Selling IT solutions to customers a unique challenge

At first glance, sales and IT skills seem poles apart. Yet they are exactly what IT employers need and are prepared to pay well for - relational people with high emotional intelligence and enough IT knowledge to win the trust of customers. But how IT-savvy do you need to be to sell information technology?

Lisa Harvey, business solutions consultant for Network Service Providers (NSP), is 30 with a degree in psychology and philosophy. She says as a new graduate, her knowledge of IT was "zippo".

"I came from only using Powerpoint and Word to understanding networks, Linux and broadband internet services. I'm now responsible for selling billing mechanisms for broadband access to the hospitality industry," says Harvey.

Harvey, whose first IT job was as a receptionist for printer maker Lexmark, says she learned on the job, working closely with Lexmark's technical teams and conducting background reading. She says IT sales appealed because it involves selling business solutions rather than "boxes" - and because there is money to be made.

"With the base salary and commission, it's possible to make decent money selling IT solutions; the better your technical skills, the better the salary," says Harvey.

Harvey says IT hardware sales are less lucrative than software or services and potential IT salespeople should do their homework on the organisations they want to approach.

"Look for an employer and market segment you can further your career with so you won't be job hopping. Look for a job you want, rather than the just those that are available."

But are IT sales jobs readily available?

Laurel Gillan, director for IT sales recruitment firm Amplify Sales, says demand for IT salespeople in New Zealand falls into two main categories: 'bright young things' with limited IT experience but plenty of energy who can be moulded and started on modest salaries; and senior IT salespeople who know how to manage relationships, generate new business and 'talk the talk'. The latter group commands high salaries and commission rates for total packages exceeding $200,000, says Gillan.

"Often they build up their employment [brand] and complete post graduate qualifications. There are only a handful of really senior IT sales people in the New Zealand market," says Gillan.

IT recruiters say the bulk of IT sales placements are for intermediate IT sales positions paying up to $100,000 for 'on target' earnings and candidates for these positions are in adequate supply. A base salary for an intermediate IT salesperson is around $60,000.

Greg Woolley, managing director for IBM solution specialists Certus, says the right IT sales people take anywhere between two and nine months to find.

"They're not the sort of people to move around on a whim - if we can't find them, we take someone slightly more junior and give them more support," says Woolley.

He says IT selling has changed in recent years, moving from a climate of fear and hype following Y2K, the dot com crash and the e-business threat of: "if you don't do it your competitor will" to a more mature business focus.

"CFOs and CEOs are now more technically savvy and focused on a strong business case for IT solutions. They want to see a real return on investment," says Woolley.

He says successful IT salespeople offer a roughly equal mix of IT knowledge, inter-personal skills, business savvy and an innate ability to identify or understand a business problem. And non-IT people can be just the ticket.

"Some of the best IT salespeople come from non IT backgrounds. However, they do need to get a basic understanding of what they're selling," says Woolley.

He doubts the IT industry will struggle as a result of a possible economic downturn because it is adept at reinventing itself - and Gillan says the rumours don't faze New Zealand IT employers.

"Employers find that getting great IT salespeople continues to be hard, so I think that answers the question of whether there is demand [in a downturn]," says Gillan.

She says those new to the IT sales industry looking for a break may be lucky enough to get it this year.

"If you have no experience, go and knock on doors and prove you can sell by selling yourself; IT retail can be a good place to start," says Gillan.

She says people have the idea that selling IT solutions is hard, but like any sales job it is about identifying clients' needs.

"You take the time to understand people's businesses and then work out how IT can help them. That's not hard, it's fantastic," says Gillan.