airpuddy

Enterprise Account Executive

Tips for ramping faster in Enterprise AE role

I’m 3.5 months into a new Enterprise AE role and I’m not feeling very positive about my performance so far. I haven’t gotten much feedback from my boss or peers, but I feel like I’m struggling and I’d like some advice on how I can adapt better. Here’s my situation:

- Been in software sales 12 yrs, but most recently was a manager (which I didn’t enjoy). I’ve had success in every AE role in the past but I feel my sales chops atrophied as a manager and I’m trying to build them back up. It’s taking longer than I’d anticipated.

- The product is not that complex, but I’m not learning the value/use-cases/technical aspects as quickly as I’d hoped. This makes me feel like a dumbass at times and I wish I was bringing more value to prospect/customer convos.

- It seems like each task takes me a long time to complete. Call preps and email follow ups in particular. I’ve been fortunate to inherit some active deals and get some new ones inbound, but I haven’t had time to proactively build pipeline.

To further complicate matters:

- I have a two babies at home and while I’m fortunate to have childcare 8-5 I really have no time outside of that for work. I used to put in a lot of extra hours, but that’s just not an option right now and I’m basically limited to 40 hrs/week.

- I’m not having a ton of sales calls (average 1-2 per day), which I expected in an enterprise role but it seems to make the ramp time longer.

What are some steps I can take to accelerate more quickly?

Thanks y’all!

💆‍♂ Mindset

🤘 Personal Growth

10

10 comments

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braintank

Politicker

2

Enterprise Account Executive

Focus on expanding customers (if possible).

They'll also help you understand why they bought and hopefully offer referrals.

-2

hi

-1

hi

oldcloser

Arsonist

2

💀

Do you have a QBR in your process? Any kind of review built-in post sale? You’ll find use case gold there.

Otherwise, your self-assessed atrophy is likely spot on. You gotta rebuild the muscles. Look for pipeline victories as you do. Immediate gratification in a long cycle has to come from the smaller wins. Good conversations- finding real pains, next meetings— all the stuff you already know.

Detail the daylights out of those wins in your CRM. You’ll find yourself back “in it” in no time. Just grind.

Sunbunny31

Politicker

2

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

First of all, be kind to yourself. It is going to take some time to get back into the groove. Honestly, I never stopped selling, but I feel like I'm just now getting into stride at a place I've been for 2.5 years now. Things like who to ask what questions of, or even knowing that there's a gap in my knowledge, just take time to develop. Knowing just the rhythm of the new employer has been something that has taken me some time, and I wonder if it's the same for you. In which case, there'll be a point where you'll look back and wonder when it was that things started to get easier, because that will happen. I think some amount of time just comes with being new and having to learn everything from the ground up.

Of course, it's easier to ramp when you're busy and doing things over and over. Are you slow with sales calls because you're being eased in by your manager? Or is the 1-2 calls the same for your peers? Any way you can shadow your peers for a bit to get a sense of their methods? I found that to be very helpful. Also Slack/Teams your colleagues. Early on, I asked a ton of quick questions; now it's more 50/50 help and support. It's really helped me get my feet under me.

And finally, congratulations on your babies! There are a number of savages here with growing young families who might have some additional perspective to add.

CuriousFox

WR Officer

2

🦊

Keep prospecting. Make friends with specialists. Ask to attend demos as a silent participant so you can pick up lingo and tips faster.

Remember Enterprise sales cycles are long. Give yourself some grace. ❤🦊

Maximas

Tycoon

0

Senior Sales Executive

You already got a massive wide experience to succeed at this place,it's definitely the working environment that you might need to adapt to as it's been only 3.5 months so it should be just OK by time ,and always make sure just to seek support if needed from your manager or your peers!

kittychachas

Valued Contributor

0

VP/Director of Sales

Lean on your team. For my large deals ($1M+ TCV) I’d bring in my SVP on the first call. As the deal progresses, I’ll loop in the other team members where needed (engineering, implementation, data analytics). Enterprise sales is also a slow burn. I’m just shy of two years into my role and only now are things finally falling into place.

If you’re struggling with time management, then I’d prioritize accounts based on their projected deal size. I broke my territory up into three tiers across 115 accounts or so. Tier 1 is $3M and up, Tier 2 is $1M-$3M, and Tier 3 is sub $1M. The past year I spent majority of my efforts on Tier 1. Now that Tier 1 is in a good spot, I’m focusing my efforts on Tier 2 pipeline. Not every opportunity is worth chasing, so make sure your time is spent on the high value accounts.

Kosta_Konfucius

Politicker

0

Sales Rep

shadow top reps and ask them questions
get a clear 30/60/90 from leadership
find someone to ask dumb questions to

CRAG112

Valued Contributor

0

Account Executive

Find the SDR's who are making it happen daily. Ask them what to do. Ask them to literally show you what to do. Increase your efficiency.
Could also do this with AE's. But I like the SDR route because you know they are trying to close constantly and have ridiculous goals to hit all the time. So the good ones are going to have those efficient tips and tricks you need.

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