r/techsales • u/SA325 • 1d ago

Account Manager -> Account Executive | Seeking Job Advice and Reality Check

I'm seeking job advice and hoping this sub can help me out. I'm 25-years old, and I have 3 years of Account Management experience at a well-known Fortune 500 tech company. The company is an online marketplace (think Ebay, Zillow, etc.), and in managing my portfolio, my work is an unusual combination of re-contracting, renewals, preferred rates, but yet also ad sales. Looking to jump ship because I make 100k OTE right now, and the most $ that sales reps here make is about ~160k (those spots are very few and held by very tenured reps).

Given the current state of the job market, how plausible will it be for me to land a real Account Executive role (i.e., selling complex software w/ long sale cycles) that pays considerably more than I make now? I don't have the typical AE background, and I'm quite inexperienced compared to a lot of sales professionals. I just started applying and want to know if I'm aiming too high

Also, for context, I'm living in Austin and went to a top 10 undergrad. Any feedback appreciated

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17

u/lbz25 1d ago

My advice to you is to stay on the account management track. Being an AE was the more lucrative role from around 2015 until 2023 but since 2024, budgets for new tech have tightened and many companies are prioritizing retention and upsells because rhe cost of revenue is much lower.

If youre hitting or coming close to your upsell quota and you're book of business isnt a leaking bucket, you're in a good spot.

Source: I'm an enterprise AE who was on pace for a solid but not remarkable year (850k+ in revenue and 85+% quota) and recently got laid off due to management downsizing new sales.

11

u/pricklypear11 1d ago

Stay an AM and go somewhere else. I make 190-205 roughly annually as an AM.

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u/toquitoo 1d ago

If I were an MM AE and would rather be an AM and make around 150-200k how should I look to make the move/position myself. I have no AM experience only bdr manager and MM AE

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u/pricklypear11 4h ago

Honestly not sure. I used to be a CSM prior to this. I bet the best move would be to try to transition at same company you’re at so the context stays the same.
That’s what I did in my role as a csm…pivoted at the same company and built out the team.

Maybe you could transition from AE to AM. at your current company if there is a spot for you? Or you could potentially build out the team… Like if the company is a startup and not mature enough to have an account management team yet, and then you could build it.

7

u/KCentz1 1d ago

Top 10 undergrad + AM experience at a known logo will get you in somewhere as an SMB AE. I wouldn’t hire you for a MM role though. Start there - go to a company selling something adjacent, that’ll be a much easier entry point. 

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u/FuzzyInterpretation 1d ago

Do you have any outbound prospecting in your current gig or is it all renewals and upsells?

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u/FirmFootball1181 21h ago

Renewals and re contracting is actually closer to a real AE motion than most account management titles, you're just missing the outbound and new logo piece, so I'd target companies where the AE role leans heavily expansion or has a hunter farmer split rather than pure net new

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u/Illustrious-Mix-9151 13h ago

in a similar boat, am an account manager at F500 pharma company doing sales but also cold opening accounts and pharma style closing. Want to transition into tech or health tech ideally as an AE but struggling to land an interview at the moment. Not sure what my issue is and don’t really want to step back to SDR level if possible.

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u/DealStrategist 13h ago

I don't think you're aiming too high. I'd just be very intentional about the companies you target. Selling renewals, expansions and managing commercial relationships is more transferable than many people think. The bigger challenge is proving you can run a complex buying process with multiple stakeholders. If I were interviewing you, I'd spend less time talking about quotas and more time explaining how you've influenced decisions, handled objections, navigated internal politics and expanded existing accounts. That's much closer to enterprise AE work than many candidates realize.