IT sales professional
An IT sales professional's work falls into the three main areas of pre-sales, sales, and post-sales support of hardware and software.
The role requires significant interaction with clients, which may be face-to-face or over the telephone.
Typical activities include:
This area of work is open to all graduates and diplomates, but a degree or HND in one of the following subjects may improve your chances:
While a relevant degree is not always essential, subjects with a high technical content or a business management component may be favoured by employers. Some large employers require at least a 2:1 for entry to their graduate sales jobs. It is important to bear in mind that while it is helpful to have an interest in and knowledge of IT, it is not essential that you have the technical skills. Many companies will consider candidates who have a strong sales background or some other relevant experience for their particular business. For example, someone with a retail background may be able to move into a job selling IT software to the retail industry.
Although a pre-entry postgraduate qualification is not essential, a diploma or Masters in computing may be helpful for those without computing knowledge.
Pre-entry experience is not essential, but experience of a customer service or sales environment will improve your chances. Potential employers will be particularly impressed if you can demonstrate a passion for IT, evidence of exceeding sales targets and the ability to build successful customer relationships. Any sales experience may therefore be helpful, including working in a call centre or telemarketing role, where sales skills and the ability to meet targets are illustrated.
Candidates need to show evidence of the following:
Competition is relatively high and so it is worthwhile doing speculative applications as well as applying for advertised jobs. It may be helpful to read the trade press, such as Computer Weekly , and consult industry bodies, such as the Institute of Sales and Marketing Management (ISMM) , to keep up to date with industry progress, so you can illustrate a good working knowledge at interviews.
For more information, see work experience and internships and search courses and research.
Most training is on the job and will vary depending on the size of the company. Traditional graduate recruiters usually arrange a set induction period, which may focus on the aims of the business, individual training objectives, shadowing senior members, mentoring and external courses. The development of extensive communication skills is encouraged and marketing training may also be provided by way of short courses.
If you work for a smaller organisation, training is likely to be intensive and in-house, aimed at giving you comprehensive technical knowledge of your employer's products. You may also be expected to shadow a senior sales professional, quickly moving into your sales role and taking immediate responsibility for key clients.
Although most training offered is in-house and tailored to a company's own products and client group, it may be possible to receive external training and qualifications via the BCS (The Chartered Institute for IT) . A database of training courses in the UK is available from e-skills UK - The Sector Skills Council for Business and Information Technology . These are independent courses, and course fees vary between providers.
There will be many opportunities to attend conferences and industry events which will aid in your learning and help to develop your product and industry knowledge. Some IT companies such as Microsoft offer sales workshops and e-learning courses.
Training within the IT sales professional’s role is often focused on continual learning and maintaining a good working knowledge of products and services in a fast-moving and evolving industry. This means keeping up to date with industry trends and having a continuous awareness of competitors’ strengths and weaknesses to stay ahead of them.
Typical advancement within the profession often involves handling more technically complex queries or becoming involved in the marketing of larger IT systems. A detailed product and service knowledge, a proven track record of exceeding sales targets and strong business acumen can help career progression. You might also specialise in certain types of industry software, such as accounting or supply chain. Career progression is often reflected in the level you are selling to, i.e. progressing from selling to an individual in a business up to sales at board level.
With increasing experience you may move on to a manager or director level where your role may include making more strategic decisions for the benefit of the company, planning sales campaigns, managing budgets and creating new partnerships. You may also be more involved in team management including recruitment, prioritising staff workloads and providing training for new starters.
In the help desk context, career progression may come with supervising a help desk team, which would include planning staff rotas and workloads, monitoring the quality of responses and ensuring that targets are met. There is a high turnover in the computer sales support area (particularly on help desks). Movement away from such roles may be for a number of reasons, for example, to avoid the pressure of a target-driven environment, to take on more responsibility or to apply skills and experience to a new role.
The wide range of technical and personal skills demanded by this post are highly transferable and will allow progression into other areas of sales, consultancy or management positions within IT. Marketing, training and product support roles are also future options.
Sales is one of the largest job areas in IT. Professionals in this role are most likely to be employed by computer manufacturers and software houses, all of whom need specialists to explain the detailed features of their products in non-technical terms to both users and those with purchasing power. In these settings, the role is likely to encompass both pre-sales support and after-sales contract assistance to help with faults or to maximise facilities, although some companies will have separate job roles for this.
Major computer retailers offer advice to individual and corporate customers, helping them to choose the computer or software that meets their particular needs and offering a help desk for after-sales service. Smaller, specialist computer retailers offer an individual and more informal service to their customers, which may include providing maintenance and support packages.
Given the essential part that computers play in all organisations and the sophistication of the hardware and software available, support staff have a vital role to play in ensuring that customers are aware of its possibilities and suitability to their needs. As software and hardware are becoming ever more complex, there is a growing need for support in this area.
Telecommunications has been a huge growth area in recent years and the need for IT sales professionals in this area is consequently increasing. The growing popularity in online shopping has shown the need for improvements and advances in retail software. This is therefore a high growth area and is one of the main employers of IT sales professionals.
Recruitment agencies commonly handle vacancies. See agency entries in IS Opportunities, Computer Weekly and Computing.co.uk or go to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) for further details of agencies handling IT vacancies.
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