I’ve been interested in sales for as long as I can remember. My mom was a small business owner on the South Shore of Long Island, New York, where I grew up. I went to work with her from a very young age and subconsciously learned the importance of building relationships with customers and knowing how to ask the right questions to help people on their buying journey. 

By the time I reached my early thirties, I had built a strong resume and successful career in sales operations at well-known hospitality and pharmaceutical companies. I held in-house roles at corporate headquarters, working behind the scenes to support sales organizations as they scaled and grew. I loved my sales-operations-based teams and the accomplishments we achieved, but I always felt something greater called my name.

My first year as a sales rep was extremely challenging. I assumed I’d be able to walk right in and share my story with prospective customers about how I understood their pain points. I had just sat in their shoes evaluating travel and expense management software solutions the year before, so I had all the answers, right? Wrong. I was a bull in a china shop, disrespecting the two ears, one mouth ratio. I talked more than I listened. I blurted out features and functionality. My lack of results spoke for itself.

I sold $82K of software during my first year in SaaS sales. Nineteen percent to plan. Less than five net-new logos sold. I was in last place on my team. OK, I was in last place in my entire global mid-market segment. Embarrassed. Humiliated. Ashamed. That was how I felt on a good day. 

I knew I was better than that. But I was trying too hard in all the wrong ways. Three times that first year, I tried to quit. One day in October 2016, I received a phone call out of the blue from a sales trainer I barely knew. She was a top sales rep for years before transitioning into a coaching role on the field sales and strategy team. 

She saw something in me.

She believed in me when I couldn’t see it myself.

She asked if I would humble myself and start from scratch, as if I knew nothing about sales.

What did I have to lose?

I already felt like I knew nothing about sales.

So, I set aside my pride and put in the work to become the trusted advisor I aspired to be. I became curious in conversations and practiced in front of a mirror to study how my body language changed when faced with objections. I focused on the fundamentals and went back to basics. I removed myself from the outcome and allowed myself to have fun interacting with my prospects.

It didn’t need to be complicated.

The following year, in 2017, I was the Mid-Market Rep of the Year, selling $1.2M of software. Two-hundred-and-sixty-seven percent to plan. Over thirty-five net-new logos sold. I achieved my annual quota in less than five months and spent the remaining seven months earning accelerated commissions and bonuses. My W-2 was over $300K. I felt validated—like I belonged. 

I spent my entire SaaS career in mid-market and loved every minute because I got the best of both worlds. I helped growing organizations invest in software solutions that would catapult them to the next phase of growth, while not working with the mammoth-sized enterprise companies that often involved longer sales cycles. I was never interested in moving upmarket to be an enterprise-level seller. I earned $250–$300K or more annually in mid-market as an individually contributing sales rep, and that was fine for me. I was the CEO of my territory, managing my calendar and meeting my annual goals.

I’d go on to work at two other SaaS companies over the next seven years. I achieved my annual quota in less than nine months at both companies. After being a top performing sales rep for the first two years at my last SaaS company, I was asked by executive leadership to build out a Customer Growth team. We performed at 95% to plan in a challenging selling environment in the first half of 2023. I led through significant changes during a private equity acquisition and soon found myself on the other end of a layoff in November 2023.

My own biases formed over 25 years in corporate America leaned heavily on the belief that top performers don’t get laid off. It simply didn’t happen. Why would any company want to get rid of someone in sales who was bringing in millions of revenue for their bottom-line year in and year out? There are answers to some questions we will never know.

As I planned for life after the layoff, I pivoted in several directions. Each time, however, I came back to a personal philosophy I coined early in my sales career. My mantra was living a sales life with EASE: Everything is Attitude, Skill, and Effort. We each have a choice regarding the attitude we show up with each day, the skills we choose to learn, and the effort we put forth. No matter where you work or what you do, no one else can take those three things away from you. 

Getting laid off can feel like the end of the world, especially if you’ve been a top performer. But the truth is, it’s not a reflection of your worth or ability. You’re not marked as a failure because you lost your job. In fact, this could be the perfect opportunity to find a new organization that aligns even better with what made you thrive at your previous company — or maybe even offers something greater.

Or, perhaps this is the push you need to try something completely different like I did. Maybe it’s time to start your own business or explore a new industry that excites you. The key is to remember that your success is built on your attitude, skills, and effort—three things no one can take from you.

Whether you find yourself at a new company or on a fresh path, you’re in control of what comes next. This isn’t the end of your story. It’s just the start of a new chapter.

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About Laura Krauss

Laura Krauss is an accomplished sales professional who spent the last 25 years honing her sales and leadership skills in the hospitality, pharmaceutical, medical publishing, and software sales industries. After a shocking layoff in the tech space where she was a consistent top-performing sales rep and leader, Laura founded Ripple Effect Sales Advisory LLC where she provides individual virtual sales coaching for quota carrying reps and first-time sales leaders. 

Laura is the author of The Layoff Cooties-It’s Them, Not You, which will be available on Amazon and online retail bookstores in November 2024. She also hosts the online community “The Layoff Cooties Couch” — the safest seat to connect with others healing from the emotional trauma of a layoff.

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