Do you want to work in tech sales but are not sure which company you want to work for? Here’s how we can categorize tech companies into 4 quadrants.
Media Darlings
- They are called darlings because everyone LOVES the brand and wants to work there. These companies make most of their money from selling advertising (E.g. Google makes 80% of its revenue from Google Ads), hence “media”.
- Pros: Best brand name, your employability skyrockets. Generally cool products
- Cons: These companies do not typically have established new grad programs, they usually poach experienced hires from other companies.
Old Guards
- These companies have proven themselves, have 50+ years history, and household names. They are generally market leaders in the product areas.
- Pros: High pay, long training program (6 months), brand recognition
- Cons: Culture can be lacking. A lot of company processes and bureaucracy
Midmarket
- These companies have a market capitalization of $100mil-$5bil. So they are not startups but they are more established.
- Pros: Often have really cool culture. Shopify/Salesforce consistently win top employer awards in Canada
- Cons: Usually restricted to Inside Sales roles. Because the company is still scaling, mostly 100% outbound cold calling for entry-level.
Work Horses
- These are companies that are solid employers (often on Best Employers List), however are often resellers of other companies products / companies that are not perceived to be market leaders, so do not benefit from the same powerful brand image that other companies have.
- Pros: Great training
- Cons: A lot of outbound cold calling due to poor brand recognition
Other/Related
- These companies are in the technology space but work on slightly different business models. Teksystems is really in the staffing business but places for technology roles. Also good choices, but I don’t have much information available.
Movement Between the Quadrants – Here’s the magic!
- It is easier to make a horizontal move than vertical one. Generally speaking if you get a job at Google, it’s easy to land an interview at IBM or Shopify. But if you get a job at Xerox, it will require some work to land yourself an interview elsewhere.
This was originally taught to me from Asad Zaman, from Sales Talent Agency. Credits to him.