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Software Sales

What is software sales?

Most people intending to pursue a software sales career path begin with the question, what is software sales? As a software salesperson, you will be providing a technical solution that solves a specific problem to end-users who might be businesses, government agencies, or individuals. Physical and remote software sales jobs involve contacting potential clients and explaining how the product you are selling works. They type of software you are selling varies depending on what company you are working for.

What does a software sales representative do?

Some of the duties and responsibilities of most software sales jobs include:

• Identify consumer needs and provide detailed information on how to meet the need
• Advise clients on technical matters regarding the software and recommend suitable computer configurations
• Come up with presentations to demonstrate product features and sales pitches
• Submit orders for sales processing Help potential customers maximize the use of the software’s features
• Negotiate with prospects to reach a reasonable selling price and draw up service agreements
• Answer queries from potential and existing clients on how to use the product
• Advise customers on suitable user training

As a software and technology sales representative, you need to stay informed of changing trends regarding hardware and software systems as well as peripherals Given the above responsibilities, to qualify for the best software sales jobs, you need to have such skills as communication, customer service, persistence, and flexibility as sometimes you might be forced to travel to the client’s location. The educational requirements for a software sales job will vary depending on what type of software you will be selling. If it’s not a technical or scientific software, a degree could be necessary.

Is software sales hard?

Just like any other sales job, software sales is not easy. However, you can easily make software sales if you maintain a positive attitude, always listen to your clients, master the software you are selling, and be proactive as well as initiative. With the recent technology boom, the software industry is plagued with multiple software developers all claiming that their solution is the best. This makes the software sales job even harder.

Software sales salary

Like any other job, your software sales jobs salary depends on several factors, such as the company you work for, your experience level, and the salary you negotiate. Software sales representatives who earn the least include those dealing in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software and Business to Business (B2B) software.

That being said, selling software was one of the highest paying sales jobs 2018. According to PayScale, entry-level software sales salary averages at $40,500 per year, including tips, overtime pay, and tips. A software sales representative who has been in the field for about four years can expect to earn about $48,000 annually. One who has been in the field for about 5 to 9 years earns about $59,300 each year. While a seasoned one can make as much as $75,000 annually. However, in some regions, software sales representatives make a lot more than others. For instance, Glassdoor published that a software sales salary San Francisco earned about $116,185 per year in 2018, a figure which is 15% above the national average. Around the same time, the average software sales salary UK was $61,303 per year. Medical software sales salary is also higher, with Glassdoor reporting that medical sales representatives earn an average of $101,015 per year.

Apart from the software sales salary, most software companies pay their software sales team what is referred to as on-target earnings (OTE). This refers to the commissions earned from each successful sale. During the first few months, expect to earn little or no OTE as it takes time to learn the ropes and make sales. Software manufacturers who deal in specialized software such as medical or billing software in some cases take on independent consultants to promote, sell, set up, and train clients. Unlike a typical 9 to 5 job, this arrangement can enable you to work as a freelancer or remotely from the comfort of your home. This gives you a chance to make as much or as little as you want. All in all, software sales salary 2018 is higher than the software sales salary 2017. We can only expect this to get better.

How to learn software sales

The SaaS industry is currently a billion-dollar industry, and it is still growing steadily. According to a recent report from BetterCloud, companies use an average of 16 apps today. 73% of organizations anticipate that 80%+ of the apps they use will be SaaS by 2020. Computer literacy is a necessary skill for anyone who wants to be successful when it comes to software selling. Without basic computer knowledge, it will be difficult for you to establish your clients’ software needs.

If you have previously worked as a sales representative, you can build on this experience to become a proficient software sales rep. Due to the huge influx of industry players and the lengthening sales cycles, getting through to the customer is not an easy task. Undergoing software sales education enables persons looking for entry-level software sales jobs to learn the ins and outs of sales processes and steadily upgrade their selling abilities. Luckily, there are thousands of organizations offering software sales training courses and from whom you can even earn a software sales degree. Entry-level salespersons are normally given access to onboarding software and sales training courses such as preHIRED software sales Reddit. As you progress, you can learn software sales through virtual role-playing and insights from industry experts by joining forums such as learning sales Reddit. There are also online courses that provide you with skills on how to be an expert in software sales.

A simple search on how to break into software sales Reddit will give you quite a number of resources on how to how to succeed in software sales. You can hone your selling skills through online platforms such as Kenzie Academy, Coursera, Udemy, and edX. You can also do a search on majors for software sales Reddit to find out how you can on how you can qualify for software sales Reddit.

Depending on the company culture, software sales work life balance can either be positive or negative. As such, software salespersons need to continually upgrade their resources and obtain skills that will enable them to work smarter. As a software sales rep, you also need to surround yourself with a strong support system that includes mentors and industry experts. You also need to review your short and long-term goals constantly, which enables you to work objectively. The software sales future is quite promising. An in-depth software sales job outlook indicates that there will be a rise in demand in segments such as cybersecurity, cloud projects or software as a service (SaaS), machine learning, predictive analytics, and e-commerce.

Software Sales Jobs

If you are persuasive and confident, a career in software sales could be ideal for you. Software sales jobs description varies depending on the type of software you are selling and your skill level. For example, a business to business sales job description is different from a regular software sales position as the former involves selling software solutions to other businesses. Oracle software sales jobs are a perfect example of a B2B software sales rep. At entry level software sales jobs, you will likely be required to contact potential leads, educate about your software’s capabilities, work closely with your marketing team to ensure you hit targets, and so on. The only difference between this and an online sales representative job description is that the latter uses the internet to create sales or promote the products.

Some of the responsibilities of an online sales representative include creating online ads such as Oracle sales Reddit or SAP sales Reddit ads and updating and maintaining online sales records, among others. Website sales job description involves the promotion of website making services to potential clients. Tech sales job description involves the selling of innovative products including servers, networking devices, and computers, or services such as cloud computing, applications, and big data to consumers. IT sales support job description involves the provision of support to the sales team during the sales process and end-users after the sale.

The software sales manager job description is a little different to that of a software sales executive. Some of the responsibilities for this role include:

• Create product positioning strategies so that products get noticed by end-users
• Update the sales team on software developments
• Manage sales team KPIs, performance and culture
• Coordinate with the sales team to come up with selling tools such as demos, trade shows, and presentations
• Carry out competitor analysis and familiarize themselves with software trends, and other duties

Whether you are an entry-level software sales rep or an advanced one, the salary depends on the company you work for, your level of experience, and your location. For example, software sales salary Reddit ranges from $51,000 to $56,000 per year. On the other hand, Oracle software sales salary is approximately $101,841. Sales and marketing Reddit also cost less than the cybersecurity sales Reddit. Likewise, software sales jobs NYC pay more than software sales jobs, Los Angeles, as the averages are $111,688 and $71,155 per year, respectively.

Software Sales Companies

Some of the best sales companies to work for include:

Greenlight Guru – Greenlight Guru is the only Quality Management Software designed specifically for the medical device industry.

DemandJump – A customer acquisition platform that helps brands double marketing performance through Dynamic Journey Targeting.

Springbuk – Springbuk’s Health Intelligence software is equipping benefits consultants and employers nationwide to reduce healthcare costs. 

PERQ –  Boosts website conversion through its online guided shopping solution, which leverages artificial intelligence to dynamically change existing websites to deliver the next best step in each buyer’s shopping journey.

Genesys – Genesys is a leader for omnichannel customer experience & contact center solutions, trusted by 10000+ companies in over 100 countries.

Covideo – Record and send personalized videos with Covideo’s straightforward, user-friendly software.

Zoom – a company that provides a communications software that combines online meetings, video conferencing, mobile collaboration, chat. It was listed as one of the best sales companies to work for 2018 and offers some of the best IT sales jobs.

Oracle – the company which is headquartered in Redwood Shores, CA is one of the top b2b sales companies. It engineers and sells cloud engineering systems, enterprise software programs, and database software.

Salesforce – a cloud-based software company whose headquarters are in San Francisco, CA. The bulk of the company’s revenue is from CRM service, however, it also deals with such software as marketing automation, app development, and analytics. It ranked second on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For due to offering the best sales jobs 2018.

These are only some of the best software sales companies you can work in. However, to qualify for the best sales jobs, you will have to go through continuous training to hone your skills.