maromillion

Mid-Market AE

Valued Contributor

Where to go next in my career (2 years in) Update

January of this year I made a post about being an AE at a shitty startup while still being in college. Most people recommended that I stay for 2 years and then jump ship.

Well I have been here for 1.5 years now, and thinking about jumping ship next year.

Originally I was a cybersecurity SDR, then jumped ship back in June 2021 for a full cycle SAAS closing role. (Which I don't recommend as my base as an SDR equals out to my current OTE as a full-cycle rep)

My mistake was joining founders & a CRO that had no experience selling to our specific industry. Until we hired reps with industry experience, it was a huge shit show. Nobody knew how to bring in deals yet I was expected to close business (I learned fresh reps without industry-specific selling skills and books of business should stay away from startups without repeatable processes to bring in new business).

Luckily in 2022 everything changed. I did the impossible and learned how to sell a SAAS product virtually to an old-school industry that prefers doing business in person. (Something our CRO didn't even know how to do)

After hitting quota for an entire year, I realized I'm not making any money... my total earnings for 2022 will be shy of $50k.....(I learned this is due to low ACV. Also this is why I don't have an SDR and I am full-cycle)

I realized that I could go back to setting meetings as an SDR and make $50k BASE...

At this point in my career, I want a company that can teach me the ropes of sales and provides upstream opportunities in 2-5 years (Skipping the traditional SDR to AE route taught me patience).

I graduated in October, so now I have my business degree & 1.5 years selling SAAS low ACV. (shy of $200k in revenue generated for 2022)

With the job market how it is now, I am fine with waiting until February to look for a new role. Any advice on where I should look?

🎈 Mentorship

☁️ Software Tech

💰 Compensation

18

23 comments

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CuriousFox

WR Officer

12

🦊

Stay AE. Do not look back. I will slap you through this portal. ❤🦊

LordOfWar

Tycoon

4

Blow it up

She will, and it is a mighty slap too.

Sunbunny31

Politicker

2

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

Listen to the Fox. I'm running scared from here.

jefe

Arsonist

1

🍁

Don't mess with Foxy.

Good luck @maromillion!!

ChickenWings

Opinionated

1

Tom Callahan's Son

Definitely stay AE. You’re so far ahead of the game with the foundation you have set fresh out of college. You may be urked about your income so far, but the experience you just described will serve you well in a six-figure role.

braintank

Politicker

5

Enterprise Account Executive

Here's where you fucked up: "my base as an SDR equals out to my current OTE as a full-cycle rep"

Why take a huge pay cut?? If you earned less than $50k in a year after hitting quota your comp plan is garbage.

Advice: apply to larger more established orgs with seasoned leaders and good training. Don't tell them your ote.

maromillion

Politicker

4

Mid-Market AE

Thanks for the advice! Any recommendations on a place with good training?

When I first joined, my OTE was closer to $80k. But a few months in, they cut the comp plan in half and increased quota.

My commission plan makes my deal ACV extremely low. My org is a revenue based platform but I don't get paid a percentage of the earnings our customers make (only a flat commission).

Originally, I joined to get closing experience while still being in college (something I didn't want to pass on).

No matter how bad they paid me, I knew I could double my pay once I graduated from college. Normal AE roles are $50k base/$100k OTE minimum (which are the roles I am looking for).

braintank

Politicker

4

Enterprise Account Executive

A lot to unpack here but takeaway is your comp plan sucks.

Hard to know where to recommend. But I'd looks for series C and above and really dive into training and processes.

maromillion

Politicker

0

Mid-Market AE

Exactly, I have to learn when to be macro and when to be micro lol. I will start looking, hopefully hiring goes back to normal in 2023.

butwhy

Politicker

1

Solutions Engineer

Yeah, you know where you should go, OP? A late stage startup that just got acquired by a PE firm. It's not glamorous or as "fun" - but they usually have solid sales talent at the VP levels (or at least someone from Oracle who likes to talk about...Oracle) and a need for someone to come in and run/prospect the skeleton ship. It should be an easier get than the startup market right now, gets you experience and title, and the base will be WAY higher.

Diablo

Politicker

5

Sr. AE

Don’t think of becoming an SDR again - bad choice. I would take some more time identify the industry and potential companies followed by applying and networking.

Next time do negotiate well. Remember you need a job as much as an employer needs you.

antiASKHOLE

Tycoon

3

Bravado's Resident Asshole

Take this time to take in your path and do research.

ThatNewAE

Big Shot

3

Account Executive - Mid enterprise

I wouldn't suggest you go back to setting meetings as an SDR. You can take a few days to just figure out what you want to do and then take from there. For full cycle, you should be making far more money.

Sunbunny31

Politicker

3

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

I'm also going to vote for AE. Great tips from braintank on making sure you get training. All of the larger orgs will have training plans, and maybe they'll be open to hiring again in Feb. You can also look at competition to these larger orgs - if the big ones have a whole platform, who are the smaller players in the space that are competitive with parts of the solution? Check out analyst reports like Forrester and Gartner to see who's being analyzed and where they fall on the graphs, and check out those companies.

Also agree with braintank that you don't share your current OTE. You want to find out what they are offering, and what you've made in the past should never be tied by them to the position they are offering at their company.

ChumpChange

Politicker

2

Channel Manager

Keep the AE title and look for other opportunities. Since you're barely starting your career, here's some friendly advice. Jobs are like clothes. Some fit perfectly and others do not. Some are a fit initially and then over time no longer fit your needs/ideals/goals. Moral of the story. Always work hard and know that nothing is permanent. If anything... you'll see various roles/positions as you progress your career. Sales professionals tend to get hyper-focused on selling what we're hired to do which makes us forget that we should ALWAYS be selling our skillset to the market.

Mobi85

Politicker

2

Regional Sales Manager

Stay AE and don't look at taking as step back. As what everyone else said, don't jump into the first org that offers you a position that pays better. Do your research and make sure it is the right fit.

I will also throw the wrench in everything and recommend possibly looking outside of industry that you are in. I understand that most of this platform is in tech of some degree but there are many industries right now that are flourishing and even with the tech slowdown they are ramping up and are desperately looking for solid closers.

maromillion

Politicker

1

Mid-Market AE

Thanks for the advice! Which industries do you recommend outside of tech? Currently open to all, just want to grow my skillset!

activity

Politicker

0

VP, Business Development

I would look to join a well established company if you're prioritizing training. Do your research on what industry you want to be in and who provides the best sales training.

CRAG112

Valued Contributor

0

Account Executive

It’s really important to first define what you want to do.

SaaS is a fancy word. It means nothing. Selling SaaS is like selling trash, a good sales person can sell it because they know/learned how.

what industry do you want to be in? Again, SaaS is a word, what specifically do you want to do? Could it be finance or cyber or marketing or HR or something else?

once you know that for sure, you’ll have serious goals, and have much more opportunity for real success.

believe me, I’ve mad my share of sales environment mistakes with joining companies too. Put yourself on a path and with a plan to not have it happen again.

Salesandcoffeedude

Valued Contributor

0

Business Development Representative

YOOOO similar position. I dipped because as you said there’s no one who knew how to do anything and I wasn’t making any money. Wasn’t an AE but I bumped my salary 55% by moving to a public company. Earning potential doubled. DO IT. Your experience will be so valuable and it sounds like you hustled a bunch at this start up so a process oriented job might be a breeze for you,

SADNESSLieutenant

Politicker

0

Officer of ♥️

Damn thats rough.

JustGonnaSendIt

Politicker

0

Burn Towns, Get Money

Stay as an AE. I would look at a more mature business, get in as an 'inside sales' AE in a closing role.

This will give you exposure to a more structured sales process, with more resources, and will set you up better for future career growth with within said company, or by moving out to move up.

kelvin26

Fire Starter

0

administrative manager

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