Tech sales is often seen as one of the more lucrative career paths in the business world, especially for those with the right skill set and determination. For those looking to break into this field, a common question arises: Do tech sales make a lot of money? The answer depends on a variety of factors, but the short answer is yes, tech sales professionals have the potential to earn a significant income. With the right approach and tech sales training, many can achieve impressive salaries and commissions. If you're aiming to learn more about tech sales salaries, then read on. We’ll explore the factors that influence earnings in your potential tech sales salary, including the structure of commissions, entry-level opportunities, and the potential to earn big in this industry.
Do Tech Sales Make Good Money?
In the tech industry, software development often commands the highest starting salaries, typically outpacing both sales and customer success roles early in a career. A developer’s salary may start higher, often due to the specialized skills required for coding. Customer success professionals, while critical to ensuring customer retention and satisfaction, generally earn less than their counterparts in sales and development.
Tech sales has a unique advantage as a career progresses, particularly when it comes to earning potential. While software developers may enjoy stable, high salaries, tech sales professionals have the potential to surpass both customer success and development roles as they begin selling larger contracts. This is largely due to the commission structure in sales, where high-performing salespeople can earn a significant portion of their income from commissions on large deals.
When beginning, tech sales representatives start with a base salary between $40,000 and $50,000, which is not too glorious. While not glorious, the real opportunity in tech sales salary structures lies in commissions. As salespeople move into full-cycle, closing roles, their earnings can double or even triple their base salary, making it possible to earn more than a senior developer. The ability to earn uncapped commissions means that for ambitious sales professionals, tech sales has the potential to be the highest-paying role in the tech industry.
Is Tech Sales a Good First Job?
Tech sales is an excellent first job, especially for those looking for a non-technical, customer-facing role. If you’re interested in the tech industry but don’t want to dive into coding or technical support, sales offers a fast-paced, rewarding career path. Many tech companies provide tech sales entry level roles, where you can learn the ropes of the sales process, develop essential communication skills, and gain experience in the tech industry. These entry level roles are typically Sales Development Representatives (SDR) or Business Development Representatives (BDR).
SDR and BDR base salaries are rather modest, but the opportunity to earn commissions quickly boosts overall income. While salaries start off modest, with consistent performance, tech sales professionals can achieve a base salary of $100,000 within a few years. Not many other jobs offer the realistic opportunity to make six figures within 2-3 years of starting out. The launchpad to a six figure income makes the SDR or BDR role an incredible starting point for your career.
Beyond the financial benefits, the experience you gain in tech sales will set you up for future growth. You'll learn a wide range of transferable skills, such as problem-solving, negotiation, and customer relationship management. All of these skills are invaluable as you progress in your career. Whether you decide to stay in sales or pivot to other roles, starting in tech sales gives you a solid foundation for working in the tech industry.
Can You Make a Million in Tech Sales?
If there’s a role where earning a million dollars is possible, it’s tech sales. However, it’s important to set realistic expectations. While you might see TikToks or videos of tech sales people claiming million dollar commissions, most of these claims are exaggerated. Hitting the million dollar mark in tech sales is incredibly rare, and if that’s your primary expectation you’ll need to greatly temper it.
For top performers with around 10 years of experience, the high end of a tech sales salary with commission typically falls between $300,000 and $400,000 annually. These figures are certainly impressive, but reaching the million dollar level generally requires selling extremely large contracts for products in high demand. Even then, it's far from a typical outcome.
While it’s theoretically possible to reach this level in tech sales, only if you’re in enterprise roles managing huge contracts, it's probably not going to happen. Tech sales can be highly lucrative, but setting realistic goals will serve you better in the long run.
How Much Can You Make Selling Tech?
Even if you’re (most likely) not going to make a million dollars a year, Is tech sales a good career? Yes, even though the seven figure mark is rare, tech sales sets you out on a solid path. If you're just starting out as an SDR, you can expect a base salary between $40,000 and $50,000, with an additional $10,000 to $15,000 in commissions. While this isn’t the highest entry-level salary out there, it’s certainly not on the low end either. Remember, this is just the beginning of what can be a long-term, highly lucrative career path.
As you gain experience and move into closing roles, like account executive, your earning potential increases significantly. These roles often involve closing larger deals and selling more complex solutions, which come with higher commissions. SaaS AEs make an average of $100,000 to $140,000, with an additional $30,000 to $70,000 in commissions.
Conclusion
Though entry-level tech sales may not make you rich right away, it lays the groundwork for rapid income growth and career progression. For those who stick with it, the potential for a six-figure salary in just a few years is very real. With the right training and persistence, tech sales offers a path to financial success and a rewarding career.
If you're interested in getting started in tech sales and want to accelerate your growth, check out the N.E.S.T. Academy. It’s designed to help you build the skills and knowledge you need to succeed in this competitive and lucrative field.
