Top Skills You Need for Selling Technology

Top Skills You Need for Selling Technology

I consider myself to be an introverted-extrovert. What that means for me is I enjoy being around people pretty often, but I am not going to be “the talker” amongst social groups. I’ve never been the person to carry conversations or feel the need to fill in the moments of silence. We might be in a conversation and after you’ve told me something, I might just say “Oh, I see.”, or if its interesting enough, I’ll ask a follow up question to learn a little more. Naturally, I think I get the best of both worlds, social time and the ability to be myself.

For the last almost-decade, I’ve worked in a wide range of roles for different types of companies in technology. I’ve been a full time employee reporting analyst, a data science consultant, a sales engineer/solutions architect for software companies.

Every personality type can find a rewarding career and attainable path to various types of roles in technology. In each role, and within each organization I’ve worked for, I’ve seen personality traits and commonalities amongst those who I have considered to be the most successful.

The most successful aren’t always the smartest people or ones who have spent their entire career, rather livelihood, on learning technology. It’s usually those who are curious, good communicators and willing to, as I like to say, “figure it out along the way”.

Characteristics That Are Successful

Everyone is unique and different. Everyone has strengths and everyone has weaknesses, but most commonly here are a few characteristics I’ve seen in both SEs (Sales Engineers) and AEs (Account Executives) have that have made them successful.

1. Be willing to take risks. When selling software, there are always risks associated in the deal cycle. Knowing how to minimize technical risks is one thing, but also knowing when to “strike while the iron is hot” can make or break your deal. In order to cross the finish line, you might have to be willing to risk

2. Follow your curiosity. It’s impossible to know everything about everything, but if you’re willing to continue to follow what interests you and understand the why and how’s, you’ll have success.

3. Think strategically. Selling software is a little like playing chess. Not necessarily trying to out maneuver your customer per say, but thinking 2–3 steps ahead. What is going to happen next and how are you going to make it happen? There are many ways of solving the same problem and some solutions may be more straightforward than others. You have to think strategically in order to be successful.

4. ABN — Always Be Networking. For as big and overwhelming the technology world may seem, it’s a lot smaller than it appears. You’ll work with the same people or cross paths with others you’ve previously associated with more than you think you will. Its important to build relationships and find ways of winning together, or offering a helping hand to those in need.

Technical Skills

In order to be successful in technology, obviously you have to be a little-technical — in some way, shape or form. The range of technical capability can vary by position, by company or by function. Sometimes just understanding the lingo and concepts are enough, other times you may have to be hands-on-keyboard coding. It really just depends. To break down some of the basics here is a list:

• Technical Terminology: this is the bare bones minimum. You have to know what is being discussed, how this applies to your role/company or project.

• Coding: knowing how to code is a huge plus in this job. But you don’t have to be an expert coder. Understanding the basics and limitations of common languages (SQL/Python/Spark etc.) will get you further than you think.

• Prompt Engineering and/or “vibe-coding”: this is a non-negotiable if you aren’t the most comfortable with pure code. It is easier to leverage LLMs to help drive prototypes and upskill your coding ability.

• Tooling: knowing any type of technology tool will be important. Understanding how it integrates with others, is what will set you apart. Start simple: Reporting tools to databases, databases to data sources.

  
  

Personable Skills

This is often an overlooked area of what makes people successful working in technology. You can be the greatest coder on earth, but if you can’t clearly communicate what you did and how someone could use it — it’ll never get adopted. In the data world, there is often such a disconnect between the business (consumers of data that make decisions) and the technical teams (those that are leveraging infrastructure to produce information). This disconnect usually exists because of one simple problem, communication.

• Ask Questions: it’s not always obvious as to the “why”. Try to ask as many questions as you can to understand.

• Be Willing to Sound Dumb: it’s impossible to know everything, dont be afraid that you’ll sound inexperienced. I’ve heard engineers with 20+ years under their belt ask very basic questions.

• Be Prompt: time is money and money is time. Be prompt in your follow ups, pro-active in your scheduling and on time to your engagements.

• Know Your Limitations: We can’t do it all, all the time. Find people who are smarter than you, able to go deeper than you and leverage them. At the end of the day, the technical sale is a team sport.

• Set Others Up for Success: Provide as much information as you have to your leaders, your teammates, your support. Applaud in public and constructively critisize in private.

Getting Started

This has been and will continue to be one of the most rewarding careers I have ever had. Amazing pay, great work-life balance and plenty of opportunity for growth. Everyone has to start somewhere, and it’s important to understand that the world of technology truly is, a career. Meaning, it may take some time for you to navigate your path towards finding your ideal job at your ideal company. But! There are so many resources to get started.