Founding Account Executive

As a Founding Account Executive at Blacksmith, you will be tasked with generating and nurturing your sales pipeline independently. You'll reach out to potential customers, initiate conversations, and leverage your skills in selling enterprise developer tools. The role emphasizes not just account management but also requires tenacity in hunting for new opportunities while collaborating with our growing team. You're encouraged to be curious and explore innovative sales techniques to boost your success.

To thrive as a Founding Account Executive at Blacksmith, you should have a proven track record of selling enterprise developer or infrastructure tools, ideally in a sales-led environment. Consistently exceeding quotas in previous roles is crucial. Strong verbal and written communication skills are essential, as you’ll be the primary contact for potential clients. Additionally, comfort in a fast-paced startup environment and an eagerness to create and iterate on processes will set you apart.

Joining Blacksmith as a Founding Account Executive presents an extraordinary opportunity to be part of a fast-growing startup that has quickly reached significant milestones, including $1M in ARR. You'll play a vital role in shaping our sales strategies and will have the chance to experiment with new sales tactics. The collaborative environment and the chance to work directly with the founders in San Francisco make it an enriching experience for ambitious sales professionals.

At Blacksmith, while you will be expected to generate your own leads and pipeline, you'll receive ample support and resources to set you up for success. This includes access to sales tools, mentorship from experienced team members, and collaboration with a driven team focused on innovation in the CI space. The culture encourages experimentation, allowing you to refine and improve your sales techniques continuously.

A Founding Account Executive at Blacksmith can expect a competitive compensation package that includes a base salary along with equity in the company. Additional benefits encompass comprehensive medical, vision, and dental insurance, unlimited paid time off, and the chance to participate in quarterly offsite events. This holistic approach to employee well-being underscores our commitment to attracting and retaining top talent.

When answering this question, you should highlight specific tools you've sold, your understanding of their market landscape, and successful sales strategies you've implemented. Share quantitative data on your achievements to demonstrate your impact, and emphasize how these experiences position you for success at Blacksmith.

In your response, discuss various techniques you use to build a pipeline, such as networking, cold calling, email campaigns, or leveraging social media platforms like LinkedIn. Provide examples of successful campaigns or outreach efforts you've executed and the results they achieved to showcase your proactive nature.

Be prepared to share a compelling story that highlights your strategies and initiatives that led to surpassing sales targets. Include metrics to illustrate your success, and discuss any challenges you faced and how you overcame them.

You'll want to demonstrate familiarity with various sales tools such as CRM software, lead generation tools, and analytics dashboards. Highlight which specific tools you've used and how they’ve improved your efficiency and effectiveness in selling.

Explain your resilient mindset and how you view rejection as a learning opportunity. Share specific techniques you use to stay motivated and keep your spirits high, such as analyzing your approach or seeking feedback.

Do your research and articulate Blacksmith's mission to build a CI cloud and how it disrupts traditional hyperscaler models. Show your enthusiasm for the company and your alignment with its goals to demonstrate that you’re invested in its success.

Prepare a detailed example of a sales strategy you created, outlining the steps taken, the rationale behind it, and the results achieved. Discuss how this experience can be applied to Blacksmith’s context.

Reflect on personal motivations, like achieving results, helping customers, or the thrill of closing deals. This is a chance to express what drives you and how these motivators align with Blacksmith’s objectives.

Discuss the frameworks or methods you follow for prioritizing leads, whether through scoring systems or time management techniques. Provide examples of how you've successfully managed competing priorities in the past.

Consider discussing your approach to both verbal and written communication, emphasizing clarity, conciseness, and adaptability to various audiences. Use examples to illustrate how your communication has aided in developing strong client relationships.