aliyehia11

Account Executive

How to make a move into SaaS?

Hey guys, so I'm an AE with 5 years sales experience in a number of different industries (Real Estate, Commercial Real Estate, Fintech and Advertising/Lead Gen).

I've sat down with myself recently and decided that what I want to do in the long term is SaaS, preferably working on large size deals 100k USD+.

The problem is most of the vacancies available require previous SaaS experience which I do not have.

My question is, how do I successfully make a move into the SaaS/Tech industry? (Other than starting as an SDR)

👥 Hiring

21 comment

Sort by:

CoorsKing

WR Officer

Retired King of the Coors Knights

Read @funcoupons guide on how she broke and and take some tips from @SADNESSLieutenant on how to create your own referrals internally and prospect the hiring manager.

you shouldn’t need former SaaS experience, just need to figure out how to explain your experience in a way that makes it sound relevant

SADNESSLieutenant

Politicker

Officer of ♥️

Exactly. Served pizza for ten years? ->Excellent people skills, interpersonal communication, grit from a fast paced work environment,
Sold Real estate? -> Highly experienced in high ticket sales - Knowhow of buying process - ability to lead buyer down the funnel - Skilled in professional presentation - Written and oral communication skills are excellent - Emotional intelligence from deals won - amount of realestate sold. etc. cross reference job postings with what skills you have garnered from what you learned.

GALACTIC

Politicker

Account Executive

I just got a SAAS AE gig after following @SADNESSLieutenant guide for getting interviews. Thanks guy, you're definitely my buddy now, friend.

Don't just apply to the jobs - you need to connect with decision makers directly and sell yourself to them.

Also - go nuts applying for everything, but you'll have much better traction aiming for Tech related to what you already know. I worked in advertising sales for years - just got hired selling Ad Tech.

SADNESSLieutenant

Politicker

Officer of ♥️

Love to see it. Congrats Galactic, hope it goes great.

https://bravado.co/war-room/posts/how-to-go-from-jobless-to-offer-in-4-days-update-on-job-hunt-1-offer-2-next-stage-3-in-1st-stage-lfg

DungeonsNDemos

Big Shot

Rolling 20's all day

Congrats on the new job!

aliyehia11

Fire Starter

Account Executive

Thanks, I'll be sure to check the guide out!

butwhy

Politicker

Solutions Engineer

Apply anyway - companies are need more bodies, I bet you end up getting interviews where you can sell your pivot. Focus on Series B and C that are scaling up, they aren't as picky.

aliyehia11

Fire Starter

Account Executive

Thanks for the advice, I'll give it a go.

E_Money

Big Shot

💰

Exactly what I was going to say. The market is crazy right now and people are desperate to hire. If anything it will be a learning experience for how to interview with these companies even if you don't get the first few you apply to.

DungeonsNDemos

Big Shot

Rolling 20's all day

Just heard last week there are 700,000 open sales jobs on ziprecruiter. Sales people are in demand!!

CuriousFox

WR Officer

🦊

I think you mean vacancies. Apply and see how the interview goes. 🤷‍♀️

aliyehia11

Fire Starter

Account Executive

Yup autocorrect 🤦

funcoupons

WR Officer

👑

Some absolute fucking legend wrote an entire guide on this exact topic

aliyehia11

Fire Starter

Account Executive

Link?

Or do you remember what the article was called?

funcoupons

WR Officer

👑

I guess I can help u out...

FUCK U, PAY ME: The Coups Guide To Getting What You Want (bravado.co)

aliyehia11

Fire Starter

Account Executive

Thank you, much appreciated.

Pachacuti

Politicker

They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy

@aliyehia11 The guide is good and shows what worked for her - namely confidence that she can do the job, which is extremely important. She also wrote a Cover Letter and detailed out why she'd be an asset to them - equally as important. She as followed up but didn't show desperation - which is a failing of many people who want to get into SaaS.

Pachacuti

Politicker

They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy

Don't let your lack of SaaS experience stop you from applying. Apply, follow up, and see what happens.

DungeonsNDemos

Big Shot

Rolling 20's all day

Do you have it defined as "why SaaS" and why it will be different?

aliyehia11

Fire Starter

Account Executive

Not sure I get your question, but if you mean why do I want to move into SaaS it's because I feel that this is the industry that will be booming 20 years from now plus they have some pretty good salaries.
Regarding why it will be different, personally I don't think i'll struggle selling it. My issue is that most AE vacancies are asking for 2-5 years experience in selling SaaS.

bandabanda

Tycoon

Senior AE Mid Market

If you don’t match the job description, apply anyway (im talking about jobs that say 1-2 years of SaaS experience required). I mean, if it says 5 years, shoot your shot!

prospect the sales leaders, and hiring managers. Send videos, audio messages, things that could differentiate yourself. With your fintech experience and overall sales experience, you could easily land an SMB AE role. They’re are tons of remote jobs right now.

sending blank connection requests has worked really well for me. And then sending a message telling them how I’m their next top AE 🤷‍♂️

also funcoupons guide is the shittt

Bravado is a community of trusted sales professionals endorsed by their customers.

Products

The War Room Jobs Salary Guide Tech Sales U

Company

About Us How It Works Blog Bug Bounty

Contact

Press Careers

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.