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diet75 profile picture

diet75

Enterprise AE

Big Shot
Valued Contributor
Opinionated
+7

I Quit Sales Leadership for an IC Role

TL;WR:


Anyone else ever done this (somewhat) downward move on the ladder?


If you haven't, what is your first thought?


Context for those who care:

After 3 years running the sales department as VP/Director of Sales, I left my gig for an AE role at a company half the size.


I wanted to get out of management and take control of my earnings.

I was giving a lot of my "parental" energy to 36 year old adults instead of my 3 kids who need it.

I desired a change in industry from HR Tech to Biotech Tech.

I feel urged to prove my skills in this area again.

☁️ Software Tech
🧢 Sales Management
🚀 Career Goals
21

32 comments

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Gasty
Notable Contributor
7
War Room Community Manager
that... "Parental" Energy point simply hits home. I can somehow relate to it without even having a child at the moment.

You do what's best for you and your family.

You have my respect!
LordOfWar
Tycoon
4
Blow it up
100% on the parental energy - I'm being asked to draft emails for someone twice my age. I feel my blood pressure rise every time they step into my office.

At least my 3-year-old is confident in her work...

I didn't sign up for this shit.
diet75
Big Shot
1
Enterprise AE
ffs...

if you can't draft an email, why aren't we talking about where else you can work?

Also - if i could get my reps to maintain the confidence of a 3 year old, i'd probably still be a manager.
LordOfWar
Tycoon
1
Blow it up
Oh we're for sure talking about them not being here, but for now its the only other salesperson I got and I can't sail this ship alone.
diet75
Big Shot
1
Enterprise AE
rough - i get that, especially with how few AEs are seemingly left on the job hunt.
diet75
Big Shot
1
Enterprise AE
much appreciated for the kind words!
braintank
Politicker
5
Enterprise Account Executive
I did this earlier in my career. Got promoted to VP and took the gig b/c it seemed like the right thing to do. Did it for 9 months and realized I hated it. Left the company and moved into an enterprise AE role. Never looked back.
diet75
Big Shot
0
Enterprise AE
Hell yeah - more money and more autonomy?

All of a sudden i feel for the (good) VPs out there....
SaaSam
Politicker
4
Account Executive
No but I've turned management roles down because it would have been like taking a pay cut.

A killer AE can make more than the CEO in a lot of places. Plus I prefer not to be responsible, even slightly, for someone else's performance.
diet75
Big Shot
1
Enterprise AE
That last bit is everything. Total lack of control over *my* performance because i'm responsible for everyone else's.

Do you ever feel like you could do the manager role better than the person "above you" and get curious about it?
SaaSam
Politicker
1
Account Executive
With the exception of 2, I could have run circles around every manager I've ever had. It hasn't been uncommon in my career to have coworkers come to me about shit instead of incompetent management.
diet75
Big Shot
0
Enterprise AE
facts.
Sunbunny31
Politicker
4
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
I haven't done this myself, but have had many colleagues who have.

I look at is as taking control of your life - IC is a very valued role, with far more autonomy than anywhere on the management ladder.

Respect to you for taking the steps that make sense for you.
diet75
Big Shot
2
Enterprise AE
Appreciate the encouragement. That's what it feels like.
Sunbunny31
Politicker
2
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
Yeah, I wouldn't think of it as a step back. It's an alternate path.

Some of us choose never to go into management, because IC is so lucrative and compelling for many reasons. You're in good company!
antiASKHOLE
Tycoon
3
Bravado's Resident Asshole
I applaud you for making the move to focus on your family. BRAVO! You have my respect!
diet75
Big Shot
0
Enterprise AE
much appreciated!
CuriousFox
WR Officer
3
🦊
This is exactly why I'm am IC. I have zero desire to be in spreadsheet hell. Not to mention fuck dem kids.
diet75
Big Shot
1
Enterprise AE
thank you kindly. time to get back to the old game!
Pachacuti
Politicker
2
They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy
Good for you. You know what you want and you had he courage to do it.
DungeonsNDemos
Big Shot
1
Rolling 20's all day
Respect! Best of luck.
I'm curious, as the VP of sales did you make a % off the teams sales?
diet75
Big Shot
0
Enterprise AE
yep - between 1%-2.5% based on accelerators.
diet75
Big Shot
0
Enterprise AE
and thanks!
DevSomeBiz
Valued Contributor
1
Senior B2B Sales Guy.
Sounds like you made the right move. As someone who works in staffing, I do have one concern. If you are being considered for a leadership role in the future, there may be the initial impression that you tried it and didn't like it. You're going to need to get the opportunity to tell your story.
diet75
Big Shot
0
Enterprise AE
That's a good point. Monkey bar trips are tough to explain on resumes so I'll need to rely on a network.

By the way, I sold into staffing/recruiting for 3 years. Y'all are sales gods.
Kosta_Konfucius
Politicker
1
Sales Rep
What would be your advice to current AEs so we dont waste parental energy on us? Were they requiring a lot of hand holding in deals
diet75
Big Shot
1
Enterprise AE
Good question - not exactly on deals.

I had a few issues with a rep not showing up to meetings with prospects and another being really new to the space, but those things are one offs, trainable or actionable.

Hardest thing is being the sole place for sales folks to complain about the leads/marketing/product/HR/account management/support issues 7 times a week in their one on ones. It gets so tiring when it's repetitive week after week and having such a stark applicant pool makes it feel like its never ending.
nomdeguerre
Executive
1
Account executive
Good for you and more power to you! Family first, always!
BlackVNeck
Good Citizen
1
Mid Market Account Executive
I moved from a sales leadership position in SMB to a AE role in Mid Market. I knew how to do transactional, high velocity sales but since MM/ Enterprise is where the big money is, I decided this was the right move long term.
diet75
Big Shot
0
Enterprise AE
Oh facts. That’s good perspective
jefe
Arsonist
0
🍁
I know people who have done this.

Glad you're doing you.
diet75
Big Shot
1
Enterprise AE
cheers, thanks jefe.

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