Jewcan_Sam81 profile picture
Jewcan_Sam81 profile picture

Jewcan_Sam81

Account Executive

Politicker
Catalyst
Valued Contributor
+9

Business Development Executive…WTF is that?

Team, I'm all of you get tons of LinkedIn recruiting messages, goes with the territory. but recently I've been getting hit up for AE jobs with the title "Business Development Executive" where "Account Executive" should be. 

Can you fine folks give me insight into WTF is going on with that any why someone, anyone at a company try to push that title which has this feel of a demotion in title while not actually being one? 
🎯 Career Development
15

23 comments

Sort by:
LordOfWar
Tycoon
4
Blow it up
I always felt that Business Development should be more of a higher level title for strategic planning and partnership recruitment, not just a new person out there hunting leads.
funcoupons
WR Officer
5
👑
Same! It never made sense to me. 
Jewcan_Sam81
Politicker
1
Account Executive
Totally agree with that actually, but to me it feel like after the years of the current level where it is that won't happen. Do you agree or am I just not seeing it?
LordOfWar
Tycoon
0
Blow it up
Yeah I agree, the title has been cheapened by the overuse in low level roles. It can still mean something in niche markets but that's about it. 
LordBusiness
Politicker
1
Chief Revenue Officer
Agree with this 100%
poweredbycaffeine
WR Lieutenant
3
☕️
What industry are you dealing with when you see these titles?
Jewcan_Sam81
Politicker
0
Account Executive
SaaS sales, they’re popping up everywhere
poweredbycaffeine
WR Lieutenant
5
☕️
Interesting--guess they're trying out something new. However, Business Development Executive tells me it's more of a partnerships/channel role and not a straight-up net-new AE role.
FinanceEngineer
Politicker
1
Sr Director, sales and partnerships
I have seen at as more opening up accounts that require more than just off the shelf products.
sketchysales
Politicker
3
Sales Manager
BDE in UK is different to AE and often a higher paid role.  It usually means the on the road sales guy/gal.  An AE or AM would normally be predominantly officed based handling existing accounts.

Different countries different meanings to the same words.  Could be something like that, maybe find out what they are offering?
Jewcan_Sam81
Politicker
2
Account Executive
It's actually super interesting: when you read the job description, it is word for word what you'd see in an AE job description, only the title is different. Super weird!
braintank
Politicker
2
Enterprise Account Executive
It can mean a lot of things: AE, SDR, channel, partnerships, Kahlua jockey...
Jewcan_Sam81
Politicker
0
Account Executive
If someone reached out trying to sell me something, and their job title in their sig line said "Kahlua Jockey," you best believe I'd ride that sales cycle to the finish line
Sunbunny31
Politicker
2
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
Our company (SaaS) tried that on for a while a couple years ago.  New VP came in and torpedoed that as a stupid idea.  Customers already have to navigate the BDR/SDR language and he found that totally ridiculous.   No more BDE.
Jewcan_Sam81
Politicker
0
Account Executive
I feel like it takes an Account Executive and drops their credibility in a massive way. "Business Development (fill in the blank)" speaks to a lower level position and I do not understand the thought process behind it
Wellss
Tycoon
1
Channel sales
New year new... job titles? I love how recruiters, or hiring managers in general, try and switch up the job title to make it seem like something it's not. The ol bait and switch
Jewcan_Sam81
Politicker
0
Account Executive
Totally agree, I really don't see the need for this at all
Rallier
Politicker
1
SDR Manager and Consultant
In my experience BDE is a full cycle AE role
Upper_Class_SaaS
Politicker
1
Account Executive
BD is a weird title since I have seen it for SDRs but also have seen it as a brand partnerships role
LordBusiness
Politicker
0
Chief Revenue Officer
Everyone always has to add their special flavor to the gumbo with titles and shit. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was an HR initiative based on “industry title research”
peachykeen
Politicker
0
sae e-commerce
My business development roles have always dealt with full sales cycle, hunting new clients and managing existing. So, like a BDR and AE rolled into one.
Is that uncommon?
CuriousFox
WR Officer
0
🦊
BDE is a Senior AE at many firms. You just need to look into it a little more.
godpull54
Praised Answer
0
PDR
Trying to make something sound fancy. Usually it's the companies with shittier pay that want to make their role sound more appealing. It works sometimes especially to new comers. 
Bravado is a community of trusted sales professionals endorsed by their customers.
Apple Store logo
Products
The War Room Jobs Salary Guide Tech Sales U
Company
About Us How It Works Blog Bug Bounty
Contact
Press Careers
© 2024 Bravado Inc. All rights reserved.
Privacy Policy Legal and Privacy Center Sales Jobs
If you are hired as a contract sales rep by a Bravado customer, we may ask you to prove access to the employee email account provided to you by that customer. This data will be shared with customers to track your sales productivity; customers can use this data to confirm you meet the minimum activity requirements to pay out your ramp stipend and commission.