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Are Tech Sales Bootcamps Worth It?

If you’re trying to break into tech sales, you might be wondering, “Are tech sales bootcamps worth it?”

I actually have a pretty strong opinion about this.

Here it is …

You don’t need to know how to sell to get an entry-level tech sales job.

In other words, you don’t need to know how to do the job before you get the job.

Why?

Because almost every single tech company has a training program for sales new hires.

So, rather than paying a bootcamp to teach you how to sell, you can get paid by a company as you learn how to sell.

Also, on-the-job sales training is more effective than a classroom-style bootcamp.

How I got into tech sales

When I started my tech sales career at Yelp in 2017, I went through a two-month sales training program.

For the first week or two, we learned classroom style. A sales leader or successful salesperson presented slides about how to sell to our training class of fifty or so new hires.

After we had learned the basics, they got us on the phones ASAP. ⚡️

Our goal for each call was to set a pitch appointment for a more experience Account Executive to close the deal.

Now, looking back, that two-month training program at Yelp was probably the most transformational, educational, and pivotal period of time in my whole tech sales career.

**Instead of paying to learn, get paid to learn**

If you’re asking yourself, “Are tech sales bootcamps worth it?” You probably have money on your mind.

Most tech sales bootcamps aren’t free. And some of them are actually very expensive. We’re talking thousands of dollars.

“The average technology sales bootcamp cost is around $7,000. However, some technology sales bootcamps cost nothing while other technology sales bootcamp prices are as high as $30,000.”
— Career Karma

On the other hand, while you’re on the job, working for a company, they’ll actually pay you to learn.

Every minute of that two-month training program at Yelp that I spent learning the skills that would form the foundation of my tech sales career, I was getting paid a base salary.

It’s a lot more fun and motivating to learn when you have a steady paycheck rolling in.

The only way to learn sales is to sell

Here’s another reason why on-the-job sales training at a tech company is better than a tech sales bootcamp …

You can’t learn sales by watching a video, reading a book, or listening to a lecture.

It’s the same as getting good at a sport.

You could read every book about golf ever written, but that will only make you marginally better at swinging a golf club.

To get better at golf, you have to get out on the course. At the very least, go to the driving range. ⛳️

You learn from your mistakes when you shank a drive or miss a putt. And you build up muscle memory of what you did right when you make shots.

It’s the same with sales.

You have to actually make the cold calls, do the demos, and get the objections.

When you lose a deal, you’ll have a sense of what went wrong.

When you win a deal, you’ll have a sense of what went right.

Over time, you work on hundreds, thousands of deals, and that “sixth sense” for selling gets more and more refined, until you know exactly what you need to do to close every deal you encounter.

The only way to learn sales is to sell.

And the only way to sell is to work for a company (or start your own company) that allows you to sell a product or service.

This is another reason why I encourage people to get on-the-job sales training at a tech company rather than enrolling in a tech sales bootcamp.

Because most tech sales bootcamps are full of video lectures and reading materials.

That classroom-style learning isn’t the best way to learn sales.

A tech sales “bootcamp” that teaches you how to get the job

So, you don’t need to know how to do the job before you get the job.

Okay, but how do you actually get a tech sales job?

That right there is the golden question. ⭐️

What we’ve covered so far is that on-the-job sales training at a tech company is better than a tech sales bootcamp because:

It’s unnecessary to do a tech sales bootcamp when you’re going to learn everything you need to know on the job.
A tech sales job will actually pay you to learn, whereas a tech sales bootcamp costs money.
The best way to learn how to sell is to actually sell, but most tech sales bootcamps mainly offer video lectures and reading materials.

All those reasons are why I personally created an online course that is specifically about how to get a job in tech sales.

It’s $20 (and you can often get it cheaper than that because Udemy is running discounts all time).

The only goal of the course is to get you a job in tech sales.

So, instead of paying thousands for a tech sales bootcamp that will try to teach you sales skills that are best learned on the job, you can skip all that and go directly to getting an entry-level tech sales job that will pay you while you learn to sell.

CourseCareers is another good option

If you want a more comprehensive tech sales bootcamp, check out CourseCareers.

I’m personally a fan of CourseCareers for a few reasons.

First, I like the founder’s story.

Troy Buckholdt started his tech sales career at 18 years old instead of going to college and he founded CourseCareers to help people who want to get into tech sales with no degree and no experience.

Troy shares more of his story in this YouTube video.

The philosophy of CourseCareers is that college is crazy expensive and you don’t need to go into debt or even get a degree to get a job in tech sales.

So, if you’re trying to break into tech sales with no experience and no degree, the CourseCareers tech sales course might be a good fit for you.

Second, CourseCareers is affordable.

Course Careers is $499.

Other tech sales bootcamps range from $10,000 to $30,000.

Third, CourseCareers partners directly with tech sales employers.

This is the main reason why CourseCareers is better than our course.

They actually have relationships with tech sales employers to help you get a job.

“After graduating, you’ll be added to our employer database. This is where tech companies we partner with drop their degree and experience requirements to hire our graduates.”
— CourseCareers

Here are all the reasons why CourseCareers is better than other tech sales bootcamps:

Conclusion

So, are tech sales bootcamps worth it?

There are three types of tech sales bootcamps:

Bootcamps that teach you how to do the tech sales job
Bootcamps that teach you how to get a tech sales job
Bootcamps that do both 1 and 2

We don’t recommend doing a bootcamp in category #1 because of the reasons we already explained.

If you want to take a course in category #2, we recommend our course on Udemy. ✅

If you want to take a course in category #3, we recommend CourseCareers. ✅

If you end up choosing CourseCareers, use this code for a $50 discount: COLE50

Break Into Tech Sales