Considering a career in tech sales but unsure where to start? This guide helps you understand the complexities of learning tech sales and the prerequisites needed for a successful career.
How Difficult is it to Learn Tech Sales?
Are you curious about learning tech sales but worried that it might be too hard? Of course, the difficulty that comes with learning a new skill is somewhat subjective. The challenges of learning tech sales depend on factors likehow easily you learn complex tools, how comfortable you are with sales practices like cold calling, and how organized you are.
No matter your current schedule or comfort level with tech sales, there are plenty of tools available to help make learning easier than you might think.
What is Tech Sales?
Tech sales is exactly that: selling technology. Technology Sales Representatives work for companies that make hardware, software, or provide services like cyber security or financial services, but tech sales is focused more on solving a problem than on selling a product. Building a relationship with customers based on meeting their needs is the foundation of tech sales.
Tech sales is a business-to-business sales model, also known as “B2B.” Sales Reps spend a lot of time reaching out to potential clients through cold calling or emails. Once they’ve made a connection, Tech Sales Reps often pass the clients on to an Account Executive to complete the sale, but the Rep usually stays in contact with clients after the sale to make sure they are satisfied.
Because businesses continue to embrace technological solutions, the field of tech sales is easy to get into. There are many opportunities available, and the pay is very good. As long as technology is booming, tech sales will be a solid career.
Read more about what tech sales are and why you should learn it.
What Can You Do with Tech Sales?
Do you have a passion for technology? Are you always reading about new devices and what they can do, but you don’t know how to code and aren’t really interested in learning? You can turn that passion into a new career in tech sales. Selling software as a product relies less on the development of the software and more on what problems it can solve. If you are outgoing and enjoy talking about what software products can do for people, you can use those skills in tech sales. This is a rapidly growing field that offers numerous opportunities for advancement and lucrative pay.
When you work in tech sales, you can find a job in different kinds of companies. Some sales reps work for firms that sell hardware products, others develop and sell software, and others sell services. If you want to change to a different type of product down the road, that won’t be a problem in the high-demand field of tech sales. It is easy to get into and jobs are plentiful. Most businesses use some type of technology product, so tech sales is likely to remain strong far into the future.
What Are the Most Challenging Parts of Learning Tech Sales?
The most difficult part of learning tech sales is mastering the various tools used in the field. Tools like Google Analytics for gathering sales and marketing data, Tableau for creating visualizations from the data, or Customer Relations Management software like Salesforce or HubSpot are an important part of a Tech Sales Rep’s job. These are powerful products that serve many functions, and while they make the work easier, in the long run they can be a challenge to learn. Watching tutorials or signing up for a class can help make the learning process much easier.
Another part of tech sales that some people find challenging is catching on to the sales process. Making cold calls can be intimidating, but once you’ve done it for a while, your anxiety level will drop. Experience really helps with this problem. One way to get past the nervousness of cold calling is to develop a phone persona. This puts some psychological distance between you and the potential client, and it won’t feel like a personal rejection if they say no. Another thing you can do is to learn the script by heart. Instead of reading the words, talk about the product in a natural way.
Some people also have trouble with time management and organization when learning tech sales. You need to keep track of calls and results, as well as schedule callbacks for another time. Tech Sales Reps also set up meetings with clients for Account Executives, so that is a second schedule to coordinate. This is another area where software tools come in handy, but you have to be organized enough to set up the meetings.
How Does Learning Tech Sales Compare to Other Fields?
While there are challenges to learning tech sales, the field has a low barrier to entry, and taking a class is a good way to make learning easier. In terms of difficulty, learning tech sales is similar to learning other fields like digital marketing, web development, or project management.
Digital Marketing
Digital marketing shares some aspects with tech sales, such as interacting with customers, using technology, and sales, but digital marketing is more about building a community, while tech sales focus on creating one-on-one relationships with customers. One difficulty that they share is learning to use the complicated data analytics tools that both fields rely on. Fortunately, taking a class can help you overcome that challenge.
Web Development
Web development also relies on technology, but of a different kind. Web Developers learn to code in order in languages like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Python to build websites and apps. Coding can be difficult to learn, depending on how comfortable you are with complex information. If you get frustrated easily, coding can be a big challenge. Tech sales careers don’t usually involve coding, but the product you are selling does, so familiarizing yourself with the process can make learning tech sales go more smoothly.
Project Management
Project management can involve technology, but it doesn’t necessarily have to. Essentially, project management is about seeing a product through the creation process. Project Managers need to be organized and good at following schedules and budgets. These are also qualities important for tech sales. Developing a sense of what should come next and problem-solving can take time, but training and experience can help you get a handle on the process.
Learn Business & Marketing Skills with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop
You can learn project management and digital marketing through Noble Desktop. Noble’s Project Management Bootcamp covers methods for running projects effectively and managing scope, time, and resources. Noble’s Digital Marketing Certificate covers creating internet marketing campaigns, including SEO, social media marketing, paid and unpaid search, and analytics. Noble also offers classes in Excel, Python, and SQL if you want to take your business practices further.
Classes are taught by industry professionals who have real-world experience in their subjects. Class sizes are small, and you can choose between in-person training and live online sessions. Each class offers a free retake option within a year, and upon completion, you will receive a digital certificate that you can attach to your resume or LinkedIn profile.