Why AEs Hate Sales Processes and Managers Love It?

Sales processes are everywhere. They’re meticulously documented, measured, and optimized. MEDDIC is becoming a standard.

Managers live and breathe them. But ask an Account Executive (AE), and you’ll often hear groans instead of cheers. Why?

1. The AE Perspective: Freedom vs. Rules

For AEs, sales is about relationships, creativity, and momentum. A rigid process feels like:

• Bureaucracy slowing down deals

• Extra admin that eats into selling time

• One-size-fits-all scripts that don’t reflect real conversations

They thrive when they can adapt to the prospect, use their instincts, and close deals in their own style.

2. The Manager Perspective: Control vs. Chaos

For managers, processes are life-savers:

• They standardize best practices across the team

• They forecast revenue accurately

• They identify gaps in pipeline health

Without a defined process, it’s impossible to coach effectively, scale the team, or predict results.

3. Reframing: It’s a Customer Engagement Process

Here’s the key insight: what managers call a “sales process” should really be a customer engagement process.

• It’s not about ticking boxes—it’s about guiding your customers through their buying journey.

• When framed this way, AEs see it as a tool to add value, not a bureaucratic burden.

• The process becomes flexible, human, and outcome-driven, rather than rigid and administrative.

  
  

4. How to Bridge the Gap

1. Make processes flexible: Define key stages but allow AEs to adapt tactics.

2. Use data as a coaching tool: Show AEs how the process helps them close more deals faster.

3. Collaborate on process design: Involve AEs in defining workflows—they’ll buy in if it works for them.

4. Keep it simple: Avoid unnecessary fields and steps in your CRM.

Conclusion

Sales processes aren’t enemies—they’re tools. When designed as a customer engagement process, they help AEs win more deals and managers gain visibility and predictability.

👉 Want a ready-to-use example? Ask my Best Practice Customer Engagement Process and see how to structure your team for maximum impact.