Techies make great salespeople: An ITworld.com special report

May 3, 2001 —

The importance of sales in the technology game has been given short shrift. Still, sales represents recession-proof work. In fact, superstar salespeople are even more valuable during economic downturns because they're the ones who bring in the bacon by selling products or services. Why else do you think at least a hundred books have been published on how to make yourself into a super salesperson -- and a gazillionaire. Most are awful because they build false hopes by guaranteeing unattainable results. Yet, the good ones can teach any novice the ABCs of selling.

There is no shortage of salespeople selling everything from cars and washing machines to toothpicks and combs. But in the technology world, few salespeople actually understand technology enough to sell it. It's a bonus for a company when its techies make a career swerve into sales. Not only do they learn new skills, but they also discover new challenges and obstacles that are just as exciting as developing killer apps and creating tomorrow's software. And, they can make a pile of dough in the process. What's wrong with that?

Likewise, top salespeople with strong and impressive technical backgrounds who understand the business process stand an excellent chance of rapidly ascending the corporate ladder to top management jobs. Tech salespeople have discovered these truths firsthand. Yet, thousands of techies have never considered the possibility of taking their knowledge and talent and applying it to selling the technology they formerly built. They fail to see it as a logical chain of events.

In the following articles, Bob Weinstein, author of 12 books, and ITworld columnist, relates some fascinating insights about careers in sales that you probably never considered.

Who says techies can't sell? The authors of Knock Your Socks Off Selling (Jeffrey Gitomer and Ron Zemke) say anyone can sell, even techies who've gotten bad press as terrible communicators. The authors contend there is no better time to transition into sales. Find out why.

You'd better believe Bill Gates can sell! It's high time we killed the myth that salespeople are "tin men," hustlers and bottom-feeders on the corporate food chain. That's the Death of a Salesman stereotype. Find out how wrong it is and what modern selling is all about.

Fifteen tips for mastering the art of selling Like anything else, learning how to sell takes work, time, and practice. But, you can do it if you follow helpful tips from an expert who knows how to succeed.

ITworld.com