bandabanda

Senior AE Mid Market

Advice - good next step?

Sorry if there have been other posts about this. Before you roast me, I did a quick search and couldn't find anything specific.

I'm AE at a startup and just completed our Series A last year, I've been here for about a year and was the 3rd AE hire so we're still very small. I wasn't an SDR or BDR before this...got really lucky and was able to jump right into an AE role after previously doing recruiting. I freakin LOVE saas sales now thanks to this job and see so much opportunity for growth, wealth, freedom, etc.

We're subscription based and deals can range from 1 user (about $65) to 20 users ($300+). I'm making more money than I've ever made but I'm wanting more and exploring what the next step is (I'm not interested in management, I love being an IC and just want to become a better AE at this point). However, the deals aren't getting more complicated, and I have some concerns about leadership.

So my question is...if I'm selling to SMB (or even smaller than SMB), what's the next step from here to help me progress? Should I stick it out and get 1 more year of full cycle sales experience? Could possibly get Senior AE title in 3-6 months. (a recruiter @ Salesforce just told me to do this) Or be looking for ways to move up market so I can learn more more about longer, more complex deal cycles and strategic selling to multiple stakeholders?

🎯 Career Development

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poweredbycaffeine

WR Lieutenant

3

☕️

Do you enjoy the work you are doing today, and who you are doing it with?

If the only reason to consider leaving is to get a promotion, but you genuinely are enjoying your time and are getting paid well to do it, then why not stick around and see what happens?

bandabanda

Tycoon

2

Senior AE Mid Market

I enjoy it most days and yes, my direct manager and the sales team is incredible. We mesh really well, we support each other, and I think are the most well-oiled machine at the company compared to product and CS and maybe even marketing.

I think my gut is saying this too if I'm being honest. Appreciate the response!

CaneWolf

Politicker

3

Call me what you want, just sign the damn contract

In general, I don't recommend following advice from recruiters at Salesforce. They care about what will be more helpful to them, not you.

Are you making money? Are you happy? Might be worth staying.

BUT, now is a great time to go elsewhere and get a big bump in pay.

funcoupons

WR Officer

2

👑

I question the SF recruiter's advice to stick around for a Senior AE title. Unless being a Senior AE gives you more concrete responsibility such as training junior reps or working on more complex/higher value deals, employers aren't going to give a rat's ass. It's just a title given because of tenure at a lot of places, especially startups. The recruiter at SF likely said that because they weren't interested in hiring you and wanted to let you down easy.

If you feel like you've done as much as you can at this startup and it sounds like you have (plus there's no easy way to escape bad management at your current company aside from leaving,) it absolutely doesn't hurt to send out some resumes for AE positions at companies that interest you. Salespeople are in high demand right now and a lot of companies highly value startup experience, and on the same side of a coin will understand why someone might want to leave a startup after a year of solid effort and experience. Maybe you get a better offer, maybe you don't. But never hurts to try.

bandabanda

Tycoon

3

Senior AE Mid Market

They definitely didn't want me, haha! She said I didn't have enough closing and full cycle experience. But she recommended me for the BDR role and I'm interviewing for that so we'l see.

Really appreciate your feedback funcoupons!

funcoupons

WR Officer

3

👑

No worries, SF is the top dog in the CRM space so it's not surprising they want AEs with more experience.

Good luck with the BDR role!

buckets1

Politicker

2

AE

Would recommend against taking a BDR role unless you are really keen on getting the Salesforce stamp on your resume. BDR sucked enough when I didn’t have closing experience. You couldn’t pay me enough to do that job again. FWIW I wasn’t at Salesforce but was at a very well know company and top player in the market. So also don’t let them sell you on the fact that the job is easy because “the product sells itself.” The quotas end up reflecting the name recognition of what you sell I.e. are insanely high.

funcoupons

WR Officer

2

👑

I agree with you. I'd only recommend taking the BDR role if working at SF long term is your goal and there's a clear path to AE.

bandabanda

Tycoon

1

Senior AE Mid Market

I agree. Have talked with a few mentors and peers at his point and the sentiment is all the same. If this was a dream company, sure. But SFDC isn't frankly and I'm not keen to take a step back when I can stay here another year, get a promotion, and stay in a closing role I'm really enjoying.

Really appreciate the feedback buckets!

bandabanda

Tycoon

1

Senior AE Mid Market

After a few days thinking about it, I couldn't agree more.

Thanks for the back & forth comments on this one, Queen Coups!

FormerStartupJobHopper

Tycoon

1

AE

It's interesting that your deal sizes are that small and that you ROI as a salesperson for them. So are you literally selling dozens/hundreds of these subs per month?

If you're in a good spot day to day/quota attainment/OTE I wouldnt' be afraid to stick it out for a jump from good to great. I just took a call from a recruiter today for the first time in two years and told them straight up: my current situation is a solid B+/A-. I'd need an A+ gig at a marquise company to consider leaving.

All this to say, don't be afraid to jump ship. Just make sure you're jumping TO something

bandabanda

Tycoon

0

Senior AE Mid Market

I'm consistently the top revenue earner out of about 5 AE's and I close around 20 deals a month. Our quota is closer to 41 deals a month....numbers are hella aggressive.

So no-one has hit quota. I've figured out how to frame this on interviews though.

Appreciate the feedback!

DungeonsNDemos

Big Shot

1

Rolling 20's all day

If your team is still smaller, why not speak strategically with your director to give you more of an avenue for growth? Is there somewhere your team is lacking? Do you want to delve into a new niche alongside your current focus? stuff like that.

The trick here is to come to him with ideas already that you have put down/thought out.

Take time and look to where you can see yourself with this company in the coming years.

Diablo

Politicker

1

Sr. AE

For me, I can only imagine handling more than 100's of accounts that are less complex (being SMB) but I bet you learnt great time management.

If you really enjoy your company, you might want to jump from SMB to MM or Ent within the org so you have less learning curve.

bandabanda

Tycoon

0

Senior AE Mid Market

It's been tough for sure! But you're right that it's been a great learning experience, especially from my manager. He's incredible. It's tough thinking about leaving because of him but I'm also trying think about the next step I need to take in my career for my family's sake.

Appreciate your feedback!

RedLightning

Politicker

1

Mid-Market AE

Money aside, an SMB sales cycle is really good for getting better at sales. You have way more at bats in theory so your margin or error is wider. You can get great at it and make a lot of money there. When you move up market or to a more complex deal cycle, the margin of error shrinks.

bandabanda

Tycoon

0

Senior AE Mid Market

Solid input I hadn't thought about but this makes complete sense. There's more to gain with each deal but also more to lose.

Appreciate the feedback!

Justatitle

Big Shot

1

Account Executive

Advice is like buttholes everyone has an opinion and most have a funky smell.

the talent space is so hot right now and if you want to maximize then looking elsewhere can be a solid option.

My Opinion FWIW, talk to the bravado team and @sahil cause they are connected with some rockstar sales orgs looking to hire right now.

bandabanda

Tycoon

1

Senior AE Mid Market

Appreciate the feedback!

SaaSsy

Politicker

1

AE

It sounds like you’re happy and that’s the best spot to be in! Companies are recruiting AEs like crazy right now so I would recommend taking interviews with companies you’re interested in as you are in the best spot to truly find the next best place for you - more money, more complex sale, etc.

bandabanda

Tycoon

0

Senior AE Mid Market

That's what I've realized too - I am happy where I'm at. I think I just got a case of the "Is the grass greener over there? Or there? Or even there?" I opened Pandora's box by looking at job postings and some other companies. I think I need to put my head down and grind for a little longer.

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