
Tech Sales Career Paths
Sellers often ask me how to break into tech sales. So often, in fact, that I already wrote about it. That article includes a lot of great info about what tech sales is, the skills you need to be good at it, and how to get started.
However, I haven’t covered the different paths your tech sales career can take once you have a foot in the door.
Consider the following Tech Sales Career Paths 101. Every sales rep’s career journey is unique, of course, but this can give you a good idea of what to expect early in your tech sales career and opportunities you may have in the future.
See also: 5 Reasons to Choose Tech Sales as a Career
Early Years in Tech Sales
If I were just getting started in sales today, this is the path I’d want someone to recommend to me:
Break into tech sales as an entry-level SDR.
On-target Earnings: $70k
What to do within the role: Work really hard, and set yourself apart
Timeframe: 9 months
Parlay your first role into an SDR role at an established company.
On-target Earnings: $85k
What to do within the role: Work really hard, and set yourself apart. (Again.)
Timeframe: 1 year
Turn that role into an SMB Account Executive role (ideally the same org)
On-target Earnings: $120k
What to do within the role: Work really hard, and set yourself apart. (Sound familiar?)
Timeframe: 2 years
Use that role to get another AE role with larger deal sizes
On-target Earnings: $175k
What to do within the role: Work really hard, and set yourself apart. (Rinse and repeat.)
Timeframe: 3 years
Options for What to Do Next
Once you’ve been an account executive for several years and worked larger deal sizes, your career path has some options.
You can:
Take an Account Manager role with higher base, but lower upside
Some would consider this a bit of a “safer” option
Or you can:
Take a management role with higher base and OTE, but lower upside
This possibly puts you on track for the C-suite. If that’s your goal, expect it to take 5–7 years.
Or you can:
Stay on the AE track
Parlay your previous AE roles into a senior or enterprise AE role with on-target earnings of $300k. Keep working really hard and set yourself apart — and just make bank.
Top performers in these roles are clearing $1 million per year. You can, too.
Follow the Lead of the Best Tech Sales Reps
Every one of these decision points and transitions requires one constant from you:
Work hard. Set yourself apart.
How do you do that?
- Do what’s required.
- Do things that you don’t really feel like doing today.
- Do those things again tomorrow.
- Do more of them next week and next month.
- Make a few extra calls.
- Send that follow-up this evening instead of waiting until tomorrow.
- Check in with deals you signed a few months back.
- Don’t complain that “1.5 years is too long to stick it out”
A path to $1 million is in front of you and any other sales rep who chooses to take it. But so is the path to 7 different companies over the next 10 years, never getting to your OTE.
Some of it is out of your control. But a lot of it isn’t.
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