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Hiring founding sales person to win new business in EdTech can be confusing.
Three companies may advertise almost the same job using three different titles.
One may call the person a founding Account Executive.
Another may use founding Business Development Manager.
A third may advertise for a Sales Manager, even though the person won’t manage anyone.
This creates problems for both companies and candidates.
Companies attract people with the wrong experience. Candidates join expecting one type of role and discover that they’ve been hired to do something completely different.
Before recruiting, the sales or revenue leader needs to define the work, customer, target and level of responsibility.
The title should come last.
EdTech companies sell to a wide range of customers.
These may include:
Selling a low cost classroom tool to individual schools is very different from selling a large platform to a university or multi academy trust.
The salesperson may need to manage:
Job titles don’t always show which of these responsibilities belong to the role.
Current EdTech roles demonstrate this inconsistency. One Account Executive position at Zen Educate owns the full sales cycle, including outreach, discovery, activation, growth and renewal. Current Business Development Manager vacancies also describe responsibility for guiding customers through the full sales process.
That means you can’t rely on the title alone.
Main purpose: Win new customers.
Usually owns: A personal new business revenue target.
Usually closes deals: Yes.
Usually manages people: No.
Main focus: Managing qualified opportunities from prospecting or discovery through to contract.
Main purpose: Create new revenue opportunities.
Usually owns: A personal revenue or pipeline target.
Usually closes deals: Often, but not always.
Usually manages people: No.
Main focus: Prospecting, developing new markets, partnerships or full cycle new business sales.
Main purpose: Lead the sales team.
Usually owns: A team revenue target.
Usually closes deals: Sometimes, particularly on larger or more complex opportunities.
Usually manages people: Yes.
Main focus: Coaching, hiring, forecasting, performance management and delivering the team target.
These definitions are a useful starting point.
They aren’t universal.
Some EdTech companies use Business Development Manager and Account Executive to describe almost the same role.
Some use Sales Manager for an individual salesperson responsible for a region rather than a team.
Your job description must make the responsibilities clear.
An Account Executive is usually an individual contributor who owns a new business sales target.
They may be responsible for:
At a larger company, an Account Executive may receive qualified meetings from a Sales Development Representative.
At a smaller EdTech company, they may need to build most of their own pipeline.
That distinction matters.
A candidate who has performed well with ten qualified meetings provided each week may struggle when asked to create opportunities from scratch.
A new business Account Executive should normally own:
Be specific about whether they are responsible for outbound prospecting.
A job description shouldn’t say that marketing will provide leads when the reality is that the salesperson must find most opportunities themselves.
An Account Executive may be the right hire when:
An Account Executive shouldn’t be hired to discover whether there is a market while also carrying a full revenue target.
They can improve the sales process.
They can’t create demand for a product that customers don’t need.
Business Development Manager is one of the least consistent titles in EdTech.
It can describe several different jobs.
Some Business Development Managers focus mainly on creating opportunities.
They may:
This role may also be called Sales Development Representative or Business Development Representative.
Some companies use Business Development Manager as another name for Account Executive.
The person prospects, runs meetings, demonstrates the product, negotiates and closes.
This is common in smaller EdTech businesses where sales roles cover a wider range of responsibilities.
The Business Development Manager may be responsible for developing a new customer group, region or product area.
For example, they may help the company move from selling to individual schools into selling to multi academy trusts.
Their work may include:
Some Business Development Managers build relationships with:
Revenue may come through referrals, joint offers, licences or access to new markets.
Before recruiting, the sales leader should answer:
A job description that says “build relationships and drive growth” doesn’t answer any of these questions.
A Business Development Manager may be the right hire when:
However, don’t use the title simply because it sounds more senior than Sales Executive.
The responsibilities and salary need to match.
A Sales Manager should normally be a people leader.
Their main job is to help a team achieve its sales target.
They may be responsible for:
A Sales Manager shouldn’t simply be the company’s best salesperson with a new title.
Selling and managing require different skills.
A strong salesperson may prefer closing their own deals. A strong manager needs to get results through other people.
Sometimes.
A player manager may carry a personal target while also managing other salespeople.
This can work in a very small team.
But it creates tension.
When the manager is under pressure to close their own deals, coaching often becomes the first thing to disappear.
They may also compete with their team for the best opportunities.
Be clear about how time and commission will be divided.
A manager with three direct reports and a full personal sales target doesn’t have two jobs. They have one impossible job wearing two name badges.
A Sales Manager may be the right hire when:
Don’t hire a Sales Manager when what you really need is another salesperson.
A manager can’t coach an empty team.
Ask what problem you are trying to solve.
You may need:
Before hiring, check whether the issue is really capacity.
Poor messaging, an unclear market or weak targeting won’t be solved by asking someone to send more emails.
You may need:
You should also review why deals are being lost.
The answer may be pricing, positioning, product gaps or weak qualification rather than the salesperson.
You may need:
A manager can improve coaching and accountability.
They can’t make an unrealistic target fair.
You may need:
The person may need to test your route to market before a larger sales team is built.
Whether you call them an Account Executive or Business Development Manager, a strong EdTech salesperson needs more than confidence and a good presentation.
They should know how to:
Ask what percentage of their previous pipeline they created themselves.
Good salespeople don’t rush into a product demonstration.
They ask questions about:
Strong discovery helps the customer think.
It isn’t an interrogation followed by a product pitch.
The user, buyer, budget holder and final decision maker may all be different people.
A salesperson needs to understand:
A deal that depends on one enthusiastic contact is a fragile deal.
Education customers don’t buy features alone.
They may buy:
The salesperson should connect the product to a meaningful customer outcome.
EdTech deals can slow down because of budgets, school holidays, procurement, leadership changes or internal approvals.
A strong salesperson keeps momentum without harassing the customer.
Every meeting should end with a clear next step, owner and date.
Not every interested prospect is a real opportunity.
A good salesperson knows when to stop investing time.
They don’t keep weak opportunities in the pipeline to make the forecast look larger.
They should be able to explain:
“I had a good conversation” isn’t a forecast category.
EdTech salespeople often need support from:
They need to involve colleagues without creating unnecessary work or making promises on their behalf.
Education knowledge can shorten the learning curve.
Someone who understands schools, trusts, universities or training providers may already recognise:
However, sector knowledge doesn’t automatically make someone a good salesperson.
Assess whether their experience matches:
Someone who has sold low cost subscriptions to individual teachers may not be ready to sell a six figure platform to universities.
A salesperson from another SaaS or public sector market may be stronger when they have managed similar buying journeys.
A relevant network can open conversations.
It can’t guarantee revenue.
Relationships built while working for a recognised supplier won’t automatically transfer to a smaller or less established company.
Buyers may trust the person but still have no need, budget or authority to buy your product.
Ask candidates:
A book of business should be a useful starting point.
It shouldn’t be the entire sales strategy.
Salary depends on:
Current UK data puts the average Business Development Manager base salary at about £42,500. Current advertised technology Sales Manager roles have a median salary of around £60,000. EdTech Account Executive vacancies show a wide range, including packages with base salaries between £70,000 and £80,000 and OTE between £91,000 and £104,000 for more senior roles.
As a broad UK planning guide:
A base salary of around £28,000 to £40,000.
OTE may be around £40,000 to £60,000.
This person normally creates qualified opportunities rather than closing larger contracts.
A base salary of around £40,000 to £65,000.
OTE may be around £60,000 to £110,000.
The range depends on whether they generate meetings, close revenue or develop strategic partnerships.
A base salary of around £50,000 to £80,000.
OTE may be around £90,000 to £140,000.
UK data for smaller business Account Executives reports a median base of about £54,000 and OTE close to £99,000.
A base salary of around £80,000 to £110,000 or more.
OTE may be around £140,000 to £200,000 or more.
Current UK salary data places average Enterprise Account Executive base pay at more than £100,000, although the title covers different company sizes and markets.
A base salary of around £55,000 to £85,000.
OTE may be around £80,000 to £130,000.
More senior managers leading enterprise teams may earn more. Current UK salary guides commonly place Sales Manager base pay between £50,000 and £75,000, with OTE between £80,000 and £120,000.
These are broad benchmarks, not fixed price lists.
A title doesn’t determine the salary.
The work does.
The commission plan should be:
For an Account Executive, commission may be linked to:
For a Business Development Manager, it may be linked to:
For a Sales Manager, it should usually be based mainly on team results.
Be careful with targets that depend on factors outside the salesperson’s control.
When sales cycles normally last nine months, expecting substantial closed revenue during the first quarter makes little sense.
Likewise, an attractive OTE means little when the target is impossible.
The UK median time to hire is around 40 days, but specialist and senior commercial searches may take longer.
A sensible plan is:
From deciding to recruit to having a fully productive salesperson may take several months.
You should still expect early signs of progress.
The person should begin building suitable pipeline, improving customer conversations and creating clearer forecasts during their first few months.
The strongest candidate may not be actively applying.
Use several routes.
Map companies selling to:
Look beyond direct competitors.
Candidates from HR technology, public sector SaaS, healthcare technology or professional learning may have relevant experience.
Ask:
Ask who they rate and why.
Being visible on LinkedIn isn’t evidence that someone can sell.
Education conferences, sales communities and EdTech networks can help you identify people with relevant market knowledge.
Use events to start relationships, not as a substitute for proper assessment.
Search using:
Don’t search by job title alone.
A specialist recruiter should challenge the brief before beginning the search.
They should help you decide whether you need:
They should assess evidence rather than sending candidates because their current title matches your vacancy.
Sales interviews come with an obvious problem.
You are interviewing someone whose job is to persuade you.
Confidence matters.
Evidence matters more.
Ask candidates:
Context matters.
Someone may have reached 130 per cent of target because one large existing customer expanded.
Another person may have reached 90 per cent while opening a new market with no marketing support.
The percentage alone doesn’t tell the whole story.
A Sales Manager should be assessed on more than their personal sales history.
Ask:
A manager who talks only about the deals they personally closed may still be thinking like an individual contributor.
Give shortlisted sales candidates a short brief about your product, customer and market.
Ask them to prepare:
For a Sales Manager, ask them to review a sample pipeline.
Include:
Ask the candidate to explain:
Keep the task short.
You are testing judgement, not asking candidates to create unpaid sales strategies.
Speak with former managers where possible.
For an Account Executive or Business Development Manager, ask:
For a Sales Manager, ask:
Hiring is only half the work.
Before the salesperson starts, prepare:
The sales leader should also explain what hasn’t been built yet.
Don’t present a rough sales process as a finished machine and then blame the salesperson when parts fall off.
The CRO, Sales Director or Sales Manager shouldn’t disappear after the new salesperson starts.
Useful support includes:
The manager should challenge the salesperson without taking over every opportunity.
The goal is to build judgement and ownership.
Closed revenue matters, but it may not be the first useful measure.
Track:
A salesperson should gradually create better opportunities and make stronger decisions.
Activity without progress isn’t success.
A good new business salesperson:
The sales leader should have more visibility after the person joins.
The forecast should become clearer, not more optimistic.
A good Sales Manager:
The team shouldn’t become dependent on the manager joining every important meeting.
Be cautious when a candidate:
Be cautious when a manager:
The difference between an Account Executive, Business Development Manager and Sales Manager isn’t the seniority of the words.
It is the work they own.
An Account Executive normally closes new customers.
A Business Development Manager may create opportunities, close deals, build partnerships or develop a new market.
A Sales Manager should deliver results through a team.
Define the problem before choosing the title.
Then assess candidates against the customer, sales cycle, target and working environment they will actually face.
A strong new business hire can create a more predictable route to growth.
But they need a clear market, honest targets, proper leadership and enough support to do the job well.
RecruitHer helps EdTech companies hire Account Executives, Business Development Managers, Sales Managers and other go to market professionals. We assess candidates against the work, customers and revenue they will actually own, rather than relying only on job titles, sector names or a polished interview.
