How to Get a B2B Sales Job: A Practical Guide for Breaking In

What Is B2B Sales?

B2B (business-to-business) sales means selling products or services from one company to another. You navigate multiple decision-makers, longer sales cycles, and higher contract values than consumer sales. The role centers on building relationships and demonstrating business value.

The core characteristics that define B2B sales include:

• Longer sales cycles: Deals can take weeks or months to close as buying committees evaluate options and build consensus.

• Multiple stakeholders: You sell to committees, not individuals. Decisions involve procurement, finance, operations, and end users.

• Relationship-driven: Trust and expertise matter more than transactional speed. Buyers want partners who understand their business.

• Higher deal values: Contract sizes range from thousands to millions of dollars, requiring more rigorous evaluation and approval processes.

B2B vs. B2C Sales: Key Differences

B2C (business-to-consumer) sales operate on a different model. Understanding the contrast helps you assess whether B2B is the right fit.

B2B requires patience, consultative skills, and comfort with complexity. B2C rewards speed, volume, and emotional connection.

What Counts as B2B Sales Experience?

Most people assume they need a quota-carrying sales role on their resume to break into B2B. That's not true.

Hiring managers value transferable skills over perfect pedigree. If you've worked in customer-facing roles, handled objections, or built relationships under pressure, you have B2B sales experience. You just need to frame it correctly.

Experiences that translate directly to B2B sales include:

• Retail or hospitality: Handling objections, upselling, managing difficult customers, and staying composed under stress.

• Fundraising or nonprofit work: Prospecting donors, making asks, following up persistently, and building long-term relationships.

• Customer service: Listening to pain points, solving problems, de-escalating conflict, and maintaining professionalism.

• Account management or consulting: Managing client expectations, conducting discovery, and delivering value over time.

• Campus organization leadership: Recruiting members, securing sponsorships, and coordinating group efforts toward shared goals.

Transferable Skills From Other Roles

The skills that make you successful in non-sales roles are the same ones hiring managers want. You just need to connect the dots.

Key transferable skills for B2B sales include:

• Communication: If you've explained complex ideas to non-experts, you can articulate value propositions to prospects.

• Active listening: If you've diagnosed customer problems before jumping to solutions, you can run discovery calls.

• Persistence: If you've followed up on projects or requests without immediate responses, you can handle long sales cycles.

• Time management: If you've juggled multiple priorities and deadlines, you can manage a pipeline.

• Comfort with rejection: If you've pitched ideas that got shot down and kept going, you can handle cold calling.

• Product learning: If you've quickly ramped on new tools or processes, you can master product knowledge.

Entry-Level B2B Sales Roles to Target

Most B2B sales careers start in one of three entry-level positions: SDR, BDR, or Junior AE. These roles are designed to build foundational skills regardless of industry or product.

Target these positions if you're breaking into B2B sales. They provide training, mentorship, and a clear path to quota-carrying roles.

SDR (Sales Development Representative)

SDRs are responsible for outbound prospecting. Your job is to generate qualified meetings for account executives through cold calls, emails, and social outreach.

Typical SDR responsibilities include:

• Researching target accounts: Identifying companies and contacts that fit your ideal customer profile.

• Sending cold emails: Writing personalized outreach that gets responses.

• Making cold calls: Calling prospects to introduce your solution and book meetings.

• Qualifying inbound leads: Vetting leads that come through marketing channels.

• Booking meetings for AEs: Handing off qualified opportunities to closers.

SDR is the most common entry point. Companies hire SDRs in volume and promote top performers into account executive roles.

BDR (Business Development Representative)

BDR and SDR are often used interchangeably. Some companies differentiate them by focus area: BDRs may target larger accounts, new market segments, or strategic outbound while SDRs handle higher-volume prospecting.

Job titles vary by company. What matters is understanding the core responsibility: generating pipeline through outbound activity.

Junior Account Executive

Some companies hire directly into junior AE roles, which involve running full sales cycles on smaller deals. You'll conduct discovery calls, deliver demos, negotiate terms, and close contracts.

Key differences between AE and SDR/BDR roles:

• AEs own the deal: You're responsible for moving opportunities from first call to signed contract.

• SDRs/BDRs generate the meeting: You hand off qualified prospects to AEs who close the deal.

Junior AE roles are less common as true entry points but worth targeting if you have adjacent experience in consulting, account management, or customer success.

Essential Skills for B2B Sales Success

Hiring managers look for specific skills in entry-level candidates. You don't need to have mastered these. You need to demonstrate you can learn them.

Communication and Active Listening

B2B sales requires clear, concise communication and the ability to listen more than you talk. Active listening means understanding the prospect's pain points before jumping to solutions.

Behaviors that demonstrate strong communication and listening skills include:

• Asking clarifying questions: "Help me understand what you mean by..." or "Can you walk me through how that impacts your team?"

• Summarizing what you heard: "So if I'm hearing you correctly, your main challenge is..." This confirms understanding and builds trust.

• Avoiding interrupting: Let prospects finish their thoughts before responding. Silence is not awkward; it's space for them to think.

Resilience and Handling Rejection

Rejection is daily in B2B sales. SDRs hear "no" more than "yes." Most cold calls don't connect. Most emails don't get responses. Most meetings don't convert.

Resilience means learning from rejection, not taking it personally, and maintaining energy through a high-volume role.

Ways to reframe rejection:

• Every "no" is closer to a "yes": Volume creates opportunity. The more outreach you do, the more yeses you'll get.

• Rejection of the offer isn't rejection of you: Prospects say no to timing, budget, or fit. It's not personal.

• Feedback is data: Track why prospects say no. Patterns reveal what to adjust in your messaging or targeting.

Discovery and Qualification

Discovery is the process of asking questions to understand a prospect's needs, challenges, and buying authority. Qualification means determining if a prospect is a good fit.

These are learnable skills that hiring managers will train, but showing awareness matters. Sample discovery questions include:

• What problem are you trying to solve? Uncover the pain point driving their search.

• Who else is involved in this decision? Identify stakeholders and buying committee members.

• What happens if you do nothing? Understand urgency and cost of inaction.

• What does success look like? Clarify desired outcomes and success metrics.

Treat Your Job Search Like a Sales Process

The best way to prove you can sell is to sell yourself. Your job search should mirror the sales process you'll run once hired.

Build a target list. Research decision-makers. Personalize outreach. Follow up consistently. This approach demonstrates you understand the role and can execute the fundamentals.

Build a Target Account List

Not all B2B sales opportunities are created equally. Target companies where you actually want to work, not just openings that exist.

Start by outlining your ideal position. Do you prefer inside sales, making cold calls, or working with a team?

List your deal breakers before you start applying. This clarity saves time and keeps you focused on roles that fit.

Just like a sales rep builds a target account list, you should build a list of companies you want to work for. Once you have identified what type of sales job you're looking for, it's time to find open positions. Here's what we suggest:

• Work with a recruiter: A recruiting agency or staffing firm can save you valuable time and energy. Rather than weeding through hundreds of job descriptions on your own, a recruiter will bring the best positions to you. Third-party recruiters are often hired by companies, meaning many offer their services for free.

• Search online job boards: Use online job boards to search and apply for open positions matching the outline you put together. Try searching different titles and remember to check these sites daily. You'll have the most luck if you're among the first to apply for new positions. Websites we like include Glassdoor, Indeed, Monster (which now operates together with CareerBuilder), and LinkedIn.

• Research companies directly: Have specific companies you'd like to work for? Try searching their website directly for open positions. Don't panic if you don't see anything. You should still reach out with a copy of your resume, a brief description of your qualifications, and a few sentences about why you want to work for the particular company. This shows that you can take initiative and already appreciate the work the company does, making it likely that they'll reach out should a fitting position open up.

• Leverage your network: You've heard it before, but we'll say it again: It's all about who you know. Craft a short message letting your personal network know that you're looking for a job. Post it on your social media profiles. You'll be surprised by how many people are willing to help.

Identify the Hiring Manager

Applying through HR portals puts you in a black hole. Find and reach the actual decision-maker: the sales manager, VP of Sales, or SDR team lead who will interview and hire you.

Tactics for finding the hiring manager:

• Check LinkedIn for "[Company] + Sales Manager": Search for people with titles like "SDR Manager," "Sales Development Manager," or "VP of Sales" at your target company.

• Look at who posted the job: Job postings sometimes include the hiring manager's name or LinkedIn profile.

• Find SDRs at the company and ask who their manager is: Connect with current SDRs on LinkedIn and ask about the team structure. Most people are happy to help.

Personalize Your Outreach

Generic applications get ignored. Employers want to see your personality, strengths, and story beyond the resume.

Include your resume, cover letter, and links to past work in every application. Keep everything concise. Recruiters spend about six seconds scanning resumes before deciding.

Reference something specific to each company in your application. Mention recent news, product updates, or company values to prove you've done your research.

Your cover letter should explain why you fit the role, not repeat your resume. Focus on what you'll bring that other candidates won't.

Proofread everything multiple times. Get someone with industry experience to review your materials and accept their feedback.

Line up references before you need them. Contact previous employers, teachers, or mentors early and give them context on the roles you're targeting.

Follow Up Consistently

Following up is not pushy. It's professional. It demonstrates persistence, a core skill for B2B sales.

Most candidates apply once and wait. You should apply and follow up multiple times across different channels. Here's a simple follow-up cadence:

• Day 1: Apply through the company portal and send direct outreach to the hiring manager via LinkedIn or email.

• Day 3: Send a follow-up email referencing your application and reiterating your interest.

• Day 7: Send a LinkedIn connection request with a personalized note.

• Day 14: Send a final follow-up email or message. If no response, move on to other opportunities.

After your interview, send a brief follow-up email or handwritten note to everyone you met with. Thank them for their time and provide one or two sentences referencing topics discussed within the interview. Do your best to seem genuine. There's nothing worse than receiving a thank you note that reads like it could have been copied and pasted to any company, for any position.

Tools That Help B2B Sales Reps Succeed

Modern B2B sales runs on technology. Hiring managers expect candidates to be comfortable with (or willing to learn) CRM systems and sales engagement tools.

Familiarity with these tools signals you're ready for the modern sales tech stack. Learn the tools your future manager expects you to use on day one.

CRM Proficiency (Salesforce, HubSpot)

A CRM (customer relationship management software) is where sales teams track deals, log activities, and manage pipeline. Salesforce and HubSpot are the most common platforms.

CRM skills to develop before interviewing:

• Logging calls and emails: Recording every interaction with prospects to maintain a complete activity history.

• Updating deal stages: Moving opportunities through pipeline stages as they progress.

• Running basic reports: Pulling activity metrics, pipeline reports, and conversion data.

Explore free versions or tutorials for Salesforce and HubSpot. Hands-on familiarity, even basic, sets you apart from candidates who've never touched a CRM.

Sales Intelligence and Data Platforms

Sales teams use data platforms to research accounts, find contact information, and identify which prospects to prioritize. ZoomInfo is an example of the data backbone that GTM teams use for prospect research and outreach personalization.

Sales intelligence tools help with:

• Finding verified contact info: Access to direct dials, mobile numbers, and email addresses for decision-makers.

• Researching company details: Firmographics, technographics, and organizational charts to understand target accounts.

• Identifying buying signals: Intent data and trigger events that indicate when prospects are in-market.

Familiarity with these tools signals readiness for the modern sales tech stack. Sales reps use AI-assisted tools to improve outreach efficiency and personalization at scale.

How to Prepare for B2B Sales Interviews

Your work isn't done once you've secured an interview. Interview preparation is arguably the most important part of the application process.

Research the Company and Product

In the days leading up to your interview, research the following:

• The company: Review their website, recent news, mission, and competitors. Be ready to discuss their values and market position.

• The product: Read reviews, sign up for a free trial, and understand the core value proposition well enough to pitch it back.

• The position: Study the job description and prepare specific examples of when you've demonstrated each required skill.

The more prep work you do, the less nervous you'll be.

Practice Common Sales Scenarios

Sales interviews often include live exercises. Prepare for common formats: mock cold calls, role-play objection handling, and behavioral questions using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result).

Scenarios to practice:

• "Walk me through how you'd handle a cold call": Prepare a simple framework: intro, value prop, qualifying question, ask for the meeting.

• "Tell me about a time you faced rejection": Use the STAR method to describe how you handled setback and what you learned.

• "Pitch our product back to me": Demonstrate you've researched the product and can articulate value in your own words.

Show up 15 minutes early dressed professionally with a notebook. Make eye contact, speak clearly, and breathe.

If you don't know an answer, pause, ask clarifying questions, then respond thoughtfully. Focus on connecting with interviewers instead of delivering perfect answers.

Interviews go both ways. Prepare thoughtful questions to show you're engaged and evaluating fit. Strong questions to ask include:

• What's the hardest part of this role?

• What does success look like in the first 90 days?

• What's the typical career path for someone in this position?

• Based on our conversation, where do you see gaps I should work on?

Take note of the answers and write things down to show you're paying attention and truly care about their response. At the end of the interview, be sure to collect the business cards of everyone you met with.

Frequently Asked Questions About Getting Into B2B Sales

Do I need a college degree to get into B2B sales?

No, most entry-level B2B sales roles like SDR and BDR positions prioritize transferable skills and work ethic over formal education.

How long does it take to break into B2B sales?

Most candidates secure an entry-level B2B sales role within 2-3 months of focused job searching if they treat the process like a sales campaign.

What's the typical salary for entry-level B2B sales roles?

Entry-level SDR and BDR roles typically offer $40K-$60K base salary plus commission, with total compensation ranging from $55K-$80K depending on company size and location.

Can I work remotely in B2B sales?

Yes, many B2B sales roles, especially SDR and inside sales positions, offer remote or hybrid work options.

How quickly can I move from SDR to Account Executive?

Top-performing SDRs typically advance to AE roles within 12-18 months, though timelines vary by company and individual performance.

Start Your B2B Sales Career Today

Breaking into B2B sales starts with targeting entry-level SDR or BDR roles at companies you want to work for. Treat your job search like a sales process: research targets, personalize outreach, and follow up consistently.

The skills that get you hired are the same ones that make you successful once you're in the role. Research, personalization, follow-up, and resilience matter in job hunting and quota carrying.

For more information about B2B sales best practices and how sales intelligence tools can support your career, contact ZoomInfo today.