How to get a tech sales job in 2021

Table of Contents
    Add a header to begin generating the table of contents

    Check out our updated version: How to Get a Tech Sales Job in 2023!

     

    So, you want to work in technology sales? Well, you have come to the right place. In this blog, we’ll outline exactly how you can land a job in tech sales even if you have no prior experience.

     

    Step 1: Create a tech-focused sales resume

     

    First and foremost, you should begin with a strong resume, just like you would with any other employment. Consider your previous sales experiences and compile a list of the most transferrable sales skills you can apply to your new role.

    Unsure what those related skills are? We’re here to assist you, so don’t worry.

    To begin, if you have any sales expertise from previous employment, that is an excellent place to start. Whether you’ve sold technology or not, much of the selling process is the same if you’ve ever sold anything.

    You’ll still be gathering as much information as possible about your potential customer to figure out what they want or need and then connect the dots between that need and your product or service.

    What if you’ve never worked in a sales environment before?

    Don’t let that stop you. At the end of the day, sales is nothing more than the art of persuasion. In a recent survey undertaken by Pulse Recruitment, we posed the question “What makes a good salesperson?”. A massive 23% of people answered “persuasiveness”. Just remember, you’ve almost likely had to persuade others, no matter what kind of employment experience you have. That being said, if you can’t think of any circumstances where you’ve had to persuade someone, you might want to think twice about pursuing a career in sales.

    So, you’ve finished building and polishing your resume. What’s next? The next step is obtaining job interviews.

     

    Step 2: Get Started on Your Job Search

     

    There are a variety of approaches you can take. If you have a specific company in mind, you may go straight to their website to seek open opportunities, but more often than not, you’ll need assistance choosing which business you’d like to work for.

    Job boards and recruiters can help in this situation. You can find many online, including job boards and recruitment agencies dedicated particularly to tech sales, if you do some searching. Of course, we at Pulse Recruitment specialise in tech sales, so we can assist you as well. Just check out our Job Search page for more information.

     

    Step 3: Make sure you plan ahead of time for your interview

     

    Before you walk into the room with a potential employer, there are a few things you should do.

    • Do some research on the company itself.
    • Find out when they were established.
    • Learn about their products as well as their one-of-a-kind value proposition.
    • Find out what sets them apart from the competition in the market.
    • Find any other details that seem to be significant and aware of.
    • The company’s recent news and announcements.

     

    Step 4: Research the sales process of your target company (And Picture Yourself In It)

     

    Above all, you should become well acquainted with a companies sales process.

     

    Prospecting:

    You must have a thorough understanding of the following:

    • Who are your likely customers, and how will you locate them?
    • What tools or services are you planning to use?
    • If you’re unsure, this could be a good question to bring up during your interview.
    • What tools and services does the organisation now employ?
    • Why did they choose those specific tools to bring in?

     

    Engaging:

    Self-examination questions:

    • How are you going to connect with your prospects and reach out to them?
    • What is the rationale behind your strategy?
    • What strategies do you believe will be most effective based on the company’s target industry, market, and client profiles? And why is that?

     

    Discovery:

    Here’s how you should proceed:

    • Make time to talk with your prospect so you can learn more about them.
    • What is their current situation?
    • What issues do they have to cope with?
    • Consider how you can best express how your company’s products or services may ease those pains based on what you learn.

     

    Closing:

    The demo is usually the next step in technology sales after the discovery.

    As the sales representative, this is where you have the opportunity to clearly demonstrate to your prospect how your product or service can improve their lives. This is accomplished by connecting the benefits your organisation delivers to the issues they raised during the discovery phase.

    There may be some back and forth in terms of negotiation and the need to interact with a procurement team after that, but you’ll want to close the sale as quickly as possible after the demo. At this point, your prospect and the other parties involved have decided to do business with you and are ready to put pen to paper.

     

    Step 5: Review and Master the Sales Funnel Stages

     

    An excellent approach to think about this process at a high level is to imagine it as a funnel. In fact, in the realm of technology sales, the concept of a sales funnel is relatively common, and it’s something you’ll probably want to learn about as well.

    You can easily look up this term on the internet to gain a fast knowledge of what it is and how it might be used in business. In a nutshell, it’s the idea of collecting a vast number of leads, qualifying them as prospects based on a set of criteria, and then converting them into customers through the sales process.

    After reading up on the sales funnel process, all that’s left for you to do is to ace your interview!

     

    Step 6: Achieve Success During the Interview

     

    There is a wealth of information available on how to approach an interview, but here are a few tips to get you started.

    Be on time: Always arrive on time or a little early to give yourself some breathing room. Trust me when I say that having a little additional time before the interview to compose yourself can only be a huge asset.

    Keep in mind that most hiring managers are looking for three main characteristics: competency, character, and the ability to learn.

    Competency is merely a measure of your ability to complete the task at hand. Would you be someone the firm can rely on to get things done correctly if given the chance?

    Character is crucial because, like it or not, we spend a lot of time with our co-workers. As a result, your potential manager is likely to assess whether you’re someone he or she can tolerate being around and, more significantly, if you’re someone, he or she can trust.

    The ability to learn is the last attribute you want to portray to the person on the other side of the table.

    You might also consider emotional intelligence as a plus. As a sales professional, this will help you become more empathic, which is something that employers value highly. Sure, it’s great if you’re a good person who’s capable of doing the job, but it’s not the only thing that matters at work. Change is inevitable in all parts of life, including your working life. Your manager will want to know that, if necessary, you’ll be someone who is open to new ideas and willing to adjust to changing situations rather than someone who is set in their ways.

    Again, there’s a wealth of information available on other things you can do to ace an interview, but keep these tips in mind, and you’ll be on your way to landing your ideal career in tech sales in no time.

     

    ARE YOU LOOKING FOR SALES PROFESSIONALS?

    Pulse Recruitment is a specialist sales recruitment agency, designed specifically to help find sales staff within the highly competitive Australian and global market. Find out more by visiting our hire staff page!

    FROM OUR PULSE NEWS, EMPLOYER AND JOB SEEKER HUBS

    Featured Articles

    How to Secure a Interview in 3 Steps

    The world of tech sales is one of the most exciting, lucrative, and competitive careers in the modern economy. You are the critical bridge between cutting-edge technology and the customer who needs it, blending technical acumen with persuasive communication. But before you can start closing multi-million dollar deals, you have to close the toughest deal…

    5 Must-Ask AI Security Questions

    In today’s era of rapidly advancing AI and cloud technologies, organizations are under growing pressure to protect sensitive data and ensure compliance with evolving regulations. The stakes are higher than ever: a data breach involving a compromised AI model or training dataset can lead to crippling fines, significant reputational damage, and a complete loss of…

    Revenue Growth vs. Headcount Growth

    In the final quarter of 2025, a critical tension defines corporate strategy: the pursuit of ambitious revenue targets set against the backdrop of constrained headcount expansion. This isn’t a temporary market blip; it’s a fundamental shift in how successful companies approach scaling. The era of merely adding a body for every $X million in potential…

    The Most in Demand Cyber Roles in 2025

    The cybersecurity job market in 2025 is less about a skills gap and more about a skills shift. As organizations rapidly adopt AI, move entire infrastructures to the cloud, and face increasingly sophisticated, nation-state-level threats, the demand for specialized cyber professionals has exploded. The foundational roles—Security Analysts and Administrators—remain crucial, but the highest-growth opportunities are…

    Which Sales Roles Fits You Best?

    If you’re a mid-to-senior level professional, you know that the world of sales is far more complex than the traditional image of the lone road warrior. Today, the sales ecosystem is a sophisticated machine with specialized roles designed to maximize efficiency and customer value. Moving up often means choosing a path, not just a higher…

    Signs of Growth in the AU SaaS Job Market

    After years of defensive backfilling and managing post-redundancy churn, real, strategic hiring momentum is back in Australia’s SaaS sector. The market has moved from survival mode to strategic build mode, but it remains a highly selective, candidate-driven landscape. For the better part of the last few years, recruitment efforts in the Australian SaaS industry were…

    The Cybersecurity Skills Gap

    In an increasingly digital world, cybersecurity is no longer a luxury—it’s a fundamental necessity. From protecting critical infrastructure to safeguarding personal data, a robust defense is essential for a stable and secure society. Yet, we’re facing a profound and worsening crisis: a persistent and growing shortage of skilled cybersecurity professionals. This isn’t just an IT…

    Is Your Sales Resume is Outdated?

    In the digital-first world of recruitment, your resume and LinkedIn profile are your most critical assets. For sales professionals, they’re more than just a list of past jobs; they are your personal marketing and branding tools. You are not just selling a product; you are selling yourself—your skills, your value, and your proven ability to…

    Negotiation as a Science, Not a Showdown

    In the world of B2B and SaaS sales, negotiation is often misunderstood. Too often, it’s imagined as a high-stakes showdown where the most aggressive salesperson wins. But research and practice reveal a very different truth: negotiation is a science, not a battle of wills. The best negotiators do not simply “close deals.” They create sustainable…

    Hiring a CISO: What to Look For

    The digital world is a realm of constant innovation and ever-present threats. For any organization, regardless of size or industry, cybersecurity is no longer just an IT issue—it’s a fundamental business imperative. At the helm of this critical function is the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). A CISO is not merely a technical expert; they…