How To Get A Job In Tech Sales

This post has everything you need to know about how to get a job in tech sales.

But first, let’s take a second to appreciate how much of a genius you are.

Why? Because the tech industry is a rocket ship.

And tech sales is your ticket to ride.

Introduction

Tech is booming!

In public markets, the five biggest stocks in the S&P 500 are all tech companies (Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, and Facebook).

In private markets, “over $1.5 trillion was invested in venture capital deals, worldwide between 2010 and 2019,” according to the Crunchbase 2019 Global VC Report.

“In 2019 alone, roughly $294.8 billion was invested in nearly 32,800 deals across the venture spectrum.”

And this doesn’t just apply to tech behemoths (like Microsoft and Apple) and VC-backed tech startups. Like I’ve been hearing a lot lately, “Every company is now a tech company.”

According to KPMG’s Venture Pulse Q4 2019,

“Companies across every sector are seeing a need for digital transformation, are looking to diversify their business model, and are looking to obtain the learnings offered by different startups as a mechanism to drive their own capabilities forward. Corporate VC investment is expected to continue across a number of areas … ”

Increased investment leads to company growth, and company growth leads to job growth.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,

“Employment of computer and information technology occupations is projected to grow 12 percent from 2018 to 2028, much faster than the average for all occupations … Demand for these workers will stem from greater emphasis on cloud computing, the collection and storage of big data, and information security.”

But how does sales fit into all this?

Only engineers and coders work at tech companies, right? Wrong.

Let’s look at growth in the labor market for tech sales more specifically.

In their Occupational Outlook Handbook, the BLS includes tech salespeople in two different sections: “Technology” and “Sales.”

In the “Technology” section of the Handbook there are Computer Support Specialists who “provide help and advice to computer users and organizations.”

Employment is projected to grow 10% from 2018 to 2028 for Computer Support Specialists.
“More support services will be needed as organizations upgrade their computer equipment and software.”
In May 2018, the median annual wage for Computer Network Support Specialists was $62,770.

In the “Sales” section of the Handbook there are Sales Engineers who “sell complex scientific and technological products or services to businesses.”

Employment is projected to grow 6% from 2018 to 2028 for Sales Engineers.
“As a wider range of technologically sophisticated products comes on the market, sales engineers will be in demand to sell these products and services related to these products.”
In May 2018, the median annual wage for Sales Engineers was $101,420.

So we know that tech sales is a growing job market in the U.S. on the national level. But what about on the individual company level?

Top tech companies that hire lots of salespeople.

According to LinkedIn data (gathered in April 2020), Amazon employs 26,599 salespeople (8% of total headcount), Apple employs 17,855 salespeople (11%), and Google employs 10,138 salespeople (6%).

Some of the other companies mentioned in the table below have even larger salesforces.

Oracle employs even more salespeople than Amazon, despite being half the size. 45% of Yelp’s total headcount is in sales. And Salesforce, well, it’s Salesforce.

Company	# of salespeople	% of total headcount
Oracle	26,139	16%
Amazon	26,599	8%
Apple	17,885	11%
Google	10,138	6%
Salesforce	9,516	23%
LinkedIn	3,905	19%
Yelp	3,758	45%
Adobe	2,672	11%
Box	550	19%
Pinterest	513	16%

Source: LinkedIn Insights, April 2020.

And the tech sales job market is still growing!

The BLS projects 6-10% growth in tech sales positions from 2018 to 2028, but that estimate may prove to be conservative if the tech sector as a whole outpaces its expected growth.

If that’s not enough to get you excited, here are two trends reported by Betts Recruiting that suggest now is the perfect time to be starting your career in tech sales.

1. More pay: “Junior industry changers in sales are getting the same OTE as industry-experienced professionals. In some cases, it’s even a little higher.”

2. More promotions: “Similarly, we’re seeing a continuation of the trend of promoting and hiring into senior roles with less and less experience.”

Being in an industry that more people want to get into is a recipe for rocket ship career growth.

We have a unique approach in terms of how to get a job in tech sales

Candidates have varying degrees of success with the tech sales hiring process. Conventional wisdom says this is due to the quality of the candidate.

For example, if you’re a Harvard grad with two summer internships worth of tech sales experience, then you’re going to have a higher chance of getting a tech sales job offer.

This is true, obviously. But what your resume says about who you are is only the half of it (maybe even less).

The other half (or more) is how you go about the tech sales recruitment process.

Here’s how most people apply for a job:

Log onto a job site.
Search for one or two keywords for their job title in their city of choice.
Click on a few random companies that look interesting for one reason or another.
Fill out the application and submit their resume.
And then wait to hear back.
If they don’t hear back, they repeat the same process over again.

Wrong! All wrong.

Remember, this is a sales job that you’re applying for.

And that’s exactly what you’re doing when you’re applying for a job in tech sales—you’re selling yourself.

Here’s how a salesperson would approach the tech sales recruitment process:

Prospect for companies that you want to work for.
Qualify those companies on their fit for your career goals.
Follow up if you don’t hear back after submitting your resume.
Pitch the hiring managers on your value as a new hire.
Close on job offers from multiple tech companies.
Negotiate using your offers as leverage.
Accept the right offer for you.

If you apply for a position like that, then you’re already doing what the company wants to hire you to do! They want you to prospect, qualify, pitch and close new business for the company.

These are the exact skills that tech sales recruiters are looking for.

This is a key reason why our strategy will guarantee you more interviews, which in turn, will lead to more job offers—because you’ll be using the same tried-and-true methods that real-life tech sales professionals use to close more deals.

As an added bonus, in addition to landing your tech sales dream job, you’ll also have a few sales basics already under your belt before you start in your role.

So we’re going to treat getting a job like making a sale. Instead of pitching prospects on buying a product, you’ll be pitching companies on hiring you.

1. Make sure tech sales is right for you.

There are at least 10 reasons why sales might NOT be for you:

You’re afraid of rejection.
You’re overly emotional.
You take things personally.
You’re low-energy.
You hate meeting new people.
You love the sound of your own voice.
You’re an over-thinker.
You prefer project-based work.
You prefer email over phone.
You’re uncomfortable with volatility in your paycheck.

If any of these apply to you, then you probably shouldn’t read any further. There are plenty of other careers out there.

2. Know the benefits of a career in tech sales.

Here are the top five benefits from a career in tech sales:

Top-performers make over $100,000 in their first year.
Tech is the fastest growing industry on the planet.
More promotions in a fast-growing industry like tech.
No prior experience required for entry-level positions.
Early access to startup equity.

Hopefully this will give you the motivation to complete the tech sales recruitment process through to the end.

3. Choose your tech sales job title and career path.

These are the most common job titles in tech sales:

Title	Acronym	Type
Sales Development Representative	SDR	Pre-sale
Business Development Representative	BDR	Pre-sale
Account Development Representative	ADR	Pre-sale
Inside Sales Rep	ISR	Selling
Account Executive	AE	Selling
Customer Service / Support / Success	CS	Post-sale
Account Management	AM	Post-sale

If you want to be a “closer,” you should pick a selling role.

Most of the time, this means you’ll need to start out in a pre-sale role and work your way up.

If you prefer to build relationships with current customers, post-sale is a better fit.

4. Choose your target tech companies.

Answer these questions for yourself and search on LinkedIn for tech companies with open sales opportunities that match your answers.

Company size: how big is the company where you want to work?
Product: what type of product do you want to sell?
Culture: what do you look for in a healthy work culture?
Coworkers: what qualities do you look for in the people on your team?
Work-life balance: what’s your definition of work-life balance?
Daily schedule: are you a morning person or a night owl?
Time-off policy: is there a minimum number of vacation days that you will accept?
Compensation: what range are you targeting for your compensation package?
Benefits: which benefits are essential for your lifestyle?
Promotion opportunities: is career growth important to you?
Job security: is job security an important factor for your lifestyle?
Training: is learning new skills a priority at this point in your career?
Office location: is there a city where you want to live?
Remote work: is remote work an important option for you?
Commute time: what’s the maximum amount of time you would spend commuting each day?

These six tech companies have specific sales training programs:

Salesforce (learning resources like Trailhead)
SAP (new hire training program, SAP Academy for Sales)
Oracle (new graduate training program, Class Of)
Google (learning resources like Grow with Google)
Adobe (career acceleration program, Adobe Sales Academy)
Yelp (new hire training program, Yelp University Sales Training)

5. Create or edit your resume for tech sales.

Your resume should be one-page, one-sided.
Choose an easy-to-read font (Calibri, Arial, Times New Roman).
List your experiences in reverse chronological order (current position at the top).
Start each bullet point with an action verb (managed, created, developed, sold).
Quantify whenever possible (use numbers to describe your experience).
Don’t include any pictures or graphic designs.
Make your previous experience in sales most prominent (more bullet points).
Any experience at startups or other tech companies is also a plus.

6. Use LinkedIn to find tech sales job postings.

LinkedIn is hands-down the best resource for finding a tech sales job and it’s easy to understand. Click here to learn the basics of applying for jobs on LinkedIn.

There are three important features to use when applying for jobs on LinkedIn:

Enable the Open to Job Opportunities feature (recruiters will proactively message you).
Use the Easy Apply button to send out applications (this is a huge time-saver).
Check to see if your classmates or connections work at the company (for referrals).

Before you send out your first application on LinkedIn, make sure your profile is updated. This is the first thing recruiters and hiring managers will see when they’re evaluating candidates who have applied on LinkedIn.

Add a high-resolution professional headshot for your profile photo and make sure your current location matches the city where you want to work. Read more here about how to update your LinkedIn profile.

7. Start sending out applications.

It’s important to cast a wide net at the beginning of the job search process in order to guarantee the maximum amount of job offers at the end of the process.

Here are some possible scenarios based on a 50% rejection rate at each stage and different numbers of resumes/applications sent out at the beginning of the job search process

Stage	Rejection Rate	Number of Opportunities
Resume	50%	10	20	50	100
Homework	50%	5	10	25	50
Phone interview	50%	3	5	13	25
On-site interview	50%	1	3	6	13
Offers		1	1	3	6

More applications lead to more job offers. Sales is a numbers game. Job hunting is the same. Remember to cast a wide net at the beginning of your tech sales job search.

8. Use Excel to keep track of your applications.

If you really want to get into the weeds, you can use a free CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software like Pipedrive or HubSpot. CRM software is what tech sales professionals use to keep track of their leads and prospects.

Getting CRM experience is an added bonus because it’s a software you’ll be working with in any tech sales role. It will also give you an answer to a common tech sales interview question: Do you have any experience using a CRM? If so, which one?

But it may also end up being a distraction that saps your energy from the rest of the job search. Excel works just fine.

Here’s a simple example of what your list of applications should like in Excel or Google Sheets:

Date Applied	Company	Position	Recruiter	Email	Stage
04/01/2020	Salesforce	SDR	Jane Doe	jane@sfdc.com	On-site interview
04/01/2020	SAP	Senior AE	Joe Schmo	joe@sap.com	Rejected
04/01/2020	Oracle	Cloud Platform Sales	John Doe	john@oracle.com	Phone interview
04/15/2020	Google	Account Executive	Kate Spade	kate@google.com	Rejected
04/20/2020	Adobe	Inside Sales Rep	Coco Chanel	coco@adobe.com	Waiting
04/20/2020	Yelp	Account Executive	Marc Jacobs	marc@yelp.com	Waiting

The important thing is that you’re staying organized with the companies and positions you’re applying to. Once you have dozens outstanding applications, a sheet like the one above will be essential to sending follow-ups and staying in touch with your point of contact for each position.

9. Follow these rules for messaging with recruiters.

Your emails and/or messages will often be the first impression that you make with a potential employer.

Especially if you’re applying for a sales position, the recruiter or hiring manager will be thinking in the back of their mind, “Is this how they’ll be sending emails to our clients?”

Make sure you’re following these nine rules:

Send emails from a professional address.
No fancy fonts (use Calibri, Arial, or Times New Roman)
Add the email last (so you don’t send accidentally).
Double check the name.
Triple check spelling of the name.
Use formal salutations (“Hi” instead of “Hey”)
Refrain from sarcasm and humor.
Proofread, proofread, proofread.
Use formal sign-offs (“Best” instead of “Cheers”).

10. Send follow-up messages to recruiters.

The default strategy for most job seekers goes something like this: send out a flurry of applications and wait for a response. If nobody responds, then send out another flurry of applications.

This is a losing strategy.

The winning strategy is to think like a salesperson.

When a salesperson doesn’t get a response, they don’t just give up.

No, a pro salesperson will then begin a process of systematic outreach using various contact methods and different points of contact until they get a response.

Here’s a template you can use for your first follow-up message:

Hi [name of hiring manager],

I hope you’re having a great day! My name is [your name] and I’m reaching out because I’ve just submitted my application for the Account Executive position at [company name].

I’m very excited about your company because [insert 1-2 reasons].

I’m motivated and very hard-working. I’m also coachable and willing to put in the time and effort to be successful.

Do you have a few minutes to talk on the phone sometime this week?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Many thanks,
[your name]

11. Do your research on the company.

Copy and paste the following template into a Google Doc and fill it out for each company before the interview.

Value proposition: what does the company do (in one sentence)?
Mission statement: what does the company believe in?
Products and services: how does the company make money?
Client base: who buys their products or services?
Industry: what section of the economy does the company operate in?
Competitors: what other companies are in the same industry?
Important people: who are the founders and other executives?
Employees: how many employees work at the company?
Date of founding: when was the company originally founded?
Recent news: funding, acquisitions, product launches, etc.
Interviewer: what’s the position and background of the person interviewing you?

Ideally, you’ll have these answers memorized. But just in case you forget, remember to have your research open in front of you during phone interviews.

During an on-site interview, don’t be embarrassed to have you research out on the table in front of you. It’s better than not knowing the answer and it shows that you’re prepared.

12. Practice your answers in a mock interview.

This list of questions was gathered by cross-referencing personal experience (from both sides of the table), anecdotes from colleagues, and various sources on the internet (including HubSpot and Sales Hacker).

There is a longer version of this list (hundreds of questions), but these are 20 of the questions that most commonly recur in tech sales interviews:

Tell me about yourself.
What do you know about our company?
Why do you want to work for our company?
Why are you leaving your current company?
Why did you choose a career in sales?
Why should we hire you?
Sell me this pen.
What are your long-term career goals?
What gets you up in the morning?
How do you motivate yourself?
Walk me through a sale from prospecting to closing.
Tell me about a sale that you lost.
Tell me about a sale that you won.
Tell me about a time you had to deal with an unsatisfied customer.
What’s your strategy for handling objections?
What would you do if you were behind on your quota?
Tell me about a time you disagreed with a manager.
Would you describe yourself as a team player?
What do you do for fun?
Do you have any questions for me?

Make flash cards with the questions on one side and your answers on the other, and practice with a friend or career coach as if it were a real-life interview.

13. Prepare for a sales role-play.

You’re not going to be able to pull off a perfect pitch, and the company knows this, so don’t stress about it. What the company is really testing for is to see that you have some natural sales skills and an ability to learn and improve.

Here are three things to remember for any sales role-play:

Start by asking questions.
Ask for feedback afterwards.
Ask for permission to try again.

14. Write down a list of questions for your interviewer.

In every interview, without fail, the interviewer will always ask, “Do you have any questions for me?”

How you respond will make or break your chances of getting the job.

If you scratch your head, look up at the ceiling, and try to come up with a few questions on the spot, you’re already dead in the water.

This demonstrates a lack of preparedness, a certain level of disinterest, and an inability to have an enjoyable back-and-forth conversation.

Write down your list of questions before the interview. Here are some questions to include in your list:

What’s the biggest problem your team is currently working on?
Can you tell me more about your career path from [previous employer] to [current employer]?
What’s your favorite part about working at the company?
How would you describe the company culture?
Could you walk me through a typical “day in the life” for someone in this position?
How does the company measure success for this role?
What do you see as the most challenging aspect of this job?
Do you have any hesitations about my fit for this position that I can address?
What can I expect for next steps in the interview process?

15. Survive the phone interview(s).

According to Salesforce, 92% of all customer interactions happen over the phone.

Needless to say, talking on the phone is an important part of a tech sales job, which makes the phone interview an important part of the tech sales interview process.

Use these five basic rules for your tech sales interview:

Find a quiet place to take the call.
Build rapport at the very beginning.
Don’t forget to ask questions.
Send a prompt “thank you” email.
Follow up if you don’t hear back.

Click here for more in-depth information on each of these bullet points.

16. Ace the on-site interview.

The on-site interview is usually one of the last rounds in a tech sales interview process.

You should have already done ample research on the company, practiced your answers for the phone interviews, and prepared a list of questions.

The difference with the on-site interview that you will be in-person. So we want to prepare for this specific aspect by checking our physical appearance and mannerisms.

Dress appropriately.
Double check the address.
Arrive early, but not too early.
Bring a professional folder to hold your documents.
Bring a notebook and pen.
Ask the right questions.
Make a final pitch for yourself.

Click here for more in-depth information on each of these bullet points.

17. Negotiate with multiple offers.

There’s plenty of bad advice about negotiation. But there’s at least one approach that is relatively straightforward and won’t tarnish your reputation with the company if it doesn’t work.

This approach involves aligning your interview timelines so that you reach the offer stage with several companies at the same time, and then using multiple offers to compare and choose the best one.

Here are the five steps to this approach:

Align your interview timelines.
Frame your proposal carefully.
Be prepared to accept the other offer that you’re using as leverage.
See the bigger picture.
Don’t negotiate just because.

The last bullet point is important. In some cases, a job offer is an amazing opportunity as it is. If another company is offering you a better salary, but it’s a worse opportunity for other reasons, then it might not be worth trying to negotiate with that higher salary.

18. Use a T-chart to make your final decision.

The most simple version of a T-chart looks like this:

ABC Corporation, SDR	XYZ Startup, AE
$60k base, $75k OTE Full benefits package Training program My best friend works there	$50k base, $80k OTE Generous stock options “This company has a shot” Office is right next to my apartment

If you want a more complicated version, you can add another column with your top priorities like this:

	ABC Corporation, SDR	XYZ Startup, AE
Compensation	$60k base, $75k OTE	$50k base, $80k OTE
Training	2-month training program	Not mentioned
Promotion opportunities	AE after two years	Sales manager after one year
Benefits	Full benefits package	Healthcare, nothing else
Time-off policy	14 vacation days per year	Not specified
Job security	High	Low
Commute time	30 minutes	5 minutes
Remote work	Yes, one day per week	No, not available

And you can add more columns if you have more than two offers that you’re choosing between.

After you’re finished, go through with a red marker and circle the job offer that wins in each category. Add up the amount of circles. Maybe count the important circles twice. The job offer with the most circles is your best choice.

Most importantly, consult with your mentors, friends, and family. And take plenty of time to make the decision.

Break Into Tech Sales