HonestlyAbe

Consultant

From SDR to Enterprise AE?

Fellow Sales Warriors!

You are a scientist for NASA, get laid off, recover from improper triathlon training from one awesome physical therapist, one that is so good you open a clinic with them, figure out sales/marketing cold in 6 months (because you don't have funds to go past 6 mo), do more science for City of SD and SF, pandemic hits, working remotely, tasked with building out the Western Region sales team for a SaaS company, bring IBM/McKinsey/CA state government to the table in 2 months, with the IBM contact and your Director of N. American Sales as recommendations.

My question: what is the best way to pitch yourself so that people appreciate how incredibly difficult your achievements were and that you actually are capable of selling at the enterprise/AE level without a decade of sales experience?

🎈 Mentorship

🤘 Personal Growth

🏅 Competition

26 comments

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CoorsKing

WR Officer

Retired King of the Coors Knights

List:
- revenue sourced
- # of any new logos closed
- revenue closed (or % attainment if not a big #)
- what was involved in the build of the western sales region and your role in doing so
- what was involved in building the clinic sales and your role in doing so

Depending on what industry you are going for, jumping from SDR to Ent AE might be a stretch in some cases but I definitely think you could position all of that for a solid AE role.

I would also 100% list you were a former NASA scientist. The level of education and professionalism needed for that will be a big bonus in your favor when interviewing in my opinion.

HonestlyAbe

Personal Narrative

Consultant

Really? I never thought of it this way because I thought if you're not a scientist, you can only appreciate so much of it. Now I'm realizing I based this off of the opinions of a few that aren't even great sellers to begin with!

braintank

Politicker

Enterprise Account Executive

I'd definitely include it.

However, as @CoorsKing said you need to focus on accomplishments (with hard numbers) not tasks/duties.

HonestlyAbe

Personal Narrative

Consultant

I agree, I actually have numbers to back it up, thought I had to have insane figures or else was not worth stating them: I was clearly wrong :)

Kosta_Konfucius

Politicker

Sales Rep

Hard to argue with this

funcoupons

WR Officer

👑

Go for AE first, not ENT AE. For your own good.

E_Money

Big Shot

💰

👆

HonestlyAbe

Personal Narrative

Consultant

I'd be happy with just that. AE role, with the right comp package, micro-leading support from leadership, that allows me to move up when I am ready to. Who knows, maybe I enjoy working with my team so much that I don't want to move up!

E_Money

Big Shot

💰

I wouldn't shoot that high honestly. Sounds like you have achieved some great stuff don't get me wrong, but that doesn't mean you are ready for enterprise sales. So to answer your question "what is the best way to pitch yourself..." I wouldn't... yet. Your time will come.

HonestlyAbe

Personal Narrative

Consultant

I think so too. I want to learn from veteran Enterprise reps as an AE, then gradually (key word here) move towards enterprise. The first objection I have been facing is I don't have years of experience. I don't, what I have is quality experience of doing different things each month/year, rather than the same role at the same org for many years: this is why I am looking for ways to improve my pitch, to get this message across

CuriousFox

WR Officer

🦊

Damn dude NASA scientist is impressive AF.

HonestlyAbe

Personal Narrative

Consultant

Dude, I didn't realize it is impressive at all. I had no degrees at all, went from an internship in their main machine shop where they make the Mars rovers, to working with a team that takes satellite data/imagery to figure out where a dust storm will settle, if a hurricane in Florida will be suppressed, if the Amazon will get enough dust to feed its plants and wildlife, if there will be rainfall on a given continent or not, how last year's deforestation is affecting agricultural yields, etc. I don't like my ego to take the driver's seat, to just stay put in as the persistent, aggressively patient passenger. I also wanted to stay humble during interviews, but it's not working. I think it's time I start tooting that effing horn!

Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

Damn straight. My brother worked on the Mars rovers (working for a NASA contractor) and we call him a Rocket Scientist - because he's smart. You are really smart and driven, and accomplished. Those are positive attributes that you need to use to your advantage.

HonestlyAbe

Personal Narrative

Consultant

Well damn, time to get to work on making those edits to showcase these attributes! I believe it, for all I know I ran into him while I was there! What was unexpected was how humble everyone was: one of my supervisors wore tie die shirts and birkenstock sandals to division meetings

TheNegotiator

Arsonist

VP of Sales

Holy shit. I’m constantly reminded that I’m just a professional windbag who successfully masquerades as an intelligent and well-adjusted person… and then there are real smart people out there.

Just take a really crunchy screen grab of this post, and send it in unmarked emails to your preferred companies.

They will find you.

HonestlyAbe

Personal Narrative

Consultant

I actually laughed reading this, then realized it may work. Have you tried something like this before?

TheNegotiator

Arsonist

VP of Sales

No, not personally. Remember I’m just a masquerading windbag.

An exaggeration would be to send this post, but jokes aside if you document what you’ve put above, well, and provide clear, concise reasoning on a resume, I doubt you’ll have issues.

Genius ex-scientist turned salesperson, with instant proof of real enterprise success, sells well.

The devil is in the details ofc, and if you can’t articulately explain your role in bringing those companies to the table, or if you don’t interview extraordinarily, exceptionally, ridiculously well, you’re shot. For going after an EAE role anyway. But AE should be well in reach.

Tbh, fuck all the other advice (don’t tell anyone I said that). Go for EAE. Don’t even look for less. Based on what I read above, it can be done, assuming you have the other individual qualities you need to get in the door.

HonestlyAbe

Personal Narrative

Consultant

Dear masquerading windbag,

I was looking for that one person that understood what I was saying, what I'm truly bringing to the table: you are basically the only one on here, capable of seeing right through my message.

Every professional experience has led me to adopting this mindset, it is the reason why I started a clothing business with zero experience in clothes, yet I know it will succeed because I am 100% ok with it failing, knowing if it was destined to fail (which it won't), then the next endeavor will be even greater than this one. The culmination of my experiences have prepared me to take this on.

Here's an unusual question for you: which would you choose to put on a shirt and why?

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bd3wf4WARTR/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BCbVG7awaDY/

"fuck all the other advice"
FYI, this means the world to me. Power to you brother.

TheNegotiator

Arsonist

VP of Sales

Haha, I’m glad to be of assistance. People who want you to aim lower don’t want you to get hurt. The advice, which comes from the warmest place is the worst for you. Seek the harshest adversity you can find. You won’t fail if you don’t let yourself.

I’d put that 2nd one on a shirt because I’m edgy like that.

Stay dangerous bro

HonestlyAbe

Personal Narrative

Consultant

YES, right on point. They reminded me of my parents, in a good way and in a self-defeating manner simultaneously. Your comment reminds me of what the first month at NASA was like: you have one month to sink or swim. It worked, I stayed for 3 years. There's no reason this approach cannot work in sales.

I'll be repeating this phrase to myself at least once a day as a reminder of this conversation and what it symbolizes: 'stay dangerous bro'

Fnord

Praised Answer

VP of Sales

I’d love to hire a Scientist as an AE man!!
Use your background and find companies that sell to other scientist. Your main value is that you can really put yourself in your buyers shoes.
Most AES have no clue what their buyer’s job and life is like until they really build rapport and develop those relationships. In your case, it’s the other way around.

HonestlyAbe

Personal Narrative

Consultant

Great point! I have a background in construction/EHS work and should be doing the same with this!

DungeonsNDemos

Big Shot

Rolling 20's all day

Give context around what you accomplished. Metrics mean a lot, but only when compared to something.

RumRum

Good Citizen

Enterprise AE

My previous two sales jobs were highly technical, and we saw that Engineers that moved to sales, and had the right aptitude, did better.

We just gotta be careful because when you’re in sales, your job is not to be always right, or solve a technical problem. That was one of my biggest challenges.

You’re smart, but you’re job is to ask questions and not prescribe.

To your question, I would even find ways to quantify results from your technical roles. For example, wrote code to decrease processing time by 20% allowing scientist to deliver dashboards at 3 times the speed. (It’s an example, I know it sounds dumb lol)

Best of luck and stay humble! There are ways to show your smart, even in interviews, without sounding arrogant.

HonestlyAbe

Personal Narrative

Consultant

This is some serious insight, I never thought of including results form my technical roles as I ASSUMED (and poorly) that they would not understand the data or appreciate it. I was wrong and thanks for helping me see this. Be well, continue to do well

Gasty

Notable Contributor

War Room Community Manager

Enterprise? No start with SMB then Mid Market then stress then marry then enteprise?

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