God123

Sales

Sdr -> external ae promo

I'm currently working at a fairly reputable series c/d company and have been a bdr here for the last 6-8 months. our promo plan is 18 months for AE. I've been interviewing for ae roles externally for smaller companies. would it make sense to jump ship to a smaller company for the ae title given the current market conditions? or should i pay my dues as a bdr for 1 more year?

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braintank

Politicker

Enterprise Account Executive

Depends on the company. I wouldn't jump to an early stage company now unless they are ***really*** solid.

CuriousFox

WR Officer

🦊

How can you tell if they are solid? I got burned once and I've been skittish ever since.

Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

That's a great question. I get the sense that it's a bit of a guessing game, but if there's a way to tell, I'm very interested in knowing what it is!

braintank

Politicker

Enterprise Account Executive

Some basics:
1) ARR growth (50% y/y for past 3 years at least)
2) net dollar retention (>110%)
3) who the sales leader is (have they scaled a real SaaS business)

I'd be wary to jump to any company now without solid product market fit and less than $20M in ARR.

See also: https://bravado.co/war-room/posts/strategies-for-uncertain-times

Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

Those are great and tangible points. Thank you.

jefe

Arsonist

🍁

I think it really depends on both companies.

As @braintank said, early stage companies can be risky but if you're early in your career, it might make sense.

What do you value about your company? What does the future look like? How are current AE's doing? Do you have product-market fit? Are you innovating/will you still be relevant in 1-2 years?

Do similar due diligence on any new opportunity as well. Also consider the training aspect as you haven't been full cycle before.

Gasty

Notable Contributor

War Room Community Manager

I wouldn't do it given the current state of affairs in Tech / B2B SaaS. Nonetheless, more power to you.

TennisandSales

Politicker

Head Of Sales

I would do it.

getting the AE experience has to be the quickest way to increase you income.

Just make sure to do your best to know what your getting yourself into.

How many sales ppl do they currently have and how many are they looking to hire ?

If the numbers are two high id be concerned.

SADNESSLieutenant

Politicker

Officer of ♥️

Only if its a great company

ThatNewAE

Big Shot

Account Executive - Mid enterprise

As an AE, you would only make money if the market is in your favour, the compensation is really above the average and if the product is sell-able.

If you have these checkboxes ticked, you can go to the smaller (yet stable) ship as an AE. Even if one of these is not there, pay your dues as SDR first.

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God123

Sdr -> external ae promo

10 comments

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