Salary Information and Career Progression

Opportunities within the Pre-Sales Industry

Pre-sales specialists are in extremely high demand in a number of areas. Both are instrumental to success in the growing eCommerce sector, and the technology industry as a whole. SaaS vendors in particular benefit from these roles. This ever-increasing demand, combined with a limited pool of candidates creates plenty of opportunities for talented pre-sales specialists to find work.

Recent Changes

Since most big sales companies now work on a global level, pre-sales professionals are expected to travel – even outside working hours – in order to make all-important personal contact. Globalization can also make the job more stressful, as employees have to have 24-hour availability. Pre-sales specialists, too, may be required to travel, as the smooth running and continual updating of technical systems may entail hands-on interaction. However, the advantage of the travel and the stress is that you get paid for seeing the whole world and can make a lot of money within a short timeframe.

• Future Prospects

  Pre-sales specialists often acquire a wide range of skills which means they can easily transition into other functions, such as new business sales, customer success, project and program management, as well as product management.

• Salt’s advice for getting a job in pre-sales

  Practical advice for getting a job in pre-sales can differ depending on what kind of role you are looking for. Those seeking more technical roles should make sure they are well-versed in web technologies and cloud deployment. For more business-facing roles, on the other hand, candidates need an understanding of the competitive landscape, the key verticals in which a business operates and industry expertise, especially client-side.

  Employers’ Requirements

  Hiring managers look for very specific requirements as far as pre-sales specialists are concerned. One key requirement is experience in a similar customer-facing role in pre-sales or professional services. Apart from that, recruiters tend to hire pre-sales professionals who think analytically, are excellent at problem-solving and have strong technology and communication skills. Since it is a service-oriented sector, employees are also expected to have an outgoing and positive personality.

  CV Requirements

  According to hiring managers, one of the most important ways to land a pre-sales job is to adapt your CV to the role that you are applying for. This means that you should not list every possible hardware and software program that you have ever used, but only the ones which are relevant to the job. Another crucial piece of advice is that your CV should be in line with your social media profiles as more and more hiring managers tend to look first on LinkedIn before looking at your CV.

  Interview Preparation

  Make sure you are able to walk hiring managers through your implementation or pre-sales process, providing real-life examples and case studies. Be ambitious and strive to work with technology and platforms that continuously improve your knowledge of the evolving digital world.

  Showcase your ability to work with multiple stakeholders, both internal and external, from individual users to C-level decision makers. Building relationships is just as important as understanding the technology.

  Educational Requirements

  To become a pre-sales specialist, it is important to attend technical as well as business courses, as one of the key functions of these jobs is to liaise between sales and technical departments. Moreover, it is crucial to keep yourself updated about the latest technical developments to stay up-to-date in this ever-changing industry. A specific degree is not a prerequisite, but qualifications in science or computer-based subjects like Computer Science, Engineering, Maths, Physics, or Business Information Systems can be useful.