shoesalesman

AE (Account Executive)

Opinionated

Valued Contributor

Good Citizen

SaaS Startup Shenanigans

Fellow Savages,

I was hired at an early stage SaaS Startup shortly after leaving the military. (Employee number 8)

I have little formal sales experience outside of 3 years of military recruitment.

I was hired last year as the first SDR, and was quickly allowed to start selling to SMB and Mid-Market. In addition to my own full cycle sales, I still provide SDR Enterprise leadgen for our VP (the only other sales member)

My question is:

How do I market myself to other employers when the time comes, having had two responsibilities and little in the way of metrics and quotas? (We are still developing those as the product and price points continue to evolve)

🚀 Career Goals

🧠 Advice

📳 SaaS

22 comments

Sort by:

CoorsKing

WR Officer

Retired King of the Coors Knights

I would list metrics like “x revenue generated” “x logos closed” “x pipeline generated”

Beans

Big Shot

Enterprise Account Executive

Measurable quantifiable wins - this is the way.

shoesalesman

Opinionated

AE (Account Executive)

this is the way

shoesalesman

Opinionated

AE (Account Executive)

Thanks, Coors!

Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

Frankly, you sound like an attractive hire. Someone who wants to go get it.

Are you looking to move on soon, or just thinking of the future? If the latter is the case, keep track of the milestones you've hit on behalf of the company. "Closed the first x figure deal in company history" for example. When it comes time to build out that resume, key successes can go a long way.

CuriousFox

WR Officer

🦊

This is what people at good companies are looking for. Well said.

shoesalesman

Opinionated

AE (Account Executive)

Thanks, that is good advice!

RealPatrickBateman

Politicker

🔪Amateur Butcher🔪

For this topic, I would undoubtedly wrap in the King on this. His wisdom is evermore. @CoorsKing

FinanceEngineer

Politicker

Sr Director, sales and partnerships

You include that in the resume with the “stretch role” responsibilities. As long as you are closing, you can include it on your resume

shoesalesman

Opinionated

AE (Account Executive)

Thanks for the feedback!

I guess I am just worried that if I don't have enough commas in my deals, I won't be able to quantify my value to a prospective employer.

RealPatrickBateman

Politicker

🔪Amateur Butcher🔪

Deal/project sizes are different across all companies and verticals. This is where percentages come in handy.
So, it’s not “I brought in X dollars in a set amount of time” it’s “I increased deal flow by X percentage across a set amount of time, where historical growth was only Y percentage”

shoesalesman

Opinionated

AE (Account Executive)

That makes a lot of sense, I appreciate the help

Jewcan_Sam81

Politicker

Account Executive

And also keep in mind that with the successes you’ve gotten coupled with your experience with the military, recruiters and hiring managers see those two things combined as a recipe for success.
Metrics of achievement plus a stretch of time as part of an organization that is synonymous with hard work, teamwork, discipline, and self-starting, you’ll be a big hit. You got this.

shoesalesman

Opinionated

AE (Account Executive)

I never know how some will view it, so I appreciate your insight

SalesJesus29

Tycoon

Regional Sales Director

I think you've got some great experience here. Just a matter of quantifying it but also sharing what you're looking for. Interviews go both ways!!

AustinOG

Executive

Acvount Executive

Ok, am I the only one who sees an elephant in the Room? Why would you even entertain leaving? Early revenue hires who stick around tend to do very well financially. If there’s one thing i have learned in 25+ years selling tech, it’s that you make your money when you exit a company, not when you join one.

This is what you are looking for!

braintank

Politicker

Enterprise Account Executive

Most startup's don't make it. Not having metrics doesn't bode well.

shoesalesman

Opinionated

AE (Account Executive)

@AustinOG ,

Just to clarify, I have no current plans of leaving. That being said, I am a planner. I hope this company makes it. But even if it does it won't make me $20,000,000. I like to be prepared.

shoesalesman

Opinionated

AE (Account Executive)

I joined during product refinement, which is (from what I gather) a pretty nebulous stage. We are just getting to a place where we have the data to develop metrics. Metrics with no data are just numbers.

CRAG112

Valued Contributor

Account Executive

You can just discuss outcomes. I have yet to meet anyone flat out ask me for numbers or etc. As to KPI's, you can always make something up to sound more formalized, because someone might ask you about the metrics/KPI's associated with your role. But you can also avoid this conversation entirely simply by stating number of meetings booked per month/week.

If there are no defined metrics, you are 100+ percent. It can really be that simple.

LeadMachine

Opinionated

Sr. BDR

List what you can list. What are the accomplishments? How much past goals are you?(%) Top logos attained?

10XQLA

Politicker

-1

Medical Sales Assassin

I don't even know what SaaS is.... Help me understand and I will try to give feedback my man.

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.

shoesalesman

SaaS Startup Shenanigans

22 comments

Related posts

First salesperson in B2B SaaS startup

SaaS Tech Start-up

Advice for an AE at a Pre-Series A SAAS Startup