Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Technology Sales Representative

🎯 Role Definition

A Technology Sales Representative (TSR) is a quota-carrying B2B sales professional responsible for generating new business, managing a sales pipeline, and closing deals for technology products and services (SaaS, cloud, security, IoT, enterprise software). The TSR performs consultative discovery, delivers technical product demonstrations, builds relationships with technical and non-technical stakeholders, negotiates commercial terms, and collaborates closely with product, marketing, and customer success teams to ensure a seamless buyer experience and drive ARR growth.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Inside Sales Representative (Inbound/Outbound)
Business Development Representative (BDR) / Sales Development Representative (SDR)
Junior Account Executive or Sales Associate

Advancement To:

Senior Account Executive
Enterprise Sales Executive / Strategic Account Executive
Sales Manager or Team Lead
Channel Sales Manager

Lateral Moves:

Customer Success Manager (post-sale growth and retention)
Solutions Engineer / Pre-Sales Consultant
Product Marketing or Sales Enablement

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Own and manage a territory or named account list to identify, qualify, and convert net-new customers for technology products and services, driving monthly and quarterly quota attainment through a predictable pipeline.
Execute proactive outbound prospecting and inbound lead conversion strategies using cold calling, personalized email sequences, LinkedIn outreach, and event/networking follow-ups to generate high-quality opportunities.
Conduct deep, consultative discovery sessions to understand customer pain points, technical requirements, business objectives, procurement cycles, and stakeholder maps; translate findings into tailored solution proposals.
Deliver compelling product demonstrations and technical walkthroughs to both technical and business audiences, highlighting ROI, integration capabilities (APIs, SSO, data flows), and value propositions relevant to each buyer persona.
Build and maintain an accurate sales pipeline in the CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot or equivalent), updating opportunity stages, next actions, and forecasts regularly to ensure predictable revenue reporting.
Develop and negotiate commercial terms, proposals, and statements of work in collaboration with legal and finance teams, securing favorable margins while advancing deal velocity.
Coordinate and manage cross-functional resources (solutions engineers, product specialists, customer success) to support complex sales cycles, proofs of concept (POCs), pilots, and technical evaluations.
Qualify opportunities using MEDDICC/MEDDIC, BANT, or similar qualification frameworks to prioritize high-probability deals and shorten sales cycles for enterprise and mid-market accounts.
Prepare and deliver executive-level presentations and business cases that quantify cost savings, revenue uplift, and strategic impact to win stakeholder buy-in and procurement approval.
Run successful POCs and pilot programs: define success criteria, set timelines, align technical resources, capture customer feedback, and convert pilots into paid contracts.
Maintain strong product knowledge and competitive intelligence; proactively position product strengths against competitors, and provide market feedback to Product and Marketing teams to inform roadmap and positioning.
Execute territory and account plans, setting quarterly objectives, activity metrics (calls, meetings, demos), and success milestones to systematically scale pipeline coverage and customer acquisition.
Manage complex multi-stakeholder procurements including procurement, legal, IT, and executive sponsors; respond to RFPs and RFIs with coordinated, high-quality content.
Collaborate with Marketing and Demand Gen to follow up on campaigns, tradeshow leads, and ABM activities—tailoring outreach to deepen engagement and convert marketing-sourced leads into opportunities.
Track and report weekly and monthly sales metrics (pipeline coverage, conversion rates, lead-to-opportunity velocity, average deal size) to sales leadership and adapt tactics to hit targets.
Upsell and cross-sell into existing accounts by identifying expansion opportunities, aligning with Customer Success and Renewal teams, and packaging bundled solutions that increase customer lifetime value.
Provide after-sales input and feedback on onboarding friction, technical blockers, and customer feature requests to Customer Success and Product teams to improve adoption and reduce churn.
Maintain contract renewal visibility and assist in renewal/expansion negotiations to secure recurring revenue and prevent churn.
Lead solution-focused workshops and technical discovery sessions (architecture, integration mapping) with engineering and IT stakeholders to ensure successful implementation and reduce deployment risk.
Leverage analytics and ROI calculators to construct persuasive financial models that justify investment and accelerate purchasing decisions with procurement and finance stakeholders.
Mentor junior sales staff and SDRs on best practices for prospecting, discovery, demoing, and objection handling to raise team performance and close rates.
Adhere to company pricing policies and discount approval workflows while creatively structuring deals (term length, payment schedule, volume discounts) to close strategically important accounts.
Maintain and expand professional network within the technology ecosystem (partners, VARs, consultants) to source channel opportunities and co-sell motions.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc product beta programs and customer reference initiatives to validate new features and amplify go-to-market proof points.
Participate in trade shows, webinars, and industry events to generate leads, present product roadshows, and capture market trends for the GTM team.
Contribute to sales playbook content—value props, objection handling scripts, demo decks, email templates—to accelerate onboarding and improve conversion rates.
Collaborate on pricing strategy experiments and packaging changes with Revenue Operations and Product teams to optimize conversion and average contract value.
Assist in preparing quarterly business reviews (QBRs) for strategic accounts, aligning success metrics and upsell opportunities with executive sponsors.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

CRM proficiency: Salesforce, HubSpot, or similar for pipeline and opportunity management
Opportunity qualification frameworks: MEDDICC, BANT, or equivalent
Demo and POC execution: configuring demo environments, conducting technical walkthroughs, and managing pilot success criteria
Solution selling methodology and consultative discovery techniques
Contract negotiation and commercial terms structuring (SOW, MSA, payment terms)
Familiarity with SaaS architecture, cloud platforms (AWS/Azure/GCP), APIs, SSO, and integration patterns
Sales analytics and forecasting: pipeline hygiene, conversion metrics, and sales reporting
Prospecting tools: LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Sales Engagement Platforms (Outreach, Salesloft)
RFP/RFI response experience and proposal development
Familiarity with pricing models (subscription, usage-based, tiered) and ARR/NRR concepts
Basic technical literacy for working with Solutions Engineers and technical buyers
Use of productivity tools (Google Workspace, Microsoft Office, collaboration platforms)

Soft Skills

Consultative communication: ability to translate technical value into business outcomes
Strong negotiation and objection handling skills with a focus on win-win outcomes
Relationship building and stakeholder management across technical and executive levels
Resilience and persistence in multi-touch, long sales cycles
Time management and prioritization to balance prospecting, pipeline, and deal execution
Active listening and empathy to uncover latent customer needs
Strategic thinking for territory and account planning
Cross-functional collaboration and ability to influence without direct authority
Problem solving and creative deal structuring to overcome procurement and budget constraints
Coachability and continuous learning mindset to adopt new processes and product knowledge quickly

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent professional experience.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Business Administration, Information Systems, Computer Science, Engineering, or related technical/business fields. Certifications in sales methodologies or cloud platforms are a plus.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Business Administration / Sales / Marketing
Computer Science / Information Technology
Engineering (Electrical, Software, Systems)
Finance / Economics
Information Systems / Management Information Systems

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

2–5 years of B2B technology sales experience (inside sales, field sales, or account executive roles). Demonstrated quota achievement and new business development success.

Preferred:

3–7 years selling SaaS, cloud, cybersecurity, enterprise software, or other complex technology solutions to mid-market and enterprise accounts. Experience with enterprise procurement cycles, POCs, and cross-functional deal execution is highly desirable.