How To Get Into SaaS Sales
What this guide covers
- The SaaS sales career ladder — from SDR to CRO, with UK salary at each stage
- How to get in with no SaaS experience — the realistic path most people miss
- Transferable skills mapped from 10 different backgrounds
- How to find and approach SDR roles in the UK (not just job boards)
- What your CV should look like for a SaaS SDR application
- What SaaS sales interviews actually test — and how to prepare
- What year one looks like honestly — the good and the hard
- How quickly you can progress from SDR to AE to management
Contents
- Is SaaS sales right for you? Honest pros and cons
- The SaaS sales career ladder explained
- What you can earn: UK salary at every level
- What experience do you actually need?
- Getting in with no SaaS experience: step by step
- Transferable skills by background
- How to find SDR roles in the UK
- CV and cover letter for SaaS SDR applications
- What SaaS SDR interviews look like
- What to expect in your first year
- How quickly can you progress?
- Frequently asked questions
Is SaaS sales right for you? Honest pros and cons
SaaS sales gets talked up a lot on Reddit and LinkedIn — the income potential is real, but so are the parts that get glossed over. Before you put six months into getting your first role, it’s worth being honest about what the job actually involves.| The genuine upsides | The genuine downsides |
|---|---|
| One of the highest-earning careers accessible without a specific degree or qualification | Your income is partly variable — in a bad quarter you earn less than your base suggests |
| Rapid promotion timeline if you perform — SDR to AE in 12–24 months is standard at good companies | Quota pressure is constant. You are measured every month, every quarter |
| The skills are highly transferable — SaaS sales experience opens doors across tech, fintech, and digital industries | The SDR role involves a high volume of rejection. You will be hung up on, ignored, and told no repeatedly every single day |
| Strong demand for good SaaS salespeople — the market is less volatile than engineering hiring | Culture varies wildly between companies. Some SDR teams are collaborative and well-managed; others are high-churn pressure environments |
| London in particular has US-influenced comp packages that don’t exist in most other UK industries | The best companies are competitive to get into — they see hundreds of SDR applicants and can afford to be selective |
| Equity upside at growth-stage companies can be significant | SDR ramp periods (the first 3–6 months where your quota is reduced) mean your first-year earnings are lower than your OTE suggests |
The SaaS sales career ladder explained
Most people coming into SaaS sales don’t fully understand the structure of the career. Here is how it actually works in UK companies:SDR / BDR (Sales Development Representative / Business Development Representative)
This is the entry point for almost everyone. The SDR’s job is to generate qualified meetings and opportunities for Account Executives — not to close deals. You prospect (find potential customers), reach out (email, phone, LinkedIn), qualify them (do they fit the ICP, do they have a problem the product solves, do they have budget and decision-making authority), and book a meeting or handover an opportunity. Success is measured in meetings booked or opportunities created per month. SDR is deliberately designed as a 12–24 month role. It is an apprenticeship in SaaS sales. The volume is high, the rejection is constant, and the pay is modest by the standards of what comes next. Companies do it this way because it gives them a way to identify and develop sales talent before promoting people into closing roles. Think of it as the ‘prove it’ stage.Account Executive (AE)
AEs own the full sales cycle — from initial discovery call to signed contract. They work with SDR-sourced opportunities as well as sourcing some of their own. Success is measured in ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue) closed per quarter. This is where the earnings jump significantly: a mid-market AE in London earns £55,000–£85,000 base with £100,000–£170,000 OTE. The role is split broadly into three levels:- SMB AE — smaller deals (£2K–£15K ARR), high volume, faster sales cycles. Good first AE role.
- Mid-Market AE — deals of £15K–£100K ARR, multi-stakeholder buying process, 1–4 month sales cycles. Where most AEs spend the majority of their career.
- Enterprise AE — deals of £100K+ ARR, 4–18 month sales cycles, procurement processes, legal review, multiple executive stakeholders. High earnings ceiling, lower deal volume.
Senior AE / Principal AE
Experienced AEs who either stay as senior individual contributors (the IC path) or begin to take on team leadership responsibilities. Many top enterprise AEs choose to stay as ICs earning £150,000–£200,000+ OTE rather than move into management.Sales Manager / Head of Sales
The management track. Sales Managers typically lead a team of 4–10 AEs or SDRs. The jump from AE to Sales Manager is one of the hardest in the career — being a great individual seller does not automatically make you a great manager of sellers. The best AEs are sometimes better off staying as senior ICs. The best Sales Managers are the ones who actively want to develop other people, not just hit their own number.VP Sales / Sales Director / CRO
Leadership roles responsible for the entire sales function or revenue organisation. These roles are where the very high earnings numbers live — VP Sales in London at a Series B/C company earns £120,000–£170,000 base with £200,000–£340,000+ OTE, plus equity. Getting here typically takes 8–15 years from SDR entry point, though exceptional performers with the right company can get there faster.What you can earn: UK salary at every level
Here is a condensed salary reference. For the full breakdown with London vs national, OTE splits, commission structures, and company stage data, see our SaaS Sales Salaries UK 2026 guide.| Role | UK national base | UK national OTE | London base | London OTE | Typical timeline from SDR entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SDR / BDR (year 1) | £22K–£30K | £30K–£45K* | £26K–£35K | £36K–£55K* | Entry point |
| SDR / BDR (year 2) | £28K–£38K | £40K–£58K | £32K–£45K | £46K–£68K | Year 1–2 |
| AE (SMB / first AE role) | £35K–£52K | £62K–£95K | £40K–£60K | £72K–£112K | Year 2–4 |
| AE (Mid-Market) | £52K–£72K | £95K–£145K | £58K–£85K | £108K–£170K | Year 4–7 |
| AE (Enterprise) | £70K–£95K | £130K–£190K | £80K–£120K | £150K–£240K | Year 6–10 |
| Sales Manager | £60K–£85K | £95K–£145K | £68K–£95K | £108K–£165K | Year 4–7 |
| Head of Sales / VP Sales | £90K–£150K | £155K–£280K | £105K–£170K | £180K–£340K | Year 8–15 |
What experience do you actually need?
The honest answer is: less than the job descriptions suggest, and more than “no experience at all.” Most SDR job descriptions list requirements like “1–2 years of sales or customer-facing experience.” In practice, well-run SaaS companies hiring SDRs are primarily assessing:- Communication ability — Can you hold a compelling, structured conversation? Can you make a point clearly and concisely?
- Resilience — Have you done something difficult that required sustained effort in the face of setbacks or rejection?
- Coachability — Are you receptive to feedback? Can you take direction and improve quickly?
- Genuine curiosity — Do you actually want to understand the customer’s problem, or are you just going through the motions?
- Commercial awareness — Do you have a basic understanding of how businesses make money and what problems the product solves?
Getting in with no SaaS experience: step by step
This section is for people who have zero SaaS or tech sales background and want to land their first SDR role. This is the realistic path — not “study for a certification” or “attend a sales bootcamp.” Those things can help at the margins but they are not what gets you hired.Step 1: Pick your sector before you pick your company
SaaS companies sell to specific industries. The ones that tend to hire entry-level SDRs well include: HR tech (Personio, Rippling, Workday), fintech (Modulr, GoCardless, Paddle), martech (HubSpot, Braze, Klaviyo), proptech (Fixflo, Goodlord, Reapit), and construction/field service software (Procore, Joblogic). Choose a sector where you have genuine background knowledge — if you worked in a hotel, hospitality tech (like Rezshift, Mews, or Fourth) is a sector where your domain knowledge is a real advantage over a generalist candidate.Step 2: Build a target list of 15–20 companies
Use LinkedIn to find SaaS companies in your chosen sector that are: UK-headquartered or have a UK sales team; have raised a Series A or B recently (they’ll be hiring); have SDR/BDR job posts open or have had them recently. Good signals of a healthy SDR programme: LinkedIn shows 3–10 current SDRs, a dedicated SDR manager, and recent promotions from SDR to AE in the team’s job history. Avoid companies where the entire sales team is just the founder and one AE — they’re not ready to run an SDR programme yet.Step 3: Approach the SDR manager or Head of Sales directly
This is the step most candidates skip. Find the SDR Manager, VP Sales, or Head of Sales at each target company on LinkedIn. Send a personalised connection request or InMail — not a template, a genuine one-paragraph message that shows you’ve researched the company. Something like:“Hi [Name], I’ve been following [Company]’s growth in the HR tech space — the [specific feature/product area] is interesting and the move into [recent expansion or news] caught my attention. I’m actively looking for an SDR role and [Company] is at the top of my list. I don’t currently have SaaS experience but I do have [2 years in recruitment / retail management / customer service in fintech] and I’m genuinely motivated to build a career in this space. Would you be open to a 15-minute call? Happy to be assessed — I can do a mock cold call if that’s useful.”
Step 4: Prepare one specific thing to demonstrate
Before any conversation with an SDR manager, prepare a brief cold call or cold email on their product. Research the ICP, write a three-sentence cold email targeting a named prospect in their ICP, and be ready to do a 60-second cold call opener live if asked. This is not a high bar — most candidates at entry level have prepared nothing. Having something prepared, even imperfectly, is memorable and differentiating.Step 5: Accept the first role, not the best role
Your first SaaS sales role is a credential, not a career. The goal is to get 12–18 months of SDR experience at a company with a real product and a real sales team, hit your quota, and use that as the springboard to your second role at a better company. Do not turn down a legitimate SDR role at a Series A SaaS company because the base is £2,000 lower than another offer. Base salaries at SDR level are all roughly similar — what matters is the quality of the sales training, the product’s market fit, and the size of the quota pipeline.Transferable skills by background
Every background has transferable value — but you need to know which skills to emphasise and which objections to pre-empt. Here is how to frame your background for a SaaS SDR application:| Background | Transferable skills to emphasise | Objection to pre-empt | Sector to target |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retail sales | High-volume customer interaction, rejection handling, target-driven environment, product knowledge, upselling | “SaaS is B2B, not B2C” — show you understand buyer personas, not just consumers | eCommerce SaaS, retail tech, POS/EPoS software |
| Recruitment | Cold outreach, pipeline management, qualification, objection handling, CRM use, target-driven culture | “Recruitment is different from SaaS” — actually it’s the most directly transferable background; emphasise your cold call volume and conversion metrics | HR tech, ATS/recruitment SaaS, L&D platforms |
| Hospitality / F&B management | Customer service under pressure, team management, upselling, resilience, operational problem-solving | “You’ve never done sales” — focus on revenue accountability (managed a £Xm venue, drove upsell through table management) and customer communication volume | Hospitality tech (Mews, Fourth, Rezshift), field service management SaaS |
| Customer service / contact centre | High volume of customer conversations, objection handling, system/CRM use, quality metrics | “You’ve never sold” — differentiate: inbound CS is reactive; you’re applying for a proactive outbound role; show you understand the difference and want the target-driven element | Any SaaS sector; particularly strong for companies with high inbound SDR volume |
| Graduate (no sales experience) | Academic ability, fast learning, ambition, structured thinking, communication from presentations/group work | “You’ve never worked in a commercial environment” — evidence with internships, part-time work, society leadership, competitive sport, or any activity with measurable outcomes | Any; target SDR-as-a-graduate-scheme programmes at UK SaaS companies (HubSpot, Salesforce, DocuSign all run these) |
| Estate agency | High-volume cold outreach, objection handling, valuation/consultative conversations, target-driven environment, CRM use | “Property is different” — it’s actually one of the most directly transferable backgrounds; emphasise your cold call volume, your pipeline discipline, and your consultative approach to vendor qualification | Proptech (Goodlord, Fixflo, Reapit, Alto), CRM/sales SaaS |
| Financial services advisor / IFA | Consultative selling, complex product explanation, compliance-aware conversations, building trust with sceptical buyers | “You’ve not done outbound” — the qualification and discovery skills are highly valued; lean into your ability to explain complex value propositions to non-technical buyers | Fintech, insurtech, RegTech, financial SaaS (Sage, Xero partners) |
| Teaching / training | Communication, presentation, breaking down complex concepts, patience, influence without authority | “You’ve not worked in commercial environment” — focus on measurable outcomes (exam results, course completion, student progression) and ability to adapt communication to audience | EdTech, L&D SaaS, HR tech, e-learning platforms |
| Military | Discipline, resilience, structure, following process, working under pressure, leadership | “No commercial experience” — the discipline and resilience angle is strong; pair it with evidence of any operational or interpersonal achievement | Cyber/security tech, defence tech SaaS, enterprise software |
| B2B non-SaaS sales (logistics, office supplies, print) | Full sales cycle experience, cold outreach, account management, pipeline management, closing | “Your product isn’t SaaS” — this is the strongest background; emphasise metrics (revenue closed, new logos, pipeline built) and show you understand the difference between transactional product sales and subscription software sales | Any SaaS sector where your existing sector knowledge is relevant |
How to find SDR roles in the UK
Job boards and platforms
| Platform | Best for | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| LinkedIn Jobs | SDR / BDR roles at growth-stage SaaS | Set up alerts for “SDR”, “BDR”, “Sales Development”, “Business Development Representative” + “SaaS” in the UK. Apply within 24 hours of posting — early applications get disproportionate attention |
| Otta.com | Tech and SaaS startup roles in the UK | Better curated than generalist boards for growth-stage SaaS companies; shows company funding stage, tech stack, team size |
| WorkInTech | UK tech and SaaS roles including entry-level sales | Strong for London-based SaaS companies; filtered by company stage |
| AngelList / Wellfound | Early-stage SaaS startups | Good for Seed/Series A roles where company is too early for specialist recruiters; direct founder contact common |
| Reed / Indeed | Broader market coverage | High noise-to-signal ratio for SaaS specifically; better for finding roles at less brand-visible SaaS companies |
| Specialist SaaS recruiters | SDR roles at mid-to-senior stage SaaS companies | Agencies like Live Digital, Bluebird, Dynamic Search, and Aaron Wallis specialise in SaaS sales roles and have access to unlisted positions |
Direct outreach (the most underused channel)
As described in the step-by-step section above, direct outreach to SDR managers and sales leaders on LinkedIn is the most effective channel for landing your first SaaS role. Here is how to execute it systematically:- Build a spreadsheet with 20 target companies, the name of the SDR Manager or VP Sales at each, and their LinkedIn URL
- Write a personalised 3–4 sentence message for each — referencing the specific company, product, or recent news
- Send 5 per day over 4 days (spreading avoids looking like spam and allows you to iterate your message based on responses)
- Follow up once after 5 business days if no response — a single follow-up is professional; two is fine; three is too many
- Track your response rate and refine your message — this is, in itself, an SDR skill demonstration
UK SaaS companies known for good SDR programmes
The following types of company are good targets for a first SDR role — they have structured onboarding, clear promotion criteria, and a track record of developing people:- US-headquartered SaaS companies with UK sales teams (HubSpot, Salesforce, DocuSign, Gong, Outreach, Salesloft) — strong SDR training programmes and clear career paths, competitive but worth applying
- UK-headquartered Series B/C SaaS companies — enough scale to have proper SDR management and a promotion pathway, early enough that you can make a meaningful impact
- Fintech SaaS companies with a strong sales motion — Paddle, GoCardless, Modulr, Soldo, Phoebe — good training culture and strong comp
- HR tech scaleups — Personio, CharlieHR, Bob/HiBob, Factorial — growing fast, hiring SDRs, strong product-market fit
CV and cover letter for SaaS SDR applications
Your CV
An SDR CV for a candidate without SaaS experience should be one page and structured to answer one question: does this person have the traits and evidence of performance that predict success as an SDR?- Lead with a 3-sentence summary that states your background, what you’ve achieved in commercial terms, and why you want to move into SaaS sales specifically. No generic “results-driven professional” language.
- Quantify everything you can — “managed a team of 8” is fine; “managed a team of 8, hit quarterly revenue target of £320K for 3 consecutive quarters” is far better. If you’ve worked in any customer-facing or sales-adjacent role, there will be numbers: calls handled, revenue managed, upsell rate, customer satisfaction score, target attainment %.
- Name the skills that map to SDR — cold outreach, objection handling, pipeline management, CRM tools (Salesforce, HubSpot, or even Zoho counts), target-driven environment, quota attainment.
- Include LinkedIn URL and make sure your LinkedIn profile is current, has a professional photo, and the summary echoes your CV message.
- Do not include a photo on the CV itself — standard UK practice is no photo on a CV.
Your cover letter / InMail / email pitch
For SaaS SDR applications, a cover letter should not be the traditional three-paragraph format. The best SDR cover letters are short (under 200 words), specific (reference the company and product), and structured like a cold outreach — hook, problem/opportunity, your relevant evidence, clear ask. The meta-point is that your cover letter is itself a demonstration of how you’d write a cold email. Make it interesting, not comprehensive.What SaaS SDR interviews look like
SaaS SDR interviews are structured differently from most job interviews. Here is what to expect at each stage:Stage 1: Recruiter or HR screen (20–30 minutes)
Background, motivation, role fit, and salary. Prepare a crisp 90-second “tell me about yourself” that covers: what you’ve done, what you’ve achieved, why SaaS sales, why this company specifically. The recruiter is assessing basic communication quality and whether you seem genuinely motivated or just applying everywhere.Stage 2: SDR Manager or VP Sales interview (45–60 minutes)
This is the most important conversation. Expect questions including:- “Why do you want to do SaaS sales specifically — not just any sales role?”
- “Tell me about a time you had to be persistent to achieve something. What made you keep going?”
- “How would you approach a prospect who said ‘I’m not interested’ on the first call?”
- “What do you know about our product and our ICP?”
- “Where do you see yourself in 18 months?”
Stage 3: Role play / practical assessment
Most good SaaS companies include a practical element. Common formats:- Mock cold call — you play the SDR, the interviewer plays the prospect. They will give you an objection (“I’m not interested”, “we already have a solution”, “I don’t have budget”). The goal is not to be perfect — it is to show you can stay calm, handle the objection without becoming flustered, and close for a next step.
- Cold email task — write a cold outreach email to a named prospect in their ICP. Usually given as a take-home. Focus on: a specific subject line, a clear first line that’s not about you, a one-sentence value prop tied to a likely pain, a soft CTA.
- Research presentation — “here are 3 companies in our ICP — tell us which you’d prioritise, why, and how you’d approach them.” Tests structured thinking and commercial awareness.
Questions to ask the SDR manager
- “What does the promotion path from SDR to AE look like here — what metrics and timeline?”
- “What does a typical day look like for an SDR on your team?”
- “What percentage of the SDR team hit quota last quarter?”
- “How long does the average SDR stay in this team before promoting or leaving?”
- “What does onboarding look like — how long until you expect a new SDR to be booking meetings independently?”
What to expect in your first year
Being honest about what the first year of SaaS sales is actually like is more useful than a motivational gloss. Here is what most people experience:The first 90 days (onboarding and ramp)
Most companies give new SDRs a ramp period of 1–3 months where quota is reduced or waived. You will spend the first month learning the product, the ICP, the messaging, the tools (usually Salesforce or HubSpot, plus a sequencing tool like Outreach, Salesloft, or Apollo), and shadowing senior SDRs. Month two is when you start making calls and sending emails with supervision. Month three is when you go full quota. The ramp period is important — use it aggressively to learn, not to ease in gently.Months 3–9: the grind
This is the period most people find hardest. The novelty has worn off, you’re expected to hit quota, and the volume of rejection becomes relentless. A good SDR in a full outbound motion might make 60–100 call attempts per day across all prospects. Most people won’t pick up. Of the ones who do, most will decline. Of the ones who engage, a fraction will convert to a qualified meeting. The ratio is humbling until you get good at it. What separates SDRs who progress from those who don’t in this period: the ones who progress treat every rejection as data (what did I say? what could I have said instead?), ask their manager for call coaching proactively, and track their own metrics rather than waiting for the manager to tell them how they’re performing.Months 9–18: the transition
By month 9–12, the fundamentals have become automatic. You know the ICP, you have the objection handles internalised, your email open rates are improving, and you’re booking meetings consistently. This is when the AE conversation should start happening — what’s the timeline to promotion, what metrics do you need to hit, and is there an open AE headcount? If the company has no AE openings and won’t create one for a high-performing SDR, it is entirely reasonable to start looking externally for a first AE role. Many AEs make their first move laterally — from SDR at Company A to AE at Company B — when internal promotion isn’t forthcoming. This is normal and accepted in the SaaS world.How quickly can you progress?
Career progression in SaaS sales is faster than almost any other professional career path — but it is performance-dependent, not time-dependent. Here is what the realistic range looks like:| Scenario | Timeline to AE | Timeline to Senior AE / Manager | What drives it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top performer at a well-run SaaS company | 12–15 months | 3–5 years from AE start | Consistent 100%+ quota attainment; proactive about promotion; manager advocates for them |
| Solid performer at a well-run company | 18–24 months | 5–7 years from AE start | 70–90% quota attainment; no major performance issues; steady progression |
| Good performer at a slow-moving company | 24–30 months | Variable — often requires a company move | Internal bottleneck (no AE headcount, culture of long tenures); lateral move to accelerate |
| Inconsistent performer | 30+ months or no promotion | N/A — most pivot to adjacent roles (CS, AM, enablement) | Quota attainment below 70%; coaching hasn’t resolved core skill gaps |
Frequently asked questions
How do I get into SaaS sales with no experience?
Target an SDR/BDR role at a growth-stage SaaS company. Most SDR roles don’t require previous SaaS experience — they require resilience, communication ability, coachability, and genuine interest in the product space. The fastest route in is direct LinkedIn outreach to SDR managers at your 15–20 target companies, combined with a prepared mock cold call or email on their product. This approach outperforms job board applications significantly. See the step-by-step section above for the full process.Do you need a degree to get into SaaS sales?
No. SaaS sales is one of the few high-earning career paths in the UK that is genuinely meritocratic on entry. Most SaaS companies hiring SDRs care about communication skills, resilience, curiosity, and drive — not degree classification or university attended. Career changers from retail, hospitality, recruitment, and customer service regularly land their first SaaS SDR role without a degree.How long does it take to become an Account Executive from SDR?
The typical timeline from SDR to Account Executive in UK SaaS is 12–24 months. The key driver is quota attainment — an SDR consistently hitting 100%+ will be promoted faster than one averaging 70%. If a company has no clear SDR-to-AE pathway after 18 months, it is worth considering a lateral move to an AE role elsewhere.What is a realistic first-year salary in SaaS sales?
A realistic first-year total earnings for an SDR in the UK is £30,000–£45,000 nationally and £36,000–£55,000 in London. Most SDRs attain 70–80% of OTE in their first year due to the ramp period. In year two, with full ramp and consistent quota attainment, OTE of £40,000–£60,000 is achievable nationally. See our full SaaS Sales Salaries UK 2026 guide for the complete breakdown by role and level.Is SaaS sales a good career in the UK?
Yes — for the right person. SaaS sales is one of the best-compensated career paths accessible without a specific qualification in the UK. The SDR role is a deliberate entry point at modest salary, with rapid progression for performers. The earnings ceiling is extremely high — experienced enterprise AEs in London earn £150,000–£240,000+ OTE. The main downsides are quota pressure, high rejection volume, variable income, and a culture that rewards performance over tenure. If those downsides sound manageable, the upside is substantial.What transferable skills help you get into SaaS sales?
The most valued transferable skills for SaaS sales are: communication, resilience, curiosity, organisation, and commercial awareness. Backgrounds that translate well include: retail sales, recruitment, customer service, hospitality management, estate agency, financial services advisory, and teaching. See the full transferable skills by background table above for specific advice on how to frame each.How to get into SaaS sales in the UK specifically?
The UK SaaS sales market is centred on London but increasingly national with remote-first hiring. Key steps: target companies in a sector where you have existing knowledge; use Otta, LinkedIn Jobs, and WorkInTech to find live roles; approach SDR managers directly on LinkedIn rather than relying solely on job board applications; prepare a mock cold call on the company’s product before any interview. UK-specific company types to target: US SaaS companies with UK sales teams (structured training), UK-headquartered Series B/C SaaS companies (growth environment), and UK fintech or HR tech scaleups (strong SDR culture).Looking for Your First SaaS Sales Role?
Live Digital works with growth-stage SaaS companies across the UK hiring SDRs, BDRs, and Account Executives. We can tell you which companies are hiring right now, what they’re paying, and what they’re looking for — and we can make an introduction that gets you past the job board queue.
Talk to Our SaaS Sales Team →Already in SaaS sales and looking to level up? See: SaaS Sales Salaries UK 2026 →