More money in SaaS SMB or Mid-market?

Have any of you savages had experience in both SMB and Mid-market SaaS sales in an Account Executive role?


Did you make more money in SMB or Mid-market?


Do you believe that there's always more money "upstream"? Or can you crush in smaller SMB markets and actually end up with more for your bottom line?


💰 Compensation
🏢 Org Chart
🎯 Career Development
15
CoorsKing
WR Officer
6
Retired King of the Coors Knights
My experience is mid market simply due to the astronomically higher OTE you can get at some companies for a mid market role vs SMB. I have seen $250K+ for mid market before.

But if you strictly look at % attainment, I think it is a toss up. I know some people that did really well in one and struggled in the other, seems to depend a bit on the person.
Chief
Arsonist
1
Account Executive
Yep the sales motions are different so I can see how some can struggle when moving up or downstream 
Justatitle
Big Shot
6
Account Executive
Really depends on preference. SMB can mean high volume low value and you can blow out your number and MM can mean you work 2-4 deals with huge value but if you lose them you’re boned 
Chief
Arsonist
1
Account Executive
Certainly more risk if deals fall through in MM 
SlinginSoftware
Politicker
6
Account Executive
I moved to MM 12 months ago. Much higher OTE, but finished at over 200% in SMB last year. I’ll hit my number at around 120% this year, but will make about 2/3 of what I did last year. It depends on soooo many factors, but SMB was probably my favorite segment to be selling into… If a company was dragging their feet, or if I didn’t like the person I was working with, I could literally walk away and stop answering THEIR emails… I had dozens of other opps I could work instead
KendallRoy
Politicker
2
AM
Hit the nail on the head. There's always another deal in SMB. 
Chief
Arsonist
1
Account Executive
that's the word on the street I'm hearing. Depends a lot but I hear most make more in SMB for their bottom line. And the flexibility of SMB has value 

jefe
Arsonist
4
🍁
Good points already brought up. I think one's success in SMB vs Mid-market can really depend on the individual salesperson, their strengths, and their style.

I'm not a big fan of the transactionality of SMB, whereas some really thrive. 


I tend to prefer to be able to dig deeper and do higher value sales.
MrNiche
Valued Contributor
6
Senior Account Executive
Feel like it also depends on where you work. Where I'm at we have one of the best product market fits for SMB companies & are a huge name among the segment. But our MidMarket & Enterprise level solutions sometimes get beat out by legacy solutions in the market that have been working with MM/ENT accounts for years. 

I personally like the versatility SMB brings. Feel like there are fewer "must haves" that kill deals (integrations, features, etc) than there are in MM/ENT where the companies have a lot of their softwares built out in house that we have to be compatible with.
jefe
Arsonist
3
🍁
@KB24 Very good points! I think it's a balance between the company/product and the individual salesperson. 

Some of us thrive on smiling and dialing and just making it happen over and over again. That was my first role and it was a great training ground, but not something I'd want to do again.

Was promoted to a manager at that company as well but my director liked to encourage.....shady, to put it mildly, sales practices that didn't sit right with me. Got out of there not long after. Funnily enough, also sold after I left...
Chief
Arsonist
1
Account Executive
Yes I see a similar scenario with the solution I'm selling. Great fit for SMB and we rock it in that motion. MM needs more product features to really get there 
MrNiche
Valued Contributor
2
Senior Account Executive
Exactly! And the roadmap is always promising, but it's also SaaS and nothing is ever finished by the deadline. That being said, the higher end of MM companies can yield some ridiculous commissions vs. higher end of SMB.
MrNiche
Valued Contributor
1
Senior Account Executive
There's always a little part of me that says, "I did it as an SDR and put my time in" until I realize how bad my calls were as an SDR and how much easier cold calling is as a seasoned AE.
jefe
Arsonist
2
🍁
"It's on the roadmap" are famous last words.

Too infrequently are salespeople, who actually hear what potential customers want, ignored in such considerations.

Definitely agree with the potential commission upside when it comes to higher end MM. It also tends to be a much less complex process with fewer stakeholders compared to getting into Enterprise.

High-end midmarket can definitely be the sweet spot for many at the right company.
Chief
Arsonist
1
Account Executive
Yeah all it can take is one day in SMB that falls in your lap and you can be good to go for the quarter
Chief
Arsonist
1
Account Executive
I can see how "high-end mm" can be a sweet spot. Especially with a solid commission plan 
jefe
Arsonist
0
🍁
I covered for a buddy who was on vacation a few years back and closed 25% of his monthly quota in a day and a half.... Things can happen real quick in SMB!
Chief
Arsonist
2
Account Executive
Have you seen SMB AEs do well as they move up to MM? 
jefe
Arsonist
4
🍁
@Chief  absolutely! The main one that comes to mind is myself...

I left a few years ago, and the company was sold not long afterwards, but I made the move.

Made more money and enjoyed the work more, but that's because I like solving problems and establishing a lot of credibility to forge a solid relationship. It wasn't SaaS so I had renewals and upsells and the like at this company as well, so those were definitely important. 

There's also the fact that there can often a pecking order and differing levels of respect from those that aren't in sales based on one's position (SMB vs MM vs Enterprise).
Chief
Arsonist
1
Account Executive
I'm not sure if you have the visibility (or care to share), but are you MM reps earning a significantly larger amount per month compared to your SMB reps? 
jefe
Arsonist
1
🍁
I'm currently at a smaller company that only targets midmarket so I can't say right now, but in the role I was referring to previously there was a stark difference between take home.

Until they launched a very poorly conceived SDR program that resulted in some unskilled newbies taking home far more than they should have because they could lie about prospect size and sell an easy deal. 

(wasn't true SDR)
KendallRoy
Politicker
3
AM
How long is a piece of string? I can tell you in my company, basically every SMB rep is making significantly more money than basically every MM rep. Is OTE lower in SMB? Sure. Is the market opportunity significantly higher in SMB? Yes. 


Varies from company to company. 
Chief
Arsonist
0
Account Executive
Yes it seems that if the SMB market is there for your product most folks make more for their bottom line in SMB compared to MM 
paddy
WR Officer
2
Director of Business Development
I believe you can crush SMB and make a lot of money if you're disciplined enough. 
Chief
Arsonist
1
Account Executive
Pipeline management and prioritization seems to be key in SMB 
KendallRoy
Politicker
0
AM
Can confirm. I'm in the top 2% pay grade in my country as an SMB AE. 
aiko
Politicker
1
Sr. Account Executive
I keep hearing SMB but higher base in MM is worth it? 
Chief
Arsonist
1
Account Executive
I've heard the same from a fellow AE 

Made more in SMB than enterprise but has higher salary base in ENT 
CuriousFox
WR Officer
0
🦊
Prob mid.
Cyberjarre
Politicker
0
BDR
I think my record was 9 in one day. It was a terrible day.
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