Stick it out to AE or look for new SDR roles

I was the first SDR at a series A/B startup and its likely I’m getting promoted to AE in Q1 next year, Problem is AEs are hitting 20-50% of their number and I most likely wanna jump ship in 1 year after being an AE here. Will not hitting my quota affect my future AE interviews or should I jump ship and restart as an SDR at a later stage/public company?


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InQ5WeTrust
Arsonist
6
No marketing, mayo isn't an MQL
Definitely worth sticking it out. The CV cred you earn from that year will help you a lot more moving forward. 

Team wide struggle is easier to explain than one rep failing on his own. 
CaneWolf
Politicker
1
Call me what you want, just sign the damn contract
Yup- and having some closed deals is better than having 0 closed deals.
InQ5WeTrust
Arsonist
1
No marketing, mayo isn't an MQL
1000% - so many roles are gated by X years of experience to earn that bag. 

Start that clock early even if the company is mehh 
hh456
Celebrated Contributor
2
sales
Learn to be an AE first otherwise you'll start over. Who knows, you may be the AE needed to help raise the bar and hit goal.
buckets1
Politicker
1
AE
Stick it out then bail after 1 year as an AE. You’ll have a ton more options with AE on your resume, even if you don’t hit quota. If the entire team is missing quota, your attainment is super easy to explain in future interviews. HMs will care more about if you have good prospecting habits, a sales process, discovery skills, etc.
Diablo
Politicker
1
Sr. AE
I would always take an AE cuz that would give me better ROI from long term in terms of jumping ship.
Mjollnir
Politicker
1
Account Executive
I’d go for the AE
It’s better looking on your CV.
Sunbunny31
Politicker
1
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
Agree with the consensus here.  Take the AE role, learn as much as you can, and then you'll be able to find a new role with that on your CV.    

It would be likely that you'd have to start again as a SDR if you left now, so having that AE experience will be a great thing.    Hopefully the bump in base salary will cover the difference during the move from SDR to AE while you build up your personal experience.
payton_pritchard
Executive
0
RSM
I'd stick it out. Especially if the alternate option is to be an SDR at a more established company, that also means that there will be much more process/red tape/etc. around a promotion to aE so could add a lot of extra time on (if that's what your end goal is. 

Way easier to find AE jobs if you already have the title and a bit of experience. I'd say stick it out and do your best to be a top performer relative to the team, even if that does mean being under quota, and you'll be able to deliver that story well during any future interviews.
UrAssIsSaaS
Arsonist
0
SaaS Eater
Id absolutely take the AE experience. 

Curious - the AEs that are failing. Do you know why? Were they also promoted from SDRs at your company? 
God123
Good Citizen
0
Sales
Not promoted internally. Believe our tam isn’t that big and we sell into a niche market with limited accounts to go after. I’m struggling with PG personally
UrAssIsSaaS
Arsonist
0
SaaS Eater
Got it - why do they want to move you into an AE role if there already arent enough accounts? Have any SDRs been moved into this role?  
God123
Good Citizen
0
Sales
Cuz I was the first sdr and I performed well over my tenure. I would be the first internal promo
UrAssIsSaaS
Arsonist
0
SaaS Eater
So they are just promoting you to promote you but dont have enough accounts and everyone is failing? 

Take the AE experience and maybe since you have working it from the ground up you will succeed (I hope this is the case) but sounds like a recipe for failure with the little info I know. Take the role and then in 8-10 months start looking for an AE role with real potential.

Going to another company you will probably have to start as an SDR and you're going to set your timeline back like 12-18 months. 
God123
Good Citizen
0
Sales
Yeah, even the BDRs are struggling with PG. do you think I can start looking in 6 months after AE promotion?
UrAssIsSaaS
Arsonist
0
SaaS Eater
You can probably start to look but most people are going to want about a year AE experience before looking closely so I would look about 8 months in .

That being said the job market is hot right now so I could be way off.
Gyro25
Notorious Answer
0
Account Executive
I'm going through the same thing right now. Hitting and going beyond my quota at a series b. My manager said I'm on track for AE next year. I'd like to get some closing experience and do that for a year or so then move up and out. 
goose
Politicker
0
Sales Executive
SDR roles are not sales roles.  Management tells you that in order to keep you but in reality it's just an extension of Marketing.  Get into an AE role and figure out a way to hit your number.  Don't use others as a built in excuse to fail.  Good luck.
CuriousFox
WR Officer
0
🦊
Stick it out and get another AE role after you've been promoted.
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