JordanWall

Straight to AE position with no experience in SAAS?

I have 2 years experience in a sales role in a health insurance company where I'm closing outbound B2C leads on 30-$100/month package for 12 months contracts minimum. The sales cycle is 1 to 2 calls around 15 to 30 min max each. So, quite an "easy" sale cycle.

I want to transition into SAAS and was wondering if I should apply for an SDR position or leverage my sales experience and apply straight for an AE position even though what I'm currently doing is very different ?

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17 comments

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braintank

Politicker

Enterprise Account Executive

SDR

SADNESSLieutenant

Politicker

Officer of ♥️

JordanWall

Good Citizen

Thanks. Can you please elaborate on why you think it's better for me to start as an SDR ?

SADNESSLieutenant

Politicker

Officer of ♥️

how dare u question braintank

braintank

Politicker

Enterprise Account Executive

As another poster said, you *could* be an AE, but I think you'd be better suited joining as an SDR for add'l training.

Clearly you're good on the phone and a good closer, but selling SaaS B2B is different from B2C. Your skills should adapt well, but SDR is a better proving ground than AE.

TheNegotiator

Arsonist

VP of Sales

People will say SDR. I say no. Always jump as high as people will let you.

You will be behind the 8-ball and behind the curve. If you want it badly enough, you’ll figure it out.

I was made sales director at 24. I wasn’t ready. That’s not like retrospective insight, I KNEW I wasn’t ready. 2 months after my boss hired me, we had a very stern conversation about how I oversold myself. Then he patted me on the back and said he appreciated the tenacity, and that I wasn’t far off from where I needed to be. In the following 2.5 years with him, I grew his organization almost 450%. I blew it out of the water, but if I’d followed the traditional timelines I’d still be a mid market AE.

Reach for stars in other galaxies. If you get stuck going through the traditional progression, so what. At least you tried.

Kicking ass at an SMB AE role is NOT hard. Just see if you can land one.

Charito

Fire Starter

Senior Account Exec

Don't know where I heard it but never apply for a role you're already qualified for...good on you for taking the leap...

E_Money

Big Shot

💰

SDR 100%. If you're really ready to be an AE (and your company is good at prof dev), then you'll be moved up quickly anyway. But if you're not quite ready to close in SaaS yet, then SDR is the perfect intro for you.

As someone who has hired SDRs and AEs into SaaS I can say that closing experience alone will not get you as far as you'd think. Completely different beast.

bandabanda

Tycoon

Senior AE Mid Market

Yup. I'm experiencing this right now - have 2 companies wanting me to start as a BDR first because my current AE experience is very transactional.

Pachacuti

Politicker

They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy

Sure you can. I have no doubt you can. And probably be more successful than many current SaaS AEs.
The problem is that many SaaS hiring mangers don’t feel the same which is why you see tenured AEs moving to SDR positions to get their foot in the door. It’s a shame because SaaS isn’t anything special to sell - it’s just a widget like every other widget.

EasyTechGuy

Opinionated

Sales Development

I agree with both sides of the comments here and will add another anecdote.. Be who you can afford to be...

With your background description, sure its "possible" to be hired as a SMB AE but will likely take some time going through the process.

You sound like someone who could get hired quick as an SDR/BDR/BDE ( too many acronyms for the same job) and after 6months to a year could step into a better AE role either at the company you're an sdr for or elsewhere quite quickly.

I took the latter route myself and found an SDR role that paid similar to my most recent role ( retail service manager and sales trainer), after 6months my linkedin started blowing up with recruiters for other SDR roles and a couple AE roles. After a year into that role I was able to get an AE role that significantly advances Income and Career track.

One of the things I noticed going through the AE interview process was they wanted to see that I understood how to transition from qualifying to close and that I could run a meeting as well.

So if you can handle a year as an SDR your value increases exponentially and it gives you better choices as a future AE.

funcoupons

WR Officer

👑

https://bravado.co/war-room/posts/fuck-u-pay-me-the-coups-guide-to-getting-what-you-want?comment=true

Thank me by watching me shower.

Samsamoon

Opinionated

Associate

Hello pretty baby I see you

funcoupons

WR Officer

👑

Hi 👀

Samsamoon

Opinionated

Associate

Hello is of queen things that you are looking for

SerialBiller

Executive

Account Executive

Not sure if you can see my posts on a laptop but don’t think you can on a phone… I’ve been sucking up all the energy in this house for a while now, with very relevant posts for you… let me know if you can find, if you can’t then also let me know and I’ll pass on the wisdom I have been given in here

The_Sales_Badger

Notorious Answer

Account Executive

I'm always the guy to say apply for the CEO role and trickle down. It can't hurt applying for the AE role. If you hear nothing back, just follow-up and ask why. Tell them you're interested in working for the company, and that would love feedback on how to move forward to do so.

They will tell you - go from there.

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