Pros
-Exposure to other tech firm VPs (VP of Sales, Channel Directors, etc) -Free swag -Free catered foods -Free Happy Hours -Sporting events -Contests -The people--honestly I would not have stayed this long without having a great team. I met a lot of great friends. -Work life balance -Great management and support -Commuter benefits--401k/stock purchase plan -Training and development--best in the industry. Personalized attention in academy/residency -Schmooze and booze with the partners. Build the relationships to get deals tossed your way....but beware of the BS. Most sales people are hard to trust. Most AMs would rather see a boost in our paycheck instead of attending dumb happy hours at Blackie’s downstairs.
Cons
-Dealing with unhappy customers and unpleasant customers that BS you, don't pay invoices, demand the impossible, and just plain suck. As a woman, it’s also difficult to strike early success with some IT managers that are not really used to working with women. Most of your account contacts are men—-a good 95%. Some are nasty and just don’t give a crap about how much you help them. -No work from home rights until you hit senior AM role and you only get 1 day from home -Commission structure changes--after you are here 3 years, NO BASE--you only get paid once a month and have to hit certain metrics to get that paycheck Of course being in Chicago, it’s just not feasible to live on your own. Looking at your paycheck can be depressing and makes you want to curl up in a ball. -No customer visits (depending on territory)--hard for customers to put a face to voice. Your competition can go on site, but you cannot. traveling is restricted to execs for conferences. -The paycheck is probably the worst part of the role. Do not expect to make good $$ the first few years--however you are told that your books will change--if you put the time and effort in, you will gain great spending accounts. -Starting commission until you are promoted onto hiring team is mediocre. SELL, SELL, SELL to get a bigger %. -Unsure if its difficult to move to a corporate role from a sales role--tenured AMs tend to stick in sales--obviously, the make good $$ to not want to go elsewhere. -Tenured AMs tend not to be inclusive and like to include newer reps into their clique -there isn’t a lot of micro management, but you’re consistently told to make more calls and get your “touches up” to keep your job. If your average falls below a certain amount, you may be fired. It’s hard to stomach a job that mainly entails being a telemarketer and making cold calls. Definitely not proud of that part of the role.