Realistic pay bands and timelines for tech sales in Europe, based on a decade of hiring and promoting SDRs and AEs. Figures are on-target earnings: base plus commission at full quota.
Typical time at this step: 12 - 18 months
You open conversations: research, cold calls, emails and LinkedIn, booking qualified meetings for Account Executives. OTE means on-target earnings - base salary plus commission when you hit your meeting and pipeline targets.
How you move up: Promotion comes from consistency: hitting quota several months in a row and showing you can run a discovery call, not just book one.
Typical time at this step: 2 - 4 years
You own the full sales cycle: discovery, demos, negotiation and closing. Your number is revenue, not meetings. The skills that matter shift from volume to qualification and multi-threading.
How you move up: Strong AEs get promoted by proving forecast accuracy - calling their number quarter after quarter - and by mentoring the SDRs around them.
Typical time at this step: 5+ years
Team lead, manager, then Head of Sales. You stop carrying a personal number and own the team's: hiring, coaching, pipeline reviews and the playbook everyone runs.
How you move up: Leaders are made by building other sellers. Every step up is evidence you can make other people hit their number.
Play with the numbers yourself in the interactive career path and earnings estimator.
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