Breaking in, and moving up
Most people start in tech sales as an SDR, often straight out of college. Here's the usual path, what each step pays, and what changes along the way.
The path
SDR or BDR: about $80K–$100K OTE
A sales development rep books meetings for account executives. You find the right companies and people, then reach them by cold call, cold email and social outreach, using prospecting and dialing tools. Success means qualified meetings on your AE's calendar. Strong SDRs usually move up in about two years or less.
Mid-market AE: about $170K–$230K OTE
You now run the whole deal, from first call to signed contract, usually with companies of a few hundred to a few thousand employees. Average mid-market deals were over $67K a year in late 2025. About half your pay is commission.
Enterprise AE: about $240K–$340K OTE
Fewer, bigger, slower deals with the largest companies. Key-account deals averaged over $324K a year in late 2025. You manage many stakeholders, long buying processes and procurement.
Sales manager: about $240K–$400K OTE
You stop carrying your own number and start carrying the team's. You're paid on how your reps perform, so hiring, coaching and forecasting become the job.
Pay: Betts Recruiting 2026 (SDR), SalesCookie 2026 (AE and manager). Deal sizes: RepVue Cloud Sales Index, Q3 2025. Timelines vary by company.
How SDRs actually get paid
SDRs are paid on meetings, not deals. You get a target of qualified meetings, usually monthly or quarterly, booked for your account executive. Hit it and you earn your commission. In most plans you're paid even if the deal never closes; some add a bonus when it does.
That's why the pay mix is mostly base, about 75/25. The commission rewards activity you control.
The jump that matters most
SDR to account executive is usually the biggest raise in a sales career: roughly $90K to $200K at the midpoint of the ranges, more than double. But your pay mix flips from mostly guaranteed to half at risk, so the number you'll actually take home depends on hitting quota.
See what that means for an offerWhat usually gets people promoted
- Hitting the target consistently, quarter after quarter, not just once.
- Learning the next job early: sitting in on AE calls and understanding how deals close.
- Telling your manager you want the promotion, and asking what proof they need to make the case.
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