The pathway
How you actually get there, here
How you become one varies far more by country than what one does. This is the UK route. Most people take one of these ways in; the right one depends on where you're starting from.
- 1
Account Executive (AE) / Sales Manager
3-5 years as an AE, then 1-2 years in a sales management role.Skills to master
- Direct sales cycle management, quota attainment, customer relationship building, understanding sales incentives and motivations.
You're ready to move on when
- Consistently hitting or exceeding individual sales targets.
- Demonstrated ability to build and maintain strong customer relationships.
- Experience in complex deal negotiation and closing.
- A desire to move from direct selling to influencing through others.
- 2
Business Development Manager (BDM)
4-7 years in a BDM role.Skills to master
- New market entry, strategic prospecting, identifying and qualifying new business opportunities, initial relationship building with potential partners.
You're ready to move on when
- Proven ability to open new doors and build pipelines from scratch.
- Experience in identifying strategic fits between companies.
- Strong negotiation and presentation skills.
- Comfortable with ambiguity and building something from the ground up.
- 3
Associate Alliance Manager / Partner Coordinator
2-4 years in a supporting partner role.Skills to master
- Partner onboarding processes, PRM administration, basic partner reporting, understanding channel programmes and rules of engagement.
You're ready to move on when
- Excellent organisational skills and attention to detail.
- Strong understanding of our internal partner programmes and systems.
- Demonstrated ability to support multiple partners effectively.
- A proactive approach to learning and taking on more responsibility.


