How to Get into Tech Sales: 6 Steps to Break In

Tech sales, which covers selling software, hardware, or IT services to businesses, is an accessible career in tech with promising earning potential. And some entry-level positions don’t necessarily require a degree or prior experience to enter the field. What you do need, though, is a clear plan.

If you’re coming from another customer-facing job, like retail or a different sales role, you may already have a foundation to build on. Pair that with a working knowledge of the products you’d sell and some intentional networking, and you can stand out to hiring managers faster than you might expect.

Here’s how to get into tech sales.

Key Points

• Tech sales involves selling software, hardware, or IT solutions to other businesses.
• Some employers don’t require you to have a degree or prior tech experience to get into tech sales, though a bachelor’s degree and sales background do help.
• If you’re interested in tech sales, start building transferable skills like product management, objection handling, and customer relationship management (CRM) platform fluency.
• Networking with people already in the industry can also help you get your foot in the door.

What Is Tech Sales?

Tech sales means selling software, hardware, or IT solutions, typically to other businesses. It’s a form of business-to-business (B2B) sales.

To do well in tech sales, you’ll need a solid grasp of the product category you’re selling. Among them are:

• Software as a service (SaaS): The product is cloud-based software delivered over the internet, usually as a subscription. Examples include customer relationship management (CRM) platforms like Salesforce, project management tools like Asana, and professional creative software like Adobe Creative Cloud.
• Hardware: This is a physical product needed to run software. It could be anything from desktop computers and laptops to phones. It also includes tech accessories like power banks and monitors.
• Tech or IT services: The product is expertise, such as cybersecurity or managed services, sold to businesses that either don’t have an internal IT team or need outside support.

Although the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects overall employment in sales occupations to decline, some specialized roles have a more positive outlook. For example, employment for sales managers is projected to grow 4% through 2035.

How to Get into Tech Sales in 6 Steps

Getting into software sales takes a deliberate approach, but the path may be more accessible than you think. These 6 steps can help you build the right skills to land your first role.

1. Learn the Basics of the Product Category You Want to Sell

Breaking into tech sales starts with 2 decisions:

• Which product category you want to sell (SaaS, hardware, or IT services)
• How that product benefits your customer

Say you’re selling a cloud-based CRM platform. You don’t need to know every technical detail or how the code works. But you do need to explain the problems it solves and how it helps the customer. That means understanding the product’s core features and how it drives business value through metrics such as revenue or productivity.

The same applies to hardware or IT solutions. If you can clearly connect a product or service to the outcome it delivers, like a faster laptop for a field team or on-call troubleshooting for a growing business, you’ll have a stronger foundation for a tech sales career. 

2. Build Transferable Sales Experience

Breaking into tech sales doesn’t necessarily require a technical background. If you’ve worked in a non-technical sales or customer-facing role, like retail or customer service, the skills you built there may carry over.

A customer service specialist at an electronics store, for example, might already know how to read a customer and explain a product’s value while handling objections. They might also have worked toward quotas or upsell targets. All of that can translate to tech sales.

If you don’t have sales experience, a role in customer support or retail sales is a practical starting point. It builds the fundamentals and gives you real examples to draw on in tech sales interviews.

3. Decide Whether You Need a Certification or a Degree

A degree can help, but it isn’t required for every tech sales role. Some employers might not even require experience and could offer on-the-job training instead of looking for a specific credential. 

If you’re not going the degree route, a technical or customer service certification could help you get your footing in the field. Coursera’s Salesforce Sales Development Representative Professional Certificate is built to prepare you for an entry-level tech sales role in as little as 3 months. HubSpot Academy’s free Inbound Sales Certification is another potential starting point.

4. Pick a Niche and Learn It Deeply

While you can start broad in tech sales, picking a specific niche could help you stand out faster. Cybersecurity, fintech, CRMs, or artificial intelligence are among the possible paths. Learn everything about your chosen space, including:

• What types of businesses operate in the niche
• The problems your ideal customer is facing
• Industry-leading products and their core features
• How these products solve key business problems
• What competitors are doing and how they’re positioning themselves

The goal is to talk about your niche with true fluency. That kind of depth is what shows your promise in interviews and helps you hit the ground running. 

5. Network with People Already in Tech Sales

Networking could help open the door to getting into tech sales with limited or no experience. After all, the best way to learn is from people already doing the work. 

Connect with other industry professionals on platforms like LinkedIn to grow your network. Include a short introductory message with your connection request. 

Don’t just send the request and disappear, though. Engage with their posts, adding genuine insight or opinions when you comment. As you build professional relationships, consider asking for brief informational interviews to learn more about the field.

Industry events help, too, whether in person or online. They’re a low-pressure way to hear how people talk about the work and pick up on the language of the field. You could even meet potential referrals.

6. Apply Strategically and Prepare for Interviews

Before applying for tech sales roles, research the company and its products thoroughly. Then tailor your resume and cover letter to the specific role. Look through the job description and make sure you’re including:

• Key skills from the listing that you also have, including transferable skills
• Your most relevant work experience
• Quantifiable results, if you have them

It’s OK if you don’t have many metrics yet. Even 1 or 2, like quota attainment or the number of sales you made in a specific period, can go a long way in your early career.

When preparing for an interview, follow the STAR method of answering questions. It keeps your responses focused and makes it easy for interviewers to follow how you think and work:

• Situation: Explain the situation or context surrounding your experience. It could be a project or a specific challenge you faced.
• Task: Describe a task you were responsible for or a goal you were working toward. This clarifies your role in what happened next.
• Action: Share an action you took to achieve that goal or task. Call out the skills you used, be it prospecting, objection handling, or cross-functional collaboration. Focus on your contributions.
• Result: Provide the result or outcome of your efforts, ideally with a number attached (e.g., “hit 115% of quota,” “cut response time by 30%”). If the result was qualitative, specifically detail the impact.

Do You Need a Degree for Tech Sales?

While a college degree isn’t required for a job in tech sales, it’s common. About 67% of B2B sales reps have a bachelor’s degree, often in fields like business, marketing, or tech.

If you don’t have a degree, you’ve got options. Some employers will hire based primarily on sales and technical experience or training. 

You could also improve your career prospects by taking online certifications, like the Salesforce Sales Development Representative Professional Certificate. Other options include these from the National Association of Sales Professionals (NASP): 

• Certified Professional Sales Person Certification 
• Certified Professional Sales Leader Certification 

You can also learn about tech sales on your own without a certification. You might take standalone online courses in areas you want to improve, such as buyer psychology or IT support. Or join a free sales development representative (SDR) bootcamp to learn software tools and sales tech.

Besides education, focus on gaining job experience in an area like customer service or technical support. The more transferable experience (and skills) you’ve got, the better.

Skills that Help You Succeed in Tech Sales

You’ll need specific skills to break into tech sales, including analytical, organizational, and persuasion skills. You’ll also want to develop technical skills like:

• Product knowledge: Learn the ins and outs of the product you want to sell. Understand how it works, what problems it solves, and the specific value it brings to your customers.
• CRM fluency: CRM platforms are where the work of tech sales happens. Knowing how to log activity, track deals, and pull useful reports keeps you organized and helps you build stronger customer relationships over time.
• Objection handling: Tech sales reps regularly face pushback from customers, particularly surrounding matters like risk and return on investment (ROI). Responding tactfully, with empathy and a clear grasp of the product’s value, is how you win over customers.

Start Your Tech Sales Career Today

Knowing how to get into tech sales is the first step. The next is putting it into practice. Choose a specific niche you’re interested in, like cybersecurity or fintech, and start building your product knowledge. Then start applying to roles that match where you’re at right now.

If you’re ready to make the move, explore sales jobs at Intuit, where you’ll help small and mid-market businesses, consumers, and accountants get more out of their finances. 

Not sure sales is the right fit? Browse other in-person and remote careers at Intuit to find a role that matches your skills.

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