Lots of work, but can be very rewarding. - Account Manager CDW Employee Review

5.0
30 Mar 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The training program they put you through initially is really comprehensive in getting you up to speed on the fundamentals of IT and all of the product segments that you'll be covering. I'm sure it could differ from team to team, but after training my manager always seemed to focus on our personal goals and development, and I never felt any pressure to simply hit numbers. There's a good sense of camaraderie between your team and the group you've gone through training with - although many of them went on to separate teams we still keep in touch years later. The pay probably won't be amazing for most your first year or two unless you hit some luck or really grind at it, but it's probably comparable to similar positions with other companies, except with a lot of added perks. Expect to be inundated with free food, contests, and branded freebies from all of the vendor partners. A lot of opportunity for lateral promotions or to specialize in/work for many of the vendors. The work itself can be a slog some days, but they really seem to do as much as possible to motivate their employees.

Cons

Expect to make tons of cold calls daily. Probably 80-100+ early on until you start gaining some traction and have to focus more time on actual customers. I never encountered any negativity, but you'll be leaving a lot of voicemails, hitting dead ends on leads, and chasing after elusive IT managers day after day. They provided you with a starter book of business, but you'll quickly have to start prospecting your own leads if you want to get anywhere. Your initial book might have a few diamonds in the rough, but they're mostly hand-me-downs from other account managers on your team because they got nowhere with them. Finding good customers can seem like a struggle sometimes depending on what your territory is. Some of the more successful account managers seemed to get their break by sharing an account with a more experienced team member - make connections and be eager to learn from them because the odds of getting in on the ground floor with a growing company seemed pretty slim.

Explore other reviews about CDW

5.0
1 Jul 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Pay overall is good compared to others.

Cons

Benefits aren't as good as previous companies

3.0
6 Jul 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

You have the ability to sell full stack solutions, services and software.

Cons

I have worked at CDW for 10yrs and every single year they have changed the comp plan in a way that makes it harder for sellers to make money (constantly moving the goal post). Prior to 2020 CDW had little to no lay offs now it is happening every six months. They say the reasons is to reduce cost and improve efficiencies BUT as a company our sales continue to grow along with the C-levels pockets.

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