LIke most professions, you can not lead a team well if you haven't done the job yourself. Must Haves : * You should have been a quota carrying sales rep for at least 3 to 5 years before you can transition into sales leadership. * Have a good understanding of the product. You don't want to be in a meeting with your sales rep where you are not able to answer the use cases and functionalities of your profuct to the customer without any hesitation * Good understanding of the market you operate in * Ability to motivate the team and shield any unnecessary pressure from top management * Good analytical skiils would always help you to identify trends in the market place as well as your own internal metrics * Listening skills : They are both important as a sales rep as well as a sales leader. * Focus on Culture :Though some people might put this under "Nice to Haves", I strongly feel that being focussed on culture and building a strong team culture helps a sales leader a lot. Nice to Haves * Some experience around areas of business development and customer success is always helpful * Project management skills can come in handy as you go up the hierarchy and need to work across cross-functional teams

My favorite to ask always starts with, "Tell me a story about..." The ending can be anything from professional to personal. Tell me a story about your proudest customer win. Tell me a story about a lost opportunity that you wished you won. Tell me a story about the last vacation you went on. Tell me a story about someone you stopped being friends with and why. For me it's not the answer, it's how you give the answer. In sales you need to be quick on your toes and engaging. Storytelling is the key to all of it.

Coming into an organization as the first sales hire puts a lot of responsibility on your shoulders. You are basically in charge of proving the validity of this function within the company. There are a few things that I would consider and act on in this position: Start with the short term. As a first hire in a sales organization, you are required to deliver results that have a very immediate impact that meets the business needs. This means focusing on some low-hanging fruits in order to deliver results within a short time frame. Build a framework. As a first hire within the team, you should make sure you document your work, and create clear guidelines and processes, with the expectation of adding additional members to the team in the future. This will ensure a smooth expansion of the team while positioning you as a thought leader and a pivotal member of this function. Go beyond your scope. As a junior sales hire, never underestimate the power of tenacity. I always invite my team members to push the boundaries and look for additional scope and responsibilities whenever they feel capable. This is a very strong signal that you are willing to take on more, and when management will face a new task at hand, they will know they can count on you.

According to all the websites and experts, a typical career path for a sales professional is to move from BDR to AE to Sales Manager, or a variation of this, and that can absolutely be your path. What you'll most likely find, is that there is NO typical path - especially as you discover who you are as a sales professional and your sales style. Each of us have unique strengths and interests, and instead of focusing on a career ladder, where you only have one option in moving up/down in roles, you should focus on in developing your career lattice based on skill and sales style. By this, I mean: Identify what you know and don't know, as it pertains to the sales process: * What parts of the sales process you are skilled in and can leverage as you progress in your career? This can be leveraged to identify roles that you qualify for, can succeed in, and show your expertise. * Where in the sales process do you need to develop or hone your skillset further? This info can be used to identify which roles can help you grow and develop your expertise in the sales process. Determine the type of seller you are/sales motion you are interested in: * Do you like speaking to decision makers early in the sales process? Do you like working multiple deals at the same time? Do you want to close multiple deals a month/quarter? * Would you prefer a longer sales cycle with each prospect? Do you like building long-term relationships and developing plans and strategies that span across multiple buying panels and decision makers? Are you content with closing 1-2 deals a quarter, or even a year? * Do you prefer to work with buyers who are early adopters, where you sell vision and strategy and a reasonable approach to taking risks, or do you prefer working with early/late majority buyers, when what you're selling may have mass market appeal and your buyer is a bit more risk-averse. Once you have identified the type of seller you are, the sales motion you most prefer, the skill set you have today and where you want to develop further in the sales process, you now can make an informed decision about YOUR career path and identifying what is the best next move for you. This may be a move up, across, diagonal or down - as long as you're making career decisions with information and goals to continue your growth, it's a good move. Remember, it's not about doing what's typical, it's about making career decisions that makes it right for you.

Rep ramp-up time in my opinion is something that I've seen companies completely overlook. Given the boom tech has been on over the last decade many companies have skipped tracking key fundamentals from the moment you decide to hire the rep to the moment they hit quota due to them smashing their numbers. A key example of this is certifications around product knowledge. Assessing an AE's product knowledge and understanding of the enterprise software solution they are selling is key to this period. This can be achieved through role-playing, pitch certification, standing and delivering on specific product value props, etc. We've veered away from rigorous sales onboarding training in exchange for throwing them in the deep end quicker hoping they'll hit quota, succeed, and contribute to the company without laying the proper foundation.

Sales KPIs play a critical role in forecast accuracy, especially in unpredictable markets. Amidst the market turbulence, really the only thing you have are deal execution and forecast accuracy. The difference between having a math based forecast everyone is aligned around vs not is stark. There are so many ways to cut your forecast in an effort to determine where you'll land. The math itself is important but the most important is having a shared language and "walkup" in order to pinpoint the assumptions you're making - so you can have an in-depth discussion in a short amount of time.

It's a great question. I believe that all reps are continuously motivated by earning potential and career growth opportunities, regardless of the stage of the company. To get more nuanced, you'll see earlier hires more motivated by the combination of equity and cash, and you'll also see earlier hires hoping to leverage their early arrival to accelerate their career growth (vs later hires). As an aside, one of the real joys of leading and scaling sales teams is rewarding those deserving early hires with promotions, additional equity grants, etc. We've had the opportunity to do a lot of this at Vanta. More broadly, my advice is to spend a lot of time thinking about the design of your compensation plans (revisiting them at least annually) and also to map out levels and definitions for career growth sooner vs later. Make sure that you're putting your team in a spot where they believe they can hit their goals, and where they understand intimately what career growth means for them, and how to unlock it. Easier said than done. :)

Great question & cross-functional support is paramount to success. My best recommendation: * Find common areas of overlap or shared interest * Align on the outcomes you both want to impact * Setup a 'stand-up' cadence (weekly/bi-weekly) On more extensive efforts, a project manager can be helpful. For smaller steps, stay aligned on an end goal, divide & conquer workstreams, and hold one another accountable.

Our top reps excel at spotting potential opportunities. Since we're focused on run-rate tactical deals in the form of additional license, new initiatives, and pilots, our main stakeholders are typically at the VP level or below. The key here is mastering the art of tailoring conversations - distinguishing between "above the line" and "below the line" discussions ensures that our messaging aligns with the audience. In larger enterprises, industry trends and company direction are often widely available. It's crucial to delve into these trends, gaining a deep understanding of industry challenges and directions. This forms the basis for crafting a unique perspective that resonates not only with the business but also its key players. Once everyone's on the same page and the problem is crystal clear, we can then propose a forward-thinking solution that drives them towards their desired outcomes. What sets this approach apart is its emphasis on discovery. Rather than leading with a product pitch, we invest time in understanding the company's priorities. This makes our interactions much more aligned with the client's needs, creating a more genuine and less "sales-y" experience. This method ensures that our solutions aren't just one-size-fits-all, but tailored to fit the precise needs of each client we engage with.

If an account executive is sharing feedback (positive or negative!), here are a few questions you can ask to decide how to incorporate it. 1. Is the feedback specific? To act on feedback, we have to have enough information to properly diagnose the cause. If an AE shares that an account was unqualified, did they share the name of the account and the particular reasoning? 2. Do we know what led to the feedback? To act on feedback, you have to know what to change. Identify the specific behavior or process that led to the feedback. In this case, perhaps there was a qualification question that wasn’t asked or we had incorrect data in the CRM about the account. Different causes require different solutions and we shouldn’t assume the cause. 3. Is this an individual occurrence or a trend? Ask if they have any additional examples for the feedback or even recent counterexamples. Scoping the occurrence of the feedback will help you figure out if you need to work with single individuals or change an overall process. Don’t treat feedback as global unless you have shown a sufficient sample size. Once you have gotten the above information, you can decide how to implement a change (and if a change is worth implementing). If the feedback seems to be coming from a one-off situation, you may want to approach at the individual level. If the feedback seems to point towards a larger trend, you may want to design an experiment or A/B test to see if the suggested changes work. Lastly, make sure to proactively request feedback from the AE team. Their input is particularly valuable for (1) deciding how to prioritize account books and (2) refining your Ideal Customer Profile and even identify new use cases.