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With the economy being what it is - or isn’t - these days, you have to be flexible. Maybe your company isn’t long for this world or you think maybe you’re not long for the company. Perhaps you’re itching to try something new, yet you know IT professionals aren’t nearly as sought after or scarce as they once were. This week’s Management Strategies stories examines how some IT pros are moving over to sales and taking their valuable experience with them to help them in their new careers.

IT experts offer something that traditional salespeople don’t - true empathy. You’ve walked a mile in their server closets and you know the problems they’re facing. While the typical salesperson may know a product inside out, you would know the customer’s dilemma inside out and could truly understand what he or she needs.

It turns out IT folks have been moving over to the sales ranks for years and back in the day it was a lot easier. However, that doesn’t mean it can’t be done today. Former IT exec Steven Morgan, who now runs SalesRecruits.com, says there’s no limit on salary for talented and experienced sales executives, and some IT pros could double their salaries by switching to sales.

“Technologists offer trust and credibility because they truly understand what customers are trying to do,” Morgan says. “That’s the difference compared to salespeople from a sales background who try to understand but don’t have the background knowledge.”

Yet if you don’t have any sales experience, you can’t just walk into a company and ask for a sales region. Before moving to sales, many IT pros start as a pre-sales support engineer. Pre-sales engineers provide technical support to an account rep, helping to present and demonstrate a product to prospective customers. From there, many move into a traditional sales position.

Check out this week’s Management Strategies story in its entirety to get more advice from IT pros who have made the switch: http://www.nwfusion.com/careers/2003/0922man.html