Getting into Tech Sales

Every day, we witness or hear about at least one new technical role, product, or startup. There is a rising need to learn a tech skill or find a way to apply your current skillset in the tech industry. Fortunately, there’s a space for Salespeople or enthusiasts in tech, and the fun part is that you do not have to code. 

Tech firms and startups are unveiling new products every day. They need excellent Sales Personnel to enable them to reach their target audience. With the increasing tech rave, more product alternatives will emerge. Sales Specialists are then tasked with showing and telling the importance of a product to the audience and why they should choose it over other options. 

What is Tech Sales?

Tech Sales involves facilitating the sales of a tech product to clients or customers. These products will typically fall into one of these three categories: software, hardware, or services. 

Software refers to technical products that are physically intangible, i.e. cannot be touched. Examples of these could include scheduling apps, CRM tools, etc. Hardware on the other hand, refers to technology products that you can touch, such as laptops, smartwatches, etc. 

Technical services, in this case, may include tech training/consulting, tech pipeline/hiring, software development, and many more. 

Duties of a Sales Specialist in Tech.

You may wonder what your daily tasks may involve as a Sales Person in Tech. You will be tasked with finding prospective clients who need your product and reaching out to them with the aim of conversion. Your role may have you do some or all of the following:

• Search for and reach out to people who fit the target audience, i.e. those with challenges your product/service can solve.
• Meet with prospective clients physically or virtually to introduce the product to them.
• Illustrate the uniqueness of your product and its advantages when compared to other alternatives.
• Present different offers or solution packages to them. 
• Curate special packages or make compromises for some clients.
• Answer the prospective clients’ questions.
• Oversee sales and delivery once you reach an agreement. 
• Write or present binding documents, such as invoices, receipts, and contracts.
• Prepare regular sales reports. 

The main goal is to serve as the link between the clients and your product, and your day-to-day tasks and activities will revolve around the goal, whether physically or virtually. 

What Do You Need to Become a Salesperson in Tech?

In a previous article, How to Become the Sales Rep Every Company Wants to Hire, we outlined the skills needed to be an effective salesperson. Some of these skills include excellent communication skills, critical thinking, and doggedness. However, a Salesperson in Tech takes it a notch higher. 

To excel at sales, you must be able to immerse yourself in the knowledge of the product or service, whether or not you have a previous tech background. You must be willing to learn, and that will push you to pay attention to all the minor and major details of your product or service. 

Asides from learning about your company’s product or service, you should understand the competitors’ too. Only then would you be able to accurately show the comparison and your uniqueness. You have to be very equipped to answer all the questions your clients may have. 

Also, some of these clients would be unable to understand the product or service and why it’s important to them because they do not have enough technical knowledge. You must be able to walk them through the product in very non-technical easy terms and educate them onwhy they need you. 

You can’t teach what you don’t know. Hence, to become an excellent salesperson in Tech, you must have an intense thirst for knowledge and attention to detail.

How to Become a Salesperson in Tech

Now that you know who a Salesperson in Tech is and their duties, let’s talk about how to get into the sales field. The good part is that you can transition to tech through Sales with or without any prior experience. 

1. Get Certifications/Training:

To begin, make yourself conversant with tech sales terminologies, effective sales strategies, and processes. Read about, practice, and test your knowledge of technical sales by enrolling in certification programs and training. 

You can get recommendations from people who are already practicing technical sales. We have a program at Scalein Academy targeted at helping people learn to become Sales professionals in the Tech industry and eventually land a good role in it.

When we hear “experience”, most people assume it connotes corporate experience or implies that you must have worked in an office. However, it is more than that. You can leverage experience from previous roles or activities to excel in sales. 

If you do not have any experience, you can start now: apply for internships and volunteer roles to garner experience before you start applying for full-time roles.  

The most important thing is to consistently believe that you can ace it and work towards it. Because it’s a tech role doesn’t mean it’s achievable. Put in the work and grow in it. If you need help pivoting into sales, reach out to us at Scalein Academy.