AE, SDR & CSM Competency Framework
Defines the distinct competency set behind each go-to-market role so you hire, coach, and promote against skills, not job titles.
How to use it
Use this as the source of truth when writing a job description, building an interview loop, or evaluating an internal promotion: pull the competency list for the target role first, then build everything else (JD, interview questions, scorecard) from it.
What's inside
- 6 core SDR competencies with proficiency indicators
- 6 core AE competencies with proficiency indicators
- 6 core CSM competencies with proficiency indicators
- Shared-vs-distinct competency comparison table across all three roles
- Why title-based hiring fails and how competency-based hiring fixes it
- How to use this framework alongside the JD library and hiring rubric
Hire and coach against the skill set, not the job title
The most common hiring mistake in go-to-market teams is treating SDR, AE, and CSM as points on a single career ladder with the same underlying skill, just "more experienced." They aren't. Each role has a genuinely distinct competency core. This framework defines each, so job descriptions, interview loops, and promotion criteria are built on the right foundation.
SDR / BDR Competencies
- Prospecting & List Research: Builds and prioritizes a target list using firmographic/intent signals rather than working a flat, unqualified list. Indicator: can explain why this account, this contact, this week.
- Cold Outreach Execution: Executes multi-channel sequences (call, email, social) with message quality that adapts to the persona, not a single generic template. Indicator: response/connect rate above team benchmark.
- Qualification & Discovery Framing: Runs a lightweight discovery that sets the AE up, without over-selling or under-qualifying. Indicator: SDR-sourced meetings convert to opportunity at or above team average.
- Objection Handling (Gatekeeper-Level): Navigates the initial resistance ("not interested," "send an email," gatekeepers) distinct from AE-level negotiation objections. Indicator: meeting-hold rate.
- Activity Discipline & Sequence Adherence, Sustains volume and cadence consistency without quality collapse under pressure. Indicator: activity-to-target ratio stays stable week over week.
- Handoff Quality & AE Collaboration: Delivers a clean, context-rich handoff so the AE isn't re-doing discovery from zero. Indicator: AE feedback score on handoff quality.
Account Executive (AE) Competencies
- Deep Discovery & Diagnostic Questioning, Goes beyond the SDR-surfaced pain to the quantified business case. Indicator: deals progress with a documented business impact, not just a stated interest.
- Value Articulation & Business Case Building, Builds and defends an ROI/business case in the buyer's own terms. Indicator: win rate against competitive alternatives.
- Stakeholder Mapping & Multi-Threading: Identifies and engages economic buyer, champion, and technical evaluator rather than staying single-threaded. Indicator: number of engaged contacts per closed-won deal.
- Negotiation & Deal Structuring: Manages pricing, terms, and procurement without over-discounting or losing momentum. Indicator: average discount vs. plan; cycle time in negotiation stage.
- Forecast Accuracy & Pipeline Discipline: Calls the number accurately, updates stages honestly, doesn't sandbag or oversell. Indicator: forecast accuracy variance quarter over quarter.
- Executive Presence & Communication: Holds credibility with senior buyers, adapts register up the org chart. Indicator: ability to run a conversation with a VP/C-level contact independently.
Customer Success Manager (CSM) Competencies
- Onboarding & Time-to-Value Management: Drives the customer to first meaningful value fast, with a structured plan rather than an ad hoc kickoff. Indicator: time-to-first-value against benchmark.
- Relationship & Stakeholder Management (Post-Sale): Maintains multi-threaded relationships through champion turnover, distinct from AE-stage stakeholder mapping. Indicator: account health holds through a champion departure.
- Product / Use-Case Expertise: Deep enough product fluency to consult on usage, not just relay support tickets. Indicator: usage/adoption metrics per account.
- Risk Detection & Churn Signal Reading: Reads usage decline, sentiment shift, and stakeholder disengagement before a renewal conversation, not during it. Indicator: lead time between risk flag and renewal date.
- Expansion/Upsell Identification: Surfaces genuine expansion opportunity grounded in usage data, without turning the relationship transactional. Indicator: expansion ARR sourced or influenced.
- Renewal Process & Commercial Conversation: Runs the actual commercial renewal conversation, including a value recap, confidently. Indicator: GRR on managed book.
Shared vs. Distinct: Comparison Table
| Competency Theme | SDR | AE | CSM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discovery / Diagnostic Questioning | Light, qualifying | Deep, business-case-building | Usage-and-risk diagnostic |
| Stakeholder Engagement | Single contact, gatekeeper nav | Multi-thread, buying committee | Multi-thread through champion turnover |
| Communication Register | Persona-adaptive outreach | Executive presence | Consultative, ongoing relationship |
| Process Discipline | Sequence/cadence adherence | Pipeline & forecast discipline | Health-score & renewal-cycle discipline |
| Commercial Conversation | None (handoff only) | Negotiation & deal structuring | Renewal & expansion conversation |
| Self-Generation | Core to the role | Partial (some self-sourcing expected) | Not applicable: inbound relationship |
Why this matters for hiring: A strong AE candidate is not automatically a strong CSM candidate, and an SDR who's "ready for AE" needs to be evaluated against the AE competency list directly: tenure in the SDR seat is not a proxy for AE-level discovery depth, negotiation skill, or forecast discipline.
Pair this with: the Sales Job Description Library to turn each competency list into a postable JD, and the 7-Competency Hiring Rubric to interview against these competencies directly rather than a generic sales aptitude read.