Account Executive / Direct Sales

Account Executive / Direct Sales is an individual-contributor career path within Sales & Revenue. Professionals progress from guided execution to independent delivery, senior problem solving, cross-team leadership and enterprise-level expertise without requiring people management.

Función: Sales & Revenue
Arquetipo: Sales
Nivel más alto: L6 · Senior Principal / Global Strategic Sales Professional

Para qué existe

Enables the organization to deliver reliable outcomes in account executive / direct sales by building progressively deeper expertise, judgment, ownership and business impact.

Responsabilidades típicas

Execute discipline-specific work; apply professional standards; solve increasingly complex problems; collaborate with stakeholders; improve quality and efficiency; share expertise; at senior levels, shape practices and decisions beyond the immediate team.

Dónde se trabaja

Common in Sales & Revenue teams across technology companies, shared-services organizations, consulting firms, multinational operations and other employers that require account executive / direct sales capability.

Cómo avanza la carrera

Sales Associate / Representative → Sales Professional / Account Executive → Senior / Enterprise Sales Professional → Lead / Strategic Sales Professional → Principal / Strategic Sales Professional → Senior Principal / Global Strategic Sales Professional

Niveles de esta carrera

Seis etapas estándar. La séptima existe solo donde la carrera la contempla.

Qué se espera en L4 · Lead / Strategic Sales Professional

Leads complex cross-team work through expertise without direct people management. The focus is successful individual contribution at this stage, not people management.

Las cinco dimensiones que cambian

Autonomía: Leads through expertise with little direction.
Alcance: Multiple projects/teams or a broad domain.
Complejidad: High complexity, dependencies and competing constraints.
Influencia: Cross-team and senior stakeholder influence.
Impacto en el negocio: Shapes practices and materially improves multi-team outcomes.
Ambigüedad: High.

Cómo se ve un buen desempeño

Lead / Strategic Sales Professional consistently demonstrates the expected autonomy and judgment for L4, delivers outcomes appropriate to the scope of the role, applies required Human, Professional and Technical skills at the mapped proficiency, and produces evidence of impact rather than relying on tenure alone.

Evidencia típica

Completed work with measurable quality/outcome; stakeholder feedback; examples of problems solved and decisions made; reusable artifacts or improvements; demonstrated skill proficiency; mentoring/influence evidence at senior levels.

Habilidades esperadas en L4

Agrupadas en humanas, profesionales y técnicas. La proficiencia meta usa la escala P1–P7, y cada fila dice qué significa ese nivel para esa habilidad.

Humanas18

Humanas	P	De apoyo
AccountabilityExecution & Self-Management	P5AdvancedCentral	Recognized advanced practitioner who defines approaches and solves ambiguous cross-team problems.
Active listeningCommunication & Language	P5AdvancedCentral	Recognized advanced practitioner who defines approaches and solves ambiguous cross-team problems.
AdaptabilityExecution & Self-Management	P5AdvancedCentral	Recognized advanced practitioner who defines approaches and solves ambiguous cross-team problems.
Clear verbal communicationCommunication & Language	P5AdvancedCentral	Recognized advanced practitioner who defines approaches and solves ambiguous cross-team problems.
Clear written communicationCommunication & Language	P5AdvancedCentral	Recognized advanced practitioner who defines approaches and solves ambiguous cross-team problems.
CollaborationCollaboration & Relationships	P5AdvancedCentral	Recognized advanced practitioner who defines approaches and solves ambiguous cross-team problems.
Continuous learningExecution & Self-Management	P5AdvancedCentral	Recognized advanced practitioner who defines approaches and solves ambiguous cross-team problems.
Critical thinkingThinking & Problem Solving	P5AdvancedCentral	Recognized advanced practitioner who defines approaches and solves ambiguous cross-team problems.
Cross-functional collaborationCollaboration & Relationships	P5AdvancedCentral	Recognized advanced practitioner who defines approaches and solves ambiguous cross-team problems.
Decision makingThinking & Problem Solving	P5AdvancedCentral	Recognized advanced practitioner who defines approaches and solves ambiguous cross-team problems.
Influencing without authorityInfluence & Leadership Without Authority	P5AdvancedCentral	Recognized advanced practitioner who defines approaches and solves ambiguous cross-team problems.
ProfessionalismEthics & Professional Conduct	P5AdvancedCentral	Recognized advanced practitioner who defines approaches and solves ambiguous cross-team problems.
Stakeholder alignmentInfluence & Leadership Without Authority	P5AdvancedCentral	Recognized advanced practitioner who defines approaches and solves ambiguous cross-team problems.
Structured problem solvingThinking & Problem Solving	P5AdvancedCentral	Recognized advanced practitioner who defines approaches and solves ambiguous cross-team problems.
Time managementExecution & Self-Management	P5AdvancedCentral	Recognized advanced practitioner who defines approaches and solves ambiguous cross-team problems.
Giving constructive feedbackCommunication & Language	P4ProficientDe apoyo	Handles complex situations, adapts methods and guides peers in the skill.
Knowledge sharingCollaboration & Relationships	P4ProficientDe apoyo	Handles complex situations, adapts methods and guides peers in the skill.
MentoringCollaboration & Relationships	P4ProficientDe apoyo	Handles complex situations, adapts methods and guides peers in the skill.

Profesionales14

Profesionales	P	De apoyo
Account planningSales & Commercial Practice	P5AdvancedCentral	Recognized advanced practitioner who defines approaches and solves ambiguous cross-team problems.
Commercial negotiationSales & Commercial Practice	P5AdvancedCentral	Recognized advanced practitioner who defines approaches and solves ambiguous cross-team problems.
Consultative sellingSales & Commercial Practice	P5AdvancedCentral	Recognized advanced practitioner who defines approaches and solves ambiguous cross-team problems.
Contract negotiationSales & Commercial Practice	P5AdvancedCentral	Recognized advanced practitioner who defines approaches and solves ambiguous cross-team problems.
Deal strategySales & Commercial Practice	P5AdvancedCentral	Recognized advanced practitioner who defines approaches and solves ambiguous cross-team problems.
Discovery methodologySales & Commercial Practice	P5AdvancedCentral	Recognized advanced practitioner who defines approaches and solves ambiguous cross-team problems.
Forecast managementSales & Commercial Practice	P5AdvancedCentral	Recognized advanced practitioner who defines approaches and solves ambiguous cross-team problems.
MEDDICC / MEDDPICCSales & Commercial Practice	P5AdvancedCentral	Recognized advanced practitioner who defines approaches and solves ambiguous cross-team problems.
Objection handlingSales & Commercial Practice	P5AdvancedCentral	Recognized advanced practitioner who defines approaches and solves ambiguous cross-team problems.
Opportunity managementSales & Commercial Practice	P5AdvancedCentral	Recognized advanced practitioner who defines approaches and solves ambiguous cross-team problems.
Pipeline managementSales & Commercial Practice	P5AdvancedCentral	Recognized advanced practitioner who defines approaches and solves ambiguous cross-team problems.
Solution sellingSales & Commercial Practice	P5AdvancedCentral	Recognized advanced practitioner who defines approaches and solves ambiguous cross-team problems.
Value-based sellingSales & Commercial Practice	P5AdvancedCentral	Recognized advanced practitioner who defines approaches and solves ambiguous cross-team problems.
Pricing strategySales & Commercial Practice	P4ProficientDe apoyo	Handles complex situations, adapts methods and guides peers in the skill.

Técnicas3

Técnicas	P	De apoyo
Salesforce Sales CloudSales, CRM & Customer Success Platforms	P5AdvancedCentral	Recognized advanced practitioner who defines approaches and solves ambiguous cross-team problems.
LinkedIn Sales NavigatorSales, CRM & Customer Success Platforms	P4ProficientDe apoyo	Handles complex situations, adapts methods and guides peers in the skill.
SalesloftSales, CRM & Customer Success Platforms	P4ProficientDe apoyo	Handles complex situations, adapts methods and guides peers in the skill.

Qué cambia al pasar de L4 a L5

Moving from Lead / Strategic Sales Professional to Principal / Strategic Sales Professional means demonstrating sustained performance at a larger scope with greater autonomy, complexity, influence and business impact—not simply spending more time in role.

Cómo se demuestra que ya estás

Repeatedly performs key aspects of Principal / Strategic Sales Professional before promotion; demonstrates the required skill increases; handles highly complex/systemic problems.; receives credible stakeholder evidence; shows measurable outcomes at the next-level scope.

Cómo prepararse

Take stretch assignments at the next-level scope; deepen the listed skill gaps; seek feedback from experienced practitioners; document measurable outcomes and decisions; mentor/share knowledge where appropriate; pursue relevant learning or certification when it strengthens capability.

Carreras cercanas

Calculadas por habilidades compartidas. Es una señal para explorar, no una garantía de contratación ni de elegibilidad.

Marco de carreras v21, activo desde 17 de agosto de 2026.