Also had 4 competing offers, 2 at $150k base and 2 at $130k. I'm not technical.
MontBlanc
Just landed a $160k base Sr. AE job - AMA
67
That’s fucking mental, makes me feel like I’m on minimum wage 🫣
For my first sales job in 2017, my base was $30k with a $40k OTE, keep at it!
This is so legit. My income increased 300% in 4 years. I could go 1000% in 5 years. Don’t give up. Your efforts pay off.
Grow yourself some big old uranium balls and their gravitational field will attract your wildest hopes and dreams. Anyone can do it!
Grow yourself some big old uranium balls and their gravitational field will attract your wildest hopes and dreams. Anyone can do it!
Hell yeah man, nothing better than when that first 5 figure commission check hits
I’m going for the “two-comma” club this year.
Go get it man! I’ll probably breach a notch over 3 bills, but it’s progress.
Very nice! 🥂
Are you in the US? If so what region?
Are you in the US? If so what region?
Yes, I'm based in Texas but this role covers the west coast territory.
what was your base prior?
what industry are you in?
what industry are you in?
1. $105k
2. I sell IT consulting services (tech implementation, strategy, digital design, etc...)
2. I sell IT consulting services (tech implementation, strategy, digital design, etc...)
wowza that’s quite the jump!!
Damn. That would be so nice right now. Mega congrats 👏
Congratulations! I won't ask the same questions but wanted to know:
How did you hear about the job?
Did you know anyone in the company?
How long was the interview?
Were you in this industry already? What did you do before this role?
How many years of experience do you already have prior this role?
By any chance, are you an AWS/Azure partner?
How did you hear about the job?
Did you know anyone in the company?
How long was the interview?
Were you in this industry already? What did you do before this role?
How many years of experience do you already have prior this role?
By any chance, are you an AWS/Azure partner?
How did you hear about the job? - Recruiter reached out via LinkedIn DM
Did you know anyone in the company? - No
How long was the interview? - Interviewer screen->Hiring Manager Interview->Managing Director interview->Panel interview to executives-> Offer
Were you in this industry already? What did you do before this role? Yes, I've sold services for digital agencies for 5.5 years prior
How many years of experience do you already have prior this role? 5.5, 1 as full cycle AE (small time), 1.5 as Enterprise BDR, 3 as a AE and then promotion to Senior AE
By any chance, are you an AWS/Azure partner? I don't know
Did you know anyone in the company? - No
How long was the interview? - Interviewer screen->Hiring Manager Interview->Managing Director interview->Panel interview to executives-> Offer
Were you in this industry already? What did you do before this role? Yes, I've sold services for digital agencies for 5.5 years prior
How many years of experience do you already have prior this role? 5.5, 1 as full cycle AE (small time), 1.5 as Enterprise BDR, 3 as a AE and then promotion to Senior AE
By any chance, are you an AWS/Azure partner? I don't know
Thanks for the deets! Congrats again!
@MontBlanc saw that you went from a full cycle AE (small time), to ENT BDR. What made you be willing to make the change from that AE role to BDR?
I'm in that position right now (small time full cycle AE). I've been told 3 times in the past week for AE positions they'd like to bring me in as a BDR first (2 of them are Enterprise). I'm considering doing it so I can get more prospecting outbound experience they seem to be looking for.
I'm in that position right now (small time full cycle AE). I've been told 3 times in the past week for AE positions they'd like to bring me in as a BDR first (2 of them are Enterprise). I'm considering doing it so I can get more prospecting outbound experience they seem to be looking for.
I think this decision depends on how small time you really are and how many years of AE experience you have. Generally I wouldn’t recommend going down title unless you have the chance to work for a big name or the less known company enhances your career narrative.
I wish I could say I was so intentional. My first full cycle AE role was fresh out of college for a super small agency selling sub $10k Wordpress website projects in small US market, and I only did it for a year. When I was applying to big market AE jobs I was not getting looks and kinda got lucky that I found an enterprise BDR job that allowed me to build on the services momentum I had created while exposing me to $500k+ tech platform implementations as well as the partner ecosystem.
I wish I could say I was so intentional. My first full cycle AE role was fresh out of college for a super small agency selling sub $10k Wordpress website projects in small US market, and I only did it for a year. When I was applying to big market AE jobs I was not getting looks and kinda got lucky that I found an enterprise BDR job that allowed me to build on the services momentum I had created while exposing me to $500k+ tech platform implementations as well as the partner ecosystem.
I've had sporadic sales jobs sprinkled into a two decade career as a bartender. Even though I'd had AE experience, I took a job as an SDR at a startup selling to a more Enterprise customer set than I'd previously had experience with (past experience was largely B2C and to SMB).
It was the best decision I've ever made. My base pay as an SDR was already higher than any base pay I'd received before, and I'm now a Manager (still IC though) at an enormous company with a six figure base salary and the highest OTE I've ever had, with lots of growth potential here.
Some look at SDR/BDR opportunities as a step down. In my case, considering it gave me Enterprise experience, I considered it a lateral move. It was a gamble but it has paid dividends in advancing my career.
Edit: I'll also add that when I took my current job I got a 90% increase in base salary. If your current company is undervaluing you, there are other opportunities out there.
It was the best decision I've ever made. My base pay as an SDR was already higher than any base pay I'd received before, and I'm now a Manager (still IC though) at an enormous company with a six figure base salary and the highest OTE I've ever had, with lots of growth potential here.
Some look at SDR/BDR opportunities as a step down. In my case, considering it gave me Enterprise experience, I considered it a lateral move. It was a gamble but it has paid dividends in advancing my career.
Edit: I'll also add that when I took my current job I got a 90% increase in base salary. If your current company is undervaluing you, there are other opportunities out there.
Thanks for sharing your experience @ronimal. I'm interviewing with several companies right now and I just turned down an Enterprise BDR role at a decent company with solid product market fit and a wide TAM. I'll probably regret that lol. I just didn't want to move back to BDR.
Also, conversations with some of my top companies started happening and they're geared toward Commercial AE, Mid-Market AE, or SMB AE roles with attractive ote (with reps hitting quota thankfully) and very appealing accelerators.
Also, conversations with some of my top companies started happening and they're geared toward Commercial AE, Mid-Market AE, or SMB AE roles with attractive ote (with reps hitting quota thankfully) and very appealing accelerators.
Regarding an SDR/BDR role, it’s highly dependent on your experience and current opportunities. In my case it made sense and paid off. However, I will never work in that role again now that I am where I am.
WELL DONE.
Also, thanks for the detailed responses.
Also, thanks for the detailed responses.
Very nice 🍺
Thanks jefe!
always funny to me seeing the difference in comp plans for an AE job title. My first job out of college (about 4 years ago) was as an "AE" with a 40k base and 70k ote. The company I'm at now even SDR's aren't paid that low.
I heard that some BDRs are getting $80k base now...
BDR's at my company average 120 a year OTE. they advertise it at 80k ote but I don't know a single one that isn't in the 6 figures.
That’s wild, is your company Google?
If not, what industry/product?
If not, what industry/product?
it is not. We are a data backup/disaster recovery software. I won't say which one but I'll leave it as we're one of the big 3. And it's not the one owned by Russia lol
Big data and cybersecurity seem like the best industries for sales comp, this sounds like it brings both together so it makes sense.
Nice job! You can almost afford to buy a house in the US now...
Hey OP. I'm curious, did you have any convos about salary expectations with these companies? Or did they give you the first offer? Thanks. About to get back on job market
@GQGarcia Always generally vet salary on the phone screen call. I started taking recruiter calls back in October 2021 and got an offer in Dec 2021 (before I really started looking) for $130k from a smaller company than what I ultimately took. That became my anchor.
When I started fielding multiple simultaneous interviews in some calls I went into them saying I needed $130k, which I think actually was a mistake. My breakthrough happened on another phone screen when asked what were my salary expectations and I answered with "I'd prefer not to answer due to the possibility of that affecting my offer" aka flip it back to them in some way. From there the recruiter blurted out the upper bound of their range ($150k-$160k base).
Following that $150k became my floor and I started telling companies I was seeing $150k-$200k bases in the marketplace. Then once I received a verbal offer for $150k that was actually before my call with my top choice and I just told them I had that offer, implying they should beat it and they did :)
When I started fielding multiple simultaneous interviews in some calls I went into them saying I needed $130k, which I think actually was a mistake. My breakthrough happened on another phone screen when asked what were my salary expectations and I answered with "I'd prefer not to answer due to the possibility of that affecting my offer" aka flip it back to them in some way. From there the recruiter blurted out the upper bound of their range ($150k-$160k base).
Following that $150k became my floor and I started telling companies I was seeing $150k-$200k bases in the marketplace. Then once I received a verbal offer for $150k that was actually before my call with my top choice and I just told them I had that offer, implying they should beat it and they did :)
Phenomenal. Thank you for the elaborate reply.
I'll also add that if you know people in your industry and can chat with a VP of Sales who runs a team of salespeople that fit the role you're looking for, call them up or meet and ask what he/or she is paying their reps.
I got that data point as well from a lunch with a VP in my personal network early in my search process.
I got that data point as well from a lunch with a VP in my personal network early in my search process.
Damn, I need to get into the IT market....I feel like I keep hitting a ceiling and my head is getting sore.
And what drug is it that you are selling for the cartel?
From what I've heard those jobs are 100% pure Columbian commission
Congrats! What's the OTE?
$310k w/ $5m annual quota
Thanks for sharing! And well done!
Congrats!
(if you don't want to answer any of these b/c you think it'll dox yourself, that's fair)
- What industry are you in?
- What size company & and I assume you're selling to enterprise?
- What's your OTE?
- What are your top 3 tips you'd share for someone trying to get competing offers?
(if you don't want to answer any of these b/c you think it'll dox yourself, that's fair)
- What industry are you in?
- What size company & and I assume you're selling to enterprise?
- What's your OTE?
- What are your top 3 tips you'd share for someone trying to get competing offers?
1. IT consulting services
2. 500+ employees
3. $310k with a $5m quota
Tips
-Optimize your Linkedin profile for recruiters - with that you should be turning on "open to work", know your target job titles, sprinkle keywords into your work experience descriptions, and add as many relevant "skill" tags as makes sense (the job postings use skill tags). Most of my interview requests were inbound from recruiters on Linkedin.
-Self-awareness - This was a relatively lateral move for me but I made it due to identifying a large gap in my existing comp and what the market was willing to pay. If you're looking to move up from BDR to AE or into a totally new industry you're not going to have my results, act accordingly.
-Have confidence - As a salesperson interviewing should be easy. Interviewing is sales, the product is you so this time you should actually understand it, and it plays to our narcissistic tendencies. If you've received coaching and still aren't a great interviewer circle back to tip #2 and consider if sales is really for you or if it's time to pivot into Customer Success.
2. 500+ employees
3. $310k with a $5m quota
Tips
-Optimize your Linkedin profile for recruiters - with that you should be turning on "open to work", know your target job titles, sprinkle keywords into your work experience descriptions, and add as many relevant "skill" tags as makes sense (the job postings use skill tags). Most of my interview requests were inbound from recruiters on Linkedin.
-Self-awareness - This was a relatively lateral move for me but I made it due to identifying a large gap in my existing comp and what the market was willing to pay. If you're looking to move up from BDR to AE or into a totally new industry you're not going to have my results, act accordingly.
-Have confidence - As a salesperson interviewing should be easy. Interviewing is sales, the product is you so this time you should actually understand it, and it plays to our narcissistic tendencies. If you've received coaching and still aren't a great interviewer circle back to tip #2 and consider if sales is really for you or if it's time to pivot into Customer Success.
Nice, solid advice. Though I'd be really careful to put "open to work" publicly on your profile, can be a risky move as your current employers could see that.
I assume you used competing offers to drive up the offer from the org you wanted to go with? If you did, how much higher was the final offer compared to the original after doing that?
I assume you used competing offers to drive up the offer from the org you wanted to go with? If you did, how much higher was the final offer compared to the original after doing that?
Oh yes, definitely do not publicly proclaim open to work, there is a way to set it on LinkedIn so only recruiters can see it, should have clarified.
And I did, it was a bit of a process, the first offer I got was $130k then after continuing to chat with more recruiters I found out some companies were paying $150k base. After I got that word I started saying in future interviews that $150k-$200k range was what I was looking for in the base comp question.
Once I actually received a $150k base offer, when I came to negotiating with my top choice I told them I received that offer and implied that they should beat it to get me and they did.
And I did, it was a bit of a process, the first offer I got was $130k then after continuing to chat with more recruiters I found out some companies were paying $150k base. After I got that word I started saying in future interviews that $150k-$200k range was what I was looking for in the base comp question.
Once I actually received a $150k base offer, when I came to negotiating with my top choice I told them I received that offer and implied that they should beat it to get me and they did.
Oh nice, didn't know you could hide it like that. Good to know.
Did you start interviewing with the multiple companies at the same time?
Great job by the way. I think the most stressful part for me is trying to do all of these interview cycles around the same time so that I can get to the "offer" stage with each of them around the same time. I don't want to have an offer waiting and have to tell someone "well I'm waiting on some other offers, I'll get back to you soon" so I can use the offers against each other to negotiate type thing (obviously wouldn't say that but you get the idea).
Also, walking away is your biggest strength. But I don't want to be at the final stages with a company that won't match an offer and I can't walk away. Maybe that's an immature concern.
Did you start interviewing with the multiple companies at the same time?
Great job by the way. I think the most stressful part for me is trying to do all of these interview cycles around the same time so that I can get to the "offer" stage with each of them around the same time. I don't want to have an offer waiting and have to tell someone "well I'm waiting on some other offers, I'll get back to you soon" so I can use the offers against each other to negotiate type thing (obviously wouldn't say that but you get the idea).
Also, walking away is your biggest strength. But I don't want to be at the final stages with a company that won't match an offer and I can't walk away. Maybe that's an immature concern.
My current company was acquired in 2021 and following that I started networking with companies and recruiters in my industry as an insurance policy. In February I decided it was time to push for a new role so I opened those floodgates and turned on the DISCREET open to work settings on LinkedIn. That put me in a spot where I was able to line the interviews and offers up and not have companies waiting too long. Of my 5 offers, only one of them was verbally shared and then taken off the table due to timing.
I actually was very transparent through my interview processes that I was talking to multiple companies and would be waiting to see those offers before deciding. I think it provided some social proof to start a bit of a bidding war and it allowed me to set expectations regarding how the companies needed to conform their interview process to my timeline.
I actually was very transparent through my interview processes that I was talking to multiple companies and would be waiting to see those offers before deciding. I think it provided some social proof to start a bit of a bidding war and it allowed me to set expectations regarding how the companies needed to conform their interview process to my timeline.
You must not have read this all. You can turn it on “open to work” without the public visibility. It will make your profile open to people using LinkedIn Recruiter.
Read it, just didn't realize you can turn on the "open to work" feature JUST for recruiters and not the public though.
310k w/ a 5mm quota? I’m obviously doing it all wrong! I sell 5mm I get around 100k bonus so closer to 250k OTE
I will add I can sell shit to a toilet but have to practice selling myself. I returned to my narcissistic roots and realized that’s when I stand tf out. Bullshit advice is don’t sound too arrogant. All good points here.
3% commission on revenue and this assumes I don't hit kickers, my previous agency job was 2% though so I feel you
A fine line between confidence and arrogance, maybe more than selling yourself focus on the reframe. If you're a Senior AE level seller with a real track record you are the prize in your industry, once you establish that competency that should be clear, and then you're really interviewing them.
Thanks for the advice!
Nice job!
Thanks!
Fuck yes.
Nice Job
Congrats!
Nice, congrats!!!
Average deal size?
Quota: $5m
Tech implementation deal - $500k
Strategy consulting - $1.5m
Tech implementation deal - $500k
Strategy consulting - $1.5m
Hustle hard enough and you can have 6 month vacations 😂
Nice job! I’ve got a couple of companies that I’m looking at that are in the $140K range. So much of getting what you want is just knowing what is even possible. In my last job 14 months ago, I was ecstatic to get $100K in base. Now I’m looking at a 40% increase and it’s mainly because I’ve seen evidence that I can ask for that much.
This time last year I was convinced my 40k + 40k was the best I could get in my market. Realizing what was out there and that I’m qualified and capable of doing those jobs has completely changed the game for me. Made the jump into SaaS last year and now the recruiters are pouring in. Hoping to make this same kind of 2-3 year improvement to my total comp. congratulations and good luck to you both!
Totally there for you if you can to build experience in a niche over a few years (try to avoid jumping into new totally industries/products) and find yourself in more strategic and complex deal cycles.
I had the same epiphanies, however being 14 months in you're probably just starting to see some solid commission checks (assuming you work complex month+ long deal cycles) which despite the base salary bump the real money is still in our commissions. Make sure you squeeze the juice out of year 2 incentive pay before jumping ship because it's probably gonna take a year to build again at a new spot.
Awesome job! In your industry, do you work with VARs? I’m looking to grow in a career in the channel similar in your industry and unsure if it’s dying out. Any advice here?
Mmm well whether it's dying out depends probably on the industry... As for the VAR advice question I've worked in ecosystems where the digital experience outcomes are delivered by platforms (typically SaaS license), agencies (services SOW or retainer), and extensions to platforms (usually smaller SaaS license). We all refer each other business and co-sell license and services combo deals and call this channel sales. We've never referred to ourselves as VARs so I'm not sure my experience would apply to what you're looking to get into.
Nice! I dicked around in mortgage lending before finding the real money in SaaS and 8 months in landed a management role at 90k/140k. Sky’s the limit!
NGL I would be rock hard if in a few years I ended up doubling my income as a head of sales/director. Who knows?
NGL I would be rock hard if in a few years I ended up doubling my income as a head of sales/director. Who knows?
Fading management on my end but if that's your bag keep it rolling, the Senior AE IC life is the life for me for at least the next 3 years
Way to go! Love the success stories
Thank you sir!
This is awesome man, congrats. I went from an SDR making 45k base 50k OTE, to an AE making 70K with a 130k OTE all in one calendar year, and it’s accomplishments like yours that make me remember how high the ceiling truly is
One of my good friends made a similar jump this year, this is the beauty of our career path, congrats!
I wish you could see my face rn...congrats and now I feel poor
Have you tried to stop being poor?!
Trying lol
Hell yeah! Way to go! You answered all my questions in some other comments. Thanks for being thorough.
Cheers 🍻!!
Cheers 🍻!!
Thanks Tre!
Good work sir! 🤝
@MontBlanc quick question. How do you tell a company that you're waiting to sign the offer (because you're waiting on other potential offers). Obviously asking how you say this in a professional way without shooting yourself in the foot?
I was very transparent at the beginning of all my interviews that I was speaking with multiple companies. My narrative was that I expect the company I choose to go to was going to be my spot for 3+ years (like my previous tenure) and I needed to evaluate my options before making such an important decision. Which basically allowed me to set expectations on my decision timeline while providing a respectful response.
Great job
With a base that high, you better come in hot. Congrats 👏, now it's time for results
92 comments