Enterprise Sales - Nobody Plans to Work in Sales. Until They Do

Nobody grows up wanting to be a salesperson. Dan Ridd didn't. He dropped out of university, fell into a business development job at a telecoms company, and made £10,000 in his first month at 21 years old.That was the beginning of a 15 year career at the very top of enterprise sales working with organisations like Atlassian, Canva and HSBC across Australia and the UK, closing deals worth millions.And here's what's interesting none of it required a degree. What got Dan to the top wasn't a qualification. It was a very specific set of skills all based around his ability to form strong honest relationships. Knowing everything about an organisation before you walk in the door. Getting past the gatekeeper. Building the kind of trust that makes a Chief People Officer take your call. Understanding a problem so well that you've already started solving it before the meeting begins.In enterprise sales, these skills are literally worth millions. And in this episode Dan gets specific about what they are, how he developed them, and why in a world where AI is rapidly taking over the research, the admin and the outreach, they've become the only thing that truly separates the good from the exceptional.He also gets honest about what the job costs you the 70 to 90 hour weeks, the targets that never switch off, and why he was away from his husband 80% of the time at the peak of his career. And what it gave him in return.If you've ever written off sales as a career, this one is worth 20 minutes of your time.In this episode:- What enterprise sales actually is and how it differs from other sales roles- How Dan went from university dropout to million-dollar targets- Why finding a mentor early can define the entire trajectory of your career- The skills that matter in sales and why none of them require a degree- The pressures, the sacrifices, and the honest financial reality- Why relationships are the one thing AI will never replace in sales- What Dan would tell his 20-year-old selfSubscribe for more honest career conversations, new episodes every Wednesday.🔗 Everything in one place: https://linktr.ee/the20minutecareer📲 Follow us on Instagram and TikTok @the20minutecareer🎙️ The 20 Minute Career — Real People, Real Jobs, Honest Conversations.