Quit Your Sales Job and Move to France

Published: Thu, 10/14/21

October 14, 2021

Good afternoon, and welcome to the inaugural edition of The Quota, a weekly for people who sell (and their bosses who yell) for a living.

We want to give you a break from the monotonous, cringey, and shamelessly self-promoting sales content out there, so we’re trying something new. Please tell us what you like, what you don’t like, and (if you haven’t signed an NDA), tell us about your cringiest sales moments for our Sales Fails section (check it out below). We hope you enjoy, and we’ll see you again next week!

Ken & Steve

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says, ‘Make me feel important.’ Not only will you succeed in sales, you will succeed in life.”

- Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics

SALES ROUNDUP

Here’s what’s happening in the sales world this week:

What would you do to get a callback? One sales rep couldn’t get a CEO to respond, so he did what any other person would do: he recorded a rap song!? The best part -- it’s actually pretty good. Check it out on Instagram.
A character in Netflix’s mega-blockbuster Squid Game has drawn international attention… and he happens to be a salesperson! While the show itself needs to be seen to be believed, the character, played by South Korean film star Gong Yoo, carries a blue and red envelope with him, in order to… well, you’ve just gotta watch it.
A Utah salesman had a harrowing near-death experience, almost losing his son in heavy Hawaiian surf. He writes about what happened and what it taught him about becoming a better salesperson here.

GRAPH OF THE WEEK

Source: LinkedIn Poll - March 2021

THE INTERVIEW

Amanda Rollins in Portugal

What's it Like to Land a Sales Job in France?

Have you ever sat around waiting for a prospect to call you back and wondered what it would be like to leave it all behind and move to Europe? In this week's interview, we talked to Amanda Rollins, head of Sales Enablement for AB Tasty, a tech company in Paris, France. Amanda worked in Boston and had dreams of becoming an expat, finally pulling the trigger in 2018. She talks about what it's like to sell in Europe, the process of relocation, and what she'd recommend to anyone considering a move. The interview has been edited for clarity.

Q: What is your current role?

I'm global sales enablement manager for a French tech startup. I'm the main sales trainer that handles onboarding, coaching, sales techniques, organizing sales training, and working closely with the SDRs.

Q: How did you land a sales job in Paris? What was the process like?

When I first moved to Paris, I was an au pair, then worked in e-learning creating sales-based content in English, for about a year and a half.

There are only a few visas that would allow a foreigner to work in France and they aren't easy to qualify for. Mine is called the Talent Passeport visa which is reserved for "highly skilled workers" meaning they have to prove that my skills/experience couldn't be found in France. This visa also requires my salary to be 1.5x higher than the average salary.

There are 2 types of contracts in France, CDDs (contracts with an end-date) and CDIs (permanent contracts).

I have a CDI, which is truly permanent; it's almost impossible to be fired. The workers here have so many rights, so you'd really have to do something incredibly egregious to be let go. Instead, what they do is they try to buy you out of your contract in a mutual separation. This is exclusive to France, not necessarily Europe.

Apart from that, you should really know how to speak French. I am fluent which helped a ton. There are plenty of sales people who would be qualified to work here, it's just a bit of a process to obtain the right to work.

Q: What are some things you have to do overseas that you don't need to worry about in the states?

GDPR compliance is big here. Accessing people's information is very serious. Getting call lists with people's phone numbers is incredibly difficult. If you call someone, they'll want to know how you got their info. Culturally, there's things that will work in the U.S. that won't work in other countries. In Germany, for example, they're very direct, and if you can't answer their questions directly, they won't agree to a meeting.

Q: How does the pay compare to a sales job in the United States?

The salaries are not as high. You pay higher taxes. However, healthcare and education is fully covered, so the cost of living is lower. Oftentimes, commission is capped.

Q: Do you need to learn French (or the language of the country) to sell overseas?

Yes, you definitely need to know it. My company is English-speaking but not speaking French would make it much more difficult.

Q: What kind of advice would you give to someone who wants to move to France and get a sales job?

Create your resume in English and have someone who is French translate it. Craft a message that might resonate overseas showing your output - a hunger to move up the ladder, which will be attractive to a hiring manager. Look at tech companies, they want to bring in Americans so they can compete with US companies. They'll usually have English as their primary language. Being in the country is the best way to get hired. Get to the country first.

Q: Which websites should salespeople use if they want to search sales jobs overseas?

Welcome to the Jungle and Station F.

SALES FAILS

Each week, we bring you the most cringe-worthy sales moments from across the web. To submit your sales fail story for consideration, click here . (Don't worry, you'll remain completely anonymous).

“About four years ago I was selling high-volume medical equipment for a large company on the east coast. It was a hybrid inside/outside role, but most of my time was spent in the office. One Friday, I was anxious to get out of the office on time because my wife had gotten us tickets to go see the comedian Sebastian Maniscalco and we were both looking forward to it. But I had a 4pm appointment to go over a purchase order with one of my bigger clients. So 4pm rolls around and the client didn’t call, so I sent him an email and followed it up with a text message.

About twenty minutes later he finally calls me, apologizes, and we start going over the contract. As we’re reviewing it, it’s almost 5 o’clock, so I send a text to my wife, and say: “Looks like I’m gonna be late. Will leave as soon as I’m done with this dipshit.” Unfortunately, instead of sending the text to my wife, I sent it to the client, who opened it up during our call. His demeanor changed right away and he ended the call, and that night, on the way to the theater, I got a call from my sales manager who was very upset with me. I ended up getting written up and left the industry later that year. Let this be a lesson to never badmouth your customers and to always double check who you’re texting.”

- Anonymous, 40 Boston, MA

CONVERSATION STARTERS

Awkward silence brewing between you and your prospect? Break the ice with some of these random tidbits from around the web:

Talk about a bait-and-switch! A Danish modern art museum gave artist Jens Haaning the equivalent of $84,000 expecting, well, some art in return. Instead, Haaning gave them two blank canvases, titling the piece “Take the Money and Run.” Beauty really is in the eye of the beholder.
Think your spouse thinks you work too much? A Maine woman was arrested and charged with a felony count of terrorizing after calling in two separate bomb threats to her boyfriend’s workplace because she wanted to spend more time with him. Whatever happened to faking an illness like a normal person?
A drunk man in Turkey who had a few too many was reported missing. When authorities and volunteers gathered to search the forest for the missing man, he reappeared and joined the search party himself. Possibly a salesman celebrating EQ3?...

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Today's email was written by Ken, Steve, & Emily

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