13 Years in Government to $85k+ SDR

After spending 13 to 14 years in a state government agency in South Carolina, I knew I was capped. If I wanted to move up further, I would have had to relocate my life to the state capital, and I was not willing to do that. I wanted something with real upward mobility, stronger compensation, and the ability to be remote first for my family. I had been thinking about making a change for about two years, but it was scary and I had not interviewed in 14 years. Once I started seeing Eric’s YouTube content, I realized tech sales was the path I wanted and I finally decided to go all in and commit to Tech Sales Ascension around October.

The structure and the frameworks gave me a repeatable process instead of guessing. Before training, I applied to my top companies first with a three to four page resume and got denied immediately from the first 10 roles because I had no structure. After working with Ryan and getting my resume down to one page, I started getting responses quickly and ended up in final rounds with multiple companies. The program also helped me translate my background into sales in a way that made sense. I had been managing stakeholders, finding pain points, and driving solutions for years. I just had to learn how to communicate that clearly and then actually do the job to get the job through LinkedIn outreach, emails, and cold calls. The interview prep was huge for me too. A YouTube interview questions video helped me realize I could do this by pulling from my real experience and staying authentic. I also learned that you do not have to be a stereotypical extrovert to succeed. As someone more naturally introverted, I used that to my advantage by asking great questions and being proactive.

Expect rejection and get comfortable with it, because that is part of the job you are stepping into. Believe in yourself and commit fully. It is not a matter of if, it is a matter of when if you stay consistent and keep putting yourself out there. Get your resume to one page, translate your experience into what an SDR or BDR actually does, and do the uncomfortable things like reaching out, following up, and asking for time with people inside the company. I even practiced cold calls with SDRs at companies I was interviewing with, and most people were willing to help if they could tell I was serious. If you want this, pull the trigger and go for it. That is what made it click for me, even as a career changer with a family.