posted 11th February 2022
As an IT recruitment agency that has an arm specialising solely in IT sales jobs, it is apparent that the role of an IT salesperson can take many forms. The range of IT sales roles available is wide and varied. In fact, most IT recruitment consultants choose a sector of the overall IT sales marketplace and specialise in it to best assist IT sales candidates and clients. At TSR Select, we specialise in IT roles within MSPs, IT VARs, resellers, IT security, networking, Cloud computing, and related technologies so I have given some examples of the different roles and salaries further on in this article.
One way to understand the differences in IT sales jobs at a more general level is to evaluate them based upon if the benefits of the IT product sold are predominately commercial or technical.
If the IT product has commercial benefits, such as CRM software for vertical markets like accountancy, legal, or the recruitment sector, then the salesperson's commercial skills are key. The commercial benefits of an IT solution tend to help employees be better at their jobs such as partners billing more hours, companies reducing business or staff costs, or workers being more efficient at their jobs. In this situation, the IT solution will be chosen for commercial reasons and simply approved by the technology team. These IT products are normally sold to commercial managers such as Managing, Financial, Sales or Marketing Directors.
The person selling these commercial IT products needs a mix of sales skills and an understanding of the specific vertical market into which they are selling. Expertise from previous work such as being a former accountant, solicitor, or recruiter is a huge benefit and may be more important than having any technical knowledge.
However, when the benefits of the IT solution sold are more technical and involve IT infrastructure then technical knowledge is essential. This includes IT solutions such as moving operations to the Cloud. These IT technical sales are designed to improve the clients' technology stack. Normally this means selling to Chief Technology Officers and their teams and offering solutions that involve changes to core IT infrastructure to reduce IT spend and improve networking speed or security.
In these types of tech sales jobs, salespeople need to demonstrate the benefits being offered to the client and show that the IT solutions can be successfully integrated into the clients' existing IT landscape. Often in these roles, the salesperson will be working with a technical presales resource but even then, initial conversations are with technical staff within the business about technical matters.
Overall, the needs of different IT sales roles will depend on the concept of complexity versus commodity. An entry level IT sales role within a standard reseller will demand hard work, enthusiasm, and desire rather than technical knowledge. For example, selling 100 laptops to somebody who knows they want them does not demand massive technical knowledge. The laptops are a commodity that the client already knows they want. In this instance, the sale is likely to be made based upon price and availability.
On the other hand, creating a remote working environment for those laptops to be used safely and securely with highly confidential information on a worldwide basis will require a complex IT solution. The person selling this type of IT solution will need to understand the technical challenges involved and be competent in that technology.
The IT sector values sales and business development skills highly and offers opportunities for people with these to enter the industry before they have real technical skills. Normally these are commodity or commercial roles. Then as time moves on, if you gain knowledge as you work in these entry-level positions, you may have the opportunity to move into Technical Sales roles where the previous IT technical knowledge gained becomes valuable.
For new entrants to the world of IT sales, the first roles will often be new business orientated involving lots of phone work, prospecting, and cold calling. Technical knowledge will be developed as the salesperson sells more and becomes more experienced. These entry level roles usually pay basic salaries of £24,000 to £30,000 with commission on top.
Once sales professionals have developed strong technical knowledge, they tend to want to use it. They aim for roles that involve less business development activity, and instead focus more on face-to-face time with clients, often with existing accounts. These roles are classed as Technical Sales jobs, often Account Management-based and involve road mapping clients' technology pathway. Often these roles are within Managed Service Providers or IT VARs and come under the heading of 'solution selling'. The idea of 'solution selling' is that you solve an IT problem for a client that they cannot solve themselves.
Areas such as IT security, networking, and Cloud computing typically offer these 'solution selling' IT sales jobs. These roles normally have starting salaries of £40,000 and range up to £80,000 with commission on top. Although, salary figures can be much higher for exceptional IT sales candidates. At the top end, salaries of up to £120,000 are not uncommon in these areas.
If you are a sales professional looking for a new IT sales job or a potential client looking to recruit professionals for commercial or technical IT sales roles, we can help you!
Get in touch by emailing us at contact@tsrltd.co.uk or calling us on 020 3837 9180. We look forward to speaking with you.