In a technical sale, there is always the tension between the “tech guys” and the “sales guys.” I’ve worked in a few industries where we sold as a team and needed a highly-trained tech person to help us sell.
In all these cases, we struggled with how involved the tech person should be. Most sales people were really nervous about giving up control of their deal. They always spent a lot of time telling the tech guys what not to do.
I’ve got an analogy for you – it revolves around what you are doing in a sale. When you are selling, the tech guys often think their job is not really “selling” – they are presenting information a rational, clear way to convince the customer to buy the software. After all, if they were salespeople, woudn’t they just be doing that job?
So, I see tech people focusing very much on the questions that the customers ask, and they practice really getting the right answer for that question. The model they are following looks to me like a court of law. It’s as if the tech people were presenting evidence in a court that will convince the jury (the customers) to choose your side. The idea is that if they jut present enough info, the jury can then choose your side….beyond any reasonable doubt.
However, most of my customers do not sit and weigh evidence, calculate up a list of features, and then come to some rational decision. I bet a lot of juries do not work that way either, but this is a sales blog…..
We do see customers who put together an RFP, put scores in, and then ask their team members to “add it all up.” My gut tells me that there is a core group of people behind those RFPs that actually has a preference. I bet somehow that they will get their way – no matter what the score says.
Of course, it is important to present accurate and clear information. Of course, the tech person is not a salesperson. So, what can the tech guy do?
I think the key here is for the tech person to not think of themselves as a lawyer. They also cannot think of themselves as a student passing a test – “if I do the demo right, the customer will give me an “A” and we get the deal.”
Rather than focusing on the question from the customer, concentrate on the customer alone. When the customer asks a question, you need to make sure you answer their “real” question – what is it they want to do with your product?
This approach is scary – you have to move into a conversation and not a presentation. You have to use your experience and knowledge to show the customer you know what they want to do and that your company solves problems like this all the time.
This kind of selling is radical – you will actually end up doing less “selling” as a tech person. I bet it will make tech people feel a lot more valuable as well.
