I am currently an AE for 2 years an seeking to move into a Sales Leadership position. Would someone recommend taking a BDR Leadership role to gain experience and improve chances of moving into a Sales Leadership position later on? Or is transitioning from BDR Leadership to Sales Leadership actually even harder?
Hey there! This is a great and nuanced question and I'm going to give you some thoughts from my career managing both AEs and SDRs. I think that if you transitioned from an SDR to SDR leadership WITHOUT any experience as an AE, it will be very difficult to then transition over to lead AEs, since you have zero experience in a closing role. Having some experience as an AE will certainly help. You have 2 years of AE experience. That said, even with a couple years of SDR leadership experience, when you transition over to an AE leadership role, it will likely be a first line leadership position. I don't think you can parlay your couple years of SDR leadership experience into a second line or higher leadership role. So in this case if you do decide to move into an SDR leadership position please consider that. Also, you should have this very conversation with your current organization. Also you should have a plan to get to that AE leadership role within 24 months as well. Good luck!
Maybe it's just me, but seems like a very short amount of time to be an AE before hoping to move into leadership. If you're making plans for your career, that's awesome. Not enough people do that. See if a sales leader you like at your current org will mentor you. Otherwise, I'd say stay an AE and keep crushing your quota for a few more years.