4 skills every AE needs to master

Thinking about becoming an AE? Prepare yourself for a dynamic role encompassing sales responsibilities, client service, and brand representation. Beyond finalizing major deals, the AE position entails managing client needs, establishing as the key point of contact, cultivating new business prospects, and nurturing relationships with existing clientele.

If that sounds like your kind of adventure, anticipate assuming the pivotal role of liaison between your organization and clients, a task that will demand collaboration with all company departments to ensure utmost client satisfaction.

So let’s cut the crap and look through the fog surrounding AEs regarding the skills they should have.

4 skills to master as an AE

Becoming a successful Account Executive who truly comprehends client needs and excels in establishing yourself as the primary point of contact hinges on mastering four essential skills.

1. Self-awareness

It all starts with having the right dose of self-awareness. In a professional environment, there’s nothing more valuable than knowing your strengths and weaknesses. Through a capacity for self-reflecting, you can pinpoint areas to refine, contributing to your journey toward becoming a proficient AE. And speaking of self-awareness, it’s got a lot to do with your adaptability. If you have that growth mindset, you’re on the right track.

2. Social Selling

Harness the power of social media network sites such as LinkedIn to build your personal brand. Amidst all the chatter about social media, it has always been a powerful tool for achieving your goals and growing your career in SaaS sales. 

Once your brand is laid out, the next step is to keep nurturing it by keeping the communication flow steady and frequent. That way, your view, leads and sales will increase. Seriously, it works like a charm.

3. Understand how business works

It’s not just about pushing products or services. You sell solutions to help your customer make money, save time or reduce risk. But remember, it’s not just about mastering tech terminologies; fluency in the language of business is equally paramount.

4. Control the controllable

The ball’s in your court when it comes to your results. So know your KPIs, track your data and understand your stats. A prepared man is worth two, in this case, has never been more accurate.

Be kind to everyone on every level

This is not a skill to teach yourself but an attitude to adopt. Treating everyone with kindness and respect should be your default setting. Who knows when your paths might cross again in the professional world? You wouldn’t want past encounters to cast a shadow on future opportunities, right? 

Ready to excel as an AE?

If you have the ambition, the growth mindset, the right skills and attitude, I’m confident you will excel in your role as AE. It’s all about making the most of the resources at your disposal. Utilize a platform like LinkedIn to build your personal brand, assemble a strong team you can rely on, and most importantly, take care of yourself and dare to be critical of your own performance.