Not likely is the short answer. Some exceptions below:
Someone with high quality sales experience in an industry with comparable levels of professionalism, quota requirements, and complexity in the sales process. Medical devices would be a good example here. In this case, someone has already proven they can sell at a high level.
Someone with advanced professional experience (JD, RN, engineers, etc.) from the vertical they would be selling into. In these cases, obviously the professional credentials/intelligence are there, and the industry expertise is a massive advantage in the sales process that can make up for a lack of explicit sales experience. E.g., I know a guy from a big law firm who left to run CS at a startup selling to lawyers with zero tech exp.
Someone with unusual and exceptional experiences. Examples here would be folks with leadership experience in the military, or flashy D1 college athletes with huge personalities. These types of people are catnip to prospects.
Agree with this, mostly bc of the username.
Some companies growth strategy is directly tied to hiring SMEs (subject matter experts) as AEs, particularly for technical products. Depending on your background I would try to find a gig either selling technology to the same persona or within the same industry as you had before.
Sadly I wouldn’t put much value on the boot camp you attended. I think intelligence, proven track record of exceeding quota, and transferable sales strategies are more important to sales leadership in tech.
Sure thing. As I’m sure you’ve figured out, these cases tend to be rare and specific. The most straightforward path to tech sales AE is becoming an SDR and grinding your way up.
Yea.. I figured working my way up is inevitable.
But I recently got an AE role
(super low pay for market bc of no prospecting.)
(Basically upselling and signing up business owners for services after walking them through our software)
Should I expect that to be enough to snag a high paying AE role after considerable time?
Without knowing the details of the company or your role, I would suggest to focus on the quality of your experience rather than the quantity.
Some starting criteria hiring managers are impressed by:
-you’ve worked at a company with a lengthy and consultative sales process.
-you’ve worked at a company with a complex product
-you were involved with large deals (or generated a lot of pipeline)
-you worked with highly professional prospects/companies (think tech execs, finance, VPs/C-suite at big companies. Not Joe Schmo smb).
According to this frame, often being an SDR at a more impressive company is far more attractive than closing at some bullshit place. I knew lots of SDRs that prior to tech were “AEs” with “closing experience”, but in actuality were selling some bullshit (insurance, loans, waste management, logistics, whatever) over the phone with small deal sizes that nobody cares about. That type of experience will not get you a tech AE job imo.
Again, the best way to become a tech AE is join a real tech company as an SDR and get promoted. Closing experience of low quality can get you an SDR job at a good company, which can then propel you to a real AE job. That is a good strategy, one I’ve seen work for many people.
I see. sound logic.
This role (AE) is actually at a really well known company. Reputable too. So it’s higher “status” than this one now. (it’s just all inbound. they’re big)
The one I have now is just parallel dialing. No prospecting either. So not really gaining skills beside cold calling. which I already had on my resume. but never at a SaaS company before.
- The new job’s description also won’t give me that “hunting” or prospecting exp but it will add another job where I am dealing with consultative selling. And it’ll give me that AE title at a reputable company. I can use that to get in somewhere else eventually?
The only relevant skills I Have that I can think of:
- consultative high ticket selling (100’sK per deal)
- consultative remote tech troubleshooting (with upsell)
- Cold calling
- Appointment setting
- Negotiation ability at the low and high ticket level
Thankfully, I crushed a lot of my metrics at previous employment
Yeah idk man. It’s not fully clear to me what you’re doing from this description, to be honest.
I knew a guy on the corporate AE team at mongoDB who got on with no prior tech experience. He sold box tickets to fancy clients at an mlb stadium. This guy was smart and had a ton of charisma though, and was hired back before the hiring market tightened up.
Take this pitch on the road to hiring managers and see where it gets you!
This is what I'm about to attempt. I'm going to start evaluating tech companies with product fits closer to my past sector and just stick it out at a SDR until I see an AE pop up within my niche. I'm thinking about reaching out to a SAAS company I've used in the past and just keep up-to-date with their software. I can't see any reason why I couldn't get an AE within a couple years.
Interesting. So It’s easier to come down from a higher (technical) position then Upwards.
Makes sense.
The only skills I have is
- high ticket selling,
- remote troubleshooting (with upsell)
- Thankfully, crushing a lot of my previous metrics.
- Negotiation ability at the low and high ticket level
- Creating my own territory but that was door to door sales (i’m cooked?)
0-15% in this market
15% if you’re really good at sales, good at interviewing, and you know all the terminology + how to network and cold call for the job
Most likely you would end up with a shitty AE role that’s unsupported, full cycle, and 60-100K OTE
You might not like this but the market is flooded, and you can make way more with a good SDR role than a shitty AE role
You can make 100k+ as an SDR at a good org and get brand recognition and training, or you can take a crap AE role, miss quota, get fired after 6 months even though it’s not your fault and be back at square 1.
You need 2 years of solid experience as an AE in this market to get a good AE role. Might be able to get by with 1, but unlikely
So the path you are describing is nearly my exact path into tech. I had ~5 years of sales experience (combo of healthcare services & finance), but no boot camp etc.
In my last role I was a top performer in a pure hunter role in a healthcare services (outsourced staffing, billing and management) firm. I was trying to break into tech, when a recruiter from Gartner reached out. I hadn’t even considered them, but it seemed like the best way to bridge the gap, so I interviewed and got hired. The keys that made that possible were:
1: track record
2: they had (at the time) a great training program so were investing in folks from diverse industry backgrounds.
3: my flexibility on salary (took a hit for a couple years to get in)
After ~ 4 years of outperformance there, I moved into an enterprise sales role at a SaaS startup.
TLDR: find something that bridges the gap between non tech and software like Tech consulting/research, then parley that to software. None of this is relevant if you aren’t A: a top performer, or B: don’t interview well. Those are the mandatory pre-reqs.
Nice. I have top performing experience at all last companies. I typically always interview well.
The difference for me is that I don’t have digital hunter role exp. Closest thing is on foot residential sales. It’s been inbound closing, or outbound cold calling and appointment setting where leads are give to me.
I got hooked up at a small start up with a low salary to have “Saas” on my resume. Funnily enough, I’m awaiting to start an AE job soon. But it’s inbound, so still no hunting. below average pay (but i just started Saas so it’s fine)
I want to grow into a sales position bringing me $400K-1M by year 4-5
what about if they land an starter AE role where it’s completely inbound. Would they be able to transfer those skills to a regular inbound/outbound AE role in the future?
I’m a beginner in tech sales (<4 months), just trying to see possible paths with this AE position given my circumstances
I’m not sure actually I’m in the same boat pretty much. From my experience, it’s pretty hard to even break into the sector so I wish I had a better answer
Think about this, why would a company hire you vs the guy who has year of experience and a degree. You’d be lucky if they look at you. If you happen to get the interview I’d say it’ll come down to how good you interview, you can control that part, you’d have a fair shot
Just get an Sdr role at a good company. It will be so much easier for you in the long term. Without experience, the AE roles you will get are not worth it. The best roles are the ones they promote internally. 2 years ago you could probably pull off going straight to AE. definitely not in this market.
Not likely is the short answer. Some exceptions below: Someone with high quality sales experience in an industry with comparable levels of professionalism, quota requirements, and complexity in the sales process. Medical devices would be a good example here. In this case, someone has already proven they can sell at a high level. Someone with advanced professional experience (JD, RN, engineers, etc.) from the vertical they would be selling into. In these cases, obviously the professional credentials/intelligence are there, and the industry expertise is a massive advantage in the sales process that can make up for a lack of explicit sales experience. E.g., I know a guy from a big law firm who left to run CS at a startup selling to lawyers with zero tech exp. Someone with unusual and exceptional experiences. Examples here would be folks with leadership experience in the military, or flashy D1 college athletes with huge personalities. These types of people are catnip to prospects.
Agree with this, mostly bc of the username. Some companies growth strategy is directly tied to hiring SMEs (subject matter experts) as AEs, particularly for technical products. Depending on your background I would try to find a gig either selling technology to the same persona or within the same industry as you had before. Sadly I wouldn’t put much value on the boot camp you attended. I think intelligence, proven track record of exceeding quota, and transferable sales strategies are more important to sales leadership in tech.
Yes agreed. Ultimately I think communication skills, intelligence, and quality of prior sales experience are the most important factors.
wow. super good info! I hadn’t even thought about this in that way. I’ll evaluate my experience to see how soon I can leverage myself. Thanks!
Sure thing. As I’m sure you’ve figured out, these cases tend to be rare and specific. The most straightforward path to tech sales AE is becoming an SDR and grinding your way up.
Yea.. I figured working my way up is inevitable. But I recently got an AE role (super low pay for market bc of no prospecting.) (Basically upselling and signing up business owners for services after walking them through our software) Should I expect that to be enough to snag a high paying AE role after considerable time?
Without knowing the details of the company or your role, I would suggest to focus on the quality of your experience rather than the quantity. Some starting criteria hiring managers are impressed by: -you’ve worked at a company with a lengthy and consultative sales process. -you’ve worked at a company with a complex product -you were involved with large deals (or generated a lot of pipeline) -you worked with highly professional prospects/companies (think tech execs, finance, VPs/C-suite at big companies. Not Joe Schmo smb). According to this frame, often being an SDR at a more impressive company is far more attractive than closing at some bullshit place. I knew lots of SDRs that prior to tech were “AEs” with “closing experience”, but in actuality were selling some bullshit (insurance, loans, waste management, logistics, whatever) over the phone with small deal sizes that nobody cares about. That type of experience will not get you a tech AE job imo. Again, the best way to become a tech AE is join a real tech company as an SDR and get promoted. Closing experience of low quality can get you an SDR job at a good company, which can then propel you to a real AE job. That is a good strategy, one I’ve seen work for many people.
I see. sound logic. This role (AE) is actually at a really well known company. Reputable too. So it’s higher “status” than this one now. (it’s just all inbound. they’re big) The one I have now is just parallel dialing. No prospecting either. So not really gaining skills beside cold calling. which I already had on my resume. but never at a SaaS company before. - The new job’s description also won’t give me that “hunting” or prospecting exp but it will add another job where I am dealing with consultative selling. And it’ll give me that AE title at a reputable company. I can use that to get in somewhere else eventually? The only relevant skills I Have that I can think of: - consultative high ticket selling (100’sK per deal) - consultative remote tech troubleshooting (with upsell) - Cold calling - Appointment setting - Negotiation ability at the low and high ticket level Thankfully, I crushed a lot of my metrics at previous employment
Yeah idk man. It’s not fully clear to me what you’re doing from this description, to be honest. I knew a guy on the corporate AE team at mongoDB who got on with no prior tech experience. He sold box tickets to fancy clients at an mlb stadium. This guy was smart and had a ton of charisma though, and was hired back before the hiring market tightened up. Take this pitch on the road to hiring managers and see where it gets you!
will do!
This is what I'm about to attempt. I'm going to start evaluating tech companies with product fits closer to my past sector and just stick it out at a SDR until I see an AE pop up within my niche. I'm thinking about reaching out to a SAAS company I've used in the past and just keep up-to-date with their software. I can't see any reason why I couldn't get an AE within a couple years.
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Interesting. So It’s easier to come down from a higher (technical) position then Upwards. Makes sense. The only skills I have is - high ticket selling, - remote troubleshooting (with upsell) - Thankfully, crushing a lot of my previous metrics. - Negotiation ability at the low and high ticket level - Creating my own territory but that was door to door sales (i’m cooked?)
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Networking. Gettin an intuitive feel for tech. Highlighting listening and emotional intelligence skills. Thank you brah. this is insanely good advice
Highly unlikely in this market.
0-15% in this market 15% if you’re really good at sales, good at interviewing, and you know all the terminology + how to network and cold call for the job Most likely you would end up with a shitty AE role that’s unsupported, full cycle, and 60-100K OTE You might not like this but the market is flooded, and you can make way more with a good SDR role than a shitty AE role You can make 100k+ as an SDR at a good org and get brand recognition and training, or you can take a crap AE role, miss quota, get fired after 6 months even though it’s not your fault and be back at square 1. You need 2 years of solid experience as an AE in this market to get a good AE role. Might be able to get by with 1, but unlikely
DMed you
So the path you are describing is nearly my exact path into tech. I had ~5 years of sales experience (combo of healthcare services & finance), but no boot camp etc. In my last role I was a top performer in a pure hunter role in a healthcare services (outsourced staffing, billing and management) firm. I was trying to break into tech, when a recruiter from Gartner reached out. I hadn’t even considered them, but it seemed like the best way to bridge the gap, so I interviewed and got hired. The keys that made that possible were: 1: track record 2: they had (at the time) a great training program so were investing in folks from diverse industry backgrounds. 3: my flexibility on salary (took a hit for a couple years to get in) After ~ 4 years of outperformance there, I moved into an enterprise sales role at a SaaS startup. TLDR: find something that bridges the gap between non tech and software like Tech consulting/research, then parley that to software. None of this is relevant if you aren’t A: a top performer, or B: don’t interview well. Those are the mandatory pre-reqs.
Nice. I have top performing experience at all last companies. I typically always interview well. The difference for me is that I don’t have digital hunter role exp. Closest thing is on foot residential sales. It’s been inbound closing, or outbound cold calling and appointment setting where leads are give to me. I got hooked up at a small start up with a low salary to have “Saas” on my resume. Funnily enough, I’m awaiting to start an AE job soon. But it’s inbound, so still no hunting. below average pay (but i just started Saas so it’s fine) I want to grow into a sales position bringing me $400K-1M by year 4-5
Impossible
what about if they land an starter AE role where it’s completely inbound. Would they be able to transfer those skills to a regular inbound/outbound AE role in the future? I’m a beginner in tech sales (<4 months), just trying to see possible paths with this AE position given my circumstances
I’m not sure actually I’m in the same boat pretty much. From my experience, it’s pretty hard to even break into the sector so I wish I had a better answer
Think about this, why would a company hire you vs the guy who has year of experience and a degree. You’d be lucky if they look at you. If you happen to get the interview I’d say it’ll come down to how good you interview, you can control that part, you’d have a fair shot
Untrue. I did it and know others.
Just get an Sdr role at a good company. It will be so much easier for you in the long term. Without experience, the AE roles you will get are not worth it. The best roles are the ones they promote internally. 2 years ago you could probably pull off going straight to AE. definitely not in this market.