An account executive, or AE, is the B2B sales role that owns the deal from qualification to close. The SDR or BDR books a qualified meeting; the AE takes it from there — running discovery, handling objections, building the proposal, negotiating, and getting the contract signed. The AE carries a revenue quota and is paid a meaningful chunk of their OTE on commission. It is the natural promotion from SDR and the gatekeeper of the closing side of the career.
In plain English
If the SDR is the person who starts the deal, the AE is the person who finishes it. They turn a meeting into a signed customer. That is the biggest difference between the two: the SDR's number is meetings; the AE's number is revenue closed.
How it's actually used
"Book the SDR meeting, close it on the AE call." When an SDR hands over a qualified lead, the AE runs the discovery conversation, decides whether it is worth pursuing, and if so drives it to proposal and signature. Teams measure AEs on quota attainment and win rate, and on how much of their OTE they actually earn.
Why it matters to you
AE is where the money and the ceiling are. Commission on closed revenue is how a sales career compounds, and the AE role is the step that unlocks the close — the AE is the closer, the person who owns the deal to signature. Getting there from SDR usually takes a year of consistently booked meetings and a demonstrated ability to handle the full cycle. It is the second rung, and for most people the reason they took the first.
The full playbook for earning that second rung lives in the Account Executive track — start with how to become an account executive, weigh whether the job is actually a good one, and study what the job involves day to day before you commit the year to the climb.
For the AE application and hiring funnel, see Account Executive Resume.