Account Executive (AE)

Role Purpose & Context

Role Summary

The Account Executive is responsible for managing the entire sales cycle for a specific territory or customer segment, which directly impacts our overall revenue and market share. You'll work at the intersection of customer needs and our product capabilities, translating complex business challenges into clear, value-driven solutions that prospects use to make informed buying decisions. You're the face of our company for potential clients, so you'll need to be sharp and genuinely helpful. When this role is done well, we see consistent revenue growth, happy new customers, and a strong pipeline for the future. When it's not, we miss our targets, lose ground to competitors, and our product team struggles to get real-world feedback. The challenge is balancing high activity with deep, strategic engagement, especially when dealing with multiple stakeholders. The reward, though, is the buzz of closing a significant deal and knowing you've truly helped a client improve their business.

Reporting Structure

• Reports to: Sales Manager
• Direct reports:
• Matrix relationships: Sales Executive, Business Development Manager, Client Relationship Manager,

Key Stakeholders

Internal:

• Sales Manager (for coaching and strategy)
• Sales Operations (for CRM hygiene and reporting)
• Product Team (for feature feedback and understanding the roadmap)
• Marketing Team (for lead quality and campaign alignment)
• Customer Success (for smooth handovers and client satisfaction)

External:

• Prospective Clients (decision-makers, influencers, end-users)
• Existing Clients (for potential upsell/cross-sell opportunities)
• Industry Partners (for referrals and joint ventures)

Organisational Impact

Scope: This role directly contributes to the company's financial health and growth. You're bringing in new business, which fuels investment in product development, marketing, and hiring. Your success means we can expand, innovate, and ultimately serve more customers. Missed targets, on the other hand, can slow down our growth plans and impact team morale.

Performance Metrics

Quantitative Metrics

1. Metric: Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) Quota Attainment
2. Desc: The total value of new recurring revenue you bring in against your assigned target.
3. Target: 100% of £750,000 ARR quota
4. Freq: Monthly and Quarterly
5. Example: If your quarterly quota is £187,500 and you close deals worth £195,000, you've hit 104% attainment for the quarter.
6. Metric: Pipeline Coverage
7. Desc: The ratio of your total pipeline value (qualified opportunities) to your remaining quota.
8. Target: 3x pipeline coverage consistently
9. Freq: Weekly
10. Example: If you have £500,000 left to close this quarter, you should have at least £1,500,000 in qualified opportunities in your pipeline.
11. Metric: Lead-to-Close Conversion Rate
12. Desc: The percentage of qualified leads that you successfully convert into closed-won deals.
13. Target: 20% conversion rate
14. Freq: Monthly
15. Example: If you work 20 qualified leads in a month and close 4 of them, your conversion rate is 20%.
16. Metric: Average Deal Size (ACV)
17. Desc: The average Annual Contract Value of the deals you close.
18. Target: Maintain an average of £25,000 ACV
19. Freq: Quarterly
20. Example: Closing two deals at £20K and one at £35K gives you an average of £25K ACV for that period.

Qualitative Metrics

1. Metric: Discovery Call Quality
2. Desc: How effectively you uncover a prospect's true pain points, business needs, and decision-making process during initial conversations.
3. Evidence: Your Sales Manager reviews your call recordings (using Gong, for example) and sees you asking open-ended questions, actively listening, and accurately summarising the prospect's challenges. Prospects often comment on how well you understood their situation.
4. Metric: CRM Data Accuracy & Hygiene
5. Desc: The completeness and accuracy of your Salesforce records, ensuring deal stages, next steps, and contact information are always up to date.
6. Evidence: Your Sales Manager can pull any of your opportunities in Salesforce and immediately understand the deal status, key contacts, and next actions without needing to ask you. Your forecast calls are based on reliable data, not guesswork.
7. Metric: Value Proposition Articulation
8. Desc: Your ability to clearly and concisely explain the specific value and ROI our solution brings to a prospect's unique business, moving beyond just features.
9. Evidence: Prospects often repeat back the specific benefits you've highlighted, and your proposals clearly link our solution to their stated business outcomes. You're able to handle objections by re-framing around value, not just product specs.
10. Metric: Collaboration with Internal Teams
11. Desc: How well you work with Sales Operations, Marketing, and Customer Success to ensure a smooth sales process and customer handover.
12. Evidence: You proactively loop in Customer Success before a deal closes. Marketing values your feedback on lead quality. Sales Operations rarely has to chase you for CRM updates. You're seen as someone who helps the whole team win.

Primary Traits

• Trait: Resilience (Thick Skin)
• Manifestation: You're the sort of person who can get a door slammed in their face (metaphorically, of course) and just move on to the next one without missing a beat. A prospect might hang up on you, or an email might go unanswered for weeks, but you don't take it personally. You see a 'no' as just a step closer to a 'yes' from someone else, or a chance to learn what didn't work. You'll view a lost deal as a lesson for the next sales cycle, not a personal failure.
• Benefit: Honestly, sales is tough. You'll face a lot of rejection, probably more 'nos' than 'yeses' on any given day. If you internalise every single one, you'll burn out faster than a cheap lightbulb. Resilience is what keeps you dialling, keeps you emailing, and keeps you pushing forward even when things feel a bit grim. Without it, you simply won't hit your numbers.
• Trait: Empathy (Genuine Insight)
• Manifestation: You're genuinely curious about people and their problems. Instead of immediately launching into a product pitch, you'll ask probing questions like, 'What happens if you don't solve this problem by next quarter?' or 'What's the biggest headache this causes your team?' You'll listen more than you talk, accurately rephrasing a prospect's pain point to show you truly understood it. You're able to read the room, adjusting your approach based on what you're hearing and seeing.
• Benefit: Let's be real: prospects don't buy products; they buy solutions to their problems. If you can't figure out what those problems actually are, you're just selling features into a void. Empathy helps you uncover those often-hidden challenges, build trust, and position yourself as a helpful advisor rather than just another vendor trying to hit a quota. It's the foundation of consultative selling.
• Trait: Articulate (Crisp Communication)
• Manifestation: You can explain complex ideas simply and quickly. Imagine leaving a voicemail that's under 30 seconds but still clearly states why you're calling and what value you offer. Your emails are short, punchy, and get to the point, with compelling subject lines that actually get opened. You can confidently break down our pricing model in a way that makes sense to someone who isn't a finance expert. Basically, you're a master of getting your message across without waffle.
• Benefit: Our executive buyers are incredibly busy people. They don't have time for rambling explanations or jargon-filled pitches. Your ability to convey maximum value in minimum time is often the difference between getting a meeting and getting ignored. Clarity and conciseness aren't just polite; they're absolutely essential for professional credibility in sales. If you can't communicate clearly, you can't sell effectively.

Supporting Traits

• Trait: Innate Curiosity
• Desc: A genuine desire to understand how a client's business works, their industry, and the challenges they face, even beyond what directly relates to our product.
• Trait: Coachability
• Desc: The humility to accept and act on constructive feedback from your Sales Manager and peers. You see feedback as an opportunity to get better, not a criticism.
• Trait: Discipline
• Desc: The ability to consistently execute the daily, often mundane, tasks—like updating CRM records, sending follow-up emails, and making those cold calls—that ultimately lead to long-term success.
• Trait: Competitiveness
• Desc: A healthy, ethical drive to be at the top of the leaderboard, to win deals, and to exceed your targets. You're motivated by success, both for yourself and the team.

Primary Motivators

1. Motivator: Achieving Tangible Results & Earning Potential
2. Daily: You'll feel a real buzz from seeing your efforts directly translate into closed deals and, let's be honest, a healthy commission cheque. You're driven by hitting those numbers and seeing your name on the leaderboard.
3. Motivator: Solving Complex Business Problems
4. Daily: You'll get satisfaction from digging into a prospect's challenges, understanding their world, and then crafting a solution that genuinely makes their lives easier or their business more profitable. It's like being a detective and a problem-solver rolled into one.
5. Motivator: Continuous Learning & Skill Development
6. Daily: You'll love learning new sales methodologies, refining your pitch, and understanding different industries. Every call is a chance to get better, and you're always looking for ways to improve your craft.

Potential Demotivators

Honestly, this job isn't for everyone. You'll spend a fair bit of time chasing leads that go nowhere, and you'll put in a lot of effort on deals that ultimately 'go dark' or get stuck in 'no decision' purgatory. You'll probably have to update Salesforce more often than you'd like, and sometimes the 'urgent' request from a prospect will turn out to be a dead end. If you need constant positive reinforcement or can't handle a high volume of 'nos', you'll find this role draining.

Common Frustrations

1. The MQL Mirage: Spending hours chasing 'Marketing Qualified Leads' that are really just names from a webinar list with no authority, budget, or immediate need.
2. CRM Admin Hell: Being measured more on the quality and timeliness of your Salesforce updates than on the quality of your prospect conversations.
3. Death by 'No Decision': Losing a deal you've worked for months not to a competitor, but to the prospect's internal inertia and inability to make a final decision.
4. Legal Redline Purgatory: Having a verbally-agreed-upon deal get stuck with the legal department for weeks over minor contractual terms, risking the entire sale.
5. The Roadmap Promise: Having to sell a crucial feature that is 'on the roadmap' but has no firm delivery date, knowing it could kill the deal if it slips.

What Role Doesn't Offer

1. A predictable, 9-to-5 routine with no unexpected challenges.
2. A job where every single piece of your work leads to a successful, closed deal.
3. A role with minimal administrative tasks or data entry.
4. Guaranteed success without consistent effort and resilience.

ADHD Positives

1. The fast-paced, varied nature of sales can be a real strength for those with ADHD, offering constant novelty and stimulation. Each new prospect is a fresh challenge, and the need to quickly pivot between tasks (calls, emails, research) can keep you engaged.
2. Hyperfocus can be incredibly powerful during discovery calls or when deep-diving into a complex account, allowing you to uncover insights others might miss.
3. The immediate feedback loop of sales (did they answer? did they convert?) can be very motivating and help maintain momentum.

ADHD Challenges and Accommodations

1. Maintaining meticulous CRM hygiene and consistent follow-up can be a challenge. We can help with structured templates, automated reminders, and AI tools to reduce manual entry.
2. Distractions in an open-plan office might be tough. We offer noise-cancelling headphones and quiet zones for focused work, or the option to work from home a few days a week.
3. Prioritising tasks when everything feels 'urgent' can be overwhelming. Your Sales Manager will help you set clear daily and weekly priorities, and we use tools for task management.

Dyslexia Positives

1. Strong verbal communication skills are often a hallmark of dyslexia, which is invaluable in sales calls, presentations, and building rapport.
2. Excellent problem-solving abilities and 'big picture' thinking can help you understand complex client needs and craft creative solutions.
3. Empathy and intuition, often heightened, are crucial for understanding unspoken client concerns and building trust.

Dyslexia Challenges and Accommodations

1. Reading and writing extensive emails or proposals might be time-consuming. We encourage the use of dictation software, grammar checkers, and AI tools for drafting initial content.
2. Detailed documentation in CRM can be tricky. We provide clear, concise templates and encourage verbal updates to your manager, which can then be summarised.
3. Proofreading your own work can be hard. We encourage using text-to-speech tools to listen to your emails before sending and offer peer review for important documents.

Autism Positives

1. A strong ability to focus on detail can be excellent for understanding intricate product specifications or client requirements, ensuring you don't miss crucial information.
2. Consistency and adherence to proven sales processes can lead to highly repeatable and successful outcomes.
3. Direct and honest communication, when delivered with empathy, can build strong, trust-based relationships with clients who value straightforwardness.

Autism Challenges and Accommodations

1. Navigating unspoken social cues or ambiguous client responses can be difficult. We offer clear sales playbooks, role-playing scenarios, and direct feedback from your manager on call recordings.
2. Unexpected changes in routine or client demands might be unsettling. We aim for clear communication about changes and provide structured support to help you adapt.
3. Sensory overload in busy environments. We offer flexible working arrangements, quiet spaces, and the option to manage your own schedule to minimise overwhelming situations.

Key Responsibilities

Experience Levels Responsibilities

1. Level: Account Executive (L2)
2. Responsibilities: Manage the full sales cycle for a defined territory or segment, from initial outreach and discovery through to negotiation and closing the deal. This means you'll be the primary point of contact for potential clients.
3. Conduct thorough discovery calls to really understand a prospect's business challenges, goals, and decision-making process. Honestly, this is where deals are won or lost.
4. Develop and deliver compelling sales presentations and product demonstrations that clearly articulate our value proposition and show how we solve specific client problems. No generic pitches, please.
5. Build and maintain a robust sales pipeline by actively prospecting, qualifying leads, and moving opportunities through the sales stages. You'll need to keep that funnel full.
6. Negotiate contract terms and pricing, working with internal teams (like legal and finance) to get deals over the line while ensuring they're profitable for us.
7. Accurately forecast your sales pipeline and provide regular updates to your Sales Manager, making sure your CRM records are always up to date. No 'happy ears' forecasting here, please.
8. Collaborate closely with our Customer Success team to ensure a smooth handover post-sale, setting new clients up for long-term success. Your deal isn't truly done until they're happy.
9. Supervision: You'll have weekly check-ins with your Sales Manager to discuss pipeline, deal strategy, and any challenges you're facing. For routine tasks, you'll work independently, but for novel or complex situations, you're expected to escalate and seek guidance. We're here to support you, not micromanage.
10. Decision: You'll make routine decisions within established sales guidelines, like how to structure your daily outreach or which prospects to prioritise. For anything outside the norm—say, a significant discount request or a non-standard contract term—you'll need to get approval from your Sales Manager. You can't sign off on anything above a £5,000 discount without a manager's nod, for example.
11. Success: Success in this role means consistently hitting or exceeding your individual ARR quota, maintaining a healthy and predictable pipeline, and getting great feedback on your discovery calls. It's also about how well you manage your territory and build positive relationships, both internally and externally.

Decision-Making Authority

• Type: Discounting & Pricing
• Entry: No authority; must escalate all requests to Sales Manager.
• Mid: Authority to offer up to 5% discount on standard pricing. Any larger discount requires Sales Manager approval.
• Senior: Authority to offer up to 10% discount. Larger discounts (up to 15%) require Sales Director approval. Strategic pricing decisions require VP Sales input.
• Type: Contractual Terms
• Entry: No negotiation authority; must escalate all client requests to Sales Manager or Legal.
• Mid: Can negotiate minor, non-material changes to standard contract terms (e.g., payment schedule flexibility within company policy). Material changes require Legal and Sales Manager approval.
• Senior: Can negotiate most standard contract terms within pre-approved parameters. Non-standard or complex legal terms require Legal and Sales Director review.
• Type: Deal Strategy & Prioritisation
• Entry: Follows prescribed outreach and qualification strategy from Sales Manager.
• Mid: Independently prioritises leads and opportunities within assigned territory. Develops individual deal strategies, consulting with Sales Manager on complex deals.
• Senior: Defines account-level strategy for key accounts. Mentors junior AEs on deal strategy. Consults with Sales Director on multi-year enterprise strategies.
• Type: Pipeline Management & Forecasting
• Entry: Updates CRM daily with activities and notes; forecast is largely based on manager's input.
• Mid: Responsible for accurate weekly pipeline updates and monthly forecast submissions. Manager reviews and provides feedback.
• Senior: Accountable for highly accurate quarterly forecasts. Leads pipeline reviews with junior AEs. Identifies and mitigates pipeline risks.

Competency Requirements

Foundation Skills (Transferable)

Beyond the specific sales techniques, there are some fundamental skills that just make you a better professional. These are the bedrock of success in any client-facing role, especially in sales.

• Category: Communication & Interpersonal Skills
• Skills: Active Listening: Genuinely hearing and understanding what prospects are saying (and not saying), rather than just waiting for your turn to speak.
• Verbal Communication: Clearly articulating complex ideas in a concise, engaging way, whether on a call or in a presentation.
• Written Communication: Crafting professional, persuasive emails and proposals that are free of errors and get to the point.
• Rapport Building: Quickly establishing trust and a positive connection with diverse personalities.
• Objection Handling: Skillfully addressing and overcoming prospect concerns without being aggressive or dismissive.
• Category: Problem-Solving & Critical Thinking
• Skills: Diagnostic Thinking: Asking the right questions to uncover underlying business problems, not just surface-level symptoms.
• Solution Orientation: Framing our products as solutions to specific client challenges, rather than just listing features.
• Strategic Thinking: Understanding how a deal fits into the broader account plan and company goals, not just focusing on the immediate close.
• Adaptability: Adjusting your approach and messaging based on new information from the client or changes in market conditions.
• Category: Organisation & Time Management
• Skills: Prioritisation: Effectively managing your time and pipeline to focus on the highest-impact activities and most promising deals.
• CRM Management: Keeping your Salesforce records meticulously updated so your pipeline and forecast are always accurate.
• Follow-up Discipline: Consistently following up with prospects and clients in a timely and professional manner.
• Meeting Preparation: Thoroughly researching accounts and preparing agendas for every client interaction.

Functional Skills (Role-Specific Technical)

These are the specific sales methodologies, tools, and industry knowledge you'll need to hit the ground running and succeed as an Account Executive. We're looking for practical application, not just theoretical understanding.

Technical Competencies

• Skill: Consultative Selling (e.g., SPIN Selling)
• Desc: Moving beyond just pitching product features to actually diagnosing deep business problems and co-creating solutions with the client. It's all about asking insightful questions to uncover needs, rather than just talking about our stuff.
• Level: Intermediate
• Skill: Pipeline Management & Forecasting
• Desc: The discipline of accurately tracking deal stages, probabilities, and timelines in Salesforce to produce a reliable sales forecast. This includes regularly reviewing your pipeline to ensure it's healthy and moving forward.
• Level: Intermediate
• Skill: Value-Based Selling & ROI Justification
• Desc: Quantifying the financial impact of our solution for a client's business, building a solid business case that can withstand scrutiny from their finance team. It means shifting the conversation from 'cost' to 'investment' and proving the return.
• Level: Intermediate
• Skill: Opportunity Qualification Frameworks (e.g., MEDDPICC, BANT)
• Desc: Using a structured methodology to rigorously qualify deals, ensuring your sales efforts are focused on winnable opportunities with a clear path to close. It helps you avoid wasting time on deals that won't go anywhere.
• Level: Intermediate
• Skill: Multi-threading & Stakeholder Mapping
• Desc: The practice of building relationships with multiple decision-makers and influencers within a target account. This helps mitigate the risk of a single point of failure and builds internal consensus for your solution.
• Level: Intermediate

Digital Tools

• Tool: Salesforce
• Level: Intermediate
• Usage: Managing leads, opportunities, and accounts. Running pre-built reports to track your performance. Maintaining data hygiene with 95% accuracy for accurate forecasting.
• Tool: Outreach / SalesLoft
• Level: Intermediate
• Usage: Executing pre-defined email and call sequences. A/B testing subject lines to improve open rates. Managing your daily tasks and call lists efficiently.
• Tool: Gong / Chorus.ai
• Level: Basic
• Usage: Reviewing your own call recordings for self-coaching. Using transcripts to pull key quotes for follow-up emails and internal discussions.
• Tool: LinkedIn Sales Navigator
• Level: Intermediate
• Usage: Building targeted lead lists. Using InMail effectively to connect with prospects. Identifying key contacts and decision-makers within your target accounts.
• Tool: ZoomInfo / Cognism
• Level: Intermediate
• Usage: Finding and verifying accurate contact data (email, phone numbers). Enriching your CRM records with up-to-date information. Building targeted prospect lists for outbound campaigns.

Industry Knowledge

• Area: Our Product & Market
• Desc: A solid understanding of our specific product features, benefits, and how they compare to competitors. You'll also need to know the basic trends and challenges within the market we operate in.
• Area: Customer Verticals
• Desc: Understanding the typical business models, challenges, and priorities of the industries or customer segments you'll be selling into. This helps you tailor your message and build credibility.

Regulatory Compliance Regulations

• Reg: GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)
• Usage: Understanding the fundamental principles of data privacy, especially concerning prospecting and storing customer data. Knowing what you can and can't do with personal information in your sales activities.
• Reg: Company Sales Policies & Procedures
• Usage: Adhering to our internal guidelines for pricing, discounting, contract approvals, and ethical sales practices. This ensures we operate legally and consistently.

Essential Prerequisites

• At least 2 years of experience in a quota-carrying sales role, ideally selling a B2B SaaS product.
• Proven track record of consistently hitting or exceeding individual sales targets.
• Demonstrable experience managing a full sales cycle, from lead generation to close.
• Solid understanding of CRM systems, preferably Salesforce, and how to keep them updated accurately.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with a knack for making complex ideas simple.

Career Pathway Context

This role isn't for someone fresh out of university; you'll need some miles on the clock. Typically, people move into this AE role after a successful stint as a Sales Development Representative (SDR) or from another quota-carrying sales role where they've proven their ability to close deals. We're looking for someone who understands the rhythm of sales and is ready to take on more responsibility for the full cycle.

Qualifications & Credentials

Emerging Foundation Skills

• Skill: AI-Assisted Sales Workflow Optimisation
• Why: Competitors are already using AI to automate mundane tasks, personalise outreach, and gain insights faster. AEs who can effectively use these tools will simply outproduce those who can't. It's about working smarter, not just harder.
• Concepts: [{'concept_name': 'Prompt Engineering for Sales', 'description': 'Learning how to write effective prompts for LLMs (Large Language Models) to generate personalised emails, call scripts, and discovery questions.'}, {'concept_name': 'AI-Powered CRM Automation', 'description': 'Understanding how AI can automatically update Salesforce, summarise calls, and suggest next steps, reducing your admin burden.'}, {'concept_name': 'Sentiment Analysis in Conversations', 'description': 'Using AI tools (like Gong) to identify prospect sentiment during calls, helping you adjust your approach in real-time.'}, {'concept_name': 'Data-Driven Personalisation', 'description': 'Leveraging AI to analyse prospect data and suggest hyper-personalised messaging that resonates more effectively.'}]
• Prepare: This week: Start experimenting with ChatGPT or Claude to draft follow-up emails or initial outreach messages. Just get comfortable with the interface.
• This month: Actively use our conversation intelligence platform (Gong) to review your own calls and identify patterns, not just for manager feedback.
• Month 2: Explore how AI features in Outreach/SalesLoft can help you optimise your sequences and A/B tests more effectively.
• Month 3: Identify one repetitive sales task you do weekly and try to automate at least 50% of it using an AI tool or prompt.
• QuickWin: Start using AI to draft your internal meeting summaries or to brainstorm different angles for a tough objection. It's low-risk and immediately helpful.
• Skill: Digital Sales Room Management
• Why: Buyers expect a more streamlined, self-service experience. Digital Sales Rooms (DSRs) provide a single, organised hub for all deal-related content, proposals, and communications, making it easier for prospects to buy and for you to track engagement. It's the modern way to manage complex deals.
• Concepts: [{'concept_name': 'Content Curation & Organisation', 'description': 'Selecting and arranging relevant case studies, product sheets, and proposals within a DSR for easy client access.'}, {'concept_name': 'Engagement Tracking & Insights', 'description': 'Using DSR analytics to see what content prospects are viewing, for how long, and who is engaging, informing your next steps.'}, {'concept_name': 'Personalisation within DSRs', 'description': 'Tailoring the DSR experience for each specific client, ensuring they see the most relevant information for their needs.'}, {'concept_name': 'Collaborative Selling through DSRs', 'description': 'Inviting internal champions and decision-makers to collaborate within the DSR, fostering internal alignment on the solution.'}]
• Prepare: This week: Research what a Digital Sales Room is and how platforms like Highspot or Seismic work.
• This month: Ask your Sales Manager if you can shadow a Senior AE who uses DSRs for their deals.
• Month 2: Start building out a template DSR for a common use case, even if it's just for practice.
• Month 3: Propose using a DSR for one of your active opportunities, getting feedback from the client and your manager.
• QuickWin: Organise all your current deal collateral into a shared folder structure that mimics a DSR, making it easier for you to find and share things, even if it's not a formal platform yet.

Advancing Technical Skills

• Skill: Advanced CRM Reporting & Dashboarding
• Why: Moving beyond basic reports to build custom dashboards in Salesforce that give you deeper insights into your pipeline health, conversion rates, and deal velocity. This helps you identify trends and proactively address issues, rather than just reacting.
• Concepts: [{'concept_name': 'Custom Report Types', 'description': 'Creating specific report types in Salesforce to analyse unique data combinations.'}, {'concept_name': 'Dashboard Components & Filters', 'description': 'Designing interactive dashboards with various components and filters to visualise key sales metrics.'}, {'concept_name': 'Salesforce Formulas & Roll-up Summaries', 'description': 'Using basic formulas to create calculated fields and roll-up summaries for advanced metric tracking.'}, {'concept_name': 'Data Visualisation Best Practices', 'description': 'Presenting complex sales data in a clear, easy-to-understand visual format for yourself and your manager.'}]
• Prepare: This week: Watch a few YouTube tutorials on 'Salesforce Custom Reports' and 'Salesforce Dashboards'.
• This month: Try to build one custom report that answers a specific question you have about your own pipeline.
• Month 2: Work with Sales Operations to understand how they build their reports and ask for tips.
• Month 3: Build a personal sales dashboard in Salesforce that helps you track your most important KPIs at a glance.
• QuickWin: Identify 3-5 key metrics you track manually and see if you can find pre-built Salesforce reports that show you this data. Start there.

Education Requirements

Experience Requirements

Level: Minimum | Req: A-Levels or equivalent vocational qualification (OFQUAL Level 3-4) | Alts: We're more interested in your proven sales experience and track record than a specific degree. If you've got 2-3 years of solid, quota-carrying sales experience, that often counts for more than a university degree. | Level: Preferred | Req: Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, or a related field (OFQUAL Level 6) | Alts: A degree can give you a good foundation, but it's not a deal-breaker. If you've got a strong portfolio of closed deals and can talk us through your sales process, that's just as valuable.

Preferred Certifications

• Cert: Salesforce Certified Administrator
• Prod: Salesforce
• Usage: Shows a deeper understanding of the CRM system, which helps with reporting, data hygiene, and leveraging its full capabilities.
• Cert: SPIN Selling Certification
• Prod: Huthwaite International (or similar)
• Usage: Demonstrates a formal understanding of consultative selling techniques, which aligns perfectly with our sales philosophy.

Recommended Activities

• Regularly reading industry blogs and books on sales best practices (e.g., 'The Challenger Sale', 'Predictable Revenue').
• Attending sales webinars and virtual conferences to stay up-to-date on new techniques and market trends.
• Participating in peer coaching and role-playing sessions with your team to refine your pitches and objection handling.
• Seeking out mentorship from more senior Account Executives or your Sales Manager.

Career Progression Pathways

Entry Paths to This Role

• Path: Sales Development Representative (SDR)
• Time: 18-36 months
• Path: Junior Account Manager / Internal Sales
• Time: 2-4 years
• Path: Sales Professional from another industry
• Time: 2-5 years (prior sales experience)

Career Progression From This Role

• Pathway: Senior Account Executive
• Time: 2-4 years in current AE role
• Pathway: Sales Specialist / Overlay
• Time: 3-5 years in current AE role

Long Term Vision Potential Roles

• Title: Sales Manager (L5)
• Time: 5-8 years from AE
• Title: Director of Sales (L6)
• Time: 8-12 years from AE
• Title: Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) (L7)
• Time: 15+ years from AE
• Title: Principal Account Executive / Strategic Account Manager (L4)
• Time: 5-10 years from AE

How Zavmo Delivers This Role's Development

DISCOVER Phase: Skills Gap Analysis

Zavmo maps your current competencies against all requirements in this job description through conversational assessment. We evaluate your foundation skills (communication, strategic thinking), functional skills (CRM expertise, negotiation), and readiness for career progression.

Output: Personalised skills gap heat map showing strengths and priorities, estimated time to competency, neurodiversity accommodations.

DISCUSS Phase: Personalised Learning Pathway

Based on your DISCOVER results, Zavmo creates a personalised learning plan prioritised by impact: foundation skills first, then functional skills. We adapt to your learning style, pace, and neurodiversity needs (ADHD, dyslexia, autism).

Output: Week-by-week schedule, each module linked to specific job responsibilities, checkpoints and milestones.

DELIVER Phase: Conversational Learning

Learn through conversation, not boring modules. Zavmo uses 10 conversation types (Socratic dialogue, role-play, coaching, case studies) to build competence. Practice difficult QBR presentations, negotiate tough renewals, and handle churn conversations in a safe AI environment before facing real clients.

Example: "For 'Stakeholder Mapping', Zavmo will guide you through analysing a complex enterprise account, identifying key decision-makers, and building an engagement strategy."

DEMONSTRATE Phase: Competency Assessment

Zavmo automatically builds your evidence portfolio as you learn. Every conversation, practice scenario, and application example is captured and mapped to NOS performance criteria. When ready, your portfolio supports OFQUAL qualification claims and demonstrates competence to employers.

Output: Competency matrix, evidence portfolio (downloadable), qualification readiness, career progression score.