Sales culture is toxic and micromanaged - Account Executive Appian Employee Review

2.0
3 Jul 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

It's an up and coming company, possibly on the cusp of really explosive growth. Direct teammates are helpful and fun. Direct management tries to run interference because they can see how the culture change is killing the staff. It's a cool product that does a really neat thing.

Cons

Since the update of sales management at the beginning of the year, the culture has changed significantly. There is a high degree of micro management that is clearly more concerned with AE's checking the box on process instead of AE's focusing on radiation. It appears counterintuitive to new management that forcing AE's to do power dialing hours, do multiple types of QBRs in various levels across the quarter, and sending lots of daily email updates actually doesn't help AE's focus on doing what they were hired to do. Instead, it slows AEs down and has everyone feeling burnt out at the best and in constant fear for their jobs at the worst. They also don't give pay raises, so negotiate well. It appears there is anywhere from a $10-$15K gap in pay between AEs. You will either knock your target out of the park, or you will be scraping by for 1.5-2 years to bring in a new logo. Sales operations will tell you the average sale s cycle is 6-9 months, but they don't separate that out into industries or new vs existing logos. 6-9 months seems to be right for established logos in established industries.

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5.0
10 Jun 2026
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CEO approval
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Pros

Great people and business processes

Cons

Office is a far drive from Washington DC.

1.0
21 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Cool office & perks, unlimited PTO.

Cons

My manager ultimately stabbed me in the back. Being a recruiter here is a trap. No one has your back, your are just an order taker and every stakeholder has unrealistic and unfair expectations. The founders have their hand in the entire recruiting process and it makes it so unbelievably hard. They want top talent but have not top talent pay. They are not flexible on RTO so good luck.

5
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Appian Response
1w
Thank you for sharing your perspective and highlighting our employee perks. We acknowledge your feedback regarding the recruiting process, stakeholder alignment, and our Return-to-Office guidelines. Providing a supportive environment where expectations are clear and fair is something we hold ourselves accountable to every day. While our commitment to an in-person workplace is rooted in building strong collaboration and connection across our teams, we are equally focused on ensuring our leaders have the tools and training necessary to support every department. We appreciate you taking the time to help us look for ways to improve.
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