Aligning Job Titles and Role Responsibilities: A Guide for Early-Stage Software Companies

In this article, I will explore the key Job Titles and role responsibilities that I have seen work well in high-growth SaaS organisations (Seed to Series B) ‘Outbound Sales’ functions, from entry-level to executive positions.

The premise of this article came about as a vast number of software businesses I work with at an early stage of growth often find themselves guilty of over-inflating employee titles to attract talent.

While over-inflating employee titles may attract talent in the short term, it can create long-term challenges for the business, such as:

1. Employee Expectations: When businesses over-inflate employee titles, it can create unrealistic expectations for the employees. For example, if an employee is hired as a "Director of Sales" but their actual responsibilities are more in line with that of a mid-level manager, they may feel misled or undervalued.
2. Role Ambiguity: Over-inflated titles can lead to ambiguity around roles and responsibilities. This can cause confusion among employees and lead to inefficiencies in the workplace.
3. Recruitment Challenges: Over-inflating employee titles can make it difficult for businesses to find the right candidates for the job. If the job title doesn't accurately reflect the job responsibilities, candidates may be discouraged from accepting the role
4. Retention Issues: Employees may become dissatisfied and disengaged if their job title doesn't accurately reflect their role and responsibilities. This can lead to higher turnover rates and increased recruitment costs.
5. Reputation Damage: Over-inflating employee titles can damage a business's reputation if customers recognise that employees with inflated titles do not have the expertise or experience that their titles imply.

Taking into account the factors discussed above and my experience of working in the high-growth SaaS market, I am confident that the following Sales Organisational structure is a tried and tested formula for software businesses looking to scale their commercial teams.

Sales Development Representatives (SDRs) & Business Development Representatives (BDRs): Are responsible for prospecting new clients and qualifying leads via outbound methods. They typically use a variety of tactics, such as cold calling, emailing, and social media outreach, to engage potential customers. SDRs & BDRs work closely with Account Executives ensuring they have a steady pipeline of qualified leads and meetings with net new logos. This is an entry-level position in a SaaS business and a typical time frame for an SDR or BDR to stay in this role is anywhere from 6 months to 2 years (typically 12 months) before they move on to becoming an Account Executive, CSM, Pre-Sales or Marketing specialists.

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• Tip: A typical ratio would be 1 SDR/BDR for every 2 AEs.
• Salary: Anywhere from ￡35k to ￡55k base + 50% OTE (rare to have shares)

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Inside Sales Representatives (ISRs): These are typically found in product-led growth organisations where there is a strong focus on driving inbound revenue and as a result an ISR is usually responsible for closing smaller deal sizes that result from inbound leads. They work closely with the marketing team to help drive these inbound leads, identify potential customers, and build relationships with them. Inside Sales Representatives are typically entry-level positions, but they play a crucial role in the sales process and can be a stepping stone to higher-level Sales, Customer Success, and Marketing positions.

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• Tip: Closing warmer leads from inbound inquiries at circa $10k or less.
• Salary: Ranges from ￡35k to ￡55k base + 50% OTE (rare to have shares)

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?Account Executives (AEs): These are new logo business hunters and are responsible for closing deals as individual contributors. They work closely with BDRs/SDRs to identify new opportunities and develop target accounts. Account Executives are typically net new logo hunters, are meeting clients face to face for the first time (and are natural at being client-facing) and have a good understanding of the company's SaaS product, and can carry out live demos. A typical AE will be responsible for closing anywhere from 500k to 1m per annum of new logo revenue.

• Tip: Many companies teach, coach, and train their AEs in established sales methodologies such as MEDDIC, Challenger, & Solution Selling.
• Salary: Anywhere from ￡50k to ￡90k base + 100% OTE (not common to have shares)

Senior Account Executives: These are responsible for closing new business with the company’s larger enterprise accounts and are again individual contributors. They often have 1 BDR assigned to them to ensure they are targeting key new flagship accounts. Senior Account Executives are typically more strategic, capable of landing larger deals, and have previously been a BDR, SDR, and AE and have a few years of experience in selling your product or a similar one and have a greater understanding of your company's offering and a wider variety of understanding around the different Sales Methodologies.

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• Tip: A Senior AE should be able to think strategically and identify opportunities for growth.
• Salary: Anywhere from ￡75k to ￡110k base + 100% OTE (not common to have shares)

Sales Manager: This role is typically needed at an established Series A business / Early Series B, where there is a substantial team of AEs in the company and needs Sales Managers to oversee pods/teams of AEs and Senior AEs. A Sales Manager is typically focused on driving a team towards a net new revenue number. They come with a hunter mindset, demonstrate leadership qualities, typically develop sales strategies and tactics, coach, and mentor their team members, and analyse sales data to drive increased efficiencies and revenue growth.

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• Tip: A good ratio is 1 Sales Manager for 5 to 8 (Max) direct reports.
• Salary: Anywhere from ￡75k to ￡100k base + 100% OTE (Shares dependent on experience).

Sales Director: This is a common over-leveraged title that I see in early-stage SaaS businesses and a title that needs to be carefully considered before hiring at this level / promoting internally. In my opinion, a Sales Director in an early-stage SaaS business should be a high-performing individual contributor who can open up your largest target accounts, can close 7-figure deals, manage 12-month (plus) sales cycles, and can navigate multiple senior stakeholders during the process. A Sales Director is often considered a thought leader in their vertical/subject area through years of experience and success as an individual contributor.

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• Tip: Their base salary is typically 10% of their target, so if their target is ￡1m their salary is usually ￡100k base, and then their bonus is 100% on top.
• Salary: ￡90k to ￡125k base + 100% OTE + Shares LTIP.

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Vice President/Head of Sales: In a Series A–C business these are your senior commercial leaders who are highly effective at growing and scaling high-performing sales teams and ensuring the overall sales performance of the company. They develop sales strategies, set sales targets, and work closely with other executives to ensure the company is meeting its revenue goals. In a Seed/Series A business, they are likely to be a hands-on player/coach or first-line manager who is not afraid to get their hands dirty and can often be your first hire in a new region/country. From Series B onwards they will be less hands-on with selling, and more focused on 2nd line management and improving sales efficiencies, sales strategies, and overall direction of sales growth.

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• Tip: A typical ratio includes no more than 6 direct reports to your Head of Sales and these direct reports are usually managers of sales teams. This role is typically the entry point to owning a P&L.
• Salary: ￡120k to ￡175k + 100% OTE + Equity

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Managing Director/General Manager: MDs and GMs are uncommon in Seed/Series A businesses as the role is often covered by a VP/Head of Sales/Founder. The MD/GM position is more often seen in large Series-B and established Series-C businesses and is typically there to oversee a country/region outside of the HQ to ensure that all departments are working towards the company's goals. They typically have a broad range of responsibilities, including setting overall strategy, managing budgets, and developing a region's roadmap. The likelihood is this hire will manage multiple commercial teams across Sales, Partnerships, Customer Success, Account Management, Marketing, and RevOps.

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• Tip: Manager of a region and likely to manage multiple commercial teams across Sales, Partnerships, Customer Success, Account Management, Marketing, and RevOps.
• Salary: ￡150k to ￡200k + 100% OTE + Equity

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Chief Revenue Officer: The Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) is responsible for maximising the company's revenue across all channels. They develop strategies to increase sales, identify new revenue streams, and ensure alignment across all departments. Typically, these heads are in the same country as the company's HQ. Unless you are a well-established business, with upwards of $10m ARR with an established sales team then my advice would be that you do not require a CRO and can manage the sales growth very effectively with a VP/Head of Sales. This then gives you headroom to hire a CRO or promote your VP of Sales/Head of Sales when the time is right and/or you go through another raise.

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• Tip: Make sure you have the right CRO for your next stage of growth - it’s common to have CROs that specialize in taking a business from $10m to $20m ARR and others that are experts scaling a business from $20m to +$50m ARR.
• Salary: ￡200k to ￡275k + 50% to 100% OTE + upwards of 1% Equity

In conclusion, early-stage growth companies in the SaaS space often inflate employee titles to attract talent, but this can create challenges in aligning titles and role responsibilities as the company grows.

This can hinder new hiring and promoting overachievers with appropriate titles to match, leading to difficulties in retaining talent and possibly causing higher attrition rates further down line.

Mapping out your organizational structure early on can ensure clear alignment as your company grows, helping to retain loyal employees and creating a successful long-term culture.

Please do get in touch with me to discuss any of the points in this article or if we can help you to scale your commercial team.