What Challenges Do Account Executives Face When Stepping into Their Role?
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What Challenges Do Account Executives Face When Stepping into Their Role?
Stepping into an Account Executive role comes with its unique set of challenges. To provide you with real-world insights, we've gathered four seasoned Account Executives who share their personal hurdles and triumphs. From understanding your buyer's world to navigating learning curves quickly, discover the strategies that helped these professionals excel in their roles.
- Understand Your Buyer's World
- Embrace the Sales Grind
- Foster Mutually Beneficial Partnerships
- Navigate Learning Curves Quickly
Understand Your Buyer's World
You've probably never truly lived a day in the life of your buyer. But there is nothing more critical to being successful in a new AE role than to quickly build an intimate understanding of your buyer's world.
Mark Cuban credits this very thing as the foundation for successfully building his first business out of college at 24 years old. Because of his industry and buyer acumen, he was able to successfully sell to and consult CIOs who had been in the field longer than he had been alive.
Ten months ago, I transitioned from selling sales training and consulting to sales leaders, to selling event marketing software to marketers in an industry that was entirely foreign to me.
Before I even started the role, I subscribed to every newsletter, listened to as many podcasts, and read as many reports as I could find that I thought my new buyers would care about, and I continue to do this daily.
You may never actually do the job that your buyers are doing today, but there is no better way to establish credibility, build trust, and help advise them as best you can, than to educate yourself in the same way that they do.
Embrace the Sales Grind
The primary challenge within sales is grappling with the inherent grind of the job. This includes the cyclical nature of prospecting, advancing deals, and the reset to $0 at the start of each day, month, and quarter. The way I overcame these challenges is by recognizing the incredible opportunity for learning and growth that this role provides. It's about more than just understanding prospects or engaging customers; it's about honing the fine art of interpersonal dynamics. And let me be clear, the thrill of closing a deal? It's unmatched. The money is nice, too.
Foster Mutually Beneficial Partnerships
There's a shift in mindset that needs to happen in order to begin building truly and mutually beneficial partnerships as an Account Executive. You need to realize that your book of business and potential partners become part of your flock. Their needs become your needs. Their opportunities become your opportunities. Your goal is to assist them however you can to make progress toward achieving their goals.
Navigate Learning Curves Quickly
The challenges were as follows: Learning my company’s services (enough to be dangerous) and the financial expectations between my company and my buyer. The answer? Time