AE, SDR & CSM Competency Framework

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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Objection Handling (Gatekeeper-Level) — Navigates the initial resistance ("not interested," "send an email," gatekeepers) distinct from AE-level negotiation objections. Indicator: meeting-hold rate.
5. Activity Discipline & Sequence Adherence — Sustains volume and cadence consistency without quality collapse under pressure. Indicator: activity-to-target ratio stays stable week over week.
6. 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

1. 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.
2. Value Articulation & Business Case Building — Builds and defends an ROI/business case in the buyer's own terms. Indicator: win rate against competitive alternatives.
3. 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.
4. Negotiation & Deal Structuring — Manages pricing, terms, and procurement without over-discounting or losing momentum. Indicator: average discount vs. plan; cycle time in negotiation stage.
5. Forecast Accuracy & Pipeline Discipline — Calls the number accurately, updates stages honestly, doesn't sandbag or oversell. Indicator: forecast accuracy variance quarter over quarter.
6. 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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Product / Use-Case Expertise — Deep enough product fluency to consult on usage, not just relay support tickets. Indicator: usage/adoption metrics per account.
4. 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.
5. Expansion/Upsell Identification — Surfaces genuine expansion opportunity grounded in usage data, without turning the relationship transactional. Indicator: expansion ARR sourced or influenced.
6. 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

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.