Hire an AE who has closed deals at a similar price point and sales cycle length to yours, not the most impressive resume. Your first AE needs to be a hunter who can close without much support. Prioritize coachability, grit, and proof of consistent quota attainment over pedigree.
See what to pay and when to hireEnterprise AEs who have spent five years closing $500K deals are not the same as the person who will thrive closing $15K deals in 60 days at your 30-person startup. The skill sets are genuinely different. Before you post the job, get clear on three things.
Under $20K ACV: hire a high-velocity SMB rep. $20K–$80K ACV: hire a mid-market AE with a consultative sales motion. Over $80K ACV: hire enterprise, but only if your sales cycle is longer than 90 days and your product is genuinely complex.
If your AE needs to source 60% or more of their own pipeline, do not hire a pure closer. You need a hunter-farmer hybrid. Ask for this in the job description and screen hard for it in interviews, ask for their top 3 self-sourced deals from the last 12 months.
A rep at 110% quota at a company where average attainment is 65% is very different from a rep at 85% where average attainment is 90%. Always ask what percentage of the team hit quota when you are evaluating a candidate's numbers.
| Profile | Base | OTE |
|---|---|---|
| SMB AE (10–50 employees) | $55K–$75K | $110K–$140K |
| Mid-Market AE | $75K–$95K | $140K–$180K |
Ramp periods are typically 3 months with a ramp quota at 50–70% of full quota, consistent with Bridge Group AE ramp benchmarks. Do not cap commissions in year one, it kills motivation during ramp.
Ask them to walk you through their single biggest self-sourced deal from scratch, from how they identified the account, to first contact, to close. Then ask what they would do differently. Hunters have a detailed, specific answer. Farmers struggle here.
A founder or non-sales employee has already closed 3–5 customers using a repeatable pitch.
You have a defined ICP and know your sales cycle length.
You have enough inbound or outbound infrastructure to give the AE a pipeline to work with on day one.
Hiring an AE before these are true is expensive and demoralizing for everyone.
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