Business Development Representative
Portless · Remote · US
- Base
- $60K
- OTE
- $90K
- Quota attainment
- Not disclosed
- Posted
- 3mo ago
Why it matters: OTE tells you what you could earn. Attainment tells you how realistic it is.
Ask: “What percentage of fully ramped reps hit quota last year?”
Still open · checked 1h agoon Portless's careers page
The job
- What you'd do
- Outbound BDR prospecting DTC ecommerce brands for Portless's direct-from-Asia 3PL, using cold calls, email and LinkedIn to book qualified meetings for AEs across SMB, Mid-Market and Enterprise GMV tiers.
- Who you'd sell to
- Still reading the posting. Check back within the hour.
- Where deals come from
- Mostly you. Expect a lot of outbound: cold calls, emails and LinkedIn.
The Braun Read
Ask hard questionsSome good signs, but there's a red light here. Get it answered before you invest.
- Pay
- Base and OTE both listed. Roughly a 67/33 base-to-variable split.
- Transparency
- Says nothing about quota, attainment, deal size, territory or sales cycle.
- Pipeline
- Mostly self-sourced. Great if you like outbound, rough if you don't.
- Time on market
- Open 94 days. Ask why it's been hard to fill.
- Company hiring
- 2 sales roles open, hiring at a steady pace.
Red lights
- Heavy call quotas. It sets a daily dial or activity number. Expect to be managed on activity, not outcomes.
Yellow lights
- Open 90+ days. This role has been posted for three months or more. Ask why it's been hard to fill, and whether anyone left it.
Green lights
- Publishes OTE. It tells you the on-target earnings up front. Most postings don't.
Based only on what the posting says. Lights are a starting point for your first call, not a final judgment.
Questions to ask on the first call
Built from what this posting leaves out. How they answer tells you as much as what they say.
- 1.
Is the daily activity number a hard requirement, or a guide? What happens if you miss it?
Tells you if you'll be judged on deals or on dials.
- 2.
This role has been open a while. What's made it hard to fill?
The answer tells you what candidates saw that made them walk.
- 3.
What percentage of fully ramped reps hit quota last year?
OTE is what you could earn. This is how likely you are to earn it.
- 4.
What percentage of reps on the team have been here more than 18 months?
Tenure shows whether people stay long enough to get paid.
- 5.
Has the comp plan changed in the last 12 to 18 months? What changed?
A plan that changes every year means the goalposts keep moving.
- 6.
Why is this role open? Did someone leave, or is it new?
New headcount is growth. A replacement means someone left. Ask why.
› When the offer comes
Save these for later. They land better once they've said yes to you.
- 1.
Can I see the full comp plan in writing, including clawbacks and accelerators?
What's in writing is what gets paid. Read it before you sign.
- 2.
Can I see the actual comp distribution for the team last year, not just the OTE?
The spread shows what most reps really take home. OTE is just the target.
- 3.
I'd be walking away from earned commission to join. Is there room for a sign-on bonus to help cover that?
Leaving money behind is a fair reason to ask. The worst answer is no.
Josh's top five questions for any sales interview →
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