Considering joining the profession for good, could use advice

[SteveC]

And of course QOL gets super awesome the longer you plod along at this thing, as you have for many decades. I'm speaking more to the crowd of my peers who have been here for maybe a year, two, three, five, and while life is really good, it isn't always as amazing as it may be construed as. Trying to juggle the military reserves and this job is a serious headache for me, as an example. Nothing to do with my employer, they have been nothing short of awesome in that department, I just try to take on too much perpetually, so it is a "me" problem for sure. Which some people will take issue with because the system is literally designed to make this easy. It just isn't. Two jobs never is. But on topic, first few years at a major, especially my chosen one (or is it a legacy? or a big regional? ) can suck at times. I think it is ok to acknowledge that realistically, and still highlight the great things. But I know the reality has been different enough from the fake takes for a few of my friends to send them packing for other lines of work. That's my beef......if those guys had gotten honest information, they probably wouldn't have wasted their time (and money for the ATP) in the process

Anecdotally, people who are prone to post their opinion in forums (related to any topic) tend to be from two groups:

1. Those who post to justify their own decisions (they may see the downside, but want to bury those to make themselves feel ok).
2. Those who post to highlight their ability to pinpoint problems and issues (they may see the upsides, but that doesn’t give them the same dopamine hit).

The (presumed) majority aren’t often emotionally vested enough in either position (or the more prevalent middle ground) to expend the effort to compose and post, nor subsequently defend, their viewpoint.



[Disclaimer: I said “anecdotally”. No actual research has been included in this post. ]

 

[derg]

Anecdotally, people who are prone to post their opinion in forums (related to any topic) tend to be from two groups:

1. Those who post to justify their own decisions (they may see the downside, but want to bury those to make themselves feel ok).
2. Those who post to highlight their ability to pinpoint problems and issues (they may see the upsides, but that doesn’t give them the same dopamine hit).

The (presumed) majority aren’t often emotionally vested enough in either position (or the more prevalent middle ground) to expend the effort to compose and post, nor subsequently defend, their viewpoint.



[Disclaimer: I said “anecdotally”. No actual research has been included in this post. ]

Moderation is a best social study ain't it?

 

[milleR]

"Efficient CRM."

HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!! <wheeze> HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

The tool is only as good as the person using it and the product is only as good as the manager watching it. I’ve turned my business around and flushed more BS “sales” people out the door than I can count using a good CRM platform.

 

[drunkenbeagle]

The tool is only as good as the person using it and the product is only as good as the manager watching it. I’ve turned my business around and flushed more BS “sales” people out the door than I can count using a good CRM platform.

That's not how I see these being used in the real world. The managers are usually given some dashboard they need to have green check boxes on. Everyone below them games the system for more green checks. That's how I've seen it work, well, everywhere.

They could work well, if revenue and margin were the metrics being tracked. But I've never seen that actually happen in the wild. And at the end of the day, sellers don't have much control over margin. It gets modified on the backend a lot. Visibility into pipeline, yes. And for tracking SPIFs and stuff like that, sure. But I've never seen a billion dollar deal happen because a manager was making sure the CRM updates weren't a day past due.

 

[milleR]

That's not how I see these being used in the real world. The managers are usually given some dashboard they need to have green check boxes on. Everyone below them games the system for more green checks. That's how I've seen it work, well, everywhere.

They could work well, if revenue and margin were the metrics being tracked. But I've never seen that actually happen in the wild. And at the end of the day, sellers don't have much control over margin. It gets modified on the backend a lot. Visibility into pipeline, yes. And for tracking SPIFs and stuff like that, sure. But I've never seen a billion dollar deal happen because a manager was making sure the CRM updates weren't a day past due.

I can speak only to how we use it, and it’s a lot more in depth than a simple dashboard. And yes, revenue and margin are the primary metrics we use to track sales, emphasis on the latter.

Edit to add: it’s 100% an activity tracker in my business and we have total control over margin. Invoiced GP is the ultimate scorecard, but the CRM opportunity pipeline and calendar is how we measure what a sales person is actually doing day to day. If it’s not in salesforce it doesn’t exist as far as I’m concerned. And at the risk of spinning even further off topic, I have pretty specific definitions of sales, and they don’t include order fulfillment and contract renewal. But this is something I can and have spent many many hours discussing.

 

[juxtapilot]

There is boom and bust in the tech business as well. It goes through massive hiring to massive layoffs, and pay is highly tied to what stock prices are doing. Not planning to do anything tomorrow, as I'm taking as much vacation as I can in July. But after that, the plan is to get to ATP minimums by the end of the year, which I can probably do while still at my current gig. And then see what the world looks like then.

I know a place with a PIE base that’s waiting for you to throw in your app. Hurry up and do it… The water is fine.

 

[Autothrust Blue]

Interested in legislative affairs.

You may have all of that you want and more, as far as I’m concerned (I’m glad there are people that want to do that, as I don’t!).

 

[Wardogg]

DO IT!

I am in a similar situation. Early 40s. Been flying on and off since 2010 - currently at a 141 school, where I teach ground and do some instruction. Used to be a techie before that but worked in higher ed, so that worked out for me. I am open to 135/91 operations but quite happy working in academia...

I would say full send it and get to 1,500. And then send out the apps.

You going to move to the satellite campus with all the Cirrus’?

 

[Shiftace]

You going to move to the satellite campus with all the Cirrus’?

Probably not.. for now. Signed a contract for the academic year at KSLN...

 

[killbilly]

You may have all of that you want and more, as far as I’m concerned (I’m glad there are people that want to do that, as I don’t!).

I need to learn more about it, so besides my own in-house committee, if you've got some recommended reading material or people I should talk to, please steer me in that direction.

Part of it is self-interest - I live in the place where most of their magic happens, so I can be a volunteer with relatively low-friction. The regulatory side is interesting to me, in any case, and if I can help out in a way that I also find intellectually stimulating, so much the better.

 

[Maurus]

Anecdotally, people who are prone to post their opinion in forums (related to any topic) tend to be from two groups:

1. Those who post to justify their own decisions (they may see the downside, but want to bury those to make themselves feel ok).
2. Those who post to highlight their ability to pinpoint problems and issues (they may see the upsides, but that doesn’t give them the same dopamine hit).

The (presumed) majority aren’t often emotionally vested enough in either position (or the more prevalent middle ground) to expend the effort to compose and post, nor subsequently defend, their viewpoint.



[Disclaimer: I said “anecdotally”. No actual research has been included in this post. ]

Hey now. Some people do it to challenge ourselves. I have learned a lot by debating people. It is why I do it.

It is amazing what you can learn when you start digging deep into topics via reputable sources. Sadly it takes a lot of time and effort. Hence the reason I am mostly lurking right now. Get my brain going and I can't sleep

I was once an evangelical conservative and now I am an atheist liberal. My early post history here is certainly evidence of this.