How to Be Good at Tech Sales: The Skills That Separate Average Sellers From the Best

For years, I thought being good at sales meant knowing how to pitch.

That approach made me the #1 Director of Sales globally at Ricoh. Then I joined Salesforce and missed quota three years in a row.

The sellers winning the biggest deals weren’t better presenters. They were better listeners who understood the customer’s business and reached the right people. Once I built those skills, I made Club four years in a row and became the #1 Enterprise AE at Salesforce.

So, how to be good at tech sales? The best sellers listen deeply, diagnose business problems, communicate with executives, qualify honestly, and build consensus across a buying committee. Every one of those skills can be learned.

I’ve delivered tech sales coaching to more than 1,000 reps. Here are the six skills that separate average performers from elite ones.

1. Can you listen instead of waiting for your turn to talk?

The key to running successful meetings is to practice active listening and seek to deeply understand before jumping to your solution. 

One year at Dreamforce, I hosted 30 Toshiba executives who had flown in from Japan. I spent the night going table to table, introducing myself and talking about my role. It felt like a performance, because it was.

Nobody wants to be performed at.

Gong’s research found the ideal balance on sales calls is roughly 43% talking and 57% listening. Sellers who talked for more than 65% of the call saw lower conversion and win rates. See Gong’s talk-to-listen analysis.

Be interested, not interesting.

2. Can you uncover the real business problem?

Great sellers hunt root cause. They find out why the problem exists and what it costs to do nothing. 

You need to understand the PROBLEM, the PAIN it creates, why fixing it is a PRIORITY, and whether you’re connected to the POWER to act on it.

I ask one question on nearly every first call: “If we’re talking a year from now and you just had the best year of your life at work, what did you accomplish?”

Don’t stop when someone says a process is inefficient. Find out what it costs and what happens if nothing changes.

3. Can you understand the customer’s business, not just your product?

Customers buy from sellers who deeply understand their business. AI can explain your product, but it can’t replace a trusted business advisor.

When Herbalife was one of my accounts, I signed up as a distributor. When Jacuzzi was an account, I walked into a dealership and shopped like a buyer. That preparation let me open meetings with what the customer was trying to achieve, not what we sell.

SHOW ME YOU KNOW ME.

This matters more now that buyers research on their own. A 2026 Gartner survey found that 69% of B2B buyers prefer to validate AI-generated insights with a sales rep. Read Gartner’s research.

4. Can you communicate with executives?

Executives do NOT care how your product works. They want you to already know their business and bring a point of view.

And never take no from someone who can’t say yes.

One of my clients, Scott Baird at Samsara, moved into enterprise and lost a couple of tough deals. Then he booked a meeting with a CFO and CEO and brought a real point of view instead of a pitch. His VP shared the recording with the entire enterprise org as the new model for executive meetings.

5. Can you qualify out as confidently as you qualify in?

If you can’t help them, walk away. Top sellers disqualify fast so they can put their energy where the impact is highest.
Average reps confuse pipeline with opportunity. I started telling prospects: “I don’t want to go through this unless the problem is big enough and you really want to solve it now.”

That isn’t pushy. It respects everyone’s time. For the questions to ask, read What Are Good Qualifying Questions for Tech Sales?

6. Can you build consensus instead of relying on one champion?

You can’t be single-threaded in a deal and rely on one person to sell for you.

If you’re single-threaded, you don’t have a deal. You have a hope.

Gong’s data shows multithreading lifts win rates by 130% on deals over $50K. See Gong’s 2025 sales insights. Christina Godwin, the #1 global rep at Workday, collects cell phone numbers on site so she always has someone to call when a deal goes quiet.

Your champion is rarely the signer, so arm them to sell in rooms you’ll never be in, with a clear business case and an executive summary.

Being Good at Tech Sales Is a Skill Set, Not a Personality

When I joined Salesforce, I heard about a rep who earned a $4M commission check. It was Alpesh Patel, a quiet, introverted engineer who became a licensed insurance agent just to understand his client’s world. You can watch the interview I did with him here.

What separates top sellers isn’t personality. It’s mastery. And knowing what to do is not enough. You have to practice until the way you sell changes.

If you want help, Untap Your Sales Potential helps tech sellers build the mindset, habits, and skills to perform at an elite level. Book a sales coaching strategy call.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you get good at tech sales?

Build strong listening, discovery, business acumen, executive communication, and qualification skills. Top performers understand the customer’s business, tie solutions to measurable outcomes, reach decision makers, and focus on real opportunities. Most sellers improve fastest with coaching on live deals.

Do you need to be charismatic to be good at tech sales?

No. Many top sellers are quiet and analytical. They win because they listen better, prepare more thoroughly, and build deeper trust.

What separates top tech sales reps from average reps?

Top reps qualify harder, sell to executives, listen more than they talk, and multithread across accounts. Average sellers make up for weak strategy with more activity.

Can AI make you better at tech sales?

Yes, if you know the fundamentals. AI speeds up research and meeting prep, but it can’t replace curiosity, judgment, or trust.