What Makes a Great Account Executive: A Framework for Evaluating Sales Talent

In today's competitive sales landscape, being an exceptional account executive requires a diverse set of skills and capabilities. While each role may prioritize different skills, most positions share a common set of broad competencies. For instance, an enterprise sales role demands a significant amount of strategic thinking, whereas an SMB role might require less. However, this doesn't mean that an SMB account executive shouldn't practice strategic thinking about accounts or that it won't help them close more deals. Having a framework to define excellence helps leaders elevate their teams and enables individuals to map out their own career development goals.

An account executive capabilities framework/rubric can be found here, and we will use this framework to outline the capabilities that an exceptional account executive possesses. The framework focuses on sales skills rather than intrinsic characteristics. This isn't to say that intrinsic characteristics like grit and tenacity are unimportant or that they cannot be developed, but they are not reviewed in the capabilities framework. According to the assessment rubric outlined in the "Account Executive Capabilities" document, truly outstanding account executives excel in three key areas: Sales Funnel Management, Selling, and Closing. Let's dive into what sets apart the exceptional from the merely adequate in each of these domains.

For an editable PowerPoint version of the account executive capabilities framework please reach out via the contact page.

Sales Funnel Management

An exceptional account executive is a master of the sales funnel, demonstrating prowess in opportunity identification, account planning, resource management, and pipeline management.

1. Opportunity Identification and Conversion: 

Top performers are entrepreneurial in their approach to lead generation. They don't just rely on supporting functions but actively leverage their internal and external networks to uncover potential leads. They engage with multiple contacts at a merchant organization and consistently convert leads into solid sales opportunities.

2. Account Planning and Strategy: 

Exceptional account executives build and maintain robust account plans that look beyond the current sales cycle. They identify long-term solution-selling opportunities and actively align all stakeholders, including their manager and the merchant's decision-makers, with their strategic vision.

3. Resource Management: 

The best in the field fully utilize all resources at their disposal throughout the sales funnel. They leverage sales assets and subject matter experts effectively, allowing them to focus their time on high-value selling activities. This efficiency enables them to close deals well within target sales timelines.

4. Pipeline Management and Forecasting: 

Top account executives are proactive in building and managing their pipeline. They generate insights from current performance, consistently update deal statuses in CRM systems, and communicate proactively with their managers. Their forecasts are consistently accurate due to diligent record-keeping and a systematic approach to moving merchants through the sales process.

Selling

Exceptional account executives stand out in their selling capabilities, particularly in relationship building, prospecting, executive presence, and product expertise.

1. Relationships, Networking, and Partnerships: 

The best account executives build trust and confidence with cross-functional stakeholders at all levels of an organization. They're sought after by C-level executives as trusted collaborators and advisors on pressing business needs. They often extend their relationship-building beyond the client organization, leveraging industry-wide connections to meet customer needs.

2. Prospecting: 

Top performers are highly creative and customized in their outreach efforts. They build detailed org charts for their accounts and have engagement strategies for each persona. They collaborate effectively with marketing and SDR teams to drive demand and are adept at identifying compelling events to engage merchants.

3. Executive Presence and Understanding the Customer: 

Exceptional account executives perform extensive discovery of client situations through both formal and informal means. They leverage their deep industry knowledge and market trend awareness to uncover current and future business opportunities for merchants. Their strong business acumen allows them to understand and articulate the needs of their customers' businesses effectively.

4. Product, Architecture, and Industry Expertise: 

The best in the field are highly knowledgeable about their solution portfolio, fluent in both business value propositions and technical specifications. They understand the broader technical architecture used by customers and proactively engage product specialists for complex deals. They consistently sell across the entire solution portfolio and stay up-to-date with new products and features.

Closing

Finally, exceptional account executives excel in the crucial phase of closing deals, demonstrating superior skills in value delivery, progressing deals, and handling objections.

1. Value Delivery: 

Top performers are adept at building deal solutions that precisely meet merchant needs. They leverage their deep understanding of the customer's business to craft solutions that deliver tangible value and address specific pain points.

2. Progressing to Meaningful Next Steps: 

Exceptional account executives deliver distinctive verbal presentations that clearly map solution benefits and ROI to the merchant's unique challenges. They leverage data, case studies, and industry knowledge to communicate new and forward-looking insights for the merchant, consistently moving deals forward.

3. Objection Handling: 

The best account executives have a refined, natural process for dealing with customer concerns. They remain calm and disarming, leveraging social proof and a focus on customer needs when responding to objections. Their approach is deliberate and considerate, demonstrating a deep understanding of the customer's perspective.

Exceptional account executives are not just salespeople; they are strategic partners to their clients, masters of the sales process, and experts in their field. They combine deep industry and product knowledge with outstanding interpersonal skills and a proactive, entrepreneurial mindset. By excelling across all these areas, they not only meet but consistently exceed their targets, driving value for both their organization and their clients.