garizzly

Senior Account Executive

What do you do "above and beyond" to get yourself promoted?

I work as a field sales rep at a big tech cloud company and have been told by my manager and mentors that hitting quota and closing big deals aren't enough to get promoted. What do you do "above and beyond" to stand out among your peers? Are there programs and initiatives you've started that worked out well?

🧠 Advice

🎯 Career Development

☁️ Software Tech

24 comments

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Pachacuti

Politicker

They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy

They say “it isn’t what you know, it’s who you know”.

It’s also said “it isn’t who you know, it’s who you blow”.

It’s rather crass but it explains a lot about who gets certain jobs, promotions, etc.

Essentially you need to be networking with the people who can and will promote you.

Fenderbaum

Politicker

Retired Choirboy🪕

After 33 years in my first career, what@Pachacutisaid is true.. both are valid points and are virtually equal. Sadly, the ones who blew were usually the ones who had no concept of leadership.

CuriousFox

WR Officer

🦊

I just spit my coffee everywhere 🤣

jefe

Arsonist

🍁

You have a way with words, @Pachacuti

Kosta_Konfucius

Politicker

Sales Rep

Coaching new hires seems to be one of the most common ones, leading meetings especially the team meeting

KingofGIF

Politicker

Few pieces of advice that have worked for me: 1) go above and beyond by being a team player both in private and in the open. By this I mean actively sharing tips and tricks, passing feedback to other teams and being vocal on meetings and channels with your input - you want to plan the seed like the guy from the inception slowly but surely. 2) crush quota, duh! 3) network and establish good relationships with those who can take you higher, really treat this as a Customer Success Manager, not an Account Manager with commission breath. If you do all of those it’ll compound and get you there, if you only
2 of those it might still work, and if you only get one of those right is gonna be tough, even if you got the quota part right alone

garizzly

Fire Starter

Senior Account Executive

Thanks for sharing. Can you elaborate more on what you mean by "really treat this as a Customer Success Manager, not an Account Manager with commission breath"? How does that reframing change what you do day-to-day?

KingofGIF

Politicker

CSMs help and AMs upsell seeking their own benefit. Establish honest and well intended relationships where the main goal really isn’t just to be there for the politics of being around them to go up, like an upsell, since they will smell it! At my job there was a rep just being a gollum like character while meeting with enterprise reps to charm them and get a sit on the throne. It reframes your day to day by keeping a a “helpful radar” on, at all times. Is there a meeting where you can chip in, go for it, is there a chat thread where you could jump in, go for it, did you just found something that needs fixing? Call it out.

Diablo

Politicker

Sr. AE

I would ask my manager what are those other things I need to start focusing on to prepare for the next role

JustGonnaSendIt

Politicker

Burn Towns, Get Money

Coaching other reps

Building instructional guides for stuff that people seem to find difficult, which I find easy. Then sharing them with folks who ask for help.

Hitting quota

Thinking about the broader company objectives and framing my role in that context, rather than just the $$$ I bring home.

NotCreativeEnough

Big Shot

Professional Day Ruiner

mentor new hires and people who are under performing.

over exceed quota

network with upper level management both on your team and the team you want to get promoted to as often as possible

attend every training event you can fit into your schedule

and if all else fails, apply at other orgs to look for the role you want and apply there

Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

What’s the role you want to be promoted to?

garizzly

Fire Starter

Senior Account Executive

Current role = Senior Account Executive
Promotion = Principal Account Executive

Both IC roles, but the principal role is more comp and bigger/more important enterprise accounts.

Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

Thanks for clarifying! The answer would be different if you were looking to go into management.

What companies look for in their top reps does go beyond big deals and quota. You have to understand and show how to multithread, have comprehensive account/territory plans and demonstrate, time after time, that you can manage complex sales cycles and internal and external contacts to get the deal done as well as identify future growth/expansion. In depth understanding of industry and vertical trends, the ability to pitch to the market and be visionary rather than reactionary are skills that management typically values very highly in top reps.

tightlines

Politicker

Account Executive

This^^^

garizzly

Fire Starter

Senior Account Executive

Wow - really appreciate you sharing this. Very tangible. Thank you!

SoccerandSales

Big Shot

Account Executive

I think a lot of it is "playing the game". Politicking is a huge part of most promotions

MoneyAintAThing

CSM

You're being given a hint to check the color of your nose. Apparently, it's not brown...

Chonkonaut

Valued Contributor

CSAM of Luke Warm Chowder

I think your efforts and outcomes will speak for themselves.

However, if you truly want to grow, then learn to lead by giving your due to the ones who're in your place when they're just starting out.

I don't care much about promotions when the comp plan gets revised every quarter. But I do care about my external and internal customers(AEs, Support, SDRs) being treated fairly.

I make sure that everyone that I'm working with knows that I'll be there when they need me.

Make sure to give your due respect when an SDR qualifies for an opportunity for you. A technical support rep reached out to you.

Well connect with them and ask how you can help to make things better for them. And how they can advise you to do better SOPs?

I'd rather have my entire team hit 80% of their quota than me hitting that 150%... But hey that's just me.

Work with people, lead with integrity, and follow through on any promises made or said. But more so, learn to reflect upon the people you interact with on a daily basis.

P.S Advice of a Junior AE/AM just starting out.

eyris

Fire Starter

Business Development Intern

Bring in new recruits if hiring
Go above your job description and get close to HR and your bosses like lunch or LinkedIn build those relationships will think of you first

arjunsarin

Enterprise Sales Manager

I don't know about Big Tech as I have mostly worked in startups but you can choose few things from below as applicable in your company's framework:

1. Support in hiring good candidates
2. Creating knowledge documents to make your sales process repeatable specially for large deals
3. Problem solving in various situation like lack of leads hence how to self prospect, handling escalations post sales etc
4. Creating training interventions for new joinees to adapt and scale
5. Contribute in business planning, actionable account planning templates

Maximas

Tycoon

Senior Sales Executive

I guess, you can check the required extra skills you need to learn.
As each job description has some requirements if you don't know what it takes you can ask your manager directly what I'm still missing to earn this title..?

cont

Appointment Setter

As a salesperson I basically started out hunting for my own leads

Building out sales systems

Guarantee results & Deliver

activity

Politicker

VP, Business Development

You have to play internal politics and understand who are the decision makers but more importantly who has a heavy influence on the decision maker.

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garizzly

What do you do "above and beyond" to get yourself promoted?

24 comments

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