In the tech world, good salespeople are just as important as good developers and designers. After all, it’s the techies who build the product but the sales team that gets it into the hands of paying customers.
If you have a love for sales and are looking to break into the Chicago tech scene — or if you are ready for a role with more responsibility — we recommend checking out these five sales roles.
The gig: Mid-Market Account Executive
What they do: G2 Crowd is a review platform for B2B software and services. In addition to hosting customer reviews, the company also sells paid profiles to businesses. These paid plans allow increased customization of profiles, access to analytics and much more.
What you'd do: As a mid-market account executive, you’ll work with high-level software industry marketers to sell G2 Crowd’s branding solutions. This role involves all parts of the sales cycle, from initial outreach by phone or email to closing deals with vendors and guiding them through the onboarding process.
What you'll need: G2 Crowd is asking for at least three years of sales experience in a B2B environment. This role requires someone who can both build relationships and give product demos. You should also have a strong familiarity with tech and a desire to stay on top of new developments in the industry.
The gig: Enterprise Account Executive
What they do: Trustwave helps online businesses stay safe by combating cybercrime, guarding against data breaches, and reducing overall security risks. Trustwave has a wide variety of products in its portfolio which makes having a good sales team especially important.
What you'd do: Enterprise account executives develop new and existing accounts in their assigned vertical, region or territory. This role also involves the management of existing, profitable accounts. Direct support for enterprise account executives comes from sales engineers, with product specialists and product managers also on hand to provide assistance.
What you'll need: You should be familiar with or have an interest in learning about cybercrime and cybersecurity. Sales experience will get you in the door, but experience selling enterprise software will help you stand out once inside. An ability to upsell and past experience negotiating contracts will earn you some major brownie points, too.
The gig: Customer Development Account Executive
What they do: Sprout Social is a social media management and analytics tracking platform for businesses. The company was founded in 2010 and has been used by over 19,000 agencies and brands from around the world.
What you'd do: You’ll monitor the needs of the companies in your portfolio and track their growth in order to identify opportunities for upselling and ways to increase account values. Account executives are also expected to generate new business via outbound prospecting and through qualified leads sourced from account managers.
What you'll need: Sprout Social is looking for three to five years of relevant experience in either inside sales or account management. Those with sales experience at a SaaS company are preferred, as are those who have worked with social media. Sprout Social is customer-focused, and account execs are expected to focus as much on customer success as they do on hitting sales goals.
The gig: Inside Sales Associate — Mid-Market
What they do: ItemMaster has built a cloud-based platform that lets brands manage and update information on every aspect of their products. In addition to sending updated product info off to brick-and-mortar and digital retailers, the platform can also be used to update marketing materials as well.
What you'd do: You’ll be selling the ItemMaster platform to small and medium-sized businesses in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) space. Inside sales associates will do it all, from generating leads and prospecting to closing deals. Expect to spend a bit of time on the phone building and maintaining relationships and reaching out to potential new clients.
What you'll need: You should bring at least three to five years experience in inside sales to the table. Bonus points are given to those with at least one to two years experience working with CPG and with SaaS sales experience. ItemMaster is hungry to grow its business and is seeking salespeople who thrive in a quota-driven sales environment.
The gig: Account Executive
What they do: UpRight Law helps those with financial troubles access affordable legal help quickly and easily. The company’s attorneys have an average of 20 years of experience and all specialize in bankruptcy law.
What you'd do: Account executives learn the needs of potential clients and educate them on the legal assistance UpRight Law can provide. To do this you’ll need to know the platform and its lawyers inside and out. In addition to closing deals with clients account executives are also expected to gather case information for later use by attorneys.
What you'll need: At least one year or more of B2C sales experience is required. Financial problems don’t stop worrying people when the weekend comes, which means you’ll need to be able to work on Saturdays and Sundays. Above all, you’ll need to be passionate about helping people in dire straits find the information and professional support they need.
Images via listed companies and social media.
Is your company hiring? Let us know with a tip or a tweet @BuiltInChicago
