First sales job (as a career pivot) and can’t tell if I’m screwing up or if this is normal
A few months into my first ever sales role and struggling to tell whether I’m doing fine or heading toward burnout (or working in a toxic sales environment.)
For context: I came from \\\~10 years in non-sales corporate work. I actually took this job mainly to get a foot in the door at a small tech company in an industry I’m genuinely passionate about.
Unexpectedly, I’ve realised I really enjoy sales, especially because I genuinely believe in the product and love speaking with people all day. My manager and leadership team keep telling me I’m doing really well, and I’m consistently getting positive feedback.
But I’m stressed all the time.
We have a quarterly commission cliff, meaning if I don’t hit 70% of target, I get zero commission. I’m currently about halfway to that cliff, halfway through the quarter, but I’m also about to take 2 weeks of leave that was booked before I accepted the role.
They adjusted my target down for the leave period, which I appreciate, but realistically I feel like I’m going to lose momentum. Customers are already trying to book demos while I’m away, and for part of the trip I’ll be in a remote area without my laptop. (Also don’t want to spend my limited time away with family writing emails…)
What’s making me spiral a bit is:
\\- I’m already working late most nights and every weekend
\\- My activity metrics are among the highest in the team
\\- My numbers are middle-of-the-pack overall
But my deal sizes are much smaller than a lot of the more experienced reps. One rep closed a deal last week that amounts to half of what I’ve closed this quarter (granted, he started working that deal before I even joined the business.)
It’s mostly B2C, and I seem to be getting a lot of smaller individual deals while others are landing larger ones.
I’ve done the maths on what I need to close each week to hit the commission cliff, and it honestly feels unlikely even if I keep operating at this pace, which already doesn’t feel sustainable.
I can feel myself obsessing over every deal and constantly thinking about work outside hours. I’m literally dreaming about salesforce every night.
So I guess my question is:
Is this just what starting out in sales feels like? Am I overreacting? Or are these warning signs that I need to change something about how I’m approaching the role?
Would especially love advice from people who struggled with confidence/anxiety in their first sales role but eventually figured it out.