Profile
How Ian became an AE with 0 Closing Experience
About
Challenges
Resources
Ian Sterns
Account Executive at Quantcast
Transition Summary
Business Development Representative @ Axiom
Sales Development Representative @ Okta
Account Executive @ Quantcast
Hey Ian, what are you up to these days?
Hi my name is Ian. I am an Account executive at Quantcast.
Tell us about your career path
So I graduated with an English degree from UC Davis back in June 2019.
When I graduated, I really had no idea what I was going to do so I just started applying for jobs like mad through Handshake, which was UC Davis's career platform.
And I got a job with a company called Axiom, which is an alternative legal services provider. So essentially what they were doing was providing attorneys to companies on an ad hoc basis, for example if an in-house lawyer is on maternity or paternity leave, Axiom would backfill that position.
I was originally interested in the role because I thought about law school. But then I looked at the costs associated with it and the time and I decided against it.
When I applied, it was for a business development role, which was synonymous with sales development representative for the tech industry. So I was cold calling companies trying to open deals for Axiom.
And I had no idea what the role was. I didn't really know about this career path at all when I accepted the opportunity. But I joined and absolutely crushed it, especially on the phones.
I left after about eight to nine months and because I wanted to join the booming tech industry.
I joined a cybersecurity software company, Okta, and was there for a year and a half. I enjoyed it. I liked selling SAAS. But eventually I decided I wanted a closing role. And that's really what led me to Quantcast, a marketing tech company.
My current role at Quantcast is a full cycle account executive role. So we are still wearing the BDR SDR hats in that we're doing prospecting and outreach, but we're also closing the deals that we source ourselves.
How did you know that you wanted to transition into tech from legal services?
One is money. Tech sales has massive OTEs, really good base salaries, and a very positive work culture. I also loved the innovative piece for software.
How did you make that first transition from Axiom (legal services) to Okta (tech)?
Honestly, I just listed results from my jobs and just shot the resume out and got a good amount of interviews for tech SDR positions since I had the sales background.
Another thing that helped is that I'm a very good interviewer. I know I'm very good at cold calling, and that applies to interviews as well.
It comes from my English major background – having a strong vocabulary and ability to persuade. Once I hit the interview stage, I have never not moved past the first stage of an interview process.
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How did you make the transition from SDR directly into an external AE role?
It's very hard to move from an SDR position to a closing position at another company.
If an SDR is looking to make an external jump to a closing role, they really should look for full cycle sales roles. For finding these roles, I generally just use LinkedIn.
The biggest objection as an SDR interviewing for AE positions is you're interviewing for a closing role with no prior closing experience.
What I would say to that is if you cannot back yourself up with quantifiable metrics like I closed x amount of revenue, you need to back yourself up with the intangible qualities that you bring.
For me, it was my communication skills and I also made it very clear to the hiring manager and my current manager that I am very competitive at everything I do. Leaderboards like the ones in my previous sales jobs at Axiom and Okta really gets me going.
I also showed passion for the job. Passion can be such a buzzword so you have to actually explain your passion. Mine was specifically the passion for persuasion.
Finally, I think what helped me cross the line to get this position was my coachability.
One of the questions I think I was asked, like, how do you prefer to take criticism or how do you prefer to be coached? And I just said be blunt, don't sugarcoat anything. Especially in sales, where time really is money you have to be coachable. You cannot have an ego, especially if you're going into a product or an industry you've never sold before.
I think I did well playing to my strengths.
I have no math proficiency, I can barely do long division. I have no science proficiency, but what I do have is English proficiency, the ability to persuade, and an intuitive sense for how to talk to somebody
I believe communication and persuasion are skills that are hard to train. I was able to display these intangible strengths in an interview. And I think that made me a great candidate despite not having the prior closing experience.
Did you use any resources, courses, or podcasts for your growth?
I don't have any certifications to be honest. I probably should, but I don't. And I didn't really use podcasts or books so I'm probably not the best person to answer that question.
I learned everything on the job.
For all of my sales jobs, I started cold calling before I completed the training and like I was booking stuff pretty quick. I developed an approach that is really specific to me because at its core, the best cold callers need to be themselves and appear human.
For example, I booked a meeting for Quantcast talking mostly about something completely not Quantcast related. My prospect was living in Arizona. I don't know if you're familiar with the book Infinite Jest but it has some vivid descriptions of the Arizona heat.
And I was calling him right when it was 120 degrees down there. And instead of talking about Quantcast we started talking about Infinite Jest.
And he took the call, and we're currently moving on to the next stage of the deal.
Any Challenges?
I think you have to know how to handle rejections. Whether or not you’re in sales, everyone has to deal with rejections: personal, professional, everything.
You have to let rejection wash over you like water over a rock.
Transition Tales