What an Account Executive at Asana Wishes They Had Known Before Entering the Tech Sales Industry
Sara wishes someone had emphasized that tech sales, particularly as an Account Executive at Asana, is less about "pushing people all day" and more about "prioritization and organization skills." Ultimately, the role is about identifying and guiding interested parties, and even "disqualifying people" who aren't a good fit, rather than being overly persuasive or sacrificing integrity to close deals.
Tech Sales, Misconceptions, Prioritization, Organization, Problem-Solving
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Sara Kramer
Account Executive
Asana
University of San Diego
n/a
Business Management & Admin
Manufacturing, Operations & Supply Chain, Technology
Sales and Client Management
Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient, Pell Grant Recipient, Took Out Loans
Video Highlights
1. Tech sales is more about prioritization and organization than aggressive persuasion.
2. A key part of tech sales involves disqualifying leads that aren't a good fit for the product.
3. Success in tech sales doesn't require being a stereotypical salesperson; integrity and genuine problem-solving are more important.
Transcript
What have you learned about this role that you wish someone would have told you before you entered the industry?
The number one thing I wish people told me is that sales is not what you think it is. There are a lot of misconceptions about sales, like all you're doing is pushing people all day.
People think you have to be really persuasive, and in the worst cases, slimy or lying to people. But actually, especially tech sales, is a role about prioritization and organization skills.
It's much more about fitting puzzle pieces together than trying to convince someone to do something they wouldn't already do. You're just trying to determine who's actually interested in solving a problem that I can solve.
Then, you figure out how to spend your time guiding them through that decision. A lot of tech sales is about disqualifying people.
It's about saying, "You're actually not a good fit for our product. I actually don't think you're going to buy what we're selling." Being able to prioritize those people out of your day and out of your scope is crucial.
That's the biggest misconception. I wish someone had told me that because I thought it would require me to be out of integrity or not work in the way I want to work in order to be successful. That is absolutely far from the truth.
So many different types of people can thrive in this role. You don't have to be what you typically think of as a salesperson to be really successful.