Here’s a short list of important questions to ask in your interview before taking the Comcast Enterprise Account Executive job.
Many salespeople have been lied to in the sales interview process by sales managers who over-inflate earnings potential and other job facts. Unfortunately for you, big companies like Comcast have “truth-stretchers” too.
If you are seriously considering taking the Comcast Enterprise Account Executive (EAE) positon, print out this list and take it with you to each of your 2 or 3 interviews, and document exactly what they say. I’d even be bold and ask the interviewer to review your questions and answers and sign and date the paper. Because if it isn’t in writing, it will be hard to prove and a case of he-said she-said.
I should say that if you are a senior sales person who is looking for a high six-figure sales role, this isn’t the job for you. If you’re a senior sales person expecting to make six-figures your first year, this isn’t the job for you. If you want a hard hunter position with a long sales cycle, with a big company, and plan to be in the position for 5+ years and are happy with a $140K top end, this could be for you. Be sure to read “20 Things You’ll Hate” to get a clearer look at the position.
The Questions:
What is the salary range? (Mine was $65K)
What’s the expected first year commissions paid out? (The 2017 offer letters say that there is $50K of incentive compensation, bringing the target first year compensation to $115K)
What percentage of Enterprise Account Executives take home $115K or more their first year? (My opinion is it is less than 1%)
How much is the commission on a deal? What’s that as a percentage of the total contract value?
What percentage of the commission is paid out on signing? What percentage of the commission is paid out after installation?
How long does it take for the average fiber installation to get permits and fully installed?
What percentage of sold deals never get installed?
What are the Guaranteed Commissions during the ramp period?
How many months are Guaranteed Commissions paid? (It’s 5 although they may say 6 to make is sound longer)
Exactly when do the Guaranteed Commission earnings start? (You earn no Guaranteed Commission during your Zero Month, which could be your first four weeks)
How much is each of the first five months guaranteed commission payments?
How many days after the close of a month will the commissions be paid out?
How much time does it take to ramp to a full funnel and be making consistent monthly earnings?
What marketing is done for fiber Enterprise Solutions?
How many company provided leads can I expect each month?
What scheduled mandatory meetings are there each week? (these cut into prospecting and selling time)
Once a sale is made, how much involvement will I have in “project management” to get the sale installed?
Does Comcast provide all the services a business needs to get our services installed, or does the client need to hire additional IT, network, phone, and others to get our services installed? (Comcast is a plumber and only provides the pipe to the tech closet in the business. The rest is up to the business to figure out)
Please add all your questions and make sure you talk with some of the existing people you’ll be working with.
Good luck. You’ll need it.