The “New Normal” in SaaS Sales Work- Culture

In my 8 years focused on SaaS Recruiting, I have been screaming from the treetops that sales professionals should be working remotely. Selfishly, it would make my recruiting life so much easier if my clients had the ability to hire THE BEST sales candidate instead of the one who was within a reasonable and commutable distance to the office. So many smart and hard working professionals have started families and have moved out of Silicon Valley for a better way of life and with technology they can be just as successful as the reps in the office.

In normal times, my clients who have offices in San Francisco, Austin, Seattle and Boston have a tricky time finding professional software sales professionals who want to spend their productive time sitting in traffic and paying a fortune to park monthly. It’s a little crazy that when these sales reps get into their office they use their phones, computers and software tools the same exact way they would at home. Imagine if your quota/commission-driven sales professionals used their commute/parking time to actually sell!

It took a pandemic for SaaS companies to recognize that if they did a good job hiring grown-ups for their team that they don’t have to have eyes on them every day. In the last two months, companies were essentially forced to set their teams up for remote success and it’s been amazing to watch! Even entry level software teams are crushing their quotas while working in their apartments with a bunch of roommates. In addition, there are linkedin influencers with massive SDR/BDR audiences who are essentially coaching and training through their content for free! (Kevin KD Dorsey, Sarah Brazier, Scott Leese are a few that I follow).

I would be amiss if I didn’t acknowledge the professionals who are struggling with this, "new normal," because their kids are requiring attention while on zoom calls with customers. These people are my absolute heroes and although they are exhausted now, when their kids are back in school/daycare/camps they will have the strongest work ethic of all of us.

The kegs of kombucha and pale ale might be spoiling and the office buzz is now quiet but I am optimistic that once we are no longer on lock-down, our SaaS leaders will recognize that their teams can be successful without being in the office every single day of the work week.