bonez

Account Executive

Being promoted from AE to AM - looking for all the advice I can get

Hey War Room,

I'm moving into an AM role and really excited about it. It's a promotion at my place of work so I'm stoked that even though my year has sucked (thanks macro economic environment) the hard work I've put in is still being recognized. I'm at a SaaS company currently so slanging that software with a small services component as well.

Currently I'm working with some accounts after I close them but always have to pass them off after a month or 3.

Been closing net new for years and years but really excited to be on this side of things - any starting advice or resources is GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks homies,

Bonez

☁️ Software Tech

📚 Resource

😎 Sales Skills

20 comments

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antiASKHOLE

Tycoon

Bravado's Resident Asshole

I thought it was more of a lateral move tbh. But congrats! renewals and upsells for days.

bonez

Politicker

Account Executive

Also thanks my dude! Very excited about renewals and upsells tbh. Clients with money vs realizing 10 minutes into a disco call that someone has 0 desire to purchase ANYTHING.

antiASKHOLE

Tycoon

Bravado's Resident Asshole

I wish you the best of luck. What is your goal from AM?

bonez

Politicker

Account Executive

Is racks on racks on racks acceptable? Kidding

I'm not sure to be honest. I actually used to be in more senior leadership on the marketing side of things years ago and know I can jump into that again. But the thought of being an enterprise rep sounds very appealing considering the income potential. I'm honestly looking and feeling it out to see which direction I want to go in. But if I had a gun to my head today I'd say enterprise - but I've got a family and I'm not getting younger so not sure how long that'll be my priority.

antiASKHOLE

Tycoon

Bravado's Resident Asshole

bonez

Politicker

Account Executive

At most places it absolutely is but here it's considered a step up. They see it as the pathway to moving into enterprise and/or management. Having the new business acquisition experience and account management is how they justify the move up.

Pachacuti

Politicker

They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy

I assume that as an AM you're growing the business in current accounts rather than driving net new business.

Being an AM is all about relationships. Prove yourself fast to gain trust. And work on gaining trust without the expectation of a sale in return. Those will come with time. Get to know your prospects and their business and they will feel comfortable giving you more business as it arises.

Good luck!

bonez

Politicker

Account Executive

Yup! Growing new business in current accounts. Getting bigger renewals and upsells.

This is great advice. I’m going to put my relationship skills to the test!

Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

Does your AM team run QBRs with your customers? Or are you more individual in how you work with your customers?

bonez

Politicker

Account Executive

We do! I’ll be running those but definitely leave it up to the AM on how to run them. We also partner with the CS team so they play a big hand in that.

Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

That's a great way to make sure you're providing value to your customers and also building a relationship that can benefit both.

jefe

Arsonist

🍁

Congrats! It's great to hear that your company recognized your efforts and the impact of the economy on your results., and then acted accordingly.

JustGonnaSendIt

Politicker

Burn Towns, Get Money

I made this transition a few years ago. The #1 piece of advice I can give you to succeed is to understand your customers' business.

How do they make money? What are their fixed and variable costs?

What regulatory shit are they subject to?

Listen to / read the earnings calls every quarter if publicly traded.

Essentially you are transitioning from being someone who does a transaction to someone who is responsible for a business relationship. You need to position yourself as an advocate for your customers within your company. Understanding them is the best first step.

bonez

Politicker

Account Executive

Killer advice. Honestly why I was picked was because I'm a "relationship guy" according to my boss. So now it's time to put this advice to practice and make sure I'm seen as an asset instead of some guy trying to get them to spend a little bit more.

Going to dive deep into these relationships and, like you said, see how I can understand their business.

JustGonnaSendIt

Politicker

Burn Towns, Get Money

Best of luck.

I can't stress enough how much the advocacy mindset will move you forward. Customers respect when you're trying to do a deal that's good for both parties, especially with an existing relationship history on the books.

bonez

Politicker

Account Executive

Really taking this to heart man. Want to be that advocate so when I do push a larger deal they know it's mutually beneficial and everyone's happy. Love it.

Diablo

Politicker

Sr. AE

Congrats buddy.

ThatNewAE

Big Shot

Account Executive - Mid enterprise

a friend of mine went from AE to AM. Few things he did:

- Understand current customers pulse.
- Send a quick "hey! It's me, your new AM"
- From an AE that closes, you would have to get to BDR prospecting nature within.

TheIncarceration

Politicker

SDR Manager

Don't have much advice to offer but congrats! Glad to hear that your work is being recognized!

bonez

Politicker

Account Executive

Thank you! Excited to get started!

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bonez

Being promoted from AE to AM - looking for all the advice I can get

20 comments

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