Enterprise sales gets all the attention.

And for good reasons: big logos, fancy dinners, sophisticated clients.

There are few feelings like closing a 7-figure deal after pursuing a key strategic account for years.

Been there, done that.

I’m here to let you in on a secret…

Working on a high-velocity small business (SMB) sales team is the most fun I have ever had in my sales career.

If you have never experienced the energy on the sales floor of an SMB sales team, it’s absolutely electric. 

The whole room is filled with hungry and ambitious salespeople. Each working toward their individual targets while at the same time working together toward a shared revenue goal.

The environment is loud. Music is blaring. Everyone is talking, on and off the phone. There’s every range of emotion: anger, elation, sadness, frustration, joy, you name it.

Every time a new customer signs up for a subscription, the salespeople will stand up from their desks and gather around a gong like an ancient ceremony.

This version of SMB sales is the closest thing to a team sport in sales.

When a young, ambitious person asks “how do I get started in software sales?”

My answer: join an SMB sales team. You will have fun and learn sales skills very quickly.

Once you get good at SMB sales, you can move up to sell larger deals. But get your start in SMB.

‍Coffee is for closers‍

You’ve seen the movies make a mockery of this kind of environment. Wolf of Wall Street, Boiler Room, Glengarry Glenn Ross.

In the movies, the walls are dripping with testosterone. Salespeople are yelling. Shouting expletives at one another. Chest bumping. High-fiving.

I’m not talking about the movies. That’s not real life.

I’m certain that there are companies whose sales culture espouses these adolescent traits.

But underneath the shenanigans, there’s a purity to SMB sales.

It’s a hard job. 

Every day you have to go out there and make your bread. 

Rejection is the norm. And every 100th call you will break through with a customer who really needs your help.

That’s the main difference between SMB and Enterprise sales. 

In SMB you can really make a difference in your customers’ life.

Enterprise software isn’t transforming the lives of its customers. I mean no disrespect to the enterprise products out there.

But good product can literally change the life for a small business.

It means the difference between going home at 5pm or 7pm. 

It means making it to the soccer game or softball practice. 

It means you can buy that second truck so your son can help you expend your business. 

It means you can finally take your kids on that vacation you have been promising.

In SMB sales you can make a very real impact on the lives of the people that you sell to.

That’s what makes selling to SMB more fun.

‍High turnover is expected. People burn out.

SMB sales is the roadside tavern that no-one was planning to visit.

Like most people who ended up in sales. I got here on accident.

Almost no one graduates high school with a plan to make cold calls for a living.

Me? I wanted to be a high-school English teacher.

Through a weird twist of fate (and entrepreneurship) I found myself in a software sales role. 

That became the platform upon which I built my entire professional career.

Everything good about my life - personal, professional, and financial - is either a direct or indirect result of my career in sales.

And I’m not the only one.

So many others have changed their life by starting out in SMB sales.

It’s a band of mis-fits and burnouts that landed in an inside sales role.

Most burn out long before they find success in SMB sales. The ones that do find success can really only do the job for 2-3 years before they need to move on to a mid-market or enterprise sales role.

It’s a grind.

Every month is a mad-dash through the last business day, pushing to hit quota.

Like having 12 Super Bowl Sundays every single year.

The paychecks are good, not great. The clients can be frustrating and slow to adopt.

But the learning and development is transformational.

I’ve personally witnessed dozens of salespeople change their lives by joining an SMB sales team.

‍“How lucky are we?!”

Context is important for happiness. It’s all relative.

Any time I found myself in a slump or I sensed the team was feeling down, I liked to remind myself that we are making a living by pushing buttons and talking to strangers.

How lucky are we that we get to do this every day?!

Let’s be honest. It could be a lot worse.

SMB salespeople come from backgrounds across different industries: hospitality, education, construction, or other odd-jobs that are necessary to pay the bills.

As intimidating as it is to call strangers on the phone, it sure beats the hell out of waiting tables or driving an Uber.

So lean into the opportunity and be the best SMB salesperson that you know.

‍SMB sales is the best place to start a sales career. It’s more fun!

If you are someone you know is considering a role on an SMB sales team, send them this shortlist of reasons why SMB sales is the best platform to build a career in sales:

1. SMB sales is the closest thing to a team sport in sales. You will make lifelong friends with the people from your team.
2. Everyone is learning and developing skills very quickly. Faster sales cycles means more rotations per month. Higher velocity of reps means rapid skills development.
3. It’s a grind. Most will burn out in 2-3 years, and that’s OK. This isn’t meant to be a job that you will retire from. Get in there, learn how to get good at selling to strangers, then move on to a bigger opportunity inside or outside the company.
4. You can make a real impact on the lives of your customers. Making money is great and all, but it is so much better to believe in what you are selling and how you are helping your customers.

Go join an SMB sales team, you won’t regret it!