SMB Account Executive

Join Aiven, a leading open-source data infrastructure platform, as an SMB Account Executive. In this role, you will drive new customer acquisition and revenue growth in the North American market. You will own the full sales cycle, convert product-led growth signals into revenue, generate pipeline through multi-channel prospecting, engage technical decision-makers, execute the MEDDPICC sales process, and collaborate cross-functionally. You will have clear success metrics and the opportunity to exceed targets while enjoying a range of benefits including stock options, learning and growth opportunities, flexible working hours, private health and dental care, and a collaborative work environment.

• Conduire l'acquisition de nouveaux clients et la croissance des revenus dans les segments à forte vélocité du marché nord-américain.
• Posséder l'ensemble du cycle de vente, de l'engagement initial à la signature du contrat, pour les entreprises de moins de 250 millions de dollars de revenus.
• Générer des opportunités par le biais de la prospection sortante, des événements sur le terrain et des campagnes de marketing numérique.
• Inside Sales Excellence:
• Self-driven and disciplined—you don't need someone watching over your shoulder to maintain high activity and quality standards
• Proven ability to close deals independently—not just qualify and hand off, but own the full cycle through contract signature
• Ability to simplify complex technical concepts into clear value statements for different audiences
• Ownership mentality—when something goes wrong, you ask what you could have done differently, not who else is to blame
• Familiarity with MEDDPICC, MEDDIC, or similar qualification frameworks—formal training preferred but not required if you demonstrate structured qualification discipline
• Strong written communication for personalized outreach, follow-up emails, and proposal summaries
• Willingness to travel 10-20% for field events, team meetings, and customer engagements as needed
• Professional presence that builds credibility with technical decision-makers who are evaluating both the product and the vendor
• MEDDPICC & Sales Methodology:
• Experience working marketing-sourced leads with rapid follow-up and disciplined qualification
• You don't need to be an engineer, but you can discuss Kafka use cases, PostgreSQL vs. other databases, cloud deployment models, and operational trade-offs at a conceptual level
• Interest in open-source technologies and the developer ecosystem—you're curious about how these tools work and why they matter
• Familiarity with data infrastructure, cloud services, and developer tools sufficient to have credible conversations with technical buyers
• Comfort selling to technical buyers who have already evaluated the product and formed opinions
• Resilient—you handle rejection and setbacks without losing momentum or making excuses
• Prospecting & Pipeline Generation:
• Competitive without being political—you want to win and you measure yourself against top performers
• Ability to maintain high activity levels (80+ weekly touches) while preserving quality and personalization
• Ability to learn technical concepts quickly and translate them into business value for different buyer personas
• Technical Acumen:
• Communication & Presence:
• Experience working PLG or trial conversion motions where product usage signals inform sales engagement
• 1-3 years of success in inside sales or SDR/BDR roles with demonstrated progression and quota attainment
• Track record of consistent quota attainment (90-100%+) in a high-velocity sales environment
• Understanding of the difference between activity and progress—you measure yourself on qualified pipeline and closed revenue, not calls made or emails sent
• Coachable—you actively seek feedback, incorporate it quickly, and demonstrate improvement over time
• Strong research skills using LinkedIn Sales Navigator, ZoomInfo, Crunchbase, 6sense, or similar tools to identify trigger events and buying signals
• High-Performance Mindset:
• Ability to document qualification evidence in CRM, not just self-assessed confidence scores
• Understanding of how to add value to self-service users without being intrusive—you know when to engage and when to let product do the work
• Excellent verbal communication for discovery calls, demos, and negotiations conducted primarily via video and phone
• Geography & Work Style:
• PLG & Product-Led Sales Experience:
• Ability to read and interpret product usage data to prioritize outreach and qualify buying intent
• Demonstrated ability to generate pipeline through outbound prospecting—cold calls, personalized emails, LinkedIn engagement, video messaging
• Experience with $15K-$50K ACV deal sizes and 30-90 day sales cycles—you understand velocity selling, not just enterprise account management
• Don't worry if your experience doesn't line up perfectly—we still encourage everyone to apply. We believe in investing in our crabs' professional growth