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thatguytalksalot

Sales Development Representative

Contributor
Good Citizen

Best way to get promoted by leaving? SDR->AE

Hi everyone!

Wanted to reach out and see if anyone has any experience/advice regarding moving up to an AE position by leaving their previous company as an SDR (SaaS)?  I have been in my role for just short of a year now with an average quarterly quota attainment of 167.5%. I enjoy where I work and they pay me well but there seems to be little room for growth internally, especially considering the current state of the market. Thankfully, it seems like the health of the company is solid at the moment and while I value job security, I am becoming rather burnt out. I firmly believe I am qualified for the next step and my skill set will lend to being a much better AE than SDR. 

Any advice/wisdom is appreciated! 
🧠 Advice
10

13 comments

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Kosta_Konfucius
Politicker
7
Sales Rep
My advice is to start networking! Especially since you are over 100% its important to develop relationships with AEs to learn of the main differences as well as Managers so when a role opens they think of you.

Also a lot of good info here:
https://bravado.co/war-room/posts/other-than-hitting-quota-how-do-i-get-promoted-from-sdr-to-ae
Sunbunny31
Politicker
2
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
Great advice, paired with braintank's suggestion.
braintank
Politicker
6
Enterprise Account Executive
No harm in applying
TennisandSales
Politicker
3
Head Of Sales
what i suggest is to start applying to AE roles. and if you get a an interview tell them that you are set to be an AE at your current company but you are trying to figure out if it would make sense to advance your career somewhere else.
Diablo
Politicker
3
Sr. AE
Always good to start interviewing so you know if you are lacking any skills. I would focus more on an SMB role to start with.
CuriousFox
WR Officer
2
🦊
Do you have closing experience?
thatguytalksalot
Contributor
3
Sales Development Representative
I do not have any formal closing experience. I will be starting their AE training program this quarter but there are no promises a position will be available at the end. There is a backlog of SDR’s who have both already completed the program and are performing well QoQ. Seems like they are working on a fairness over performance model with the timeline for promotions.
punishedlad
Tycoon
2
🧙‍♂️
I'd go through that training and leverage it in interviews with other orgs. Be transparent about your situation.
Justatitle
Big Shot
2
Account Executive
I don’t want to crush your hopes and great that you believe you can do the AE job, that’s the first step. There’s few organizations that will hire an SDR into an AE role and that was before all the craziness happening lately. Best bet is to look for a JR. AE role somewhere that they expect a lot of self sourcing for pipeline and you’ll be responsible for closing.
GDO
Politicker
1
BDM
yes moving companies is the best way to get promoted.
ThatNewAE
Big Shot
1
Account Executive - Mid enterprise
I did this - hopped firms and took up an AE role.
Start networking and subtly put out a word that you are looking to take the next step in your career.
Sadboysales
Opinionated
1
Account Executive
I've been in this situation and seen others deal with it as well.

The first thing you should do, is be open and honest with your SDR Manager and the AE manager. You need to tell them you want to be an AE but don't be a dick about it, they will not read your mind and they have a million other things they are dealing with. Ask, where do i need to improve and how do you they suggest you gain experience to transition?

You've killed it as an SDR, depending on your company sales processes though, SDR skills don't always directly translate into AE roles. In most cases, SDR's are heads down dialling and booking/qualifying demos while AE's are working with a team to close them. You're not going to be aware of how AE's navigate internal processes, which there are. You need to shadow not only sales calls, but be in the slack channels or however your team works together.

Be open about where you are needing coaching and help, which is likely later stage closing.

If you're at a smaller company, ask to work a territory that's somewhat undesirable. You'll get experience and when there's changes you'll be first in the line for a better territory if one opens up.

You probably think you're ready to be an AE but there's more to the job than what SDR's see.
Blue_Turtle
Opinionated
0
sdr
Be very straightforward about what you want and ask for the best way to go about it. Lots of great advice from other commenters here as well. Also, if you feel yourself getting burnt out then communicate with you manager that you’re going to need to take some time off to relax and recharge. We just came off a tough holiday season and we’re into a tough first quarter. No shame it taking time off.

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