Tech Sales Job Roles You Can Apply for!
TECH SALES has been a growing branch of the tech industry thanks to the continuous rise of the internet and modern-world innovations. When you search for “TECH SALES” in LinkedIn.com right now, there are over 14,400 results in the United States alone.
This simply means that there are plenty of tech companies, each striving to meet their sales targets, that have multiple tech sales jobs in need of manpower right now! All over the globe, every business that is involved with the industry of tech sales is a potential employer looking for the right people that will fit perfectly in their sales and marketing teams!
Tech sales follows the same concepts as the traditional sales practices, with a visible distinction of specifically selling technological products and services such as software, hardware, SaaS, etc. So, it is no surprise that just like traditional sales, there are multiple tech sales positions in need of manpower right now, and we listed some of them below, together with their average annual pay!
Sales Development Representatives (SDR)
First is the Sales Development Representatives or SRD. At the start of the sales pipeline, they are tasked of qualifying leads from implemented marketing campaigns as opportunities for possible sales opportunities. A sales development representative exhibits their interpersonal skills to push potential clients from being a prospector to actual buyers.
Sales Development Representatives usually handle the inbound prospecting to gain potential clients. Inbound prospecting means that the clients they usually handle are those prospective clients who contacted the tech company first.
A tech sales rep assigned with the role of an SDR must capitalize on the fact that the initiator of the sales negotiation are the potential customers themselves. It is imperative that the SDR apply the appropriate sales strategies and soft skills necessary to close deals.
How much does a Sales Development Representative make?
Being an entry-level position the sales people in these roles might earn less than the other tech sales job roles listed. However, Sales Development Representatives earn about $69,334 per year and that is still an impressive amount for an entry-level job.
Business Development Representative (BDR)
Next are Business Development Representatives or (BDR). BDRs are tasked with handling the first contact with potential clients through the process of outbound prospecting. Unlike inbound prospecting, outbound prospecting is where a tech sales rep initiates contact with prospective clients first through cold calling, cold emails, social selling and networking.
A tech sales rep assigned with the role of a Business Development Representative must have high interpersonal skills and good technical skills in writing to make sure that potential clients get through the first phase of the full sales cycle successfully.
One of the soft skills necessary to work as a BDR is the skill of persuasion. Due to the fact that it is the business that initiated the first contact, the capability to persuade a prospective client to purchase products/services from the business is a responsibility of the BDR.
How much does a Business Development Representative make?
Business Development Representatives are somehow on the same levels with the Sales Development Representatives. BDRs earn a decent amount of about $72,979 per year which is somehow close to the annual average pay of SDRs.
Inside Sales Representative (ISR)
The third example is the Inside Sales Representatives. Inside Sales Representatives or (ISR) handle finding leads like SDRs and BDRs. They are also equipped with the technical knowledge and sales techniques of tech sales reps in the field; however, these sales professionals are not responsible for meeting clients face-to-face.
Inside Sales Representatives rely heavily on their communication skills and other technical soft skills because they perform their sales function by performing their sales techniques through telephones, mobile phones or through the use of online channels. Being incapable of seeing the client’s facial expression, temperament and other “tells” a client may have in a sales negotiation is a challenge that every ISR must overcome.
How much does an Inside Sales Representative make?
Inside Sales Representatives are also just about the same position as BDRs and SDRs. This explains why they earn $70,065 per year which is near the salary range of the latter mentioned ranks.
Account Manager (AM)
The fourth example is the Account Manager. An Account Manager executes their part in the overall sales process after the deal has been closed and finalized. Whether it be assuring that the existing client gets the most out of the products or services offered, addressing any issues the clients encountered and even documenting the results of the client’s use of your product or services.
It is important for the Account Manager to execute his/her duties well to assure that the closed deals have high customer satisfaction ratings. If a high customer satisfaction rating is achieved, then the possibility of having repeat customers also increases.
How much does an Account Manager make?
Account Managers earn a decent pay of $73,957. This is to compensate for their after-sale services which aids the business to get repeat customers.
Account Executive
Fifth on the list is the tech job role: Account Executives. The role of an Account Executive also usually occurs at the early stages of the sales funnel but specifically after the Sales Representatives have done their part.
An Account Executive is responsible for meeting the clients and performing sales demonstrations to help the clients understand the product and services more. To increase the probability of closing deals, the Account Executive must be able to showcase the product’s/services’ full value throughout the sales demonstrations.
This sales position in the tech sales industry requires having a competent tech salesperson while also having a quality product. If either of the two is missing, the probability of closing deals simply decreases. Being an Account Executive does not only demand decent interpersonal skills but it also requires strong communication skills due to the fact that you have to convince your clients you have better technology products compared to the competition.
How much does an Account Executive make?
Closely working on closing deals, Account Executives earn about $88,623 per year. That is a higher pay than the aforementioned positions due to Account Executive being a more senior position.
Customer Success Managers
Sixth is the Customer Success Manager. They execute their share of responsibilities in the full sales cycle at post-sale. They are responsible for making sure that the existing customers are getting the most out of the products or services they purchased and every query they have about the product/services bought are addressed.
Customer Success Managers must have an incredible technical knowledge about the business’ products and services because clarifying instructions, explaining features, assisting with the implementation processes and even the troubleshooting of the product or service are all part of a CSM’s job.
How much does a Customer Success Manager make?
Being a highly technical job role, Customer Success Managers are paid an average of $93,962 per year. That’s a good pay for a very technical responsibility!
Renewal Specialist
Next is Renewal Specialists. Renewal Specialists are charged with making sure that the existing clients continue to patronize the products or services of their business in the near future. For a certain period of time just before a client’s contract expires, Renewal Specialists makes sure that a contract renewal occurs.
Renewal Specialists are responsible for going through the entire contract terms with the existing clients. This also includes the responsibility of enforcement of price increases, introduction of new features/products/services and even just the function of persuading the existing customers to renew the contract.
How much does a Renewal Specialist make?
Renewal Specialists assures that clients renew the contracts they have engaged in from the previous sales cycle. For companies to renew these specialist’s employment contracts for another year, they are paid an average of $72,112 per year.
Sales Engineer
Eighth example are Sales Engineers. The role of a Sales Engineers or SE’s is to act as a bridge that connects the technical aspects of the tech business to the actual sales functions of their firm. Sales Engineers have in depth knowledge in both the tasks and responsibilities of a sales tech salesperson while having a thorough understanding of their own firm’s technical systems and processes. They use their knowledge and sales experience to aid the tech sales teams to gain more prospects and close more deals throughout the sales process.
In actual practice, Sales Engineers spend a major portion of their time meeting with the sales representative and their respective clients to resolve any technical problems they have and monitor the status of the negotiations for all sales teams deployed.
How much does a Sales Engineer make?
Due to the experience and technical knowledge necessary to carry on this role, Sales Engineers have to be paid generously. Sales Engineers are reported to earn an average of $117,642 per year!
Sales Manager (SM)
The ninth example is Sales Managers. People who have been able to reach the job title of “Sales Manager” exhibit their soft skills of leadership and communication to their respective tech sales team. They are responsible for leading all tech sales reps and making sure that they are meeting set sales targets consistently through the use of KPIs. Sales Managers are also responsible for making sure that the implemented sales strategy is continuously working to get new customers.
These experienced sales representatives who are granted leadership positions, act not only as team leaders that guide and motivate the entire sales team to execute the sales strategies, but they are also responsible for assessing and monitoring individual performance by each member of the sales team.
How much does the Sales Manager make?
Tasked with the leadership role and carrying heavier responsibilities than the majority of the sales team, Sales Managers must also be compensated well. According to research, Sales Managers earn about $116,844 per year!
Sales Director (SD)
At number 10 we have Sales Directors. This specific tech sales position is assigned with a huge leadership responsibility within the tech sales organization. In the tech industry, they are responsible for setting sales targets, annual budgets, KPIs, and other necessary metrics of performance to aid the tech company in meeting their goals.
To be successful, a technology company should be able to choose/hire a Sales Director that has high technical skills and broad understanding about tech sales as a whole, paired with the leadership characteristics necessary to every tech sales representative in the tech sales organization.
How much does Sales Director make?
Being the highest rank in our list and most definitely the person with the highest sales experience among the other ranks, you already know that this technology salesperson is definitely paid very well. Earning $216,8734 per year, Sales Directors are compensated fairly for their leadership and competency!
According to our research, the aforementioned job titles above are the most common tech sales job roles available to apply for right now! To sum things up, most people look for careers that have: High Manpower Demand and a Good Annual Compensation.
Of course, the job titles above check both these criteria. Yet as a conclusion for this blog post, let’s get into the mentioned criteria in detail.
First off, there is a huge demand to fill in multiple tech sales positions nowadays. Some tech sales firms don’t even care if you have a bachelor’s degree as long as you are capable of performing the functions of the job titles they need to fill in.
Second, these tech companies, especially the big ones, have the financial capacity to pay their tech sales reps a huge average salary. The starting salary for entry-level positions is estimated to be well above $50,000 per year!
Ultimately, sales careers in tech sales offer promising career paths. All aspirants who are willing to put in the work necessary and gain the necessary knowledge and soft skill can become successful in this specific field whether or not they have prior sales experience to begin with!