AND managing relationships, his path to earning a lot of money hinges on HOW MUCH his customers spend on their credit cards. I asked him how his company makes money and his answer surprised me:
Most of their revenue comes from charging merchants where their customers shop i.e. Home Depot, Starbucks, etc.
As long as their customers are spending money…their company makes money, and sales reps earn commission on everything their customers spend.
I asked him about earning potential and here’s what he said:
- Year 1: $150k average earnings
- Year 2: $150-$300k+ earnings
These numbers depend GREATLY on which customers you close & retain.
A few examples:
- He works with someone < 2 years experience who received a large inbound lead who now spends spends $5M per year. That rep is projected to earn $750k this year!
- He works with other reps who have been there for 20+ years building massive books of businesses that clear $1M in annual earnings
From a personal perspective, the rep I spoke with has been in his role for 2 years, has 50 active clients, and will exceed $300k this year.
A typical annual quota is $20M in revenue per year.
4 of the BEST things about this job and 1 downside:
Best:
- Incredibly flexible work environment. On average, he talks to his boss 2x per month but can always pull him into a big meeting as needed
- He feels compensation is fair - if you put in the work you can strike gold
- It’s a big company that offers solid benefits
- Everyone knows his company so booking meetings is not challenging
One downside:
- Given the size of their company, it can be challenging to close deals where exceptions need to be made (it’s possible but takes a while)
Note: Due to an NDA that this employee has with his employer, I’m not able to disclose the company name. That being said, I dig this role and wish I’d stumbled on opportunities like this when I was building my sales career!