What is tech sales?

You might have heard the term “tech sales” but what is it actually? Maybe you saw a TikTok claiming how much money you can make, maybe your good friend is in SaaS sales and you are curious what they do. Tech sales is an industry that mostly sells software products to other companies, and can be a great career to be in. In this article we will explain more about what tech sales is and talk through how to get into tech sales yourself.

What kind of products are you selling?

In most of the roles in this space, you will be selling software products to other businesses or what they call B2B sales.

Some popular SaaS companies you might have heard of include Twilio, Salesforce, Miro, Atlassian, AWS, Canva, and many more.

You will be responsible for talking with potential customers and communicating the software product offering effectively to close deals and bring in more revenue for the business.

What are the different roles in tech sales?

• SDR or Sales Development Representative
• Account Executive
• Sales Manager
• Sales Engineer
• Customer Success Managers
• VP of Sales

We will now go into more about what each role in the tech sales industry actually does.

There are many roles in tech sales, as seen in the list above, including an SDR or BDR, which usually prospect or reach out to leads. This is an entry level sales role, so good if you are just starting out in tech sales.

Account executives on the other hand, usually have demos with clients and work on closing the deal. A lot of the times, the company with take the highest performing SDRs and turn them into AEs or account executives.

If you are working in tech sales with a highly technical product, you will most likely have a sales engineer that would work with you as well. This person would be able to answer any technical questions the client may have regarding API implementation or general questions.

Then after you close the deal, they are usually handed off to customer success, which is another role in tech sales. They make sure the customer is happy and works on getting the new features implemented that they want.

There is also a sales manager who will manage the sales teams, and then even a VP of Sales who will oversee everything on the sales side. Keep in mind these roles will vary pending on the size of the company.

When most people say I work in tech sales though, they are most likely either an SDR / BDR or an account executive. These are the 2 most common roles in tech sales. 

How do you break into tech sales?

How can you get your foot in the door in the tech industry? We don’t blame you for wanting to get into tech sales, the companies and the compensation can be awesome.

Step 1

To get your first job in sales, you will most likely need to start out as an SDR or BDR. As mentioned previously, this person will be responsible for reaching out to leads via email, phone, LinkedIn messages, or any other means of communication they can.

Most of the time, their focus is on booking demos for the account executives. You can also go the sales engineer route or customer success route if that path interests you.

A lot of the times companies will offer referral fees to sales reps if they bring on people they know, so don’t be afraid to use you network! Have a friend in sales? Shoot them a text. Maybe they have a job waiting for you.

Bonus Tip: One good way to stand out is once you figure out the hiring manager for the role you are interested in, add them on LinkedIn and shoot them a message!

Step 2

Once you have proven yourself as a sales rep, you will either be promoted to the sales manager on an account executive.

This is where you can start making the real money. SDRs and BDRs don’t make off too shabby though, you can make over $100,000 per year at the right org.

To view the complete salary data set for SDRs or BDRs, go here: 

To view entry level sales jobs at some great tech companies, go here and sort by SDR / BDR.

What skills or traits do you need to be good at tech sales?

These are some of the traits good sales people usually have, but there are many that are not on this list. In sales, you need to be pretty well rounded, but it’s open for anyone to give it a shot. One of the main ones that isn’t listed below, but ties into being both persistent and driven, is the ability to take “no” for an answer.

1. Good / Active Listener
2. Empathetic
3. Effective Communicator 
4. Confident 
5. Persistent 
6. Driven

By gaining these skills, you can increase your chances of being successful in the world of tech sales. Another thing you can do to improve your chances of being successful in tech sales is befriending someone else at work that has been there a bit longer and can show you the ropes.

Conclusion 

As mentioned previously, tech sales can be an amazing industry to work in, especially in 2023. Things might have cooled a bit, but they are quickly picking up steam again.

Most companies in this space are fast paced startups where you will be able to learn a lot, really quickly. If you are interested in tech sales or just sales in general, you can explore potential companies to work for by going here: 

We think tech sales is the place to be, and will be around for a long time to come. Good Luck!