TheEnglishMajor

Account Executive

What are the key things you're looking for in your next sales role? (And how do you screen for them?)

Been thinking about this a lot lately as I'm on the hunt after getting laid off -- for me, it's a product that I use and truly believe in... outside of that, I need somewhere that I can easily crush it after being in a couple of failed back to back start ups.

I want to say opportunities where I can get plenty of coaching and career development + grow into leadership experience, but every company SAYS that will happen...

Non-negotiables:

uncapped commission
remote
100k base (I'm in SF and have 7 years of SaaS experience, really not looking to take a step backward on this)

🚀 Career Goals

🤝 Interviewing/Offer

🤠 Culture

14 comments

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CuriousFox

WR Officer

🦊

A fully remote role is important to me personally. 🦊

DungeonsNDemos

Big Shot

Rolling 20's all day

I'll never go back to office... at least I don't plan too.

detectivegibbles

Politicker

Sales Director

I'm with you on uncapped commission and remote.
Base, I'm okay with a lower base as long as evidence persists that quota is attainable.
You can ask all the right questions in the interview process. But unless the company isn't showing proof of reps making that kind of money, it's hard to get the truth IMO.
Repvue still feels like best resource regarding quotas and $$$.

TheEnglishMajor

Opinionated

Account Executive

What would you consider proof? For instance this leader says 5/6 reps on the team were over 100% of their quota last year. Would you take his word on it? I think beyond that maybe I would ask to speak with one of his reps and see how true it was/how hard it was to hit plan

detectivegibbles

Politicker

Sales Director

Can you get in touch with the reps?

Use LinkedIn and message them.

“Hey, interviewing with your company. Heard great things but want to make sure it’s the right fit. How’s the culture? Did you hit quota last year? How’s the team performing?”

Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

Exactly this. Trust, but verify.

futurememoir

Fire Starter

Account Executive

BOLD. Would you answer?

salespal

Good Citizen

Account Executive

Product/Market fit that may seem obvious but it's so important. There are a lot of companies out there pretending to be a platform/tool but they're really just a feature or a plugin.
If it's a start up funding is important to me and really digging into it with the hiring team.

futurememoir

Fire Starter

Account Executive

How can you confirm it's a good product/market fit before taking the job?

salespal

Good Citizen

Account Executive

I will look at a few things - G2 reviews, Capterra Reviews, website traffic, I will look into their biggest customers usually can find those somewhere on their site or in a white paper, and dig into their published use cases.
Might be silly but I try to imagine myself explaining the company or the tech at a party. Will everyone in the room understand and see the value?

Space_Ghost20

Valued Contributor

Account Executive

I did take a step back from my last job (in scope and compensation), so my next role has to be a step up to at least the spot I was at in 2022.
Non-negotiables:
-AE or other kind of full cycle closing role.-$75k base, $150k OTE at minimum (currently at $50k base, $75k OTE).-Deal size of $25k minimum, not looking to nickel and dime mom and pop shops.-B2B, for very similar reasons as the point above.-Startup preferred, but not one that's on fumes/doesn't understand how they will bring in revenue.
I'm not too specific on the kind of solution I want to sell. It just has to be something I can see a business use case for, and that solves an actual problem I can understand and articulate to potential clients and prospects. And that isn't too niche.
I'm not getting too many interviews these days, so I'm just taking any interviews I can get and running them through these filters.

ade

Contributor

AE (Account Executive)

1. base salary and OTE 2. culture. 3. opportunity for advancement.

Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

Uncapped commission, remote, and a livable base (I'm also in the Bay Area).
I am not in the position to take risks on start ups, so I look for established companies that have good market fit in my technology wheelhouse. I'd use analyst reports to see who's at least a contender in the space I'm targeting, and go after positions in those companies.
Best of luck to you.

countingmyinterest

Politicker

Account Executive

Product/market fit is #1
Attainable quota #2
Buyer personas that embrace technology #3
Salary/OTE #4

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TheEnglishMajor

What are the key things you're looking for in your next sales role? (And how do you screen for them?)

14 comments

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