Peter Ahn

“I’m looking for a few more white hairs in my enterprise sales leader.”

I was shocked when I left the conversation and my VP of Sales killed my dream of becoming a sales manager at the company.

Because I was managing a team at my previous company, I was told that I could coach and manage a team as long as I performed and proved once again that I could close some large logos.

And I performed. I closed Disney, News Corp, Condé Nast, Turner Broadcasting System and more within my first 3 quarters as one of the first enterprise sellers. These were meaty enterprise license agreements with contract sizes that collectively brought in over $3M+ in recurring revenue.

My performance outpaced those of my peers but I also loved mentoring reps who came to me for advice. I would sit-in on calls and coach reps on how to establish enterprise presence & polish as they looked for guidance on their own deals. 

I was seen as a team player and it showed in my 360 degree feedback.

But all this VP could come up with was “a few more white hairs”.

There was no negative feedback on my ability to sell.

No feedback on my ability to lead.

No feedback on what my peers thought of me.

A few weeks later my VP hired an enterprise sales manager who looked like him but 10 years younger, a white male with a few white hairs and no experience closing the types of enterprise deals we were bringing in.

I was an Asian hustler in his early 30s who was well respected with strong results but no feedback on how I could advance my career.

Since then I’ve had multiple chances to lead sales teams across various segments and companies and I’ve gained the confidence to know I love leading and mentoring sellers to be the best they can be.

Setbacks like mine are what many in our community go through and I wished there were more Asian leaders sharing their stories when I was navigating how to break through the bamboo ceiling.

I do believe things are changing and I’m excited to devote more of my time and resources to truly empowering our community. It won’t be easy but I know there’s groundswell momentum building for the next generation of leaders who are standing up to say “enough’s enough”!