(Role / 11)MBA tech role · Track 11← All roles

Sales

For complex, high-consideration products, sales teams close deals that wouldn't happen online: B2B enterprise contracts (Salesforce selling a seven-figure package to IBM) and strategic B2C partnerships (Meta selling an ad deal to Ford).

(02)The work

What you do.

(01)
Research accounts and opportunities — who's in market, who's a fit, and who's worth a meeting.
(02)
Run discovery conversations with prospects, giving demos and shaping the story to their business.
(03)
Build and advance pipeline — follow-ups, proof-of-concepts, procurement cycles, and contract negotiation.
(04)
Close deals: term sheets, red-lines, and the finish-line work that converts champions into signatures.
(05)
Partner with CS, marketing, and product to ensure what you sold is what customers get.

(03)Skills

Key skills.

Prospecting & outboundDiscovery & qualificationNegotiationExecutive communicationPipeline managementResilience under rejection

What they look for.

(01)
A track record of closing — numbers, deals, or outcomes you owned end-to-end.
(02)
Persuasion and presence without arrogance. You hear "no" often and keep going.
(03)
Organization at scale — running dozens of live opportunities at once.
(04)
Authentic curiosity about the customer's business, not just the pitch.

(04)Know the difference

Distinctions.

The same title can mean different things depending on the product, the company, and the stage. Here’s how to pick it apart.

Vs / 01

Sales Development vs. Account Executive

SDR/Inside Sales generates new opportunities (email, calls, outbound sequences). AE/Field Sales closes deals, often at the customer's site. Most MBAs enter at the AE layer or in a sales-strategy / enablement track.

Vs / 02

Account Executive vs. Account Manager

AEs win net-new logos; AMs expand existing ones via upsell, cross-sell, and renewals. Both carry quota; the motion and incentives are different.

Vs / 03

B2B vs. B2C

B2B sells to procurement and business buyers over months; B2C often means strategic partnerships or media/ads deals with a handful of large clients.

(05)Ecosystem

Often confused with.

Roles that sit close to this one — useful to know whether you want the title or the adjacent version.

Business Development Customer Success Product Marketing

(06)Prep

Ask yourself.

(01)
Do you like owning a number, and the pressure that comes with it?
(02)
Are you energized by relationship-building over months, not minutes?
(03)
Can you sit with rejection, learn from it, and keep dialing?

(07)The dossier

Open the full file.

File / Sales · 3 chapters. Long-form chapters sourced from HTC's internal guides — the kind of reading that pays off on callbacks.

Chapter / I