IT Sales, would you?

[BrabusMog]

I've become increasingly pissed off with my chosen industry, the amount of hassle I get and the limited career opportunities past my next promotion.

I've had a couple of meetings with an IT reseller and am at the stage where I'm waiting on an offer from them which was indicated to be extremely generous and this is before OTE.

The company is extremely reputable.

Does anybody work within the industry on here and, if so, are you able to give an insight in to what it's like? The role would be for a Senior Biz Dev Manager.

I would probably have to relocate for the role but this isn't a problem as it means I can move closer to my girlfriend.

[ShawCrossShark]

Depends on the type of reseller I would say. I have worked from small resellers selling mainly consumables through to large national selling solutions, hosting, support contracts etc.

I would personally say that it is a tough business to get into in this day and age. Competition is extensive and fierce and margins for tin shifting are extremely tight because of this. Make sure that you have a good support network to assist in maximising margins on hardware (broker channels, special bid processes, manufacturer relationships)

I worked as internal sales for some of the top sales guys in the company doing all the above. They made the money for opening the doors while I studied to become a VSP, HP ASP, IBM pSeries accredited etc. The support network is essential to be succesful

Obviously a large reputable reseller will be offering end to end solutions - consultancy and support tend to be where the money is at, as well as hosting.

I am now working for a software company dealing with NHS customers. Many resellers now just want guys to come in who will carry a target and forget the infrastructure that helps them achieve it. Many rely too heavily on the disties to do the work for them.

My advice is to choose wisely the company you choose to join

Steve

[BrabusMog]

Thanks for the replies and, Swerni, I'll take you up on that offer and ping you a mail tomorrow morning as I'm out on the beers at the moment.

The company is very reputable, independentantly owned, was grown organically and I got on extremely well with the sales director. It may sound daft to say, but I really thought it went too well in the meetings and I was being "sold" a dream. I got stung early on in my career but this one feels "right" and I'm pretty sure I'll be accepting.

[ShawCrossShark]

Whereabouts in the UK you based? And where would relocating involve? Feel free to PM me if you don't want to make it obvious but they sound familiar

If it's who it sounds like to me, then i will happily advise my findings. If not, I may have contacts with experience

[BrabusMog]

My career began in recruitment and every digital agency I dealt with was either organically grown or had "significant" financial backing/angel investment, I'm presuming IT sales is a similar yarn...

[ShawCrossShark]

swerni said:

So from "reputable" and " organic growth" you've worked out who it is?

Who are you, Sherlock Holmes ?

No, but I do know a fair few of the names that are out there and it just sounds like a company that I used to work for. I hasten to add that I am not looking to put the OP off, just share my experience if it is someone I know of

[Puggit]

I work for a software company in sales (and have done for a decade) - almost everyone agrees it's better to work for vendors than resellers and nothing would make me switch to a reseller, even though I've never worked for one!

[anonymous-user]

Puggit said:

I work for a software company in sales (and have done for a decade) - almost everyone agrees it's better to work for vendors than resellers and nothing would make me switch to a reseller, even though I've never worked for one!

Depends on the vendor and reseller.

I've worked in sales for both and, whilst the cachet and door opening power of a vendor is good, there are great resellers out there offering some great packages for successful salespeople.

[Streetrod]

I run the recruitment functions within a couple of large IT systems houses dealing mainly in the financial services and fraud analytics space. Good sales people are always on the top of my list of hard to find people. They are also the roles I am likely to be looking to fill all the time.

On the market data side I have a constant need and am paying in the £60k - £80k basic range with an OTE of twice that. If you have worked for the likes of Thomson Reuters or Bloomberg and fancy a change to a role where you are a bigger fish in a smaller pond then ping me an email.

On the financial fraud side I am paying even more with OTE's averaging around the £160k mark.

IT sales for a good vendor I think is the best way to go, but do your research, don’t just take the word of the person interviewing you

[BrabusMog]

I've accepted the role, had a further chat with the company and went through some figures with their sales director which all looked extremely positive to me. It's a bit of a gamble in a way as I'm leaving a very secure and relatively well paid role but I want to kick on a bit and this looks like a fantastic platform from which to do that.

[aero93]

Streetrod - Hi, I did email you back from the other thread. Just want to make sure you got my email back as you didn't get my first one. Thanks

[BrabusMog]

I'd rather not say on a public forum!

[Streetrod]

aero93 said:

Streetrod - Hi, I did email you back from the other thread. Just want to make sure you got my email back as you didn't get my first one. Thanks

That's odd Aero as I was wondering why I had not seen your email. So no it did not get to me. I did receive another from a PH today so my email is working. Could you please try again

[Streetrod]

swerni said:

Streetrod said:

I run the recruitment functions within a couple of large IT systems houses dealing mainly in the financial services and fraud analytics space. Good sales people are always on the top of my list of hard to find people. They are also the roles I am likely to be looking to fill all the time.

On the market data side I have a constant need and am paying in the £60k - £80k basic range with an OTE of twice that. If you have worked for the likes of Thomson Reuters or Bloomberg and fancy a change to a role where you are a bigger fish in a smaller pond then ping me an email.

On the financial fraud side I am paying even more with OTE's averaging around the £160k mark.

IT sales for a good vendor I think is the best way to go, but do your research, don’t just take the word of the person interviewing you

And the chances of getting into a good vendor (or any vendor) without substantial industry experience are?

Not easy, but if you have complementary skills or have worked in the wider merchant banking arena then I could be interested

[aero93]

Streetrod said:

aero93 said:

Streetrod - Hi, I did email you back from the other thread. Just want to make sure you got my email back as you didn't get my first one. Thanks

That's odd Aero as I was wondering why I had not seen your email. So no it did not get to me. I did receive another from a PH today so my email is working. Could you please try again

I sent it from my personal account to your work email address. I have just tried emailing you again now through your profile. Lets see if that works any better.

Thanks John

[Puggit]

swerni said:

Puggit said:

I work for a software company in sales (and have done for a decade) - almost everyone agrees it's better to work for vendors than resellers and nothing would make me switch to a reseller, even though I've never worked for one!

When did you start working in sales??.

You know damn well who really sells the technology...

[anonymous-user]

Puggit said:

You know damn well who really sells the technology...

The marketing team?

[Bullett]

I'm pre-sales rather than sales but I went SI to vendor recently. It's a different world!

I also changed technology, still in the same general area but really with little technical connection to my previous life (although much experience is relevant).