How sales teams work in large IT companies

One of the key areas in any IT company is sales. They provide both profit and new projects, and tasks that require the involvement of many specialists. In this article I will tell you how sales teams, namely account managers, work in large IT companies, what are the specifics of this area and how to get a job in IT sales.

Author: Gulnara Khakimullina, Deputy Head of the Department of Recruitment and Adaptation of Personnel in the Regions of the Russian Federation, Softline Group of Companies

The success of the business would not be possible without the work of the sales team. Her tasks extend far beyond simply closing deals. It acts as an engine of growth and development, allowing the company to explore new markets, deepen relationships with customers and introduce innovative solutions. Sales professionals are responsible for analyzing the market, identifying customer needs, creating compelling proposals, and, of course, successfully closing contacts. At the same time, the sales team plays a key role in shaping the company’s image.

Who is on the sales team

In almost any company, the sales team will be built in approximately the same way. Of course, positions may be called differently, but the essence remains the same.

1. Account manager or the client’s director, that is, an employee who works directly with the customer. He has a personal sales plan, the fulfillment of which determines the size of the bonus.

2. Presale specialist, who has technical expertise. He is professionally versed in a particular direction or product and works in tandem with an account manager. He also has a personal sales plan in his area.

At the same time, the sales team is in constant cross-functional interaction with other departments: these are technical areas (BDM, architects, engineers). They provide full technical support, which allows the account manager to build expert relationships with the customer; and the back office team (tender, legal departments, logistics, purchasing, coordinators). They free up more time for the account manager to work directly with the customer.

In general, the entire company provides expertise to ensure that sales are as effective as possible.

Team structure

Sales in a large IT business can involve hundreds of people. Structurally, most often there is a territorial distribution of clients within the company, since personal contact is often important in sales – communication by mail or video communication will not be enough.

In our case, this is distribution across 25 cities of Russia, but each company proceeds from its own capabilities.

In addition to territorial division, there may be vertical directions within the sales team, for example:

1. Segment of medium and small businesses (B2B). Constantly expanding list of clients, fast sales. The transaction cycle in this segment can be from several days, larger projects can take several months.

2. Large business segment (B2B). Long-term relationships with customers, the emphasis is not on attracting new customers, but on developing sales to existing customers. The transaction cycle ranges from several months to a year or a year and a half, depending on the scale of the project.

3. Government and academic customers (B2G). Work with government orders, development of sales to the public sector. A transaction with such customers takes from several months to a year and a half.

Who can join the sales team?

Presale specialist

This is where technical expertise comes to the fore. At the same time, it is important that a person is ready to simultaneously develop both technical and communication skills. A presale specialist is, in simple words, a technician with well-developed soft skills who can competently present a product to the customer, participate in negotiations and support the account manager.

Account manager

For an account manager, the most important thing is sales skills. It is more important for a company to see that a candidate has successful experience in closing deals, the ability to build long-term relationships with customers, and a focus on meeting/exceeding KPIs, rather than technical knowledge. Of course, immersion in IT specifics will be an advantage.

For example, we had an interesting case. A person with experience in selling office supplies came for an interview. He was interested in moving to a new level of project sales, was ready to dive into a new area for himself, effectively began training within the company, quickly achieved good results and is now working effectively with a high sales plan.

Depending on the segment, the requirements for candidates are different. For example, even a beginner in sales can work with medium and small businesses. And in order to competently conduct a transaction with a government customer, extensive experience, knowledge of the specifics of government regulation and a willingness to handle significant amounts of contracts are required.

1. Companies willingly hire specialists with 1-2 years of experience in corporate sales to join their teams of small and medium-sized businesses. Companies often hire candidates for development, for example, with six months of experience in sales. The main thing is that the specialist has completed transactions, effective indicators for fulfilling the sales plan and developed soft skills. The employee works with clients of medium and small businesses in the allocated territory, including expanding the client base.

2. In the large business segment, they prefer to invite specialists with 2-3 years of experience in corporate or project sales. There is a practice when this role is filled by an employee who previously held the position of head of a group/sales department. In this segment there are specialists who are responsible for sales to one large customer. There are those who work with one or two customers, they lead large projects that require interaction with a large number of related departments, making decisions on working with the customer. Preference will most likely be given to people from IT, telecom, and the equipment sector. But at the same time, the area is not as important as sales competencies.
   Most often (in our company and in those that I know of), sales specialists in the large business segment work with a dedicated list of clients. The main goal of the client manager/director is to develop relationships with these customers and increase sales volumes.

3. Selection for a sales team for government and academic customers can be carried out in two directions: first of all, experience in sales to government and academic customers, experience in high-level negotiations, and knowledge of legislation are considered; Moreover, there are frequent cases in practice when candidates with 2-3 years of successful experience in corporate/project sales are considered. Like managers in the large business segment, specialists here work with a dedicated list of customers.

But, of course, this is an ideal that is not always achievable. In practice, companies consider a variety of specialists and approach the selection quite flexibly, given the complex candidate market. The most important thing is the candidate’s willingness to work with a certain segment, immerse himself in specifics, study legislation, and lead long-term projects.

Career track in sales

An account manager is the main position in sales; specialists in this area are most in demand. As experience grows, the account manager can move on to larger projects and higher sales targets, increasing significantly in salary.

At the same time, of course, there are also opportunities for growth within the company.

The first option is vertical growth in your division in 2-3 years. The main thing in this case is stable fulfillment or exceeding the sales plan, closing large transactions, the desire to share your experience and expertise with the team, and take more responsibility for the result. Possible positions: head of direction, department, sales team.

Another option is horizontal growth, moving to an adjacent division. For example, to the presale or to the development team of any direction. Large companies most often encourage internal transitions and are ready to support employees in their desire to develop. In particular, they provide opportunities to study or even undergo internships in other areas.

Tips from HR on how to pass an interview

Technical sales are very interesting. Different customers, high level of responsibility, complex products, the ability to quickly increase expertise. At the end of the article, some tips on how to successfully pass an interview.

1. Explore the company's website, look at solutions and products. Answer yourself the question: “Do I really want to do this? Is this an area I’m interested in diving into?” Keep in mind that the employee will be required to have a very good understanding of the solutions/products that he sells.

2. Look at the job description, determine what interests you, and note points that raise questions. It is not always necessary to meet every line in the job description, but it will be useful to compare your experience with the stated requirements in advance. Consider the interview to be your first sale at the company. It is important for you to show with case examples that you will be successful in your new position.

3. Pay attention to global goals and company values. Each employer considers a candidate based on the tasks of a specific role and wants to hire an employee who will be ready to demonstrate the achievement of ambitious goals/plans, which will allow the company to quickly reach its goals and dreams.

4. Prepare questions. Your interview is not an exam, but a dialogue. If you haven’t found answers to any key questions on the company’s website, feel free to ask them. As a bonus, you will show yourself as an initiative and caring candidate.

Now there is a noticeable need in the market for IT solutions sales specialists; large companies are ready to consider applicants, offering decent salaries and ample opportunities for growth and development. Moreover, the policy of import substitution makes Russian IT solutions in great demand among state-owned enterprises and businesses throughout the country. Therefore, if the topic of sales in an IT company is interesting to you, I wish you good luck in your interviews!