thepeoplescoldcaller

SDR

Take a role just to be an AE?

I'm currently an SDR in a company that has restructured. 16 months in, I was hoping to be closing, but the new talent pipeline has me waiting another 1.5 years to close if I stay.

It sucks. I'm trying to decide if I should just take a SaaS closing role just to get the Account Executive title for a year and experience (with the market it'd be at a bit of a risky company) or if I take a lateral move that will put me on a 10 month timeline for the sweet, sweet Account Executive title.

Any thoughts or perspective would be helpful

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19 comments

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CuriousFox

WR Officer

🦊

There is no "just to be an AE." If the AE title is what you want then go for it.

antiASKHOLE

Tycoon

Bravado's Resident Asshole

if you want to be in the driver's seat, then go for it.

jefe

Arsonist

🍁

If you want it, get after it.

NotCreativeEnough

Big Shot

Professional Day Ruiner

there is no way you could pay me enough money to be an SDR for 3 years. I would lose my mind.

Kosta_Konfucius

Politicker

Sales Rep

It’s risky to leave to become an AE? Why is that?

thepeoplescoldcaller

Contributor

SDR

Only companies I have offers for or can seem to get in front of are relatively small or are start ups.

DungeonsNDemos

Big Shot

Rolling 20's all day

That's most likely because they are willing to gamble on someone who hasn't done the job before.
Do you know what you want to sell? Or do you just want any AE position?

Kosta_Konfucius

Politicker

Sales Rep

Which company would you rather do sales for as an AE? 10 months in the long run isn’t that long

Notmyrealname

Politicker

Avoid the start ups. There's no guarantee that you'll be able to close anything there, through no fault of your own. Then the experience becomes worthless. I'd stay for now but keep looking for better. Lateral move might be a nice option too.

TennisandSales

Politicker

Head Of Sales

this is a little too general. not all start ups are the same you should be able to tell pretty quickly if you will have the ability to close deals at a start up.

Notmyrealname

Politicker

Yeah but it's too late at that stage and you don't have other closing experience to fall back on. For a jump like this something with sure footing is the best bet. Then when you have good closing experience you can gamble on a startup. Otherwise you risk starting over as an SDR again. Just my opinion based on mistakes I made in the past.

Edit: this also depends on your definition of startup. I know a lot of companies with hundreds of employees and that have gone through 3 or 4 funding rounds that still wear the startup badge for some reason. When I hear startup I think of <150 headcount, series B max, and only been operating less than 5-6 years. Just because you're not publicly traded doesn't mean you're still a startup.

TennisandSales

Politicker

Head Of Sales

true a "start up" has many different definitions for many ppl.

but what im saying is you should be able to tell if you will close deals before you join.

you just need to know what questions to ask and how to interpret their answers.

you have experience of this not working out, i have experience of this being a REALLY great decision.

and ill add, my first Saas AE role was at a series B start up, and i was there for only 8 months before i left. and you know what? that was enough to really propel my career.

Notmyrealname

Politicker

Agreed. Knowing what to ask and how to read the answers is a big bonus. Doesn't stop people from lying but a lot of the time that's easy to spot, especially if you read the advice on here and know what to watch out for. I'm not saying they're all bad or anything, just that the OP should remember that there's a lot riding on this given where they are in their career so it deserves an extra degree of caution. Especially if they think its a risky company at the moment.

TennisandSales

Politicker

Head Of Sales

100% for sure should have an extra degree of caution

TennisandSales

Politicker

Head Of Sales

make the jump. nothing will increase your ability to earn more money in the short term and long term then getting to be an AE.

i got my first closing role in saas by going to a start up after realizing i did not want to be an AE and the company where I was an SDR.

the problem you are experiencing is the thing that SUCKS about being an SDR.

they always tell you that there is a path to be an AE, until they decide to hire outside talent and keep you as an SDR. SO annoying.

FinanceEngineer

Politicker

Sr Director, sales and partnerships

Make the AE move. Being an AE is so much different than an SDR and opens up a lot more doors. It’s easy to go back if you don’t succeed, but much harder to move up.

ThatNewAE

Big Shot

Account Executive - Mid enterprise

Risky because of the market or the product that you'd be selling? (Nice to have, or must have product that you'd be selling?)

thepeoplescoldcaller

Contributor

SDR

Little bit of both, small company, been around 16 years, software, not the largest market available

GDO

Politicker

BDM

Get the title. Do the job for a while then you can looking for a “real AE title” in your eyes.

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thepeoplescoldcaller

Take a role just to be an AE?

19 comments

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