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Breaking into tech sales has fundamentally changed how people enter the technology industry. It’s no longer the domain of ex-engineers or industry veterans. In fact, many of the most successful Account Executives and Sales Development Representatives we place at Gogotechy started from completely unrelated fields—teaching, hospitality, finance, and even fitness.
This is why learning how to get into tech sales right now is your fastest, most direct path to a high-earning career without needing a four-year computer science degree.
Tech sales is uniquely performance-driven, meaning your professional growth and income are tied directly to your effort and results, not to office politics or seniority. It offers a rare combination of high earnings, rapid career progression, and long-term stability in the booming technology sector.
If you want to get into a tech sales career at any tech company or startup, reach out to us at Gogotechy — we connect driven talent with fast-growing companies worldwide. We help you get hired faster, smarter, and with less guesswork.
This complete guide will break down the exact blueprint you need to follow—from the foundational knowledge and essential certifications to the step-by-step actions required to land your first role. Ready to launch a successful career? Here is exactly how to get into tech sales.
Tech sales is more than just “selling technology.” It is a consultative, high-value process where you act as a strategic advisor to other businesses. Your core mission is to help clients understand, evaluate, and successfully adopt a technology solution (software, hardware, or services) that solves a critical business problem—whether that’s increasing efficiency, reducing costs, or driving new revenue.
The modern tech sales professional isn’t a pushy relic; they are a problem-solver who understands the client’s needs almost as well as their own. This is why the demand for people who know how to get into tech sales is so high—you’re selling solutions, not features.
Tech sales roles generally fall into these three core categories:
Software & SaaS Sales (Software as a Service): This is the engine of the modern tech economy and is, by far, the most in-demand segment for new talent. You are selling cloud-based platforms or subscription software (think HubSpot, Salesforce, or specialized industry tools). The selling process is often high-volume and relationship-focused.
IT Services & Solutions Sales: This involves selling complex, customized solutions like cybersecurity packages, cloud migration and management (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud), data services, or full-scale managed IT support. This often requires a deeper technical understanding and longer sales cycles.
Hardware Sales: Selling physical devices—from enterprise servers and networking equipment to specialized components. While still vital, this area often has more established structures than the fast-moving SaaS world.
Before diving into the “how-to,” it’s essential to reinforce why you should focus your energy on learning how to get into tech sales. The reasons go beyond just a decent salary; this field offers unparalleled control over your trajectory and income.
Here are the key factors driving the career boom in technology sales:
If you are learning how to get into tech sales, you must first understand the landscape of roles. Knowing the functions and progression path is key to applying for the right entry-level position.
The journey typically begins with these foundational roles:
This is the most common and fastest entry point into tech sales, especially for candidates with no prior tech experience. The SDR’s primary function is generating pipeline (qualified sales opportunities) for the Account Executives.
Core Focus & Responsibilities:
Prospecting: Identifying and researching potential clients (leads) that fit the ideal customer profile (ICP).
Outbound Messaging: Executing multi-channel outreach (email, LinkedIn, cold calls) to spark interest.
Lead Qualification: Using frameworks like BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline) to assess if a lead is ready for a full sales conversation.
Scheduling Meetings: Successfully setting up the initial product demonstration or discovery call for the AE.
🔑 Gogotechy’s Insight: We advise all our candidates to target the SDR role. Why? It’s where you learn the foundational skills—resilience, prospecting, and lead qualification—that make you a successful closer later. It’s the ultimate sales training ground.
The AE is the “closer.” This role is responsible for managing the sales process from the qualified lead stage through to the final contract. This is the goal role for most SDRs.
Core Focus & Responsibilities:
Running Product Demos: Presenting the technology solution and tailoring the presentation to the client’s specific business needs.
Managing the Sales Cycle: Handling objections, navigating complex stakeholder environments, and maintaining momentum.
Negotiation & Closing: Finalizing terms and successfully closing new deals to generate revenue.
Relationship Management: Building trust and serving as the main point of contact for new customers.
For individuals who possess both sales acumen and technical depth, the Sales Engineer is a highly lucrative and strategic role. SEs work alongside AEs, providing the deep technical expertise needed to win complex deals.
Core Focus & Responsibilities:
Technical Validation: Assessing a client’s technical environment and ensuring the product can integrate successfully.
Proof of Concept (POC): Building custom demonstrations or pilots to prove the product’s value.
Expert Support: Answering advanced technical questions during the sales process that the AE cannot address.
The good news is that tech sales is one of the most meritocratic fields; experience in a non-tech sales role or no sales experience at all is not a barrier. Companies prioritize drive, coachability, and foundational skills. If you’re wondering how to get into tech sales starting from scratch, follow this four-step action plan:
You don’t need to write code, but you must speak the language of technology. Hiring managers need confidence that you can quickly grasp what you’re selling.
SaaS and Cloud Fluency: Understand what “cloud-native” means. Know the difference between IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS. Since the majority of modern selling is SaaS, dedicate time to understanding the subscription model and its business value.
CRM Expertise: The CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system is the SDR/AE’s best friend. Become highly familiar with the industry leaders like Salesforce and HubSpot. Even completing free tutorials shows commitment.
Identify a Niche: You don’t need to know everything. Focus on one high-growth area, such as Cybersecurity fundamentals or AI/Machine Learning applications in business, and build a deep, conversational knowledge base there.
These are the soft skills that translate across any industry, and they are what recruiters test for immediately. You can practice these skills in your current role, volunteer work, or even daily life.
Active Listening: The best salespeople listen 80% of the time and talk 20%. You must listen for pain points (the business problem) and align your product as the solution.
Disciplined Prospecting: Learning how to research companies and craft compelling, personalized outbound messages (not just generic templates) is the key to SDR success.
Handling Rejection & Resilience: Sales is a numbers game. You will hear “no” constantly. Demonstrating resilience and maintaining a positive attitude is a crucial soft skill that distinguishes top performers.
Value Communication: Can you concisely explain why your product matters to a business’s bottom line, rather than just listing its features?
Since you lack professional experience, using certifications is the perfect way to signal to a recruiter, “I am serious about this career change.”
| Certification | Focus Area | Why It Helps |
| HubSpot Sales Software | CRM & Inbound Sales | Shows competency in essential sales tools and modern methodology. |
| CompTIA ITF+ or Cloud+ | Technical Foundational Knowledge | Proves a base understanding of IT concepts, which is vital for any tech product. |
| AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner | Cloud/SaaS Environment | Demonstrates understanding of the dominant cloud ecosystem. |
| CPSP (Certified Professional Sales Person) | Core Sales Theory | Solidifies professional sales process understanding. |
This is where the majority of job seekers fail, and it’s the most powerful lever you have. Over 70% of tech sales roles are filled through referrals or direct networking.
Target SDRs/AEs: Reach out on LinkedIn to SDRs at companies you admire. Ask for a 15-minute “informational interview” about their day-to-day work. Do your homework first!
Connect with Hiring Managers: Identify the VP of Sales or Sales Manager at smaller, high-growth startups. A direct, well-researched message often lands an interview faster than an application portal.
If you want to fast-track your tech sales job search, contact us at Gogotechy. We specialize in matching ambitious candidates with high-growth tech companies and startups seeking sales talent.
To successfully answer the question “how to get into tech sales,” you need to cultivate a balanced skillset that sits at the intersection of psychology, technology, and business strategy. This combination is what makes a candidate “hirable” and, eventually, a top performer.
These traits are the foundation of all successful selling. They are often innate but can absolutely be refined through practice and self-awareness.
Exceptional Communication (Verbal & Written): This goes beyond being articulate. It means writing compelling, concise emails that get responses, and speaking clearly during cold calls.
Active Listening: The most critical skill. Sales is less about telling and more about diagnosing. You must listen not just to what the prospect is saying, but why they are saying it.
Resilience and Coachability: The ability to handle rejection (crucial for SDRs) and the openness to consistently incorporate feedback and adapt your approach.
Time Management & Organization: Sales is fast-paced. Using tools and effective planning to balance prospecting, follow-ups, and learning time is non-negotiable.
Emotional Intelligence (EQ): Understanding the prospect’s perspective, reading the room (even virtually), and managing your own emotional responses under pressure.
You must be technically literate, not necessarily technical proficient.
SaaS/Cloud Concepts Expertise: Deeply understanding the value proposition of a subscription model (ROI, scalability, cost savings) is paramount, as this is what you’ll be selling.
CRM Systems Expertise (Salesforce/HubSpot): The CRM is your cockpit. Knowing how to log activities, manage a pipeline, and run reports shows recruiters you’re ready to hit the ground running.
Product Functionality Explanation: The ability to take a complex feature and translate it into a simple, business-relevant benefit for the client (e.g., “This advanced encryption means your legal risk is reduced by 40%”).
These are the learned methodologies that define professional sales success.
Lead Qualification and Discovery: Knowing which questions to ask to understand the client’s Budget, Authority, Need, and Timeline (BANT).
Consultative Selling: Approaching the sale as a consultant, not a pitchman. Your goal is to solve a problem, even if that means admitting your product isn’t the right fit.
Negotiation & Objection Handling: Skillfully navigating price discussions and confidently addressing why a prospect might hesitate about your solution.
The Power of the Follow-Up: Most deals are won in the persistence of the follow-up. Developing a structured, high-value cadence is essential.
One of the most attractive aspects of learning how to get into tech sales is the clarity of the career path and the speed at which you can ascend. Your progression is merit-based, not based on waiting for five years for someone else to retire.
The standard, high-growth path looks like this:
Sales Development Representative (SDR): The entry point. Focused on building pipeline and mastering prospecting. Timeline: 12–18 months.
Account Executive (AE): The closing role. Responsible for managing the full sales cycle and hitting revenue targets. Timeline: 2–4 years.
Senior Account Executive / Team Lead: High-performing AEs take on larger accounts, mentor junior AEs, or manage a small book of business.
Sales Manager: Managing and coaching a team of SDRs or AEs, responsible for the team’s collective quota.
Sales Director / VP of Sales / CRO (Chief Revenue Officer): Senior leadership roles responsible for regional or global strategy, operations, and the overall revenue performance of the company.
Mastering sales gives you unparalleled business acumen, opening doors to highly valuable adjacent roles:
Sales Engineering/Solutions: Leveraging technical depth to support complex sales (requires technical aptitude).
Customer Success (CSM): Managing existing customer relationships, driving retention, and identifying opportunities for expansion (upsells/cross-sells).
Revenue Operations (RevOps): The strategic backbone of sales, focusing on optimizing sales tools, processes, and data—highly technical and analytical.
Product Management: Many excellent Product Managers start in sales because they have the best understanding of customer needs and pain points.
Your body language often speaks louder than your words. Non-verbal signals communicate your confidence, enthusiasm, and professionalism. Failing to manage your physical presentation is one of the quickest ways to undermine strong verbal answers.
The interview isn’t truly over until the final email is sent. Many candidates perform well during the conversation only to commit two critical common interview mistakes at the end: failing to show deep interest and neglecting to secure a positive closing impression.
You’ve completed the blueprint for how to get into tech sales and understand the high-reward, meritocratic nature of this career. The technology industry is actively seeking driven, coachable individuals, and sales is the entry point that provides the fastest ROI on your effort.
In summary, a tech sales career offers you:
Financial Control: Uncapped earning potential tied directly to your performance.
Rapid Advancement: A clear, accelerated career path (SDR to AE in 12–18 months).
Industry Access: Your fastest route into the high-growth technology sector.
Stability: High demand for revenue-generating talent ensures long-term job security.
Understanding the steps is one thing; executing them flawlessly while competing against hundreds of other applicants is another. At Gogotechy, we cut through the noise.
We specialize in matching ambitious talent—especially those transitioning careers—with vetted, fast-growing tech companies and startups that are actively hiring SDRs, AEs, and Sales Engineers worldwide.
How We Help You Get Hired Faster:
Profile Refinement: We tailor your resume and LinkedIn profile to speak the language of tech sales recruiters.
Interview Preparation: We provide hyper-specific, role-playing interview training focused on handling objections and demonstrating your drive.
Direct Access: We bypass the public application portals, connecting your profile directly with hiring managers who trust our talent pipeline.
How can we help you?