According to our internal data, the average first-year earnings for a Flockjay Tech Fellow is $75,000. Their base salary is $52,000 and their variable compensation, which is comprised of their commission and bonuses, is $23,000. But since they can give themselves grace, learn from their mistakes, and get right back up, they can separate themselves from the rest of the pack.

Job growth for sales managers is expected to be around five percent through 2031, according to the U.S. And with roles like account executives making well over the median U.S. salary, it’s a lucrative field to get into. As the industry has boomed, so too has the number of tech sales jobs. Usually, this means trying to schedule meetings for the AE with the right people who are interested in your company’s product. If their AE closes one of the leads and turns them into a paying customer, they earn a commission on that sale.

How will we be placing students without degrees?

BDRs are usually focused on outbound lead generation and qualification where SDRs focus on inbound leads. You’ve got leads coming in, you figure out which ones are legit, and then you acquire them as customers. SDRs who consistently hit or exceed their quota are also often promoted to account representative or account executive within a year or year and a half.

Although this is common in most sales industries, tech companies rely on clients renewals of subscriptions more heavily than other industries. The pressure to maintain an ongoing relationship with clients is both vital to success and a challenge to sales reps and account managers. A technical sales representative liaises between sales teams and customers. Although some sales development representatives may have at least a bachelor’s degree, having a degree may not be required for some SDR positions.

What you can do in Sales

The best way to show those skills during an interview is to research the company like a prospect. Brush up on the company’s mission, its product and the team, Jordan said. Find out the hiring manager’s name ahead of time, study the role and read the company’s most recent news. When Jacob Gebrewold applied for an open tech sales job at Klue, he figured the company wouldn’t be looking to hire someone like him — an outsider to the tech industry. While he had five years of sales experience, a lack of tech background is often all it takes for a resume to sink to the bottom of the stack.

Sales managers and sales leaders, like SaaS sales advisor Justin Welsh, want their reps to perform and have suggestions. When work is organized, you know what you have to do and when you have to do it. It’s hard to answer questions about something you don’t understand. It’s even harder to sell that thing if you can’t explain the benefits or the features. Sales reps have to answer questions in ways that educate and entice the prospect. If a prospect’s information matches up with the profile of a good customer, then the prospect moves forward.

Technical SDR skills

A sales development representative typically interacts with potential customers at the beginning of their buyer’s journey. In contrast, a sales representative typically nurtures qualified leads and, in some cases, may be responsible for closing the sales. Getting a job in tech sales also offers career mobility and advancement opportunities. Sales and marketing positions rank second for the most in-demand positions, as of 2022, which means there are often many open sales roles in tech.

To connect with prospects, you’ll need to understand the best places to find your ideal customers. These might include trade shows, social media, conferences, online communities and forums, referrals from current customers, and social events. The tech sales process differs from more traditional sales industries. Reps in fields like retail or insurance primarily sell to buyers at the tail end of the sales funnel. The buyer has already made their decision, and the main difference maker is whether the rep is likable or not, Jordan said.

Is The SDR Career Path Right for Me?

A number of things go into each responsibility, but at the end of the day what matters is the number of qualified leads SDRs move through the sales process. SDRs educate, answer questions, and send resources to potential customers. SDRs must be able to ask nerve-wracking questions like if their lead has enough budget to https://wizardsdev.com/en/vacancy/sales-development-representative/ purchase their product and if they’re the main decision-maker on their team. They also need to muster enough courage to ask their leads to meet with their AE. But before we dive into how you can launch your tech sales career, let’s explore what an SDR actually does, what skills they need, and how much money they make.

• Working in retail sales, for example, can offer valuable experience in interacting with customers and presenting products.
• As a result, they may think their ability to sell sawdust to a lumber mill is an attribute, but it’s an immediate turn-off for hiring managers at tech companies.
• Say the wrong things and the prospect wants to talk to your manager.
• Each of those steps helped Gebrewold stand out in the mind of the sales director and insulated him from being eliminated from the process because of a lack of experience.

Each of those steps helped Gebrewold stand out in the mind of the sales director and insulated him from being eliminated from the process because of a lack of experience. He also reached out to many of his connections to see if they’d vouch for him to Klue. Their notes to the hiring manager played an integral role in helping him get the position.

Steps to Become a Tech Sales Rep

The amount of experience you need to qualify for tech sales rep positions varies by role, company and industry. Many tech sales representatives come from diverse educational and professional backgrounds, such as engineering, sales and marketing. There is no single pathway to becoming a tech sales rep, but these professionals tend to have in-depth technical knowledge, sales acumen and strong interpersonal skills. After identifying an organization’s internal structure, a tech sales rep presents their product or service as a solution to an existing problem for the organization. Beyond closing sales, tech sales reps continue supporting organizations once they become clients. Through research, you’ll learn more about a company’s size, goals, pain points, and potential budget.

An SDR, or Sales Development Representative, is an entry-level sales position. SDRs work with upper-level salespeople — usually an account executive — to book meetings with best-fit leads for them so that they can close them into customers. A lot of tech companies will post jobs that require some software sales experience, even for entry-level roles. This creates a barrier that prevents talented reps from other industries from even applying, Jordan said.