Account Executive

Expert-level sales execution for revenue growth.

Core Competencies

• Pipeline management
• Discovery and qualification
• Solution selling
• Negotiation
• Deal closing
• Account planning
• Forecasting
• Relationship building

Sales Process

Sales Stages

STAGE 1: PROSPECT (10%)
├── Lead identified
├── Initial outreach
└── Meeting scheduled

STAGE 2: DISCOVERY (20%)
├── Pain points identified
├── Budget confirmed
├── Decision process understood
└── Timeline established

STAGE 3: DEMO/EVALUATION (40%)
├── Solution presented
├── Technical validation
├── Value proposition aligned
└── Stakeholders engaged

STAGE 4: PROPOSAL (60%)
├── Proposal delivered
├── Pricing discussed
├── Terms negotiated
└── Champion confirmed

STAGE 5: NEGOTIATION (80%)
├── Contract reviewed
├── Legal/procurement engaged
├── Final terms agreed
└── Signatures pending

STAGE 6: CLOSED WON (100%)
├── Contract signed
├── Payment terms confirmed
└── Handoff to CS

Stage Criteria

Discovery

MEDDIC Framework

M - Metrics
    What measurable outcomes does the customer want?
    "What would success look like? How would you measure it?"

E - Economic Buyer
    Who has the budget authority?
    "Who ultimately approves this purchase?"

D - Decision Criteria
    What factors will drive the decision?
    "What are your must-haves vs nice-to-haves?"

D - Decision Process
    How will they evaluate and decide?
    "Walk me through your evaluation process."

I - Identify Pain
    What problem are they trying to solve?
    "What's the impact of not solving this?"

C - Champion
    Who will advocate for you internally?
    "Who else shares your vision for this?"

Discovery Questions

Situation:

• Tell me about your current process for [X]
• What tools/systems are you using today?
• How is your team structured?

Problem:

• What’s working well? What’s not?
• What happens when [problem] occurs?
• How often does this happen?

Impact:

• What’s the cost of this problem?
• How does this affect your team?
• What happens if you don’t solve this?

Need:

• What would an ideal solution look like?
• What’s most important to you?
• By when do you need this solved?

Qualification Scorecard

Score Interpretation:

• 25-30: Strong opportunity
• 18-24: Work on weak areas
• <18: Needs more qualification

Pipeline Management

Pipeline Hygiene

Weekly Review:

• Update all opportunity stages
• Verify close dates
• Confirm next steps
• Remove stale deals
• Add new opportunities

Monthly Review:

• Analyze win/loss reasons
• Review pipeline coverage
• Assess forecast accuracy
• Identify coaching opportunities

Pipeline Coverage

PIPELINE COVERAGE = Total Pipeline Value / Quota

Targets:
- Early quarter: 4-5x coverage
- Mid quarter: 3x coverage
- Late quarter: 1.5-2x coverage

By Stage:
- Commit: 1x quota minimum
- Best Case: 1.5x quota
- Pipeline: 3x quota

Forecast Categories

Negotiation

Negotiation Principles

1. Never Negotiate Against Yourself

• Wait for their counter
• Silence is powerful
• Don’t offer discounts unprompted

2. Trade, Don’t Give

• Always get something in return
• “If I do X, will you do Y?”
• Maintain value perception

3. Understand Their Constraints

• Budget limits
• Approval thresholds
• Timing pressures

4. Create Win-Win

• Find creative solutions
• Expand the pie
• Long-term relationship focus

Common Objections

Discount Guidelines

DISCOUNT TIERS

Standard (0-10%):
- AE authority
- No approval needed

Moderate (10-20%):
- Manager approval
- Requires justification

Deep (20-30%):
- Director approval
- Strategic justification
- Quid pro quo required

Exception (30%+):
- VP approval
- Executive sponsor
- Documented business case

Account Planning

Account Plan Template

# Account Plan: [Account Name]

## Account Overview
- Industry: [Industry]
- Revenue: $[Amount]
- Employees: [Number]
- Current ARR: $[Amount]

## Relationship Map
| Name | Title | Relationship | Influence |
|------|-------|--------------|-----------|
| [Name] | [Title] | Champion | High |
| [Name] | [Title] | Economic Buyer | High |

## Opportunity Assessment
- Whitespace: $[Amount]
- Current products: [List]
- Expansion opportunities: [List]

## Account Strategy
### Short-term (90 days)
- [Goal 1]
- [Goal 2]

### Long-term (12 months)
- [Goal 1]
- [Goal 2]

## Action Plan
| Action | Owner | Date | Status |
|--------|-------|------|--------|
| [Action] | [Name] | [Date] | [Status] |

## Risks
- [Risk 1]: [Mitigation]

Sales Metrics

Activity Metrics

Outcome Metrics

Reference Materials

• references/discovery.md – Discovery framework
• references/negotiation.md – Negotiation tactics
• references/objections.md – Objection handling
• references/forecasting.md – Forecasting best practices

Scripts

# Pipeline analyzer
python scripts/pipeline_analyzer.py --data opportunities.csv

# Forecast calculator
python scripts/forecast.py --pipeline pipeline.csv --quarter Q4

# Win/loss analyzer
python scripts/win_loss.py --deals closed_deals.csv

# Account planner
python scripts/account_plan.py --account "Account Name"