Account Executive

Sales beginner FOUNDERVP-SALES

What is Account Executive?

An Account Executive is the closing sales role in a SaaS team — the AE runs discovery and demos, manages the deal cycle, negotiates terms, and signs new customers, usually working meetings booked by SDRs.

Also known as: AE

Common Mistakes with Account Executive

Setting AE quotas without reference to ACV and sales-cycle math — a quota an AE cannot cover with available pipeline guarantees turnover.
Keeping AEs on closed-won revenue alone while churn is ignored: pair closing incentives with quality checks like early retention.

Account Executive FAQ

What does an Account Executive do?

An AE owns the deal from qualified meeting to signature: discovery, demo, evaluation, procurement, negotiation, and close. In most SaaS orgs the AE inherits meetings from SDRs and hands new customers to customer success after signing.

What is a typical AE quota in SaaS?

A common rule of thumb is annual quota of 4–5× the AE's on-target earnings. A rep earning $150K OTE would typically carry a $600K–$750K annual quota, adjusted for segment and ACV.

More questions? See the full Account Executive FAQ.

Related Concepts

What is Account Executive?

Common Mistakes with Account Executive

Account Executive FAQ

Related Concepts

Compare

Related terms