You Might Be a Sales Unicorn Already — And Not Even Know It

If there’s one hiring trend that’s been creeping up on us lately, it’s this: the push for salespeople in consulting is real — but not always in the way you might expect.

At CalibrX, we’re increasingly being asked to find sales talent for roles that don’t necessarily look like traditional sales jobs. These are people who can move fluidly between selling products — like custom-built CRM solutions — and services, like integration support or project delivery. And the right candidates? They’re not always coming from the usual background.

So, could it be time to ask yourself the question: “Am I a sales unicorn?”

Product vs Services — It’s Not the Same Sale

There’s a big difference between selling a product and selling a service — and consulting partners need people who understand both. Products are tangible. You’re talking features, benefits, timelines, maybe even pricing off the shelf. Services, on the other hand, are squishier. You’re selling trust. Capability. Often the unknown.

We’re seeing more partners realise they need someone who can do both — or at least navigate the grey area in between. Someone who can sell a solution, and then have a credible conversation about how to deliver it.

The Salespeople Who Don’t Know They’re Salespeople

Some of the best sales candidates we’ve worked with didn’t start in sales at all. They were:

• Product managers who know the tech inside-out and naturally started stepping into commercial conversations.
  
• Delivery leads who’ve been client-facing for years and understand exactly what’s required to get a deal over the line.
  
• Customer success managers who’ve been upselling without even realising it.
  

If you’ve ever had to explain the value of what you do to a non-technical stakeholder, or guide a client through a solution they didn’t fully understand, congratulations — you’ve already been selling.

What Makes a Great Seller in the Services Space?

You don’t need to be a “closer” in the traditional sense. In fact, the best salespeople we place in consulting tend to be curious, thoughtful, and fluent in the way tech and business intersect. What matters is:

• Context switching – moving between delivery conversations and commercial ones.
  
• Problem solving – clients don’t always know what they need, so you’ve got to help define it.
  
• Stakeholder management – the real sale is often made in quiet moments after the presentation.

These are subtle skills, and they can absolutely be developed. Which is good news, because…

Sales Roles Are Getting Harder to Fill

There’s a real shortage of people who can do this well. Clients are asking us for unicorns — someone who understands the product, gets the services play, and can own a client conversation end-to-end. It’s a tall order, but not an impossible one.

Thinking about hiring — or stepping into — a role like this?

There’s a real nuance to getting the right person — someone who understands the product, the service offering, and how to build trust across both.

At CalibrX, we work closely with clients to define what kind of salesperson they actually need — and with candidates to help them see the career potential in roles they might never have considered “sales” before.

Whether you’re hiring or thinking about making a move yourself, we can help you explore what’s possible. There are unicorns people out there with the right skills — and there’s real potential to upskill the right kind of mind.

Let’s chat!

– Garth