About 700-826 Exam
Why More Account Managers Are Getting Cisco’s 700-826 Cert
More professionals in sales-facing roles are now realizing the importance of having real conversations around IoT solutions. The Cisco 700-826 exam wasn’t developed for engineers or network architects. It’s tailored for account managers and client-facing teams who need to understand the business impact of IoT rather than the tech infrastructure behind it.
This certification helps replace generic sales language with solution-specific communication that aligns better with customer needs. With IoT now becoming embedded across industries like manufacturing, logistics, retail, and energy, sales professionals need to explain use cases confidently. The Cisco 700-826 gives you that base. It teaches you how to position Cisco’s IoT portfolio as a business enabler, not just as a product set.
Having this badge gives account managers legitimacy in meetings with technical teams. You can speak their language, explain outcomes, and still stay anchored in client goals. It’s become more than a nice-to-have; it’s a real competitive skill.
Cisco Still Means Something in 2025
Despite dozens of tech vendors flooding the cert market, Cisco still holds a top-tier reputation. When a Cisco badge shows up on your resume, it speaks to a globally recognized standard in IT and communication technologies. Even in 2025, employers consider Cisco certs a sign of structured training, product awareness, and real-world application.
The 700-826 isn’t a theoretical exam detached from Cisco’s business. It’s designed around actual products, with learning that connects back to client projects and partner engagements. The exam’s value comes from this direct product linkage. Unlike some industry certs that feel academic, this one prepares you for what you’ll really face in a deal cycle.
If your job requires talking about IoT, smart devices, or connectivity in any context this badge adds clarity and confidence. Cisco has invested heavily in building out IoT architecture, and it shows in how this cert is structured. You’re not just reading whitepapers; you’re learning how Cisco positions its offerings in live client situations.
Who This Cert Was Built For
The Cisco 700-826 isn’t meant for everyone. It specifically addresses people who sit at the intersection of tech sales and customer relations. These include:
- Account Managers at IT consultancies and solution providers
- Sales Engineers who assist in presales conversations
- Consultants helping companies explore IoT expansion
- Channel Partner teams working closely with Cisco deals
- Customer Success Managers managing IoT-enabled services
What these roles have in common is the need to bridge technical capability with customer priorities. If your job involves talking with clients about their challenges and aligning solutions to solve those this cert equips you with a structured, Cisco-backed language to do that more effectively.
Stuff You Actually Learn That Matters
The learning objectives in the 700-826 cert aren’t packed with heavy technical theory. Instead, they guide you through the real-world business mechanics of IoT. You’ll understand how smart systems add value to clients, what Cisco’s specific IoT tools are, and how to identify sales opportunities during discovery calls.
Key learning outcomes include:
- Industry use cases across retail, manufacturing, and energy
- Cisco’s architecture covering connectivity, compute, and secure layers
- How to translate tech specs into customer business goals
- Typical objections clients raise and how to address them
- Insights on the sales lifecycle for IoT-driven conversations
It’s all about knowing how to guide the client discussion without falling into buzzwords or awkward silences.
What Roles Open Up After This Badge
Getting certified doesn’t flip your career overnight. But it opens doors to higher credibility in existing roles and provides a path into specialized sales positions in IoT-heavy industries.
Role Title |
Typical Industry |
Benefit of the Cert |
IoT Sales Specialist |
Cisco channel partners |
Enables more relevant, value-driven pitches |
Technical Account Manager |
SaaS or cloud service firms |
Adds knowledge to manage post-sale accounts |
Channel Sales Executive |
B2B tech vendors |
Supports IoT-specific pipeline growth |
Client Solutions Advisor |
Industrial automation companies |
Helps guide clients through adoption |
These roles require you to influence client decisions, and the cert provides the credibility to back up your claims. It also shows that you can go deeper than a surface-level pitch.
What Kind of Pay Uplift You Might See
Salaries vary depending on region, industry, and company size. However, professionals with IoT-related credentials especially from Cisco tend to earn more than peers in general tech sales roles. This is mainly because clients often have higher deal sizes in connected product projects, and companies want reps who can handle those conversations competently.
Average salary ranges:
- Tech Account Managers with IoT certs: $92,000 – $115,000/year
- Customer-Facing Engineers with IoT exposure: $100,000 – $125,000/year
- Channel Sales Reps in IoT-focused regions: $85,000 – $105,000/year
Besides base pay, professionals in these roles often earn more in performance bonuses, since understanding IoT leads to faster deal closures.
What’s Inside the 700-826 Exam Format
Understanding the structure of the Cisco 700-826 exam can make preparation far more targeted. The format is straightforward, but every question is designed to make you think through a business scenario. You’re looking at roughly 55 to 65 multiple choice questions, with a time limit of 60 minutes.
Cisco doesn’t publish a fixed passing mark, but most estimates place it around 70 to 75 percent. That means getting about 40 to 48 questions right depending on the version of the test you take.
Questions are rarely about raw facts. Instead, they focus on how well you can evaluate a situation, understand the client’s pain point, and pick the most fitting Cisco solution to meet that need.
Topics You’ll Get Quizzed On
The exam content is organized around four major domains, each tied to a specific part of the sales cycle or Cisco’s IoT product suite.
Domain |
Main Coverage |
Business Fundamentals of IoT |
Market trends, key challenges, and drivers for adoption |
Cisco IoT Portfolio |
Connectivity options, compute platforms, and security features |
Sales Enablement |
Objection handling, lifecycle stages, and pitch strategy |
Architecture Basics |
Network integration, platform components, and customer outcomes |
You’ll need to connect these dots in the exam. For example, if a question mentions a retailer looking to monitor in-store traffic, you should be able to link that need to Cisco’s Meraki camera solution and explain its benefit.
Where People Tend to Trip
The most challenging part for many test-takers isn’t the subject matter it’s how Cisco phrases their questions. They love to include two or three almost-correct answers, forcing you to really think through which solution fits best.
Problem areas include:
- Confusion between similar product names (like Cisco Kinetic vs Cisco IOx)
- Misunderstanding Cisco’s layered architecture approach
- Failure to match the right solution to the right buyer profile
- Overcomplicating simple business outcomes
Even those with experience in tech sales may find these scenarios tricky if they haven’t worked directly with Cisco’s IoT line.
How to Actually Prep Smart for This One
You don’t need to drown in study material. A smart approach is to use Cisco’s official partner resources and focus on learning how their solutions map to business challenges. Good preparation includes:
- Going through Cisco’s SalesConnect videos
- Reading real customer case studies
- Practicing with scenario-driven questions
- Reviewing Cisco’s IoT platform diagrams
You don’t need to know every product spec. Just understand what Cisco solutions are designed to do and when to bring them up in a conversation.
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