How to Put the ‘Sales’ in ‘Sales Engineer’

Sales Engineers are an interesting bunch, largely due to the dichotomy of the role. Sure, you’re an engineer, but you’re also a sales professional which means there’s a lot of selling to do. 

Unfortunately, some sales engineers struggle with the ‘sales’ part of their job description. The reason is obvious: selling a product isn’t the same as collecting knowledge on the technical aspects of said product.

Luckily, the latter can help you with the former.

If you’ve got the product knowledge down but are struggling on the sales end, it’s time to put some oomph in your sales game.

Like so 👇

Become A Student of the Game

Sales engineers will master selling the way everyone else does: by finding a mentor, or shadowing a more experienced seller.

Most sellers will be ordinary, not everyone will be raking in a colossal commission check.

Find out who does and adopt their most powerful habits. For sales engineers, this will come down to how they approach their presentations and how they relate to customers during technical consultations.

If you can’t shadow a peer for whatever reason, feel free to ask them how they do it. 

Become Obsessed with Your Prospect (in a Good Way)

Go the extra mile to understand your ideal customer profile.

Discover how your product addresses their main pain points and create your pitches and presentations around them.

You can work these elements into your consultations where appropriate.

Practice doing this to the point where it’s rolling off your tongue. Keep in mind that some prospects will differ from others and will require you to tailor your pitches.

Also, feel out individual prospects and adapt accordingly; otherwise, you will come across as robotic.

Storytelling: A Seller’s Best Friend

You understand the product, what’s missing is the human element.

It’s not enough to put a pretty PowerPoint together and click a few buttons.

Now that we’ve covered studying your prospects, it’s important to use that knowledge by including storytelling in your presentation, specifically a story that resonates with them.

Instead of simply reeling off their pain points and pointing out how your product can solve the issue, tell a story about a past client with a similar company and problem, and walk them through how exactly you helped that client.

Being a sales professional isn’t so much about a suit; it certainly isn’t about being pushy and aggressive, it’s about changing a prospect’s behavior by connecting with them.

Anyone can learn to do this if they simply put the time in. 

Check out these 7 principles every sales professional should live by.

Sales Q&A

Where Can A Tech Guy Learn To Sell Like a Real Salesperson

Read more here.

It’s Time For That Dream Sales Job…💼

Looking for a new job opportunity in Sales? Search for the latest and greatest jobs here.

Looking to hire someone with great Sales experience? Post your job on The Sales Jam Job Board, here.