IT sales is a very rewarding job, but it is a job that requires constant updates of skills and knowledge. As I am an IT-related job that is constantly advancing, I need to keep up to date with the latest information.
This time, I will explain the work contents of IT sales, required skills, qualifications that are useful in work, and so on. We will also introduce services that make it easy to find IT sales career paths, business partners, and clients, so please refer to them.
table of contents
- 1. What is IT sales?
- 2. IT sales work content
- 3. Skills and qualifications required for IT sales
- 4. IT sales career path
- 5. How to support the shortage of IT sales
- 6. Business matching if it is difficult to develop IT sales!
What is IT sales?
IT sales is a type of job that carries out sales activities related to the IT business. Not only skills as a sales position, but also deep knowledge of in-house products and services such as system development and software, and IT-related expertise are required. Among the many sales positions, it is classified as a highly specialized position.
IT sales work content
It is the job of IT sales to confirm the customer’s problem, tell them that it can be solved by using their products and services and propose a concrete method. The products and services that IT sales mainly handle are as follows.
- Information system development, software introduction
- Web-based marketing
- Website and content creation
My main job is to sell and provide the above services and products, but there are various other businesses as well. We are in charge of a wide range of contact points for the company, from pre-contract exchanges with customers to after-sales follow-up after contracts and sales.
In addition, there are many opportunities to communicate with client companies and programmers, system engineers, and designers within the company. Customer satisfaction is greatly influenced by the personality of the salesperson in charge. Therefore, it can be said that people who can build a relationship of trust with client companies are suitable for IT sales.
Skills and qualifications required for IT sales
As mentioned earlier, IT sales require sales skills and specialized knowledge unique to IT-related services. Therefore, if you acquire qualifications to gain the trust of customers and engineers as well as acquire knowledge and skills, you will be able to do better sales. In this section, we will explain the skills that IT sales want to acquire and the qualifications that they want to keep.
● Skills
If you are a company that provides information system development, the experience and skills gained in technical positions such as programmers and system engineers will be very useful. As an IT salesperson who is familiar with technology, it will be useful in various scenes.
The skills that are useful when working as an IT salesperson are:
- Hearing skills to draw out customer needs and issues
- Understanding of systems and programs
- Material creation skills to convey the appeal of our products and services to customers
- Presentation skills that accurately convey the effects of in-house products and services (Because the products we handle are intangible, it is important to accurately convey what kind of effects can be expected when introduced)
- Management skills and schedule management skills for communicating customer requests to in-house programmers and engineers, and managing delivery dates appropriately.
- Human skills such as honesty and kindness are essential for sales positions
- Skills to master office software (If IT sales cannot use Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc., customers may doubt their abilities. Also, if they can master it, document creation will be quicker and they will be able to concentrate on their original sales activities.)
Regarding the understanding of systems and programs, for example, conversations cannot be engaged without knowledge of the systems and programs that customers are currently implementing. Furthermore, knowledge of the latest IT technology and programming languages can be said to be “natural for IT sales” from the customer’s point of view. Therefore, an understanding of systems and programs is necessary for IT sales. In addition, since emergency response due to product or service defects is required, flexible problem-solving skills are also important.
● Qualification
IT-related qualifications are a great weapon for IT sales. Also, if you acquire qualifications related to sales skills, you can use them in various scenes.
IT passport
An IT passport is a national qualification that can prove that you have a basic knowledge of IT. In today’s world of IT, a certain amount of IT knowledge is required for any industry or occupation. Not only IT sales but also students and working people from different industries are actively acquiring IT passports for job hunting. In addition, the IT passport can acquire not only IT-related knowledge but also knowledge of business management, management, finance, etc., so companies may set it as a condition for recruiting. Those who are looking to get a job or change jobs in IT sales are qualified to save.
Sales skill test
The sales skill test is operated to provide “qualifications that accurately measure sales force and are useful in the field”. Measure the following skills that are essential for sales positions.
- Skills to build good interpersonal relationships
- Communication skills
- Planning and the ability to execute it
The sales skill test is a test that certifies the above skills by scoring them in a complex manner. There are 1 to 3 grades, and to take the 1st grade, it is necessary to pass the 2nd grade and have at least 5 years of sales work experience. Taking the 2nd grade requires passing the 3rd grade and 3 years or more of sales work experience. There are no special conditions for taking the 3rd-grade exam, and anyone can take it.
The levels certified for each grade are as follows.
- Level 1: Have a good balance of abilities such as experience, achievements, knowledge, and skills. Recognized as having comprehensive sales competencies (abilities)
- Level 2: Recognized as “20% of human resources who make 80% of sales” in the sales type
- Level 3: Recognized as having basic knowledge in sales activities
Sales Skills Test Level 1 is also called “Consulting Sales Master”, and the qualification expiration date is 5 years, and you need to resubmit the dissertation to renew. There is no expiration date for Levels 2 and 3, and there is no renewal system.
Basic information engineer
Basic information engineers are implemented by IPA (Information-technology Promotion Agency) based on the Act on Facilitation of Information Processing. It is a national qualification certified by the Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry, and is especially popular among many IT qualifications. To obtain a qualification, basic IT knowledge, logical thinking ability, management knowledge, etc. are required. It is recognized as a “gateway to IT engineers” because it requires a wide range of knowledge and is useful in the field, and it can prove that it has a certain level of skills and abilities as an information processing engineer.
An IT passport is a qualification similar to that of a basic information engineer, but the target audience and the level of the exam are different. The basic information engineer is intended for “people who want to work as an information processing engineer” such as system engineers and programmers, but the IT passport is intended for general working people and students. As for exams, basic information engineers tend to be more difficult, and especially in items such as programming and algorithms, questions that are more difficult than IT passports are asked. The passing rate of the exam is not high at 20 to 30%, and it is a difficult qualification to obtain. However, conversely, it can be said that it is a valuable qualification because it is acquired with a low pass rate.
Applied Information Technology Engineer
Applied Information Technology Engineer is a national qualification that can prove that you are a higher-grade IT engineer. Like the Basic Information Engineer, it is a division of the Information-Technology Engineers Examination, and the implementing organization is IPA. If the basic information engineer is a qualification for beginners or those with a short career, the applied information engineer is a higher qualification for veteran engineers. The pass rate of the exam is about 20%, which is not much different from the Basic Information Technology Engineer Examination, but this number is the pass rate of the examinees who have accumulated several years of career. From this, you can expect the difficulty of acquisition.
However, the Applied Information Technology Engineer is a qualification that is highly evaluated even in civil servant occupations such as ministries and government offices, so if it is acquired by IT sales, it will be a great weapon. It will be very convincing in presentations to customers, product explanations, hearings about issues, etc.
In addition, communication with system engineers and programmers inside and outside the company will be smoother.
System architect
System Architect is also a national qualification accredited by IPA. Senior programmers and engineers with the highest level of difficulty in the exam.
The system architect participates in the development from the concept stage, which is the most upstream process and is in charge of the basic design that is the core of the system. In addition, as an IT consultant, you are required to think about the configuration necessary for the success of the customer’s business and incorporate it into the design.
Since it is the highest level, the pass rate is about 10%. It is a difficult qualification that requires not only the knowledge of engineers required in the upstream process of development but also a deep understanding of the business. The acquisition is by no means easy, but it can prove that you have a high level of skills in development, business, and management. It is a qualification that will be the greatest weapon in working as an IT salesperson.
IT sales career path
A career path is a path to reach the ultimate goal of your work. Also known as an “effort plan”. By concretely imagining your career path, you will be able to clarify the skills you should acquire and the qualifications you should acquire.
The important things in imagining a career path are as follows.
- Set a specific goal (If you don’t have a goal, you can’t draw a path. Set a goal that suits your values)
- Understand your aptitude (for example, if you are not good at giving instructions to others, it is considered that you do not have management aptitude. In this way, clarify your strengths and weaknesses and grasp your strengths)
- Understand your market value (If you need to change jobs in your career path, you will stumble if you do not have market value. To make a smooth job change that requires immediate action, use as much skill and knowledge as possible. Keep it high)
The career paths for IT sales are as follows.
- The way to become IT sales after experiencing technical jobs such as programmers and system engineers (so-called technical sales. You can make deep proposals backed by practical experience and skills)
- The way to become IT sales after experiencing sales in other industries
- Road to IT sales from inexperienced
- The road from IT sales to becoming an IT consultant
- The road from general IT sales to foreign-affiliated IT sales
- The road from IT sales to managers/managers
- The way from IT sales to education
- The road from IT sales to system engineer/programmer/designer
- A road specializing in marketing from IT sales (transferred to the in-house marketing department, aiming to become a marketer in earnest, etc.)
As you can see, there are various career paths for IT sales. The more choices you have, the more skills and qualifications you need to choose from.
To support the shortage of IT sales
IT sales require both sales skills and IT knowledge, so more time is spent studying and improving skills compared to ordinary sales positions. Therefore, it can be said that it is a job type that is suitable or unsuitable.
The characteristics of people who are suitable for IT sales are as follows.
- People who are willing to struggle for skill improvement and self-growth
- A person who can work positively on anything
- People who like IT knowledge or enjoy learning
- People who are not good at communicating with people
If you are a human resource like the above, you will grow into an excellent IT sales by educating. However, there are surprisingly few human resources who have both sales and IT and are motivated to grow.
Business matching can be used as one of the means to solve this problem. If you use business matching and your company approaches it well, you will be able to find clients and business partners efficiently, so feel free to receive the case information first.
Business matching if it is difficult to develop IT sales!
To become an IT salesperson, you need a wide range of IT expertise. You also need to know about the latest technology, and daily study is essential. When developing IT sales in-house, the growth speed will differ depending on the aptitude even if the same curriculum and teaching materials are used. Whether it’s training or hiring mid-career hires, it’s not easy to secure IT sales personnel who are ready to work.
Therefore, “business matching” is recommended.
Business matching is a place to look for business partners and is a service that connects companies. If used well, you can efficiently find clients and business partners even if you do not have IT sales personnel. It is also possible to use business matching when selling products and services developed by our company. If you are considering strengthening your sales measures, why not consider it once.
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