ChumpChange

Channel Manager

Assistance with Enterprise AE qualifications

My company is opening up a rec for a newly created position for an Enterprise AE. This position currently doesn't exist at this time. The person hired would be considered a keystone hire that will eventually build out a team of EAEs if they demonstrate efficacy. The expectation is that they'll be doing a player-coach role for one of the performing AE's. Savages, I need to know what and how to determine a good fit for this newly created position. Here's what I can think of off the top of my head.

Relevant Industry Experience
Product/Service Familiarity
Successful Track Record
Training/Mentoring Experience

Love to hear everyone's input on how to identify the needle movers. What am I missing?

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23 comments

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TennisandSales

Politicker

Head Of Sales

Jason Lemkin (known as the godfather of Saas) as an approach i really like.

you need to find someone that has sold to the size customer, at the price point you are selling too.

industry experience, big company little company DOESNT MATTER.

For your situation I would look at these things:

1. have you sold to X size companies before? and did you do well?
2. Have you sold at X price point before and did you do well?
3. Have you trained/developed someone before?

if this is truly a keystone hire, then you wont sacrifice on any of those things.

ChumpChange

Politicker

Channel Manager

Sounds advice. Thank you for your contribution.

TennisandSales

Politicker

Head Of Sales

No problem. Go follow Jason Lemmon on linked in too!

someoneinsales

Tycoon

Director of Sales

IMO, as someone who has done the role you are opening, your 4 bullets are a bunch of corporate BS.

Who cares if they have specific product/service familiarity or industry experience.

Find someone who is good at qualifying opportunities early. Someone who is use to MEDDIC or something similar. Someone who has had success selling in a crowded space but was never given the opp to grow their career.

They dont have to have mentoring or training experience. Maybe someone who was a captain of a sports team or something. A lot of great leaders dont get a shot at mentoring before they get into leadership.

Pay them fair and above just an EAE price.

If you do all this, you will find someone who is intelligent. they will learn the industry, they will learn the products, they will create success. They will lead a team and grow them.

ChumpChange

Politicker

Channel Manager

I agree with everything you stated outside of the industry experience. The experience is where I am pretty stringent only because it would be an 18-24 month horizon for them to get fully ramped. Thanks for the response.

someoneinsales

Tycoon

Director of Sales

I think Industry knowledge is more important that experience. For example I am in Cyber Security, but there are so many niches in Cyber Sec that sometimes it is better to have someone with no niche experience to bring a new approach too.

But you are right. IF they are use to selling lights and now they need to sell dogs, that prob isnt a good fit.

TennisandSales

Politicker

Head Of Sales

I would disagree with this.

product knowledge, industry knowledge can be learned. Experience selling and getting deals done at a certain level cannot.

Its hard to explain until you do it. but the process of getting large deals done is just a different animal.

and for the FIRST hire, the KEYSTONE hire, I would want to know that person knows what they are doing. Ill teach you everything you need to know about the industry.

SADNESSLieutenant

Politicker

Officer of ♥️

+1 to tennis

ChumpChange

Politicker

Channel Manager

"It's hard to explain until you do it." I did this at my previous company and I currently do this right now as a stop-gap. I got recruited because I possessed a skillset in both logistics and tech. This made the ramp easier and quicker which ended up taking off. Now it became a full-fledged team that I manage. Logistics in itself is a clusterfuck of complexities/pitfalls and the product is centered around addressing those gaps with confidence. It's not a read-the-book or watching canned training videos. It's nuance built from being in the grinder for years. I have no problem hiring someone who has zero experience in the industry as an additional team member but I am very hesitant to take this approach for the first hire to build a team around and ultimately lead. To be perfectly blunt... I would hold the logistics experience higher than the SAAS. It's the whole Armageddon conundrum... wouldn't it have been easier to just teach astronauts to drill than drillers to be astronauts?

TennisandSales

Politicker

Head Of Sales

Hahah the analogy is a solid one.

I would agree that saas experience is not really a big deal.

TennisandSales

Politicker

Head Of Sales

Woo!!! 🙌🙌

Sunbunny31

Arsonist

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

...advantage, tennis. ;)

TennisandSales

Politicker

Head Of Sales

oooooooh lets go bunny!! 😂🙌

SADNESSLieutenant

Politicker

Officer of ♥️

AE4x

Opinionated

Account Executive

Wish more companies thought like this! I've shied away from a applying to a few Enterprise AE positions mainly because its not my everyday customer, although in the past I have worked with them.

Kosta_Konfucius

Politicker

ERP Sales

Hard to beat this

SADNESSLieutenant

Politicker

Officer of ♥️

Find someone over qualified, who has sold those size deals, to those size companys, who has been in at least saas, pay them more than they are worth- give them everything and more they need to succeed. Ask them great questions in the interviews like how they approach leadership, coaching, enterprise selling. How they view their strengths. What makes them a great fit. how they handle change, how they handle stress

ChumpChange

Politicker

Channel Manager

Spot on mate and thank you for the feedback. It's a unique situation because the rec is for someone to do a job and ultimately lead a team. And for those of us in management... that's an ENTIRELY different skillset that some people just don't possess or have developed.

SADNESSLieutenant

Politicker

Officer of ♥️

exactly they have to know how to SELL and MANAGE, which most managers dont know how to do either

IYNFYL

Politicker

Enterprise SaaS AE

I think it's important for them to understand their day to day so you know what qualified means. Many orgs have EAEs come in with no prospecting skills, yet they have them doing 90% prospecting day to day. Also understanding their sales methodologies and if they mesh with your expectations.

ChumpChange

Politicker

Channel Manager

Great insight. Adding this to my notes.

boredAnti

Tycoon

That One Guy

Those criteria are valid to look into. outside of experience, you should also look for characteristics/values that uphold your position.

Cyberjarre

Politicker

BDR

Have you sold at X price point before and did you do well?