Your Engineers Should Take off the Blinkers

E ngineering salespeople are classic "order takers." Let’s be honest, most of them are not hunters. They are great at engineering, but not so much at outright selling. They often don't think outside the box, they don't want to cold call and they generally don't like to accept advice from outsiders.

There is not enough relationship building and no real bond created with a customer in the long-term. They may not buy from you this year... or even next, but someday they might. It’s playing the long game and not an immediate quick win that stacks the sales, something most sales engineers don’t seem to grasp.

So how do you fix this? Engineers are humans too... we think.

I’m not a sales engineer, but I’ve trained dozens of them and these are some of the challenges I have come to identify over the years with these bright but not always warm and approachable individuals. I know this because as a sales trainer, I have 26 years of selling, selling and more selling. I class myself as a salesperson first and a sales trainer second.

I know the front-line and I teach from doing and not just talking. Technically, engineers are experts, but they typically don’t use initiative and rarely ask questions. That’s where I come in.

Take a look at the following hitlist headlines I’ve created for you covering some of the pain points you are likely to have. You can also follow an easy-read email series where I unpack these points in more detail.

1. Engineers are humans too... we think
   
   Sales engineers don’t see the point/value of small talk and usually assume the customer doesn’t want that. They’re wrong. Conversation and interaction are how relationships are developed and relationships build trust.

2. They're selling to a person, not engineering an exchange
   
   The art of sales is part psychology and part technique and not merely listing technical specs. Sadly, the sales process doesn’t always function like a well-oiled machine. It requires social skills, which can be developed.

3. Sales is like nightclubbing
   
   Customers need to be wooed… It’s rarely a case of wham-bam you’ve got the business. Some things need to be nurtured over time to reach fruition. Sales often fit this description and can require a tactic involving patience.
   
   

4. Think bigger: If all your sales engineers hit their targets... how would the business look?
   
   Your business would be where you’d want to be, it would make your life a lot easier, more opportunity for incentives, growth and best of all… profit! Sometimes it’s the smallest adjustments that can provide the greatest rewards. Are you missing out?

5. Sales engineers need love too!
   
   It’s a myth that salespeople are born. Excellent sales engineers are created in the same way that anything substantial must be engineered. They need training, refreshing and motivation - regularly. Engineers are also usually very good at delivering on expectations when provided with the right tools.