A hiring manager breaks down what she looks for in Account Executive candidates: coachability, high IQ and EQ, and the ability to generate pipeline on your own. She expects you to contribute revenue within 4-6 months and wants to see you've done real prep for the interview.
I've hired well over 100 AES in my career. This video is to help you get in the mind of the hiring manager so you know what we are looking for in standout candidates. The first piece understands two traits versus skills. The traits suggest the potential for an AE to succeed in a role and then skills determine how likely and quickly an AE will hit potential in a role with the company. The best AES I've worked with exhibit these traits. First, they're super coachable. They're willing to get feedback and get better. Second, they're high iq. Third, they have high eq. Fourth, they have an internal locus of control which means they largely feel like their success or failure is up to them and then finally they show great trajectory as they progress in their career. Then here are the three skills I look for in a complex selling environment. I'm looking for pipeline generation. I want to see evidence that you're able to source your own deals. I'm looking for how you understand your accounts, Personas and then a repeatable process for how you use phone, email, social to identify and uncover a demand. Second, I'm looking for a good understanding of sales methodology. Now I don't have a requirement for which sales methodology that you use, but I do need to see evidence that you're able to progress a complex deal across multiple stakeholders with a repeatable process that you can document. And then finally, I'm looking for technical acumen and industry experience. And the better you already understand the buyers we sell to, the better you understand our industry, the faster you're going to ramp. These pieces contribute to how quickly you're going to ramp. The AES that I hire today don't need to immediately start closing deals, but I do need to see revenue contribution in at least four to six months. The faster I think you'll ramp, the more confident I am in hiring you. Now the ways that you give me confidence that you are going to ramp fast are first the transferable skills we talked about the pipeline generation, then the sales process and technical acumen. Now this isn't always in your control as it's based on past jobs, but you can show me an acumen to learn by how you prepare for interview process. When I see an in depth learning of our product and Personas as you go through the process, it gives me confidence that you're going to learn quickly and then finally how long I think you're going to stay. A big part of hiring is the risk assessment. Is this candidate going to quit as soon as they hit a tough patch to get a feel for this. I'm looking at how long you've stayed at prior jobs. I'm looking at why you left. And by the way, if you have shortstops because of layoffs or risks, that does not count against you. I know it's been a crazy time in tech and then finally, examples of grit and perseverance in your life. I want to know that you're in it to help us get through challenges, not just run away to find an easier job as soon as it gets tough. Look, it's a super competitive market right now to land great sales jobs. I hope that this view into the mind of a hiring manager helps you stand out as you pursue your ideal opportunities. That's it for today's video. I hope you enjoyed this topic and that it was helpful for you as you progress your sales career. If you're looking for more ways to improve, I've linked some free resources for you in the description of this video and in the pinned comment below. Simply visit that link, input your name, and tell me which email I can send this to you and I'll get them to you immediately. And if you've enjoyed this, please like subscribe and comment and I'll see you in the next video.
