DoorMan4U

Sales Trainee

Insight on Transferring from SDR to AE role

Hey everyone,

I last worked at a startup I co-founded with a friend, doing sales, but have not been in a formal sales role in 3 years. I've got about 3 years of experience in formal sales positions, 2 years were as an SDR type role, and 1 year as a full cycle account manager closing deals (in the roofing industry). I've heard it's hard to get an AE role with little AE experience, but also that SDR roles are kind of dead ends that don't have much promotion opportunities. My initial thoughts are to find an AE role so I can get closing experience and higher earning potential. Any insights here?

Also, a sales friend told me to find a role selling to multiple industry verticals so that I have more transferrable experience if moving to other companies. So, if I'm only selling to one industry, or if I'm working as a recruiter, is it that much more difficult to move to a SaaS company or other industry? Any input is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

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TennisandSales

Politicker

4

Head Of Sales

For sure go for an AE role if you can get it.
But SDR roles are not dead ends. Its normally not as easy to get promoted to AE as the company says it will, but it is a legit path to AE.

Selling to multiple industry verticals to be more marketable could be a good idea, but not a deal breaker. selling to one vertical is going to be the norm, and will still allow you plenty of opportunity.

bandabanda

Tycoon

3

Senior AE Mid Market

^ agree completely.

I essentially give you the long-winded version below haha

DoorMan4U

Good Citizen

2

Sales Trainee

Awesome man, thanks for the reply! Definitely gives me some clarity and relief.

bandabanda

Tycoon

3

Senior AE Mid Market

Looks like you're new here. First, welcome.

Second, just FYI you will get roasted in the war room for posts like this (or utterly ignored; neither are great) because this is a topic a lot of people have already asked about. Yes, your situation might be unique but you can most likely glean a lot of great info from previous posts where people have asked the exact same thing. Yes, we know the search bar function isn't the best but still use it.

That said here's some input for you. I assume you're wanting to get into SaaS? I sell to SMB so take this with a grain of salt if you want Mid Market or Enterprise advice.

1. Yes, it can be a little difficult to get an AE role without previous experience but it's very doable. I had No previous sales experience and no SaaS experience and I did it. I'll tell you how in a second. I did some free online training, learned the lingo, conveyed my work ethic and value prop clearly - boom. Done. (see below for how to do this.

2. SDR roles are NOT dead ends, not even in the slightest. If anything, they're the gateway to becoming an AE, SDR Manager, or other positions. You have to grind, prove you have the work ethic but in a half-decent org, you can move up within 8-12 months.

3. RE: selling to multiple verticals - meh. If the end goal is to get transferrable skills, and if you've done sales, then you already HAVE the transferrable skills. Selling a similar product is great if you have the experience. But the SaaS sales market is so hot right now that companies are looking for "can you prove you can do the job" vs. "you've already done this job." A good org will be looking for this because they don't want to miss out on top talent JUST because they haven't sold in their vertical before. So it's more about proving you have the skills to do the job and will be a great asset to the team/company.

How to do this:
You need to leverage your own experience from your start up sales work and your roofing sales. Things that are transferrable that you need to prove to hiring managers/companies during your interview:
- do you have the work ethic? Prove it with your activity (calls, emails, etc.)
- do you know how to prospect/hunt new business?
- do you know how to LISTEN, read between the lines and engage a potential customer thoughtfully?
- can you follow up CONSISTENTLY with multiple deals/opportunities?
- can you lead a meeting with multiple people?
- can you communicate clearly & concisely?
- do you know how people make decisions and can you act as an advisor/consultant to help solve their problems vs. cramming whatever the hell you're selling down their throats?

Given what you said about your experience, you most likely already know how to do most of these things. If so, you can find an AE role if you convey them properly during an interview and highlight these skills & achievements on your resume. If you REALLY want to get into SaaS, SDR/BDR role is the easiest way in - SaaS companies are hiring like crazy right now; SO many good opportunities out there.

DoorMan4U

Good Citizen

2

Sales Trainee

Wow thanks for the reply mate! I appreciate the thoroughness, it means a lot! Sounds like I just need to find industries that I am passionate about and Go Forth. Cheers!

SADNESSLieutenant

Politicker

2

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Check out my interviewing posts

DoorMan4U

Good Citizen

1

Sales Trainee

Thanks mate! Your posts have great info. Will definitely refer to them as I am preparing for interviews. Cheers!

CuriousFox

WR Officer

0

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How's it going?

DoorMan4U

Good Citizen

0

Sales Trainee

I’ve got a wait on one interview with an agent assisted dialer, not sure if we can share company names on public posts. One SDR manager today is a new mentor , told me to look into verticals that are growing such as cybersecurity, data science, and possibly sales acceleration. Any tips on good verticals to seek or how to spot solid leadership and compensation? I know RepVue and GlassDoor but aside that not sure how to spot good leadership unless going on LinkedIn manually searching.

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