Fuel Sales Academy

I enthusiastically pursued Fuel Sales and was invited to their Foundations. I have been in education for 15 years and have been a customer service rep and sales person in a variety of contexts throughout my vocational career including one tele-sales position. I accepted the invite to partake in the first part of the Fuel Sales course. During this time, I was actively present, attentive, and followed the procedure whilst carefully working through the materials along with the advice of the instructors. Along the way, they encouraged us to follow their advice, receive it well, and practice. The third day there was a repetitive saying, "Don't take it personal on Friday if you are not chosen to continue with the training." This que encouraged me to follow up on the standards etc, but I received a general response. At the end of the day, the instructor was encouraging to simply continue practicing on a point (particularly to look for the emotion) that was common to many of the other students (some of which had more significant concerns). Shortly after the class, I (along with others presumably) received a note that we were not selected to go further because we did not follow the methodology and did not receive the feedback. The feedback given to continue practicing and come back tomorrow, was well-received, simple, and easy to incorporate. So one is left wondering what is actually going on behind the scenes and selection. The ability to follow the method is not difficult with some practice. So, with that said, Fuel Sales Academy needs to improve communicating their standards, objectives in selection, and goals for the Foundations course. And, they should not waste the time of those who are involved in their course upon an invitation. If they were to state something up front, like: "we will select the top 5 out of this group," then that would at least be fair, honest, and up front with odds, but to say that one did not work through the material, follow the method, receive the feedback whilst moving along with the anticipation that they were continuing is disingenuous to the student, a waste of time and money. I could have made a more appropriate decision with my time and investments had the standards, objectives, and goals been clearer up front. Given all that was said during the course, the ability to meet the clearly stated objectives were relatively simple. This is not acceptable of any course, instructor, or school. 

Can absolutely recommend this program if you are interested in getting into Ed Tech sales and see yourself working with schools and school districts (bringing them up-to-date technology). First week is going to be theory and role plays. All coaches are super positive, encouraging and supportive. You will do a lot of homework - but it is worth it. Starting from the second week you are basically diving into real Ed tech SDR full-time job life through working for one of the partner companies - with meetings, coaching/mentorship, prospecting etc. As for me - I can’t imagine better start, I was in Hillary’s team and she is amazing (truly cares her team members grow and succeed), I was getting all needed attention, knowledge and support. Teammates - positive and supportive (If I needed something and couldn’t do/find it as a beginner - someone from the team was ready to help). As a result - I’ve got knowledge of need-based SaaS sales, learned Salesforce/Salesloft/Wingman, got experience in sequencing, adding/qualifying leads, cold calling (64+ calls per day), having conversations with prospects, leaving voicemails, working with emails and appointments setting. Trainings with Maurice and Hilary were useful and inspiring. Thank you, all Fuel Sales team for such an opportunity!

You will learn so much about being an SDR in a short period of time 
Understanding of sales methodology including call and email scripting
Supportive coaches, daily check-ins, one-on-one meetings, ability to get help and support from others in the program via chats, meetings, etc. 
On-the-job training that lets you know if this is the right role for you and helps you to be competitive in securing roles as an SDR 
They work to meet you where you are
You know and understand the terminology of sales 
Attainable to meet the graduation requirements and be put in front of their partner companies for interviews
Resume review and interview prep with Lonnie were very helpful
100% confidence that this helped me to land offers as an SDR because prior to this, I was not.

I went in as someone that was an exceptional customer service representative. One bad survey from a customer in 4 years, and I had ten years of experience in customer engagement. They let me go on the third day, didn't pay me for the days I was with you them, and made a judgment before I even made a single phone call. I am quite good at building rapport on the phone, in fact it is something I am quite good at. I would say that the company made a bad judgment call. I probably had more experience than anyone else in the class. I would have finished the training and hit my metrics with no problems but the company has it out for me from the beginning. 

I could write a book but I'll keep it short (if you want to know the whole story, contact me on LinkedIn). From day one, the team at Fuel Sales proved just how different they are in contrast to those typical sales-y people (you know what I'm talking about - the sharks, the pushy, the cocky). 

• They pay those who give them a chance to show them how to make a difference (free classes where they pay YOU to learn!)
• They vet other tech companies and help you find your niche
• They support you every step of the way (before, during, and after placement!)
• They genuinely care about you as a person - your life, your development, your future
• Dan, Lonnie, Zach and Alex bust their butts to provide you with curated sequences, daily meetings to keep everyone connected, quality content, continuous learning, etc. 

In a nutshell, they truly go above and beyond for their people!
The team here is more like family to me. They believed in me and pushed me out of my comfort zone. They took a girl who never would have considered a career in sales and helped her soar. Now, I've been in sales for about 2 years and am currently at an amazing company Fuel partners with, and still get to work closely with the SDRs in training at Fuel Sales Academy. I graduated and moved on in my career, but gained so much more than sales knowledge. I gained comrades, family, and the best references I could ask for ;)

Take a leap of faith and attend their class! What have you got to lose? 

I started at Fuel as a way to see if I could "handle" sales. I had trepidation, but I was encouraged because of the ongoing training and support. I was coached by a former teacher; I learned so much from her and other members of my team. I graduated feeling very confident about my abilities and I was hired by a partner company within a few months. I am now at my second company, as a Sales Manager. My responsibilities now include coaching my SDRs, along with managing partnerships. I owe a lot to FSA!

I've been working with Fuel Sales Academy since October 2023 (so one year now) and have been consistently improving my skills as a sales development representative. The great opportunity about Fuel Sales is a paid apprenticeship where you learn the skills and get paid at the same time (a rarity on the market), and that is continually adapting to the marketplace and improving their process to assist in the success of students and graduates. I've received ongoing support through call reviews, weekly role-playing, stand-ups, assisting with onboarding, and training other SDRs representing various ed tech companies. I enjoy working with the people at Fuel Sales. I've been able to work remotely for 40 hours a week in a professional setting from abroad. Your success in the program depends on the effort you put in and your commitment to consistent effort and a positive attitude. A big shout-out to the entire Fuel Sales team, from Dan, the CEO, to Lonnie, Hilary, Nate, Maurice, Jason, Brittany, and many other individuals on the back-end who make this a great opportunity for individuals to become resilient SDRs in the Ed Tech or SaaS space.