Why Tech Sales Applicants Get Rejected | A Recruiter's Perspective

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[@ireneingyinn9008]

Hi Eric. I came across your videos while interviewing for SDR role at a tech company. Your videos helped me land that job and I just started last week. Thank you so much for all your efforts! Can't wait to continue learning from you!

[@techsales-higherlevels]

Congrats!

[@Jibale_]

Any advice?! What’d you learn? Congrats btw 🎉

[@ireneingyinn9008]

@@Jibale_ Thank you. Practice interviews either recording yourself or doing mockup with your friends. Rewatch and find areas to improve your interview. You can watch Eric's videos how to answer specific sales interview questions!

[@Jibale_]

awesome. thanks!@@ireneingyinn9008

[@aliazhar4452]

the entrepreneur question was a great shout. I myself am someone transitioning into tech sales now from being a founder and I definitely understand the hesitation of hiring an entrpreneur. I definitely tried my best to frame myself and my skills in a way that still showed how I would work well in a team while simultaneously trying to showcase how my experience running a business would help me out in an SDR role. Thanks for the insight Ryan

[@lancec42]

bro some of the jobs say entrepreneurial minded in the job description lmfao

[@arthurmolina7893]

I’m looking into taking courses to get into tech sales, currently 3 years into roofing sales which is fun, but the market is veryy up and down in Southern California. I’ve been looking into CourseCareers’s Tech Sales course until I found your channel! Definitely looking to transition this year 🙏🏻

[@techsales-higherlevels]

Let me know if I can help with any questions! We've had a lot of students from course careers take our program, there are several students who have shared their experience on the channel

[@arthurmolina7893]

@@techsales-higherlevels I appreciate that, Definitely subscribing and thank you for the content you’re making, it’s truly insightful and feels authentic

[@alimahmoud8708]

Hi Eric, I appreciate the knowledge and the effort you put into this, I am trying to get into tech sales, and interested in your course but I was wondering if you also help candidates who's not resident in the US?

[@techsales-higherlevels]

Yes, several of our current and former students have been based all over the globe. This past week we had someone land a job at Datadog that is based in Europe, and have many more examples

[@warriorclassmedia]

Thanx Sir

[@RubinaMatev0syan]

Hello Ryan and Eric! As I am approaching graduation in the spring, I am realizing that some of the biggest concerns I have when it comes to career is company fit. I get nervous around managers and my coworkers in the past because at times I struggle with cultivating a genuine relationship. What are some precautions/ rules of thumb that I can use to see if a company is a good fit for me vs not.

[@techsales-higherlevels]

There is a lot of great information on glassdoor and repvue to give you an idea of the culture. Outside of that put yourself in a lot of interviews so you can get a sense for the best company for you. Also it doesn't always happen right the first time, so it's normal to change every 2-3 years until you find the best fit.

[@RubinaMatev0syan]

Thanks!@@techsales-higherlevels

[@broadcastmafia9878]

Would be great to have your take on tech sales now in March 2024. Given the fact that there have been millions of layoffs in the tech industry in 2023. Most redundancies in tech coming in engineering and sales. As most companies are trying to streamline their operations to make profit and survive. Do you think the bubble has burst for tech sales ? Also, every AE, AM and SDR is essentially competing for the same roles. People who have been laid off at Amazon, Paypal, Stripe, Adobe and more are all applying for the same jobs. You'll see a job posted on LinkedIn will have 100 applicants in 3 days. What are your thoughts on this ? I've been in tech sales for 10 years and this has been the worst time in the industry.

[@techsales-higherlevels]

There are levels to it. For instance, I'm seeing really strong entry level hiring this year so far, we literally had 6 students get jobs this week. However, for someone like yourself with 10 years of experience it is getting dicey. What I mean is you can probably find a job, but people are getting pushed down to roles/territories that they wouldn't have taken in a strong market. Entry level talent opportunities are strong, but if you're dealing with a layoff and trying to land an equivalent role, it's definitely very tough. I'm getting about 1 interview request a week at most right now, which is definitely slower than 2 years ago (thankfully im not looking for opportunities right now). What's your experience been?

[@natemontes-salesselfdevelo4625]

Does it look bad going from Outside sales rep (12 months experience) to sdr? Feedback I’m getting is I don’t have enough experience for an AE role. Keep pushing for AE or get back in as sdr?

[@techsales-higherlevels]

Outside sales experience in tech sales or a different industry?

[@natemontes-salesselfdevelo4625]

@@techsales-higherlevels tech. Was selling hris/payroll software

[@techsales-higherlevels]

@@natemontes-salesselfdevelo4625 were you an SDR before that? What's your total sales experience?

[@natemontes-salesselfdevelo4625]

@@techsales-higherlevels 2.5 years door to door experience before hand. Moved to software at the hris/payroll org and was there for 12 months

[@JonBos4123]

This link still works, but im looking for a discount code. It seems to be going to the site only.

[@techsales-higherlevels]

'RYAN10'

[@blee0820]

Hi Eric - I'm in this weird patch right now in my career - my previous role as a Software Engineer has been unfulfilling and I resigned 6 months ago after 3 years of work, looking for a new career path that still deals with tech but not solely focused on programming. Tech sales and sale engineer has piqued my interest lately but I have zero sales experience. Will it possible for me to break into this career path?

[@techsales-higherlevels]

Definitely, tons of companies love former engineers in sales roles (I am a former engineer). Are you just learning about this path or have you already started applying?

[@blee0820]

@@techsales-higherlevels I've known about this path but started seriously considering it recently. I love tech and still want to be involved but after 3 years, I've realized that writing code all day is not my calling. I'm looking for more of a client-focused role, where I can actively listen and give suggestions and solution while still being in the realm of tech. I've been looking at job descriptions out of curiosity and I've noticed that a lot of them have +3, +4, +5 or even more years of B2B sales (or something related like that) to be even considered. Regarding any type of sales I have 0 years of experience, hence why it's been "scaring me off" per-se

[@techsales-higherlevels]

@@blee0820 Wouldn't worry too much about that. I would target companies of technology that you've used in your software career. They'll love former users. I might recommend trying to create connections with current sales reps and sales engineers as well before formally applying. Not sure what kind of timeline you have before you want to take a job but if you're starting at zero I would tap into your network and ask people that are in the position you want to be in for a coffee, zoom chat, etc.... Ultimately if you do go the tech sales route (as opposed to sales engineering) let me know and you can also check out what we offer at higherlevels.com. Happy to help with other questions here, keep me posted!

[@blee0820]

@@techsales-higherlevels I've already have an account and was checking out your free mini-courses, which is what made me leave a comment (I think this is the first or one of the first YT comments I've ever left on a video ) :-) I like your suggestion on reaching out to other tech sales reps and sale engineers, I've never done cold-calling/messaging like that before but you never know what opportunities might come up! There is one thing that I am extremely curious about, and it's regarding job descriptions where it lists 3, 4, 5 and above years of experience. Even for entry level SDR/Sales Eng. roles I see at least 2 or so years of experience required. I understand that HigherLevels can provide me information, concepts, and course experience on tech sales but to me that doesn't translate into real-world experience (not to be critical or anything, just my personal train of thought). How would I be able to relay that to a potential employer? Ex: "Hello Company XYZ, I have 3 years of Software Engineering experience but no real-world sales experience. To show my interest in technical sales, I have taken a course that has trained in me a classroom style." Do you provide methods or advice on how to use this experience as a "replacement" for real-world sales experience?

[@techsales-higherlevels]

​@@blee0820 Many different things you can do here and we dive into it in the course in great depth. Don't get me wrong we cover all the bases when it comes to how to actually be an effective SDR, but the consistent feedback we get is how much depth we go into the interview process. As an example you could reach out to any of the companies who's tools you've been using and say something like "Name, As a former engineer who used {COMPANY'S TOOL} for the last 3 years, I wanted to reach out to you directly as I just applied for the SDR role. I'm seeking more customer facing and revenue generating opportunities for my next role and saw you had also hired a few former engineers on your team as well. Could we briefly connect this week to see if it's a mutual fit? Regards, Eric" Hopefully that helps. 3 years of software engineering experience is great when packaged the right way and when going after companies that truly value it. You're not going to get the job by just applying. You need to apply and immediately the same day message the hiring manager and SDR manager directly. You won't stand out otherwise.

[@thepilotnetwork]

Can i do your course and get hired at 17, or should i wait, bc you told me to get a retail sales job, and they wont hire below 18 and they want a high school diploma.

[@techsales-higherlevels]

I have not personally heard of someone who has not yet graduated high school being able to break in. I would get any type of sales experience you can find while you're still in high school and then start applying to tech sales jobs as you're about to graduate next year

[@thepilotnetwork]

I'm graduating this year I'm just young, do you still think I could land a job with a high school diploma? Also Could I get an sdr internship at 17?Thanks for the amazing content I love the raw videos so do more!