Last updated July 31st 2017
Since we launched the Secret Tel Aviv Jobs Board 18 months ago we have found that most people want to apply for Marketing Jobs. While Marketing is indeed great, there are also lots of other amazing jobs out there which are perfect for building a successful career in Israel. In this article I am going to explain a bit more about two of my favourite roles, Sales and Account Management – I hope you find it useful and it will help you around the job hunt.
Secret Tel Aviv Jobs Board Jan 21st 2017
Sales (AKA Account Executive, Product Consultant)
It’s time to get over that impression you have of sales – it is NOT making thousands of phone calls a day to people who don’t want to hear from you because you’re selling crappy products. Hi-Tech Business-to-Business (B2B) Sales is the new Management Consulting – build relationships with clients, understand their needs and strategy and what problems they’re having, and work with them to find solutions and calculate the benefit this will bring them.
Plus Sides:
The Money – If you’re good, you can make a lot of money in Sales from commissions – a sales representative in a good company can easily walk away with 20-30k NIS a month.
Loads of Jobs for Internationals – companies are always on the lookout for great sales representatives. (Check the Secret Tel Aviv Jobs Board Sales positions).
Experience Not Required – in many cases for Sales Development Roles you don’t need much experience.
You don’t need to speak Hebrew – Sales is a job where your native accent is a benefit – people from the UK are going to appreciate speaking with another person from the UK.
Working with Top Companies – in most cases the Enterprise Sales reps are going to be working with top companies. Clicktale includes amongst its clients Walmart, Adidas and Microsoft; WalkMe works with AT&T, Mastercard and PayPal.
The Learning Curve – my favourite thing about working in hi-tech sales was the number of leads I received – it gives you the opportunity to try out different techniques till you find your voice. For people looking to get started, I highly recommend the book SPIN Selling.
You’re on the Front Line – you’re hearing feedback from customers and potential customers all the time – what problems are they looking to solve, how do other products compare. You can use this to shape the product in the future. In many cases, sales guys move into Marketing or Product Management after a few years.
The Adrenalin Rush When You Make a Deal – you’ve been working on a deal for weeks, months, even years, and finally you get that signed contract back. It’s a great feeling!
Negatives:
US Working Hours – for an Israeli startup, the first market they are going to sell to is America. The East Coast typically wakes up around 4pm Israel time (9am EST), the West Coast get up around 7pm (9am PT). This doesn’t mean that you need to work 4pm to 2am every night – you just need to be sensible and book your meetings in good times. In many cases companies will encourage sales reps to work late a couple of days, more sensible hours a couple of days (12pm-8pm), and half a day on Friday.
The Phone Calls – it’s true, especially at the beginning a lot of work is done on the phone. On a positive note, it’s generally not brutal cold calling, in many cases you are dealing with inbound leads (people have left their details on the website for more info), meaning customers are happy to hear from you.
You Need to Hit Targets – if you are looking for a job where you can hide and hope people won’t notice that you’re not working, sales is not for you. Everything in sales is tracked – how many leads you get, your conversion rates, your sales figures etc. It’s can also be a great thing – if you’re good, you will get noticed!
Trend to Shift Sales Jobs out of Israel to Local Markets – unfortunately, as startups grow, they tend to shift their Sales Teams to local markets so that they can meet clients in person and work similar hours. Look out for the companies that aren’t doing this!
Different Sales Roles in Hi-Tech Companies:
Sales Development Representative – the front line of the front line – these guys handle the leads when they first arrive. Your main goal is to qualify the leads and set up initial meetings for the Sales Guys – the more meetings you set up, the higher your commission!
Sales Representatives – you’ve got a qualified lead, now the Sales Guys do the selling. Start off as a Small Business Sales Rep, and as you get better move up to the larger clients and larger paydays.
Sales Team Leader – this role requires experience and man-management skills. Work with your team to help them improve, and keep the competition friendly – if you do well you’ll be getting a little commission from every sale your team does – nice!
Business Development – help penetrate new markets and channels. Yotpo has one of the coolest Business Development Teams, they’re trying to develop new sales channels via Marketing and Digital Agencies – effectively getting them to re-sell the product.
Account Management (AKA Success Manager)
Account Managers are responsible for managing the relationship with existing customers, helping them implement the solution and get the most out of it, spot opportunities for growth (upsell), and stop customers from cancelling.
Plus Sides:
Build Relationships with Top Companies – the Account Managers are often going to be the main point of contact between the customers and the company. This is a great opportunity to build relationships with, and become a trusted advisor for, very important people in many of the World’s top companies.
Develop Transferrable Skills – while an Account Manager needs to know the product inside out, there are also a lot of transferable skills an Account Manager will learn on the job, which include relationship management, communication, project management, and basic coding.
Good Pay – working in Account Management is a great way to earn a decent salary in Israel (12k-25k/month) without the constant pressure of having to make sales.
You Don’t Need to Speak Hebrew – Account Management is a job where your native accent is a benefit – people from the UK are going to appreciate speaking with another person from the UK.
Be the Good Guy – Israel is one of the leaders in hi-tech in the world, and many of Israel’s top hi-tech companies have products that help their customers create value every day. It’s a great feeling to know that your job is helping generate value for your customers and their customers.
Negatives:
US Working Hours – most of an Israel startup’s customers are going to be in America. The East Coast typically wakes up around 4pm Israel time (9am EST), the West Coast get up around 7pm (9am PT). The hours aren’t as bad as sales as you already have relationships with your customers and can dictate meeting times better, but you might still have to work late a couple of times a week, and sometimes deal with emergencies in the middle of the night.
Office Job – a lot of your work is going to be done over the phone – but as you start to deal with larger customers you’ll find more of your work is done out of the office.
Trend to Shift Account Manager Jobs out of Israel to Local Markets – unfortunately, as startups grow, they tend to shift their Account Management Teams to local markets so that they can meet clients in person and work similar hours. Look out for the companies that aren’t doing this!
Different Account Management Roles in Hi-Tech Companies:
Account Manager – the main point of contact between a hi-tech company and its customers. Account Managers can manage anything from 1-2 large accounts (Enterprise Account Manager) to 50+ Accounts (Small Business Account Manager) – but generally they will have one or two points of contact in a company and try to speak with them regularly.
Customer Success Manager/ Retention – similar to an Account Manager, but also focused on upsales. It’s a nice combination of Account Management and Sales, and you might also get paid commissions for upsales.
Customer Service – found more in B2C companies than B2B companies, Customer Service will react to customer problems, usually by phone, email or livechat. Companies like Wix, Payoneer, and eTeacher have large Customer Service teams. This work is often shift based, and is a great entry level position for students and newbies still at Ulpan.
Tech Support – more of a technical role than the roles featured in this article, tech support will react to technical problems customers are having. Tech Support is usually tiered, with Tier 1 handling basic problems, through to Tier 3 handling very complicated problems. Technical knowledge is usually required for a role in Tech Support, and like Customer Service it is often shift based – making it a great place for a Computer Science student to get experience.
We hope that you enjoyed this article. Check the Secret Tel Aviv Jobs Board for Sales and Account Management positions in many of Israel’s top tech companies, and check out the companies mentioned in the next Secret Tel Aviv Jobs Fair on August 4th 2017 at Abraham Hostel in Tel Aviv.
