One of the fastest-growing industries of the 21st century is undoubtedly tech sales. Between innovations like computers, AI, social media, and more, tech is everywhere. And the demand continues to increase. With constant innovations and massive demand, tech sales have become an extremely lucrative industry. As such, there is no shortage of people looking to break into the field and take advantage. Because of this competition for a limited number of tech sales positions is at an all-time high. Luckily for you, we have a quick guide on how you can break into tech sales in 4 easy steps.
- Build your Portfolio with Certifications and Classes
- Highlight Experience in Sales
- Build Knowledge About the Industry
- Learn to Network
Here is a detailed guide on how to break into the tech sales industry in 4 easy steps.
Build Your Portfolio with Certifications and Classes in Technology Sales
One of the best ways to break into tech sales is by boosting your resume with classes and certifications. Obviously obtaining a college degree in tech, sales, or another related field is a great place to start. It is important, however, not to get stuck thinking a college education is the only way into the field. There is a wide array of quality content and courses that you can take on your own that look great on a tech sales resume. Any sort of certificate whether it be tech sales or just regular sales will look great on a resume and can help separate you from other candidates.
The classes required to obtain these certificates range in time commitment and financial cost. This means you can select the option that’s best for you. Some higher-end courses such as the Springboard Tech Sales Bootcamp can cost around $9000 and take about 3 months to complete. Meanwhile, programs like the Trailhead Salesforce Administrator certification can be obtained without taking additional courses. The exam itself costs $200 to take. Trailhead also offers a course to prepare for the exam at an increased cost. The course typically takes around 7 weeks to complete.
Highlight Experience in Sales
The next step for breaking into the tech sales industry is to highlight your experience in sales. It can sometimes be easy to forget that sales are just as big an aspect of the industry as tech is. While it is important you understand the complexities of the technology you’re selling, it is equally as important that you have good sales skills. Highlighting and demonstrating your people skills and sales skills can be the difference between you and other potential candidates.
It is always a good idea to highlight any sort of sales experience you may have on your resume, even if it wasn’t the primary role of the previous job. Oftentimes companies weigh sales experience and knowledge more heavily than they evaluate technical know-how. Obtaining sales certificates is another great way to highlight your sales experience on a resume.
Build Knowledge About the Technology Sales Industry
A good way to break into not just tech sales, but any desired field, is to build your knowledge of the industry. Do your research on what companies are in the field and what types of candidates get more attention, constantly browse new articles and reports about the industry, study the market and learn its nuances and flow, and anything else you can do to expand your understanding of the industry and the people within it.
A good general tip for building knowledge of the industry is to make sure you are following company profiles and people on sights like LinkedIn. Professional social media sites like LinkedIn present a great opportunity to build industry knowledge without much effort on your part. It can also be helpful to follow accounts on non-professional websites like Twitter, Facebook, or TikTok. Following industry and company accounts can help to keep you in the loop with current events in the field.
Learn to Network
Finally, learning to network is a great way to get a foot in the door of the technology sales industry. Oftentimes networking can go hand-in-hand with building knowledge about the industry. With sites like LinkedIn, you can connect directly with professionals already working in the industry. Take advantage of these connections and don’t be afraid to reach out with questions or even just reach out to strike up a conversation. If things go well you may be able to set up a Zoom call or meeting to pick their brain about working in the industry.
The most important thing to remember when networking is to just keep trying to make connections and build relationships. Each new connection you can make is another potential doorway into tech sales, and you never know when a door is going to open.
Summary
While tech sales can be an intimidating field to try to break into, following these 4 steps is a great place to start. Add to your resume tech or sales-based certificates. These courses can vary greatly in pricing and time commitment, but each one you can add to your resume makes a difference. Highlight your experience in sales. Tech sales are just as much about sales as it is about tech. If you can demonstrate yourself as a talented and experienced salesperson it should give you a leg up on the competition.
Furthermore, always seek to grow your knowledge of the industry. Follow news, market trends, or anything else you can find in the industry. The more comfortable you are with the industry as a whole the better you will appear as a potential candidate. Finally, make sure you are networking. Build as many connections and relationships with people in the industry as you can. You never know when one will help you to get a foot in the door. Hopefully, by following these 4 steps you can start to break your way into tech sales.
