3 Reasons to Work in Sales for a Tech Startup

3 Reasons to Work in Sales for a Tech Startup When FliptopCEO Doug Camplejohn looks at the state of Silicon Valley today, hes reminded of earliertimes. To me, its no different from what I saw back in the late 90s and early 2000s, in terms of the funding, the companies, and the competition for talent, Camplejohn says. That just makes everything across the board difficult.According to AngelList, there are currently 18,403 startups in Silicon Valley, and a very good chunk of those startups are in the tech world. Because of the sheer number of startups all jostling for the same space as well as the continuing recovery of the U.S. economy competition for talent in Silicon Valley is fierce.Its a candidates market today, Camplejohn says. Most technology positions are hard to fill in general, andespecially in Silicon Valley.But its bedrngnis just the laptop-wielding, hoodie-clad techies that companies a re vying for. As it turns out, tech startups are having a particularly hard time finding talent to fill their technical schlussverkauf and sales management positions. According to a report issued last year by the Harvard Business Review, Burning Glass, and Accenture, these roles are among the hardest to fill not only in Silicon Valley, but across the U.S.All of this is to say that there are plenty of tech startups looking for salespeople out there.Are you a fresh college grad looking to start your career? An experienced salesperson in need of a new challenge? A mid-career worker looking to make a change?Here are Camplejohns three reasons why you may want to think about pursuing a sales role at a tech startup.1. Sales Is a Great distribution policy to Start Your Career in TechIf youre a young worker who wants to start a career in tech, Camplejohn says taking a sales role is the best way to dive into the world.Even if you dont want to stay in sales all your life maybe you want to mo ve into the programming side of things or start your own tech company someday sales gives you what Camplejohn calls a front-row seat into what customers are looking for.Today, sales is not about just wracking up a bunch of transactions, Camplejohn says. Its really about actingas a trusted advisor to companies, customers, and prospects.In technical sales especially, kompetenzprofil buyers often come to the table with a lot of research under their belts. They arent looking for sales pitches theyre looking for strategic partners who can help them decipher all the information they have on hand.Becausetechnical salespeople get to act as strategic advisors, rather than pitchmen, they really get a feel for who the customers are in the tech world and what the market looks like.I think that a technical sales role really puts somebody in touch with real customer problems and real customer pains, Camplejohn says. Understanding that is key for any career in tech.2. Technical Sales Give You a Chance to Stretch Your Intellectual MusclesYou can pick up important sales techniques, like cold-calling and followup, from pretty much any sales role. According to Camplejohn, however, technical sales offers more than just a chance to sharpen your sales chops.Generally, in a technical sales role, youre going to have a lot more intellectual challenges, and youll get to work with some really smart people, Camplejohn says.Because of the nature of technical sales learning about specific and sometimes complicated products, acting as a trusted advisor to customers the role can really challenge employees to become more creative and to think outside the box more often.Plus, Camplejohn says, selling tech can really help youbuild a betterunderstanding of customers. Knowing what customers want and how to work with themarekey components of pretty much any role in the tech world. Even the software engineers who never speak directly with customers need to know about the people for whom they are building their products.3.Technical Sales Offers an Opportunity for Major Professional GrowthIf you join the sales team at a quickly growing tech startup, youll of course have the potential to earn some serious commission checks probably more commission than you would earn at an established company in the later stages of its existence.But in a technical sales role, your bank accounts not the only thing that will grow.If you really have the initiative, you can quickly advance in your career at a tech startup, Camplejohn says, You have the opportunity to come in, volunteer to take a lot of responsibility, and learn a lot in a very compressed period of time.Technical sales roles at startups can offer workers at all stages of their livesthe chance to learn valuable skills that will serve them well no matter where their careers take them. With so many opportunities out there, job seekers may want to think about finding a role in technical sales.At least for now.