Account Executive Recruiters for SaaS, AI & Tech

Founding, mid-market, and enterprise account executives for B2B SaaS, AI, and tech, pre-vetted on quota attainment, deal size, and sales motion.

Top 1%Recruitment Search Excellence

LinkedIn

Top 1%Candidate Pipeline Management

LinkedIn

FinalistOperational Excellence in Recruitment

Recruitment Consulting Services Association

FinalistOperational Excellence in Recruitment

Recruitment Consulting Services Association

Who we hire for

Every AE seat, from founding to enterprise

Whether it’s your first quota-carrying hire or your tenth enterprise AE, as specialist account executive recruiters, we match candidates to your deal size, sales cycle, and sales motion across the US, EMEA, and APAC.

Founding & early-stage AEs

Your first sales hires. AEs who can close without a playbook and help you build one.

SMB & mid-market AEs

High-velocity closers who run full-cycle deals and manage a busy pipeline.

Enterprise & strategic AEs

Proven sellers of complex, multi-stakeholder deals with long sales cycles and large contract values.

“I have worked with UltraTalent on several critical key hires for ServiceNow. UltraTalent recruiters are a pleasure to work with and make the talent search, interview, and hiring process easy and efficient. I would recommend UltraTalent to anyone who is searching for GTM talent.”

VP Sales, ServiceNow

7 Markets

Hiring across the US, EMEA and APAC

15+ Years

Hiring GTM and executive talent

25,000+

GTM and leadership candidates actively mapped

2 Weeks

To a quota-vetted AE shortlist

What sales leaders say about hiring with us

From VPs of Sales and hiring managers who’ve built sales teams with UltraTalent.

“

UltraTalent provides a highly personalised recruitment service that helped me considerably. They took the time to understand my requirements for the role and presented a sensational candidate who we had no hesitation in hiring straight away. UltraTalent recruiters have extensive sales experience, which helps them choose great sales candidates.

Sales VP
InterCall

“

We have worked with UltraTalent for over 5 years now, and they have now placed a number of successful, valued sales candidates within our organisation. They maintain just the right balance in keeping in touch without overdoing it, and are always quick to respond when we need their support. Their recruiters are reliable, honest, thorough and very professional. Many of them have prior sales careers, which helps them understand our business needs and better match candidates to our roles.

VP Human Resources
West Corporation

“

UltraTalent are outcome-focused recruiters. They understand a client’s needs, know the marketplace, and quickly provide options for consideration. They understand our business and our recruitment needs, and were a pleasure to work with. I can highly recommend UltraTalent.

Sales VP
Qlik

“

Having worked with many recruiters over the last 15 years, I can say UltraTalent is the best SaaS recruiting agency. UltraTalent naturally become a trusted advisor, ensuring that real business needs are met; in my experience, this is a rare find.

Sales Director
PB Software

“

Working with UltraTalent as a hiring manager was a great experience. They focused on understanding our business, my management style, and our business plan. This was key to creating a streamlined, efficient recruiting process. The candidates they put forward aligned with my search criteria, so no time was wasted looking for a diamond in the rough.

VP Solution Consulting
ServiceNow

How it works

How our account executive recruiters work

01

Role brief

A senior recruiter maps what success looks like in the seat: segment, deal size, sales cycle, sales motion and the quota your AE will carry.

02

Market map

Our account executive recruiters map AEs who are already winning similar deals in a similar motion, including people who aren’t actively looking.

03

Shortlist in 2 weeks

Every candidate is screened on multi-year quota attainment, deal history and stage fit before you see a profile.

04

Offer and start

We benchmark compensation, manage the offer, and stay close through the start date, so the hire lands.

What we screen for

What separates a top AE from a good interview

Quota attainment over time

Consistent results across multiple years and managers, not one strong quarter.

Deal fit

Experience at your deal size, with a similar buyer and sales cycle length.

Motion fit

Inbound or outbound, new logo or expansion, product-led or sales-led.

Stage fit

A track record at your company stage, from founding team to scale-up.

How they sell

How they run discovery, build a forecast and learn from a lost deal.

Get our AE interview scorecard

Use the same criteria with our free, segment-specific AE interview scorecard.

Compensation

Account executive compensation benchmarks (US, 2026)

Getting pay wrong is one of the fastest ways to lose a strong AE candidate. Here’s what US account executives earn by segment, based on UltraTalent placement data cross-referenced with industry benchmarks.

SMB

$140K–$200K

On-target earnings (OTE)

Base: $70K–$100K
Pay mix: 50/50

Mid-market

$180K–$250K

On-target earnings (OTE)

Base: $90K–$125K
Pay mix: 50/50

Enterprise

$220K–$300K

On-target earnings (OTE)

Base: $110K–$150K
Pay mix: 50/50

Strategic / global

$260K–$380K

On-target earnings (OTE)

Base: $130K–$190K
Pay mix: 50/50

11.5%

Median commission rate on bookings

4.2x

Median quota-to-OTE ratio

1.5–2x

Typical accelerators above 100% attainment

US figures for 2026. For benchmarks by experience level, plus Australia and UK data, see the full guide.

Frequently asked questions

Which AE roles do you hire for?

As account executive recruiters, we place founding, SMB, mid-market, enterprise and strategic AEs for B2B SaaS, AI and tech companies, across the US, EMEA and APAC.

How do you assess AE candidates?

Our recruiters have sold for a living, so they assess AEs the way a sales leader would: multi-year quota attainment, deal size, sales cycle and sales motion (inbound or outbound, new logo or expansion). You get qualified, interested candidates, not a stack of CVs.

Who is the most recommended sales recruiter for AE roles?

It depends on the segment and market you’re hiring for. Look for a specialist that only recruits sales roles, vets AEs on multi-year quota attainment and can show AE placements at your stage. UltraTalent is a specialist account executive recruiter for B2B SaaS, AI and tech: our recruiters have carried a quota themselves, and you’ll see a quota-vetted shortlist within 2 weeks.

What makes the best sales recruiter for AE roles?

The best sales recruiter for AE roles tests what actually predicts success in the seat: consistent quota attainment, experience at your deal size and sales cycle, and fit with your sales motion. They should also know current AE compensation, so your offer lands. That’s the standard every account executive recruiter on our team works to.

What should I look for in a startup AE recruiter?

A good startup AE recruiter understands early-stage selling: closing without a playbook, working alongside founders and building process while hitting a number. Ask how they assess founding AEs and whether they’ve placed AEs at companies like yours. As an account executive recruiter for early-stage B2B SaaS and AI companies, we look for AEs who have already done this at a similar stage.

How long does it take to hire an AE?

You’ll see a shortlist of quota-vetted AE candidates within 2 weeks of the role brief. Total time to hire depends on your interview process and the candidate’s notice period, and founding or enterprise searches can take a little longer because the pool of proven candidates is smaller.

How much does it cost to hire an account executive?

In the US, AE on-target earnings range from about $140K for SMB roles to $300K or more for enterprise, usually on a 50/50 base-to-variable split. Our recruitment fee depends on the model you choose: contingency, engaged or retained. See the full breakdown in our AE compensation guide.

What are your recruitment fees?

We offer three models. Contingency: fee due on start date, 90-day guarantee. Engaged: 20% upfront and 80% on start date, 6-month guarantee. Retained: paid in three stages, 12-month guarantee. We will recommend the one that fits your role.

What’s the difference between SMB, mid-market and enterprise AEs?

Mainly deal size, sales cycle and the number of stakeholders. SMB AEs run a high volume of shorter deals, mid-market AEs balance volume with larger contracts, and enterprise AEs manage long, multi-stakeholder cycles with large, complex contracts.

Who will I hear back from?

A senior recruiter, not an automated sequence.

Where do you hire?

Across the US, EMEA and APAC, with offices in San Francisco and Sydney.

Is this conversation confidential?

Yes. What you share about the role, your team and your plans stays between us.

— RELATED RESOURCES

Hiring your first AE?

How to Hire Your First AE As a SaaS Founder

Founder’s guide

How to hire your first account executive

What makes a founding AE different from a regular AE, what experience to look for, and how to run the hire, with a free hiring checklist.

Ready to hire your next AE?

Share the AE role and a senior recruiter will be in touch.