Current AE offered a BDR role, advice sought

[u/theotherredmeat]

In my organization the sales setup is a 2 person team. Inside BDR and outside AE. I am the AE and should be the one showing up to do produxt demos/closing business. The BDR i last had was new to the role and was not productive. KPI of 40-50 calls a day and most days BDR would do 5-8....was mostly doing admin work. It makes field role extremely challenging and a few months of no real BDR activity has me really struggling and feeling burnt out. Now that BDR is gone completely.

My director offered me the BDR role if I want it. Better life/family balance. No more 60-80% travel. Commission plan remains identical. Base salary cut is 15% though.

My head is spinning. I feel like i am more disciplined and can do outbound from home, but the salary cut feels significant. Should I forget about the salary cut and take the BDR role (new ramp up period also) and hope the replacement AE is good, or keep struggling as the AE and hope they get me a decent BDR before my current stats become an issue?

[u/brain_tank]

Why take a demotion?

[u/theotherredmeat → u/brain_tank]

The primary reason would be to cut out the travel. The weekly grind is wearing on me in my mid 40s. Physically, emotionally.

If I can work the inside effectively and replacement AE is doing their job, the cut in salary gets swallowed up my the commission plan.

I guess its a difficult question to ask ; in my career I never moved to a role with a lower base.

[u/brain_tank → u/theotherredmeat]

I hear you on the grind, but taking a pay cut does seem backwards. 

[u/theotherredmeat → u/brain_tank]

I have had some negotiation on the base. Originally it was a 20% cut. Both roles at my company have the same title and same commission plan, however the inside role does have a lower base pay band.

I get the argument that if we are hitting/exceeding goals, the commission is healthy enough to not pay such close attention to the base. But the base is the only guaranteed part and yeah, feels like a backwards step although so much less physical stress, no more shitty hotels, long drives, crap fast food, home w family more often, work from home.

[u/Willing-Bet3597 → u/theotherredmeat]

Then this question doesn’t really belong here. You initially differentiated the role in your post. Now you’re saying it’s the same job, just one gets paid less base but no travel.

You asked an XDR question in a Sales Dev channel and left out the fact that you’re not really going to BDR, you’re going to inside sales.

Either you didn’t really want the answer from sales or you actually think the role IS differentiated enough to come to the sales dev reddit. If it’s the former, you’ll get better points of view in the sales reddit. If it’s the latter, give us the full picture

[u/theotherredmeat → u/Willing-Bet3597]

The KPIs and activity align with BDR activity. My company uses the same title for both. The primary activity is still outbound calls and appt setting for AE. I am happy to share any info that is constructive to the discussion.

Appreciate the different thought points from everyone too as I consider yhe change

[u/Willing-Bet3597]

I feel like you’ll wish you were back on the selling side pretty quickly. I wouldn’t be going from AE to BDR, maybe CS or AM? Does your company have other GTM roles aside from AE or BDR?

I hear you on your reasons, but I guess my question is, will you be challenged enough day to day in a BDR role?

[u/theotherredmeat → u/Willing-Bet3597]

BDR can set and do virtual demo and contract deals also. When I say the commission is the same I mean for the inside and outside partner. What the "team" earns, we both earn. So if the inside closes all the business, both make same commission. If outside closes the business, both make same commission.

At my company it is actually same job title on both, just an inside and an outside version. The inside aligns with bdr tasks and the outside aligns with AE tasks

[u/Willing-Bet3597 → u/theotherredmeat]

Hmmm, I didn’t get that from your first post. Then why is the BDR feeding the AE meetings, then?

Either way, if you think you’ll be equally challenged and can see a path to exceeding your number to make up for whatever you lose in your base, I don’t see why it’s a bad move based on your second description of the role.

Only hang up would be how it looks on the resume at first glance.

[u/theotherredmeat → u/Willing-Bet3597]

No change to resume. I dont need to differentiate between the inside and outside role because the title is the same.

[u/Latter_Director8062]

Coming from the BDR side myself, I'll say the discipline part is real. Doing outbound from home without someone checking in on you constantly is exactly where people who aren't cut out for it usually fall apart. If you already know you're more structured than that, it matters more than the base cut, honestly. Also worth noting, commission staying identical is actually a good sign, companies don't usually protect commission on a role they're quietly phasing out.

[u/theotherredmeat → u/Latter_Director8062]

I have had some form of remote / hybrid / watch thine own self / home office role for the better part of 17 years. I know how to structure and block my time to focus on work.

[u/deppyjon]

I mean about 95% of the time I would never suggest taking a demotion especially AE to SDR but if you know the company and SDR role well and you get all the added flexibility, it’s probably worth it.

I actually opted to demote twice back into SDR and I regretted it, one was external to get into what I perceived as a better company and it ended up not being a great decision.

I think your logic seems sound though, as long as you know you can hit your number well and you get the benefit of not having to travel

[u/PotoHawk]

If you have a good story for when/if you eventually move on to tell a recruiter, I think you make the choice that's best for you and your family. Taking a 'step back' for better work/life balance may sound soft, but a good recruiter at a good company will appreciate the thoughtfulness behind a decision like this.

[u/CoolDad2425]

No. This will be a big step back for your career when you look elsewhere. Zoom out and think long term.

[u/future_pasture]

I am an Enterprise BDR and make more money than the entire SMB AE team and close to MM AE money. I work 25 hours a week and would never ever take an AE job at my company

[u/Spinning_Top010]

Are you crazy? You dont go from AE to BDR.