SaaS = software as a service. Also known as "cloud-based" software. It's just software we use in our browsers instead of installing on our computers.
Here's are some examples:
Microsoft Office 365 is one many businesses and consumers use.
Google Drive is also one many companies and consumers use.
Salesforce is a popular Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system many companies use.
Clickup is project management software we use.
There are more than 10,000 SaaS companies in the U.S., with many of them focused on selling to businesses.
While pay, benefits and other factors are solid at SaaS companies (see farther below), these are things many people don’t like about SaaS Sales Development Rep jobs:
• Making cold calls (usually 50-70 per day to business people – *not* consumers – matching closely enough to an Ideal Client Persona),
You’re calling each business person during business hours to see if they have a problem your company's software solves.
Your goal is to set an appointment for them to have a demo of it with an Account Executive.
These calls, like everything else, need to be respectful and value-added to be seen as a trustworthy expert.
• Selling remotely using only email, social media (usually LinkedIn) and phone, not face to face
• Following a defined sales process, logging activity and using data to drive decisions
Ask yourself: How do you feel about learning those things?
For perspective, many people become SaaS Sales Development Reps for at least 1 year, with the intention to move up to Account Executive (AE).
The AE's do software demos and close sales, instead of prospecting. (Some are "full-cycle" AE's, who also do prospecting, but that's not common.)
This screenshot is from RepVue.com, a commonly cited industry source:
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It's possible their numbers are a little high, though comp has been edging higher because of tech Sales Development Reps being in somewhat short supply
For the first year, we talk about $70k, since it's a more conservative number.
Usually, $40-$50k is from base pay and the rest in commissions for hitting quota.
These jobs are 40 hours per week, Monday - Friday, during business hours.
Yes, that means having your evenings and weekends open for your personal life.
Getting to work remotely is pretty common now.
Good health, dental and vision insurance is also pretty standard.
So is 2-3 weeks of paid time off each year.
Retirement plans are common, though some of the smaller companies don't have them yet. If you want one, you can find a company who does.
Other common benefits, include:
• A remote-working stipend (to set up your home office how you want)
• A yearly education budget to take courses you want to
• A wellness budget for gym memberships, health snacks, etc.
• Company trips (especially when you're working remotely, since it helps staff bonding)
• Parental leave when you have a child or a child needs extra care
• Mentoring from senior staff
If you want to stay in a pure sales role, you can move up to Account Executive or Sales Development Reps Team Lead within 1-2 years (sometimes even faster if you're performing well).
And you move up to sales management from there.
That said, you can also branch out into Operations, Marketing, Customer Success or other lucrative roles.
How? Because, starting in sales, you get to know what people want better than anyone else.
As a career education company, we're obviously biased about this. But we also have data based on talking to and helping thousands of people.
Even with previous business-to-business (B2B) sales experience, many people struggle to get into SaaS sales.
Why?
One reason is, many open jobs get hundreds of applicants. Even for junior roles, hiring managers want people with previous SaaS sales experience.
Because those people know the various B2B Saas sales tools (the average team uses 10-15 software tools to do their job well), sales skills and workflows (ways of doing things within a SaaS sales process).
Some people succeed in landing entry-level jobs to "get their foot in the door," yet they often pay much less, and it takes time to move up.
Inspiring FastTrack success story and blind dad of 2, Tre Scinta, is now FastTrack's Member Success Lead heading up the mission to help 10,000 people launch 6-figure software sales careers by the end of 2030.
How? With FastTrack's Science-Based Sales® process -- born from helping dozens of software companies build their sales teams...
...and then consulting with hundreds of Software Sales Managers on exactly what they wanted new hires to know...
...and then helping hundreds of regular folks break into software sales in 12 weeks, on average.
FastTrack's Science-Based Sales® process help nearly anyone succeed in software sales, because it creates clarity for prospects. No killer closer instincts, charisma or kissing up to decision makers needed.
