How To Start Working In Tech Sales: Everything You Need To Know (2023)
If you’re looking for a tech career, sales may be the perfect option for you. Tech sales jobs are in high demand and can offer excellent pay and benefits.
But how do you get started in tech sales? In this blog post, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know to start working in tech sales. We’ll cover what “tech sales” is, where to find tech sales jobs, what experience you need to land a job, how to apply for tech sales jobs, and what to expect during the interview process. Let’s get started!
What Is Tech Sales?
Before we begin, we must define what “tech sales” actually is. Simply put, the career of “tech sales” involves selling technology. Tech sales is a catch-all phrase that can include hardware (like a wearable smart watch or smart lighting) or a software platform like Salesforce. Typically, tech salespeople will work in one of the three areas listed below:
Software Products
We can currently sell software in two ways. The first is through a traditional one-time purchase, where the customer downloads and installs the software application onto their computer. The second, which has become increasingly popular, is referred to as SaaS (Software as a Service), a subscription-based software solution that is accessed and used via the internet.
An example of a one-time software purchase product is an anti-virus program, like Norton. An example of a SaaS product is a vendor like Slack or Salesforce.
Hardware Products
This category of tech sales involves physical tech products that the customer purchases. These products are usually one-time purchases and include smartphones, smart watches, laptops, computers, tech accessories, and other tech devices.
Tech Services or Consulting
Finally, a tech sales professional may sell tech services, like IT support or website design and development. This involves consulting with the client to understand their needs before recommending a specific service and passing the client to service professionals who can solve their tech problems.
Like any sales job, salespeople exist to talk with prospective clients and discuss the value of their solution and if it can solve the client’s problems.
Tech salespeople will work in B2C (business-to-consumer) or B2B (business-to-business) sales. B2C involves selling tech products or services to individuals, while B2B sales involve selling tech solutions to other businesses.
Because technology is constantly changing daily, it’s an exciting industry to work in. It’s also challenging because tech sales reps must continuously educate customers and prospects on emerging technologies, which means that tech sales professionals must continually learn about technology and stay on top of current technology trends.
Which Area Should You Choose?
Ultimately, it depends on what your goals are, what kind of personality you have, your situation in life, how hard you’re willing to work, and how much money you’re looking to make (we’ll discuss income below, keep reading). I can’t really tell you what you should go into because I don’t know you.
Something like hardware sales where you are simply taking orders for a company that needs 100 laptops can be an “easier” sale than selling a multi-million dollar complex SaaS solution to CEOs at a Fortune 500 company.
B2C tech sales typically involve smaller deal sizes ($5-10k), which means less commission per sale. However, the average sales cycle tends to be shorter (days or weeks), and many in the industry also view it as an “easier” sale as you only sell to one person.
B2B tech sales professionals sell to other businesses, typically involving larger deal sizes ($20-100k+), which means significantly more commission and earning potential. However, the average sales cycle tends to be substantially longer (months or even years). B2B selling is also more difficult due to involving multiple stakeholders, experienced buyers, and more complex software integrations and project scoping. Some enterprise deals can take 1-2 years to close, and a typical B2B enterprise sales rep may only work 1-3 deals each year.
I’ve worked my way up to B2B SaaS Sales because I find hard work rewarding, and I love the challenge. Let’s touch on some of the reasons why working in tech sales is so great in the section below:
Why You Should Work In Tech Sales:
As a current SaaS professional, here are a few reasons I have personally observed as to why people choose to work in tech sales:
Income Potential/Pay/Benefits
If you’re good at it, a tech sales position is one of the highest-paying individual contributor roles on the market. And unlike other professional careers like becoming a doctor or a lawyer, you don’t need to go into debt and school for eight years. You can start working as a business development representative (BDR) at a SaaS company for a salary of $60,000 right out of college or with a couple of years of work experience. Once you work your way up to an Account Executive (AE) where you can be making a base of $70,000 and $120,000 with commissions by the time you’re 25.
In sales, you eat what you kill. You’ll have a base salary of anywhere from $50,000 – $120,000, depending on the company and your sales experience, with additional commission off of the deals that you close for a company.
According to data from sites like RepVue.com, top sales professionals at top SaaS companies can make upwards of $600,000, even upwards of $1,000,000 in rare cases. These companies’ average on-target earnings (OTE; total salary + commissions) are in the $250,000 range. Sure, these numbers are from the top 1% of sales representatives at some of the biggest companies in the world; but it shows you what is possible if you’re talented and you work hard. There are also plenty of smaller or “mid-market” software companies where you can make $80,000 – $150,000 a year. It all depends on the product you’re selling and how good you are at closing deals; sales is an art; it is not easy, and there is a reason why good sales reps get paid.
For example, tech sales companies can sell some SaaS solutions to other companies for millions of dollars. A typical commission for a software sales rep is 15%. If you sell a deal worth $1,000,000 to a company that takes six months to close, you’ve just made $150,000, in addition to your base salary. Let’s say you also have a couple of other “smaller” $200,000 deals in your pipeline that both close in two months. Well, congratulations, you’ve just pocketed another $40,000. This is how salespeople make an immense amount of money.
Again, remember, you don’t need to go to 8 years of medical school and rack up an immense amount of student debt to make this kind of money either. The caveat is that sales is challenging, and not everyone can do it well.
Reputable tech companies also offer competitive benefits packages, including 401k matching, medical/dental/vision insurance, stock options, wellness benefits, and other perks. Tech sales is a great way to make good money without sacrificing your work/life balance.
Remote Work
Another benefit to working in technology sales is that most tech companies offer remote work. In the case of software, because it’s not a physical product, one massive benefit of software sales is that you can sell globally over the internet from the confines of your home!
Discovery calls, qualification calls & sales demos are typically conducted over Zoom, with deals being closed over a video call and both parties (salesperson & business) never meeting face-to-face.
Many workers are drawn to this because they do not have to commute to an office every day, can take calls from anywhere in the world, and have much more control over their work/life balance.
Technology is constantly evolving, and there are always new products to sell
This means that there are always new opportunities in tech sales. If you get bored selling one product, you can always move on to another company and start selling a different product. If the company you’re working for starts to struggle, you can jump ship to another company, learn the product, and quickly transfer your skills. If you see an emerging trend within the tech industry, you can jump to a company that is riding that trend and potentially make a ton of money once the trend explodes.
If you’re passionate about technology, it’s also a great industry to work in because you’ll always be up-to-date on all the newest technology trends. This can allow you to make intelligent decisions when investing in tech stocks or when buying technology in your personal life.
Working in tech will also make you naturally more tech-savvy than the average person. You’ll become a pro at using technology, which has cascading effects on every other area of your life, from how you work to how you live at home.
Why You Shouldn’t Work In Tech Sales:
Tech sales is tough
Technology sales is not for the faint of heart. It requires a specific personality, someone who is tough, gritty, resilient, creative & charismatic. It would help if you were an excellent communicator and presenter with strong interpersonal skills. You need to be able to quickly think on your feet when faced with customer objections during a sales call. You need to be able to utilize your strong industry and product knowledge to customize a unique solution for your customer’s problem.
There are numerous ups and downs, with the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Tech sales reps who can stay even-keeled throughout the good and bad times are typically the most successful.
Sales is both an art & science. It would help if you were human enough to massage customer pains, needs, and emotions while also following a sales methodology that will allow you to close the deal and bring home the bacon for your company. This is not easy; it takes years of practice to master the art of a practical sales demonstration and closing the deal.
Tech sales is extremely stressful
Salespeople have quarterly and yearly revenue quotas that their performance is measured against. It is truly a performance-based job. If you are not making quota, your job could be on the line because you cost the company money without bringing anything in. Some people find this motivating. Others crumble under pressure, and when they fail to close deals or they cannot discover new prospects to sell to, they fall apart.
Of course, this depends on the product you are selling, which is why it’s essential to sell a product that businesses or consumers are willing to buy.
You have weak interpersonal & communication skills
If you are not an excellent active listener, if you cannot empathize with people or if you have poor social skills, tech sales may not be a good career path for you. If you’re unable to listen to a customer’s problems and help them find a solution to their problems, it will be difficult for you to close any deals.
Secondly, if you cannot communicate, you will have difficulty explaining your company’s solution effectively, which will be a barrier to making sales.
Lastly, tech sales may not be the right industry for you if you cannot build relationships with people. A lot of tech sales is about building trust with potential customers. If you’re not able to gain someone’s confidence or if you have difficulty maintaining relationships, it will be hard to win deals.
You Don’t Like Monotonous Work
Entry-level tech sales positions can be pretty repetitive. Cold calling and cold emailing involve a lot of monotonous work with extremely low conversion and win rates.
You may find yourself making the same sales pitch over and over or sending out the same type of email to different leads. If you’re someone who doesn’t like doing the same thing over and over or who gets bored quickly, entry-level tech sales may not be a good fit for you. You won’t be able to get to the positions like AE, where there is less monotonous work, without slogging it out as a BDR first.
What Are Some Typical Tech Sales Roles And Responsibilities?
Most sales companies have a few different key tech sales roles. We’ll go through each of them below.
Sales Development Representative/Business Development Representative (SDR/BDR)
The SDR or BDR is the entry-level tech sales role. The primary responsibility of an SDR is to generate new leads for the sales team through outbound prospecting (researching and cold emailing/calling potential customers).
At some companies, senior SDRs will also qualify leads for Account Executives (AE) to further nurture and close. The SDR role is a stepping stone for salespeople who want to move into an AE or other sales role in the future.
Account Executive (AE)
The AE is responsible for further developing relationships with leads qualified by an SDR. The AE will do this through a combination of email, phone calls, and video calls.
Typically, an AE will hold an initial “discovery call” with the prospect to determine their needs and qualify if they are interested in the company’s solution.
Should the AE determine the prospect needs the product, they will then put together a proposal and at least one but, more typically, multiple sales demos to close the deal.
Closing deals is not always easy, and some AEs will have to go through a lengthy sales cycle (several months) before finally closing the deal.
Inside Sales Representative (ISR)
An ISR is similar to an AE but typically works with smaller accounts and has a lower annual quota. Typically this is a role that is more generally seen in hardware sales. ISRs typically work warmer “inbound” leads from marketing and do not have to prospect; their first focus is closing deals that come “through the door.”
Account Managers (AMs)
An AM’s job is to manage and grow relationships with existing customers. The AM will be responsible for renewing contracts and expanding the business within their accounts.
The AM will also work to cross-sell and upsell additional products/services to their accounts and be the main point of contact for their account.
Field/Outside Sales Representative (FSR/OSR)
An FSR or OSR is responsible for selling to customers in a specific geographic region. This role is typically seen when selling more oversized hardware items that require in-person installation or when a customer needs more hand-holding throughout the sales process.
An FSR will also typically have a larger geographic territory than an ISR and will be expected to travel within their territory to meet with prospects and customers.
How To Break Into Tech Sales
The tech sales industry can be very competitive, especially at the top tech companies. That being said, you can do a few things to increase your chances of getting a tech sales rep position.
First, it is essential to have a basic understanding of technology. You don’t need to be a computer science major to be a tech sales rep, but you should know how tech products work.
Second, it is helpful to have some sales experience. It doesn’t even have to be in a technology-related field. This could be in any sales role, from retail to BDR to AE. If you don’t have sales experience, try to get a job in customer service or a similar position where you interact with customers daily. If you don’t have sales experience, you’ll need to demonstrate how your skills are transferable from another career.
Third, having a solid work ethic and being coachable is crucial. Tech sales can be challenging, and you’ll need to be able to work hard and take direction from your sales manager.
Finally, it is helpful to be familiar with the tech sales process. If you know what to expect, you’ll be able to hit the ground running and be successful alongside your fellow tech sales professionals.
How To Apply For Tech Sales Positions
If you don’t have any previous sales experience and/or you’re coming from a different industry, you’ll want to apply for BDR/SDR roles. Suppose you are a seasoned sales representative from another industry looking for a similar salary. In that case, you can try applying to AE & ISR roles, depending on your experience level.
Polish up your resume to the best of your ability. If resume design is not a vital skill, go on a freelancer site like Fiverr and pay someone to design one for you. Because there is so much focus on numbers, results, and sales, try to quantify your previous results in experience. For example, if you have an event planning background, instead of saying “planned and facilitated events” in that job’s responsibilities, say “planned 23 events in Q1 2022 with hundreds in attendance at each event.”
Go on LinkedIn and look up other successful BDRs and make your profile look like theirs. This includes paying for professional headshots/photography with a picture of your entire face with you smiling. You’ll want to polish your LinkedIn profile and have it look as professional as possible since you’ll be using LinkedIn Easy Apply as a source for job postings.
Because sales is an industry where you’re paid for your performance, if you’re thinking long-term about your tech sales career, you’ll want to try and get in with the most lucrative company possible. After you begin applying for positions and companies start inviting you to interviews, be sure to research the company to glean any insight from 10-K’s or other resources on earnings/$ per employee. The greater the revenue per employee, the more money you will make!
Conclusion
Breaking into the tech industry isn’t always easy, but hopefully, this blog post will give you a hand. Tech sales is one of the most lucrative and rewarding positions you can work in. For anyone looking to get into the tech industry and start a tech sales career, I hope I was able to provide you with some actionable advice.
Did you find this blog post helpful? Let us know in the comments below! And be sure to check out our other blog posts for more tech sales tips and advice.
Thank you for reading! We hope this blog post was helpful in your tech sales journey—best of luck to you and your tech sales career.
