Account Executive (AE)
An Account Executive (AE) is a closing sales role responsible for advancing qualified opportunities from discovery through negotiation and close — typically taking handoff from SDR-generated qualified leads or working inbound qualified pipeline directly — the primary revenue-generating role in B2B sales orgs.
Why This Matters
Account Executives are the deal-closing function in specialized B2B sales orgs. AEs typically work 20-50 active opportunities at any given time, advancing each through discovery, demonstration, proposal, and negotiation phases. AE quotas range $500K-$2M+ ARR for SaaS depending on segment (SMB to enterprise). Comp structure: 50-60% base, 40-50% variable tied to closed-won revenue with accelerators above quota. The handoff economics: SDRs at $70K total comp produce qualified meetings; AEs at $200K+ total comp convert meetings to closed-won revenue. Specialization beats full-cycle reps in mature B2B operations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What quota should AEs carry?
Industry benchmarks: SMB AEs $500K-$800K annual quota. Mid-market AEs $1M-$1.5M. Enterprise AEs $1.5M-$3M+ depending on deal size and average sales cycle. Quota relative to OTE (on-target earnings) typically runs 4-6x — an AE earning $200K OTE carries roughly $1M quota.
AE vs. SDR — which role advances which prospects?
SDRs prospect cold outbound and qualify inbound to generate qualified opportunities. AEs take qualified opportunities and run discovery through close. The handoff happens at SQL acceptance — meeting completed and prospect verified as worthwhile pipeline. Some orgs blur the lines, but specialization generally produces better conversion economics at scale.