For people in software sales only!

[eli77]

Where can I get a good software sales job Craigslist LinkedIn etc?
How long have you guys been in the field and what's the main thing I should learn about being in the sales arena?

 

[Odisseo]

You can make really good money in this field. There are probably a few ways to get in but it depends also on what exactly what type of role you're trying to go into.

If you want to be an Account Manager like me, one way is to start in Inside Sales. ISR is not the most popular role and you'll be making a lit of cold calls and other b***h work but it's worth it in the end. Once you're in, the ones who really know the product and how to talk about use cases are usually the ones who progress up the ladder. Also, if you're selling complex software you'll be dealing with complex pricing schemes. Master pricing to stand out from others.

If you want to get into a more technical role in sales, that is also a great career. The quickest backdoor is to work for a customer and build a really good relationship with the account team selling the software. If you stand out for your technical skills and show enthusiasm for the product, there is a good chance sooner or later there will be an opening you have a shot at. Hiring technical reps is extremely hard and a lot of it in the top firms is done via referrals. If they know you already you might be able to skip the line.

 

[AureliusMaximus]

Well get good at reading people. Sales is = human psychologic and it is important to understand that. Be good listener and understand how to read body language too. On phone body language = tone of voice So read books about the subject and apply that knowledge in real life @eli77 .

Don't go for the dumpster jobs at call centers; they are low paid and a dead end jobs. Go for sales jobs at the big firms.

 

[Murk]

A personal network is King, and LinkedIn is Queen.

 

[AureliusMaximus]

LinkedIn is Queen

Linkedin is the new fvcking Facebook for employees and pretty useless these days with loads of spam posts. Mostly a huge timewaster unless you do targeted calls towards key figures in each company.

A personal network is King

A personal network of valuable contacts is on the other hand a good thing. I agree on that part.

 

[Murk]

Linkedin is the new fvcking Facebook for employees and pretty useless these days with loads of spam posts. Mostly a huge timewaster unless you do targeted calls towards key figures in each company.


A personal network of valuable contacts is on the other hand a good thing. I agree on that part.

It depends how you use LinkedIn, I have 18,000 relevant connections and 3k+ following my company's page. I've used LinkedIn for 9-10 years.

I pay £500 ($630) per month, per license, just on LinkedIn, it's a big part of my business and recruitment strategy in general. For anyone in tech, LinkedIn will find you great opportunities if you filter out the FB style posting and virtue signalling.

 

[AureliusMaximus]

I have 18,000 relevant connections and 3k+ following my company's page.

That's fine, but how may of the 18000 people do you really know, right?
Yes, it is usable to have that many followers (Lets call it for what it is. A shovel is still a showel no matter what you call it), if you post a lot on LinkedIn to promote your company, (Personally I don't I have such products so I have not much to post there about my company).

Anyway; I think you already guessed my point which is that LinkedIn isn't a personal network per see as it used to be.

LinkedIn used to be great in the first couple of 10 years because there where mostly company owners, CEO and high value decision makers which enabled you to really build a high value network of contact that could elevate you and them to next level. Not so anymore as it has gone real inflation into the value of it as all the employees also moved in.

I'm not saying LinkedIn is bad, but I'm not saying it is good either; It depends on the product your company is offering and so forth.

But for networking purposes and building personal business network it has deteriorated a lot. Everybody on Linkedin these days are just promoting themselves and just want stuff from you and sell things, but for a business network to work efficiently you need to give back too.

If you also buy the access to their sales tools which you have then you have also some value (Which I did mention in my first post) of being able to directly contact a decision maker and segmenting companies to the ones you're targeting.

 

[Murk]

That's fine, but how may of the 18000 people do you really know, right?

But it's not like Facebook, I don't need to know any of these people. I need to post "I'm looking for a Solution Architect in Malta - €100,000 plus bonus and benefits" and my inbox be full of potential candidates without doing any work.

I leverage those 18k people to save time. It's a ready-made database of "relevant" connections (I've been offered to sell my databases many times). Not just doctors, recruiters and randoms, it's decision-makers, programme managers and directors, heads of talent acquisition - all with full contact info which is parsed to my own bespoke database. My employees leverage that, to make money.

LinkedIn is for recruiting in my opinion, finding people, finding jobs and lead generation. I can't speak outside of that I use LinkedIn to make money so my opinion is going to differ from the regular user.

 

[AureliusMaximus]

But it's not like Facebook, I don't need to know any of these people. I need to post "I'm looking for a Solution Architect in Malta - €100,000 plus bonus and benefits" and my inbox be full of potential candidates without doing any work.

I leverage those 18k people to save time. It's a ready-made database of "relevant" connections (I've been offered to sell my databases many times). Not just doctors, recruiters and randoms, it's decision-makers, programme managers and directors, heads of talent acquisition - all with full contact info which is parsed to my own bespoke database. My employees leverage that, to make money.

LinkedIn is for recruiting in my opinion, finding people, finding jobs and lead generation. I can't speak outside of that I use LinkedIn to make money so my opinion is going to differ from the regular user.

Yes for that type of service it is very useful. LinkedIn is very suitable for some specific company types and services/products. While for others it isn't.

But as you already know I'm speaking in overall general terms. Not specifically about your company.

There is a lot of "fluff" aka spam post there too these days too as many employees post too on LinkedIn about various non work relevant things.

 

[Snort]

I'm a software engineer and I'm thinking about transitioning to sales after my current holidays. I'm hesitating between sales and sales engineering. I think sales is what I really want to do. Any advices?

 

[Murk]

I'm a software engineer and I'm thinking about transitioning to sales after my current holidays. I'm hesitating between sales and sales engineering. I think sales is what I really want to do. Any advices?

My advice is to go into engineering sales as you have the background. People buy from people not organisations and if you're an SME (subject matter expert) on what you're selling that's a quick way to get people to buy into you. Sales is cutthroat, target driven and relentless. You will soon know if you have what it takes or not.

The biggest issue is that software engineers don't usually have the confidence and silky comms skills to pitch and sell, make people love them, spend their money. They are analytical problem solvers who prefer to work alone or remotely, give task, do task, solve problem. You have to bridge the gap between the technical and functional, the HR bods, speak to the business, kind of an Enterprise Architect/solutions role.

There's a reason those guys are the top earners, solid foundation in the technicals, but can persuade and captivate an audience. I'm sure it can be taught but the people I've met were all innately intelligent, analytical, outgoing, smooth talkers, and confident. These people are rare.

 

[Snort]

There's a reason those guys are the top earners, solid foundation in the technicals, but can persuade and captivate an audience. I'm sure it can be taught but the people I've met were all innately intelligent, analytical, outgoing, smooth talkers, and confident. These people are rare.

You're talking about Enterprise Architect/solutions roles? I think these roles as well sales engineers only earn something like 20% commission from what I've read. I don't understand how they could be top earners.

 

[Murk]

You're talking about Enterprise Architect/solutions roles? I think these roles as well sales engineers only earn something like 20% commission from what I've read. I don't understand how they could be top earners.

20% of what? You can’t quantify an amount with only a percentage. It’s usually less than 20% btw think more 5%. If you sell big expensive products from well known tech companies you’re not doing 20% of the work the product sells itself you just need to compete against the rivals that are also bidding for the contract.

I can only speak from my experiences here, they sell multimillion dollar/pound /euro software solutions to global companies. Big Bang rollouts to 180+ countries. If you are in sales you will earn more than someone on a fixed salary depending on what you’re selling and how good you are. Top sales guy for KPMG/Deloitte pulling in big clients that are spending millions a year you can do the math.

I guess set your sights bigger.

 

[Snort]

@Murk I meant that only 20% of the sales engineer / solution engineers revenue comes from commission. The rest is fixed salary. From what I've read.

 

[Murk]

@Murk I meant that only 20% of the sales engineer / solution engineers revenue comes from commission. The rest is fixed salary. From what I've read.

It depends on a lot of factors, commission could be 90% of your salary depending on what you sell and how good you are. You will have OTE (usually inflated) but my best advice is just get in there, make friends and network with high value people. A client may take you on directly (for a lot more money), you might make friends with a future director who can hook you up. Just network your way through it and leave for something better.

Gone are the days of a company man spending 20-40 years in one place. You make money by moving on for a better deal (or stealing the clients and setting up on your own) you can’t stay in one place.

 

[eli77]

You can make really good money in this field. There are probably a few ways to get in but it depends also on what exactly what type of role you're trying to go into.

If you want to be an Account Manager like me, one way is to start in Inside Sales. ISR is not the most popular role and you'll be making a lit of cold calls and other b***h work but it's worth it in the end. Once you're in, the ones who really know the product and how to talk about use cases are usually the ones who progress up the ladder. Also, if you're selling complex software you'll be dealing with complex pricing schemes. Master pricing to stand out from others.

If you want to get into a more technical role in sales, that is also a great career. The quickest backdoor is to work for a customer and build a really good relationship with the account team selling the software. If you stand out for your technical skills and show enthusiasm for the product, there is a good chance sooner or later there will be an opening you have a shot at. Hiring technical reps is extremely hard and a lot of it in the top firms is done via referrals. If they know you already you might be able to skip the line.

Thanks what's your background?