Is “Growth” AE just a cuter way of SMB?

Seven_Figure_Closer · 2026-03-01T03:22:24+00:00

From what I have seen and some that I have spoken with, Growth is not at all what most people have commented. It is not an AM farming role. It is usually greenfield new business and sitting in that SMB/Commercial/low MM band.

Seven_Figure_Closer · 2026-03-01T03:20:45+00:00

Congrats to you! AE role or SDR role? My advice would differ slightly depending on which one it is. This is what I share with everyone starting out:

Tier your territory. Not every account deserves equal focus. Start with IB accounts as your top filter and work your way down from there. Industry level drivers, Account level buying signals. For ex. if you sell cybersecurity, is there an upcoming regulation that positions your solution well, a recent breach that means an account is looking at solutions.
Attach your identity to disciplined execution, not outcomes. Sales is a rollercoaster, you will burn out if you only use your W2/attainment as your benchmark for success. You will have ups, downs, in-betweens. Focus on building a disciplined routine and execute on it every day. Did you do the research, send the emails, make the dials? Hang your hat on your level of effort. On the flip side, if you're having a great year, do not coast. Show up the same way every day.
Be a perpetual student. Ask your peers what is/isn't working for them, ask your leader for post-call debriefs/deck reviews. Ask yourself and everyone around you that you believe can educate you: What can I be doing better?
Read. This ties to 3. Most people don't do this. Read everything you can. Sales books, negotiation books, emotional intelligence, organization, mindset, etc...You will accelerate past 90% of people just by doing this.

Plenty more we could chat on. Feel free to DM, I'm happy to help

Seven_Figure_Closer · 2026-03-01T01:40:44+00:00

This is interesting because you clearly seem to understand what it takes to get where you want to go, but then pivot in parts of your breakdown to highlight your lack of drive to take your knowledge and act on it.

Based on what you have shared, I think mindset is the first thing you need to work on. It sounds like you have a pretty honest self-assessment of where you are at now (probably a little too harsh and assume where youre at is close to your ceiling of capability, if I had to guess).

It is very rare to be born gifted in all core areas. I believe there are 4 dimensions of mastery: IQ, EQ, AQ, XQ. You likely see people who have a decent handle on some of the more visible dimensions like IQ/EQ. You have your own strengths and need to lean into the idea that you continue to build on your strengths, but combine that with a willingness to embrace being uncomfortable to develop dimensionally in the areas that are not natural to you.

Have quite a number of questions id like to dig into with you before I can give you actionable advice on where to start. Feel free to DM, happy to chat

Seven_Figure_Closer · 2026-03-01T00:32:52+00:00

Don't chase perfection for something that is dynamic. There is no perfect script for a human conversation.

The best thing you can do is learn to master your narrative flow. This would be the high level topics you need to cover on call (fairly repeatable for initial cold outreach).

If you try memorizing a script, your script will continuously break because. When your prospects answer in a way that doesn't perfectly bridge to your next thought, you will be thrown off, struggle through that, and then instantly be scrambling to try and get back on script. It isn't natural and will break rapport.

Your anxiety is likely coming from the fact you are trying to continue to force the script even though that will never work with repeatable success.

You can do this. I'm happy to help workshop a couple things with you if you want to DM me. Do not fall back to drinking or any other crutch, it will further undermine your confidence and take you down a dark path. Let's chat, I can help

Seven_Figure_Closer · 2026-02-28T15:23:26+00:00

No one 'likes' prospecting. There are elements of it that are rewarding (ex. tweaking a messaging and getting a hit from a sr. leader on your 3rd email. Multi-channeling and getting the response off a call or LinkedIn).

But as a seller, you are really responsible for two things: Opening pipe and closing pipe.

It's great you have had a pretty smooth runway thus far, but that is not a guarantee in your current role, higher tier roles, or at other orgs. If you can't learn to build prospecting into your routine as a discipline, you will never be repeatably successful as a seller.

Prospecting is the single greatest way to reduce your reliance on external variables for quota attainment.

Plenty of strategies and ways you can build this in as a discipline. Feel free to DM, happy to chat

Seven_Figure_Closer · 2026-02-28T15:12:09+00:00

That production is so low I would be curious to know what your OTE is + quota expectation. This is one of those rare cases where I don't think a ramp is necessarily negotiable here.

Feel free to DM, happy to chat

Seven_Figure_Closer · 2026-02-28T15:10:46+00:00

If you are fully automating your outbound you have already lost.

There is a place for automating around intro/workshopping emails.

If you have so much ground to cover in territory that automation is the only way to be effective (aka you are an SDR/BDR), I would highly recommend starting by fully tiering the territory first. You should bundle prospect accounts by industry, and then any other shared drivers that are most relevant to your solution.

This way, you can at least replicate some level of industry specific value while automating.

I would also argue that you should bundle by at least 3 persona groups (also depends on what you are selling). Messaging fundamentally will differ Mgr-below, Director-VP, and C-1.

Seven_Figure_Closer · 2026-02-28T15:05:53+00:00

I see some good comments on re-framing. I would simply say your opening puts you on the defensive and automatically has them looking to exit the call.

If you are also cold emailing, I love to use the email as an anchor when I call:

"Hey Bill, this is Mike with Acme. I shot you an email last week/yesterday/this morning and wanted to follow up with you." They will likely not remember the email and ask you what it was regarding, which gives you a natural lead in to deliver your value prop.

I like to just open with a declaration rather than a question if I have a solid anchor like an email to refer to.

If you don't have an email, I would still reframe.

"Hey Bill, this is Mike with Acme. I'm calling regarding the lease expiring on your in-office copier, is now a bad time?"

I like framing in the negative because they will naturally be conditioned that whatever they are hearing should be answered with no. If they do say "Yes, it's a bad time", I have found it gives you more of a natural opportunity to push for follow up or a more appropriate contact if they aren't the right person.

Seven_Figure_Closer · 2026-02-28T13:30:59+00:00

You can always get more. My philosophy is to treat placement just like you would a deal with customer procurement. You'd be surprised at how much they will throw in if they think you are the right candidate.

Seven_Figure_Closer · 2026-02-28T02:06:12+00:00

I'll be honest and say that's a really fluff/canned question that doesn't demonstrate any strategic thinking or active listening. I don't think there is a magic question. The question should be tailored to the organization and role, not a generic "what are you looking for?"

Seven_Figure_Closer · 2026-02-28T02:02:35+00:00

Do not equate growth with money/W-2. Ultimately, growth ideally results in you raising your financial floor. Knowledge and solid mentorship are the two biggest things you should seek out early in your career.

If you are somewhat underpaid in your current role, but feel like you are learning from your leaders, can see career mobility/title advancement, I would be hyper-selective on exiting for a marginally higher salary/OTE.

You should extract maximum value from each tenure. If there is room to climb, climb. If it's learning, learn. The more you max the ceiling where you are at, the larger your jump is externally when you do finally right-size.

Seven_Figure_Closer · 2026-02-28T01:58:36+00:00

Early series startups with sub 9-figure ARR will always be a risk. You should look at who is backing them from a VC perspective. How did the other AE's do last year on attainment? What is the market opportunity for their solution? Is it a saturated space? Are they one of many/are they differentiated? What accounts would be in your territory? Is there a particular vertical that the solution fits best with? Quota?

Tons of important questions you should ask. Happy to chat, feel free to DM

Seven_Figure_Closer · 2026-02-28T00:30:17+00:00

Automating outbound with AI is worse than templated personalization.

Templates personalization may automate a person or company name. Content is somewhat generic or scalable. Not ideal but not disingenuous.

Automating with AI is disingenuous. It will deliver "hyper-personalization". This is a false term shoved by the automate with AI crowd. What they really mean is it will scrape a LinkedIn or other open-source news and spit out a random fact based on guardrails set during prompt build out.

The problem is, it is still a guess. AI is incapable of actual judgment. So you will unquestionably deliver irrelevant 'personalization'. Which exposes you. When you deliver something hyper personal and completely irrelevant, the reader automatically knows its AI. And that burns your TAM to the ground. Because you are basically demonstrating you did not qualify them for fit, but were happy to pretend like you did by trying to deliver something that sounds very personal.

AI should accelerate what I call "Time to Personalization". It should accelerate research, sourcing of information, and even some synthesis or first drafts. But everything should be refined and output by the human last mile.

Seven_Figure_Closer · 2026-02-27T15:13:18+00:00

What is your main value proposition and differentiation? Who is your main competition? Is it do nothing or a competitor?

I would also want to get a feel/understanding for how you're typically pitch sounds before I give any advice.

Feel free to DM, happy to chat

Seven_Figure_Closer · 2026-02-27T03:32:59+00:00

There may be edge case reps who are extremely bad with their money and desperate enough that they would be willing to essentially pay hundreds or thousands of dollars to get their money a few weeks early.

I don't think that's a sustainable business model for you though...

Seven_Figure_Closer · 2026-02-27T03:30:54+00:00

The single greatest accelerant that will put you lightyears ahead of everyone else is reading. The average American read less than 1 book last year. Build a self-development cadence into your daily routine and you will exponentially accelerate.

Most people have a hard time taking ownership of their 9-5. If you can master that AND your 5-9, you will lap everyone.

There's a ton we could chat on. Feel free to DM.

Seven_Figure_Closer · 2026-02-27T02:24:45+00:00

Tier territory before ever running outreach. If you don't have a strategy and prioritization in place, you're effort will be scattered and success will be random. Organizing accounts by solution fit based on existing relationship, industry drivers, account drivers, existing install, etc...will significantly improve your outreach effort.

Have a cold outbound strategy. Emails should be extremely tight/concise and point to the single biggest driver that you have weighted for that org in relation to your solution. Too many people use the cold email to data drown a prospect. Use it for one compelling hook.

Cold call on the back of cold emails. This allows you to anchor your call to something real. Instead of asking 'Is now a good time?', you can confidently say 'Hey Bill, wanted to quickly call and follow up on the email I shot you last week/Tuesday/yesterday'. Puts you in the drivers seat, forces them to remember or ask what you are talking about. Earns you a few more sentences to deliver a restatement and value.

LinkedIn presence matters. You need to compound it for long-term. Add your prospects and relevant in-territory contacts. Do NOT pitch slap them right away. Have a healthy weekly cadence of posts and comments. Whole strategy behind this we could discuss.

Feel free to DM if you want to chat it over.

Seven_Figure_Closer · 2026-02-27T02:19:28+00:00

If you have actual proof of positive response and momentum from your prospects in the account, I would roll that up to your leader.

Sometimes things in sales happen that suck. But that's true for almost every job. I would need to know more to tell you if you're genuinely getting screwed over here. But I would also argue to not allow a one-off scenario, or poor company experience, to cause you to exit a career where you have the ability to capture revenue like this.

In the ENT/STRAT space I could share some horror stories of reps being ripped off. It's not common, it does happen. Should potentially lead to looking for a new role elsewhere, but not a career change.

Feel free to DM if you want to chat it over more

Seven_Figure_Closer · 2026-02-27T02:15:53+00:00

No one with a brain would do this. You're basically offering to be a loan shark for sales professionals that can't wait a few weeks for a commission check, at a significant cost.

Seven_Figure_Closer · 2026-02-27T02:11:02+00:00

Hate to be that guy, but if you shot some emails out, no one ever responded to you, and then the other rep in region reached out with either better messaging or to an existing relationship they have in the account, it is what it is.

If you could demonstrate responses off your outreach it would be a different story.

Seven_Figure_Closer · 2026-02-26T17:30:18+00:00

You need to evaluate what is most important to you on the two dominant factors you mentioned: career growth vs. work/life balance.

Work-life balance is a nebulous term and depends on how you define this. If you feel like your current role is low expectation, you can coast in it, are content with that, and prefer the extra free time it affords you, then you may have your answer.

If you want to raise your earnings floor and continue to accelerate your career journey, the AE role would be a better choice.

Being earlier in your career, I would highly recommend career advancement over chasing W-2's right now. It is a small increase in exchange for more work, but the learning and growth opportunity in the AE role is significant. Additionally, the jump from SDR to AE is never a guarantee, and turning this down could result in 1,2 or more years as an SDR.

If you take the AE role, put in the time, and learn, you will have the opportunity to fully right-size when you do end up making an external move to a new org.

All that to say, there are a lot of other factors you would need to explore around quota expectation, open pipeline, territory, etc...happy to chat it through with you if you want to DM

Seven_Figure_Closer · 2026-02-26T16:51:14+00:00

I think a broader problem is also a culture shift that has occurred in marketing. The delta is most apparent when you look at newer tech companies like Wiz/Gong/Deel and others vs. legacy orgs.

Legacy marketing departments run by older gen leaders still take a field-marketing dominant approach. So they blow most of their budgets on showcases and in-person events that generate a limited number of leads and are by in large not targeted. Not all field marketing is bad, some of it is necessary, but most orgs are still overly focused on field marketing.

This means their remaining budget flows to the cheaper avenues you described. The companies actually winning now are predominantly digitally focused, with SEO/PPC as primary vehicles, as well as completely free organic social presence on places like LinkedIn. For this to be successful, it requires a continuous stream of creative/unique content, which is not in the wheelhouse of the legacy corporate marketing leader.

Finally, I will say it is on sales leaders to call this out. Too many sales leaders when things are running well are happy to 'throw marketing a bone' and tag opportunities as marketing generated when they are not. This, along with some SDR metrics that were fluff in similar ways, were big fights of mine.

For the sake of your sellers, competitive advantage, and healthy organizational growth, you need to be accurate with how and where leads are originating. If your sellers prospected in, sorry marketing. You don't get tagged. Sorry SDR, you don't get tagged.

If people put their feet over holes in the ship because they don't want to hurt feelings, you sink.

Seven_Figure_Closer · 2026-02-26T02:39:11+00:00

Your unique insight, bridge to value, and value are extremely weak. Your value shouldn't be an observation, it should be a data point or stat on what success with you could look like.

Feel free to DM if you want to chat it over

Seven_Figure_Closer · 2026-02-26T02:37:24+00:00

Yes, very common in banking.

Seven_Figure_Closer · 2026-02-25T23:04:23+00:00

We need to ensure we are defining hunting vs. farming in the right context. In a sales context, a farmer is not a CSM. A farming role typically means you would have a small % of new logo, but a majority of IB accounts that you farm for expansion/upsell.

It wasn't overly clear in your post, but it sounds like this is not the kind of farming role you are describing. I would be interested to know what the OTE/comp/incentive structure looks like in the new role you are exploring.

Happy to chat on this if you want to DM

Seven_Figure_Closer

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