Ecommerce software helps businesses with the selling of goods and services through the internet. It also helps them manage the data and money transfers necessary to execute these transactions with customers.
Ecommerce software salespeople sell this software to other businesses and make good money doing it.
In this article, we’ll help you decide if Ecommerce software sales is a position you’d thrive in and enjoy by sharing the average compensation, requirements for success, and trends in the industry.
What it’s Like to Work in Ecommerce Software Sales
As a sales rep In the e-commerce software sales space, your main tasks will be to hold web demos, make sales calls, follow up with leads, give presentations, and do everything you can to generate leads and move prospects through the sales pipeline to a purchase.
Beginners will likely start out as SDRs in this industry. They’re in charge of booking meetings with qualified leads via cold call, social selling, and email. Those with two or more years of sales experience will likely start off as Account Executives, who will meet with those qualified leads, hold discovery sessions, give demos, and guide them through the purchasing process.
Like in most software companies and startups, they’ll likely offer fantastic benefits and perks, remote options, and fun, fast-paced culture, as evidenced below by this job posting from an e-commerce startup:
https://revsup.com/about-us/software-sales-recruiting/
Further, as a rep selling e-commerce software, you’ll be helping business executives transform how they run their businesses via a digital-first approach. And you’ll likely be able to sell into many different industries, which will be exciting and help you expand your perspective.
Ecommerce Software Sales Compensation
It’s difficult to find average earnings for all e-commerce software sales reps, but we do know that the average earnings for reps across all software industries, from fintech to proptech, is about $101,000, according to Glassdoor’s data.
To get a better sense of what tech sales reps are making in this e-commerce software, let’s check out the average earnings for different roles at a few of the top e-commerce software companies:
- Shopify: Account Executives make $127,000 per year on average.
- NetSuite SuiteCommerce: NetSuite’s Account Executives bring home around $118,000 per year, while their BDRs make about $73,000.
- BigCommerce: Account Executives earn an average of $105,000 per year. For SDRs, it’s about $65,000.
These numbers don’t necessarily reflect how much you as a rep will earn. Because of commission, for the most part you decide your fate in tech sales. If you work hard, learn consistently, and always look to improve your skills, you should be able to beat the averages after a year in the field.
How to Succeed in Ecommerce Software Sales
It’s very likely that the tool you’re selling is going to have to integrate with other e-commerce software that your customers are using, like payment gateways or cart abandonment tools. No customer wants to jump from platform to platform to handle their e-commerce operations.
That means you’re going to have to familiarize yourself with other software in the market so that you can tell your customers why yours works well with the tool they currently use, or, if their tool is fulfilling the same goal, why yours is better.
It follows that you’re going to have to do something to stand out from the competition during your outreach.
Often, the best way to do this is to study your leads and their company and to figure out what pain points they likely have that you can solve. If you begin your cold calls and emails by bringing up these pain points, you’ll have already positioned yourself as a problem-solver instead of a random salesperson.
Trends in Ecommerce
Studying the trends of an industry can inform you about your level of interest in the field. It’s therefore a good idea to see what’s going on in e-commerce before applying for e-commerce software sales jobs. Or else you might join an industry that you find uninteresting.
Below are some of the biggest e-commerce trends in 2022:
- Increases in Voice Search: As more people buy smart speakers, voice searches for products and services will increase, and e-commerce businesses will have to update their keyword strategies.
- AI Tech Improves: Artificial intelligence and data analysis in the e-commerce space is evolving, and companies will be able to learn more about their customers than ever before. They can use this data to personalize customer shopping experiences.
- Chatbot Usage Growth: More businesses are buying chatbot software that will help their shoppers find answers to questions, thereby reducing the workload of their support staff.
- Multiple Ways to Pay: Ecommerce businesses are offering more and more ways to pay than ever before because it’s known to increase conversion rates. They’re using e-commerce software to facilitate this.
Knowing trends and industry news not only helps you decide if the industry is right for you, but it makes you come across as more of an expert to your customers. If during small talk you bring up a trend and ask how they’re dealing with it, then engage in a conversation about it, you’ll be seen as an advisor and they’ll be more likely to buy from you.
3 of the Best Ecommerce Software Companies to Work For
There are thousands of e-commerce software companies out there to work for, but here are three of the largest and best-rated places to work.
Salesforce Commerce Cloud
Salesforce is best known for its CRM, but they also sell an e-commerce solution called the Commerce Cloud, which helps B2B and B2C retailers merge their offline and online channels to a single digital platform.
As for earning potential, Salesforce’s AEs make an average of $150,000 per year and SDRs earn about $65,000 per year. But, pay isn’t the only reason to go to this company. Their culture is fun and tight-knit, their CEO is admired, and having their respected name on your resume will help you land jobs at other companies in the future.
Just check out the reviews of employees. 91% would recommend working there to a friend, the company has a 4.5 rating as a place to work, and 655 reviewers state good career aspects as a benefit:
https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Salesforce-Reviews-E11159.htm
NetSuite SuiteCommerce
NetSuite SuiteCommerce is Oracle’s omnichannel e-commerce software that helps small and medium-sized businesses manage their transactions and inventory via one platform.
As for payment, NetSuite’s AEs bring home around $118,000 per year, and their BDRs make about $73,000.
Though not as high as Salesforce’s, the company ratings are still stellar, with 86% willing to recommend working there to a friend and 91% approving of the CEO. It’s also still a well-known name in the software industry.
https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/NetSuite-Reviews-E11153.htm
ShipBob
ShipBob sells e-commerce fulfillment solutions that focus on helping companies of all sizes manage their logistics, shipping, inventory management, warehousing, and more.
BDRs here make an average of about $55,000 per year, while Account Executives earn closer to $100,000 per year.
According to employee reviews on Glassdoor, this is a great place to start your tech sales career. They have an amazing BDR training program that will improve your skillset and bring you from entry-level rookie to pro. It’s also a smaller startup, so you’ll likely learn a ton by working cross-departmentally and interacting with VPs and executives.
https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/ShipBob-Reviews-E1366473.htm
Is Ecommerce Software Sales Right for You?
If you want to spend your days talking with business owners and teaching them how to use your e-commerce solution to digitize their sales operations and increase profits, then this might be the job for you. To see some postings, check out the Salestrax job board, which is focused on helping tech sales reps find the right company and role for their interests and needs.