Pros
Remote work and mission-based company with decent pay that is providing a good service (to some orgs). If you're not on the sales team then working at FW is probably one of the better places to work.
Cons
Planned giving is an extremely challenging offering to sell, largely because outcomes can’t be guaranteed and many gifts aren’t realized until long after an organization has churned or renewed multiple times—often with diminishing returns. There’s really no “selling” an organization on FW’s tools; those who understand the value will see it immediately, and for everyone else the decision ultimately comes down to cost. Unfortunately, the entry-level investment is significantly higher than what most nonprofits expect to pay. As a result, roughly 90% of initial conversations end in budget-related closed-lost decisions or clients going silent. In many cases, the best-case scenario is revisiting the opportunity a year or more later once they’ve finally allocated the budget.
Compounding the challenge, FW has raised prices while reducing services for smaller nonprofits in pursuit of greater profitability—ironically impacting the very organizations that need hands-on, strategic support the most.
Within the sales organization, quotas are typically met at the departmental level, but fewer than 20% of individual reps hit their personal targets. When a couple of team members exceed 150% while most others fall between 50–80%, it’s difficult to call that a true win. Leadership may view it positively, but it takes a toll on individual morale.
Lastly, if you're looking to be inspired and motivated by your VP of Sales—look elsewhere.
