How to transition from B2C to B2B Sales

I currently work as a Senior Account Executive at a virtual first retail company. We use Salesforce, Groove, and other tech sales tools in order to elevate the customer journey when shopping for furniture. My job is no different from your typical sales role, with target KPIs, a lofty monthly goal, and the bulk of my income reliant on commission.


Before this, I was a hair stylist and educator running my own business and helping build education for a global haircare brand... I owned and operated a small business, oversaw client acquisition as well as retention, built my own marketing campaigns, and wore multiple operational hats.


My question is: I am submitting my resume endlessly to tech companies and sales roles only to be met with consistent denial emails. How can I break into the tech and B2C Sales world knowing that my skill set, ability to problem solve, and my knack for strategy is a strong value add to any company? It seems anyone who reads 'retail' on my resume thinks I am standing at a cash register running credit cards -- which couldn't be further from the case...


Any advice is welcome!!

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11
braintank
Politicker
6
Enterprise Account Executive
Can you post an anonymous version of your resume?
SoccerandSales
Big Shot
1
Account Executive
This would be helpful so we can help to see where things can be curated towards b2b whether that be specific language or how you are โ€œsellingโ€ your current role
Pachacuti
Politicker
4
They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy
Focus on the soft skills and copy terms and terminology in the job descriptions.
Kosta_Konfucius
Politicker
4
Sales Rep
Copy/paste from Job descriptions is key
CuriousFox
WR Officer
4
๐ŸฆŠ
Pain in the ass but it gets results.
antiASKHOLE
Tycoon
3
Bravado's Resident Asshole
Get your resume in order, then gather all of your wins and go to town.
Diablo
Politicker
2
Sr. AE
First - work on your resume, show them what they want to see (as most commented below)
Second - if that doesnโ€™t work, try outreaching your to be peers to get on a coffee chat, understand more and see if they would be willing to refer you. It worked for me before.
TennisandSales
Politicker
2
Head Of Sales
Hey Jenn, first off most ppl on this platform are anonymous, idk if that matters to you or not.

Anyway! your question is a good one. Seems like you do have some solid experience. It all really comes down to the story you tell.

I would avoid words like: Retail, B2C, Stylist. these will just turn people off even though it shouldn't.

Then make sure all your experience is worded in ways B2B companies want.

For example:
- how often did you hit your quota
- What was your average deal size
- How long was the average sales cycle

You may also want to highlight how you got meetings set and if you ran demos, and what your process was.

the easiest way in would be with a B2B company that is in the same sort of space you are in now. Also, depending on your average deal size it may be easier to get into an Midmarket or "commercial" AE role. every company describes this differently but those are buzz words to signify small more fast pace deals typically.

Feel fre to DM me if you can, I have helped others do this before.
jefe
Arsonist
1
๐Ÿ
There's some really good advice on here, so I'll just say welcome and good luck! Happy to take a look at your resume if you anonymize and upload.

Will also reiterate that you should avoid the word 'retail' and anything else that will get flagged by an ATS
dualaces123
Opinionated
0
Account Executive
I would probably target SMB AEs as I think that is probably the closest thing related to B2C, but I will be frank, our company would probably not hire someone out of retail into an AE position. Would probably put them into SDR/BDR position first.
This often creates a challenge for people looking to to make a move because it's a fairly significant step backward, but I get why the companies do it. There really is a lot to learn.

Wishing you the best man! And, agree with BrainTank that an anonymized resume could allow us to offer some feedback.
Kosta_Konfucius
Politicker
0
Sales Rep
Good luck on the search, lots info in the comments I cant add much to
clownbaby
Executive
0
Major Account Executive
Are you looking exclusively at AE roles? It may be easier to break into a BDR/SDR role at first
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