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Glossary:
Sales Roles & Team Structure
Master the essential revenue and financial metrics that drive B2B SaaS success. From ARR and MRR to retention metrics and customer economics, these terms are critical for understanding pipeline health, forecasting growth, and making data-driven decisions.
Account Executive (AE)
Short Definition
Definition
The Account Executive serves as the primary revenue generator in B2B SaaS sales teams, managing deals from qualified leads (typically handed off from SDRs) through to signed contracts. AEs focus on consultative selling, uncovering customer pain points, demonstrating product value via demos, addressing objections, and negotiating terms to close-won. They balance new business acquisition with expansion in existing accounts, maintaining pipeline hygiene and accurate forecasting.
Unlike SDRs (who prospect) or AMs (who manage post-sale), AEs excel at building executive relationships, crafting ROI narratives, and navigating multi-stakeholder buying committees common in SaaS.
Responsibilities
- Prospect & Qualify: Take SDR handoffs, conduct discovery calls to validate fit and business impact.
- Demo & Present: Run tailored product demos, POCs, and ROI analyses showing value.
- Negotiate & Close: Handle pricing, legal review, executive sponsors, and multi-line signers.
- Pipeline Management: Update CRM daily, forecast accurately, maintain 3–4x coverage.
- Account Expansion: Identify upsell/cross-sell in landed accounts (e.g., Slack → Tableau).
- Collaboration: Partner with SEs on technical objections, marketing on campaigns.
AE Levels & Focus
Performance Metrics
- Quota Attainment: 80–100%+ quarterly/annual (top AEs hit 120%+).
- Win Rate: 25–35% (enterprise lower at 15–25%).
- Sales Cycle: 60–90 days SMB; 6–12 months enterprise.
- Pipeline Coverage: 3–4x quota (weighted).
- Activity: 10–15 discovery calls/week, 3–5 demos.
Ramp Targets: New AEs hit 50% quota Month 3, 75% Month 6, full quota Month 9.
Real-World Examples
- An Enterprise AE manages 20 deals, landing 4 deals at $250K ACV, and hitting their $1M quota.
- A mid-market AE closes a $100K deal after an 8-week cycle: discovery uncovers a churn issue, the demo shows a 40% expected ROI, and the VP sponsor accelerates contracting.
- An Enterprise AE wins $2M contract via RFP. An executive briefing and custom POC demonstrate a 25% efficiency gain, beating competitors.
Common Challenges
- Long cycles: Multi-stakeholder approval delays (enterprise avg 9 months).
- Competition: Incumbents with sticky integrations.
- Technical sales: Explaining APIs/security to non-tech buyers.
- Forecast pressure: Balancing optimism with accuracy.
- Burnout: High quotas in competitive SaaS markets.
The Fix: learn MEDDPICC qualification, get executive sponsors early, use MAPs for commits, and run weekly pipeline scrubs.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between an AE and an SDR?
An AE closes qualified deals (full cycle). An SDR prospects and qualifies leads.
What's a good AE ramp time?
SMB: 90 days to quota.
Enterprise: up to 6 months due to deal complexity.
Should AEs prospect?
It depends. In more mature sales functions, it’s usually rare. Focus on handoffs unless you’re a 360 AE at an early-stage company, responsible for both outbound and closing.
Is $1M ARR a realistic Enterprise AE quota realistic?
Yes, if you close 4–5 deals/year at a 20–25% win rate from a strong pipeline.
How do I coach underperforming AEs?
Pipeline reviews, deal inspections, role-plays on objections/sponsors.
Last Updated: December 18, 2025
Reviewed by: Ben Hale