Thread regarding Dell Inc. layoffs

those that can...do...those that cannot....go into sales.

I hate seeing the nastiness on this site. If you non-sales people think your jobs aren't going to be replaced by AI, you are wrong.
To say: "Sales is lazy" or "ISRs are worthless" is like saying: "all tech support is useless" or "all software developers are just robots" or "PMs su-k at their jobs because we don't have as robust of a supply chain as they would have you believe" - all of those generalizations just make you sound ignorant.

@hm if you got rid of sales, you'd get rid of everyone that complains about RTO also. SOunds like a win-win

You could easily replace the entire sales force with a web page. How hard is it to sell storage to people that need storage? It’s like selling water to the thirsty.
The sales people at Dell are so entitled it’s a joke.

@dt the one thing keeping some Dell products high in Gartner corners … our sales teams! who are now being financial punished by this new SCP & over quota. When the ELT eventually push everything “Partner First” the numbers will tank.

Lazy sales must finally get a kick in their fat butts and start working! 🤣🤣🤣

the demand is gone ,hence the jobs too

I do sense some trolling here, possibly by one person posting under multiple names.
That said, I agree that ISRs are unlikely to remain untouched. It won’t be a complete cull—many will stay—but AI will inevitably replace parts of the function. The ISR role will evolve, and we’ll likely see new, more junior positions created to manage exceptions and correct AI errors at a lower cost than a traditional ISR.
As an AE, I believe a strong ISR can significantly elevate an average AE. The role itself is demanding—not because of the complexity of individual tasks, but because of the sheer volume they handle.
Across the board, many AEs rely heavily on their ISR. Some hide behind the ISR’s knowledge and attention to detail. A smart AE publicly recognises and champions their ISR, making them feel valued while presenting a cohesive, high-performing team to management. Others, less wisely, take the credit themselves, which only breeds resentment and weakens the partnership over time.

@d9 ISRs will happily go, and if that is the case, have the decency to pay them severance.

@ar I don't disagree, I think ISRs are next to go too. What I don't really understand is the fact that there's been an absolute massacre of the people supporting said "customer portals" as well. If they are gone, and ISRs are gone, who is going to be helping the customers with issues they run into when they use said portals? The AEs?

It's sad. We used to have a culture that was thoughtfully organized around our customers and "driving human progress through technology." There was a sense of ownership and pride that came with that. You felt part of something. Relationships were built on trust and an investment in understanding of where a client was in their journey and where they were trying to go. This afforded alignment of people, process, and technology to help achieve these goals. Small wins and successes built a foundation of trust that supported deeper alignment and more critical levels of collaboration and a larger share of wallet. We seem to have lost our way by constantly reorganizing and changing the relationship continuity with the teams our customers once knew and appreciated. We have people in the company that don't seem to understand the sales process or are so far removed from it that seem to think enterprise sales can be outsourced to a fickle channel or supported transactionally without the foundation of a relationship or trust. This "a sales person is a salesperson" mentality presumes that a relationship can be substituted without consideration of impact to customers or teams. This seems short sighted and will likely be met with diminished returns. Customers don't want to share their 3 to 5 year plan and their goals with a team only to have "their team" change 3 to 6 months later because of reorg or intentional attrition tactics and have to share their plan again with "their new team." Customers are fatigued, the teams are fatigued, and someone in leadership found a temporary increase by mining their own people for profits at an expense that I'm betting will cost customers and the very people that helped build this company one customer and relationship at a time. They say they are trying to weed out low performance, but the goals aren't clear, the terms constantly change, and are decelerated without transparency and adjusted on a whim. Thats a cash grab. Enjoy your bonus.

@at If brand recognition is what sells then Dell is in real trouble...

Sounds like sales people have to do some actual work now in order to get paid. Slackers need not apply. Hit the bricks. https://www.businessinsider.com/dell-sales-staff-pay-change-commission-target-incentive-2026-2

@ar sounds like you don't need outside sales also. Get rid of the bunch of yas. Hit the bricks.

@cb a pilot might fly a plane, but it takes a team to make that happen.

LOL, now sales is turning on each other. Comical.

ISR - Immensely self righteous

I’ve met some good ones but you’d think they’re single handedly propping up the business from the way they talk. They always tell you how busy they are but they never say how or why.

@ar someone needs to remind AEs that Covid is over and they now need to start seeing customers, and remember to take an SE as your 5min elevator pitch will only get you so far!

Dell largely sells on brand recognition, and many sales roles function more as process navigators than value creators. While ISR and Client AE roles are required to support the sales cycle, they often focus on managing internal processes rather than driving true consultative selling. Hit the bricks!

Probably because the only important aspect of the sales division is those who are outside sales lmfao..

All you INSIDE sales (ISR's) need to realize that no, you are not god's gift to Dell and no, you are absolutely NOT needed, so get off your high horse because I promise, your entire job is about to be replaced by AI far sooner than later. Dell, along with many companies have already started the process of getting rid of ISR"s in favor of AI and customer portals.

Technically, you aren't even selling anything. You are literally taking orders from clients that outside sales folks brought to YOU. The hard work was already done by them and now, you are just a middleman taking orders from xyz... Client tells you what they need/want, you price it out and give a quote. Client decides they go with you, or they don't.

The cold hard truth is that inside sales is quickly going away and will be a mostly be replaced with customer portals and AI.

Client needs 300 computers that have xyz specs with a budget of say, $1m.

Client logs into customer portal, picks out what they need and what specs are required, and then get a quote asap.

Too much? Ask mr. AI bot if they can do better... AI bot says "xyz xyz xyz" and client accepts or denies.

Dell can easily tell Mr. AI bot to quote the REAL quote initially but only go lower if it's an order above a certain dollar amount. If it is, then Mr.Bot is told that the lowest price point is xyz and told to appoligize that they can't do better.

Long story short, inside sales is a money pit and that pit is being filled up with AI and customer web portals that do your literal job, but in 10 minutes.

Correction: OUTSIDE sales does everything. The fu-k does inside sales do lmfao? What tf are you "selling" exactly? The client/customer was already brought to you via outside sales and your only job is to take orders from them.

Dell isn't going "cheap" but rather realizing - like most companies now - that inside sales is far from necessary.

My best friend is inside sales, he was at Dell for 6 years and left but when I told him about the new SCP at Dell, he laughed. They don't get paid unless they hit 90% and in all honesty, if you can't even hit 60% then you aren't doing JACK SHT anyways.

Not gonna happen.The dont care and wont listen.