Technical Selling Skills: A Sales Engineers Master Guide to Selling Successfully

By GERARD ASSEY

'Technical Selling Skills: A Sales Engineers Master Guide to Selling Successfully' is a Comprehensive & Powerful Practical Guide designed for Sales Engineers seeking to excel as Champions in the complex world of technical selling.

It covers a Unique 8 Step Champion Sales Model: P.A.N.O.R.A.M.A. to equip you- enabling you to have a panoramic view of the entire sales process: the customer, market, industry, and competition, so you as the technical sales professional will be able to effectively tailor your approach, address customer needs, leverage market trends, offer value, differentiate your products & close successfully while empowering you to engage customers in meaningful conversations, provide valuable insights, and position your offering as the optimal solution, ultimately enhancing your ability to build trust, win business, and achieve sales success.

Whether you are a seasoned professional or just starting your career, this master-book will provide you with valuable insights, practical strategies, and real-world examples to stand out as a Champion.

• Language: English
• Publisher: GERARD ASSEY
• Release date: Jul 3, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223312420

Book preview

Gerard Assey

Technical

Selling Skills

A Sales Engineers Master Guide

to Selling Successfully

By

Gerard Assey

© Copyright 2023 by Author

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Published by:

Gerard Assey

19/18, Palli Arasan Street

Anna Nagar East

Chennai - 600 102

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All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means- electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the author.

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(Image courtesy: ‘https://www.freepik.com’ Thank You)

Table of Contents

Preface

Part: 1-You! The Technical Sales Champion

✓  Why a book on: 'Technical Selling Skills'?

✓  Key Attributes and Qualities of Successful Technical Sales Professionals

✓  Why the Right Attitude and Mindset is Most Important!

✓  Sell Yourself Before You Sell Anything Else!

Part: 2-The Customer! The Technical Customer

✓  The Ideal Profile of your Technical Customer

✓  Common Challenges and Frustrations Customers and Sales Professionals Face

✓  Prospecting, Lead Generation and Qualification

✓  The Psychology of the Buying Process for Technical Sales

✓  The Decision-making Process: Key Steps when Dealing with the Psychology of the Technical Buyer

Part: 3-The Unique 8 Step Champion Sales Model: P.A.N.O.R.A.M.A

✓  The Unique 8 Step Sales Model: P.A.N.O.R.A.M.A will set You up as a Champion!

✓  P- Prepare more than ever- It’s the Key!

6 Key Areas of Preparation

✓  A- Approaching Customers(Phone and Face-to-Face)

Different Types of Buyers and their Roles

Dealing with Gate-Keepers

Understanding the Decision Process

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✓  N- Need and Pain Uncovering

Current, Desired, Barriers and C.O.R.K. 

Questioning Models

Keys to Listening

Notes Capturing

✓  O- Offering Value and Your Differentiators

Converting your Features to Advantages and Benefits/ Value

Differentiating yourself from the Competition

✓  R-Removing Doubts, Concerns and Objections

Understanding the Various Objections

Handling the Price Objection

Handling Key Technical Objections

✓  A-Arranging Product Demos

✓  M-Methods to Negotiate and Close

Negotiating Deals

Effective Closing Techniques

Generating Additional Sales: Up-Selling/ 

Cross-Selling

✓  A-After-Sales-Service: Powerful Strategies to Retain Customers for Life

Part: 4-Other Topics to Make you a Champion!

✓  Handling RFP’S/ RFI’s and Presentations

✓  Post Call: Win or Lose, Stay Professional!

✓  Post- Mortem: Evaluating and Role-Playing your Call

✓  Handling Turn-downs/ Rejections and Keeping Yourself Motivated!

✓  Continuous Learning and Professional Development

✓  Taking this Forward!

About the Author

Preface

Welcome to ‘Technical Selling Skills: A Sales Engineers Master Guide to Selling Successfully.’ The Powerful Book is designed to be a comprehensive resource for sales engineers who are looking to enhance their skills, knowledge, and expertise in the field of technical selling. Whether you are a seasoned professional or just starting your career, this guide aims to provide you with valuable insights, practical strategies, and real-world examples to excel in the complex and dynamic world of sales engineering.

The role of a sales engineer is unique, requiring a combination of technical expertise, sales acumen, and exceptional communication skills. As a sales engineer, you are tasked with understanding complex products and solutions, understanding your customers’ needs, effectively communicating the value of your products to customer’s, handle their respective concerns while building strong relationships that result in successful sales outcomes. This book is tailored specifically to address all of these challenges and opportunities that sales engineers encounter in their day-to-day work.

The Book uses a Unique 8 Step Champion Sales Model: P.A.N.O.R.A.M.A. to equip you as a Sales Technical Professional enabling you to have a panoramic view of the entire process. By having a panoramic view of the customer, market, industry, and competition, you as the technical sales professional will be able to effectively tailor your approach, address customer needs, leverage market trends, offer value, differentiate your products and close successfully while empowering you to engage customers in meaningful conversations, provide valuable insights, and positioning your offering as the optimal solution. Ultimately, it will enhance your ability to build trust, win business, and achieve sales success.

We will begin Part 1 with YOU: The Technical Sales Champion and Why a book on: 'Technical Selling Skills' for you, how it will benefit you, to the Key Attributes and Qualities of Successful Technical Sales Professionals and Why the Right Attitude and Mindset is Most Important! We conclude this part with how to Sell Yourself Before You Sell Anything Else!

Then in Part 2, we will move to The Customer! The Technical Customer-by understanding The Ideal Profile of your Technical Customer, The Common Challenges and Frustrations Customers and Sales Professionals Face, Moving to Prospecting, Lead Generation and Qualification, Understanding The Psychology of the Buying Process for Technical Sales and finally The Decision-making Process, with Key Steps when Dealing with the Psychology of the Technical Buyer

Part 3, will commence with the Key Steps to Selling with a Detailed Understanding of The Unique 8 Step Champion Sales Model: P.A.N.O.R.A.M.A, beginning from Preparing for a Call/ Account and its Importance, to Approaching the Customer by Learning to Deal with Different Buyers and Gate Keepers, Uncovering Customer’s Needs and Pains, through Effective Questioning and Listening Skills, and How to Offer Value and Position your Differentiators to suit those specific Needs. We will then cover an important aspect which is the Removing of Doubts, Concerns and Objections with a thorough Understanding of the Various Objections first and how to handle the Most Common One on Price. We then move to Conducting Product Demos along with Methods to Negotiate and Close Effectively, including how to Generate Additional Sales through Up-Selling and Cross-Selling. The last chapter of this part will conclude with a very important aspect of Technical Selling: The After-Sales-Service, which will feature Powerful Strategies to Retain Customers for Life

The final Part 4 will delve on Other Topics to make you a Champion, such as The Handling RFP’S/ RFI’s and Presentations and the Post Call Effects of Whether you Win or Lose- How to Stay Professional!

We will then move to carry out a Post- Mortem of every call by Evaluating and Role-Playing your Call. As a Sales Professional, you are bound to face a lot of stress, so we will deal with the Handling Turn-downs/ Rejections and Keeping Yourself Motivated at all times, including covering suggestions for Continuous Learning and Professional Development. Finally...we conclude with some Key Steps and an Action Plan on Taking this Forward!

It is my sincere hope that ‘Technical Selling Skills: A Sales Engineers Master Guide to Selling Successfully’ will serve as a valuable resource and guide as you navigate the intricacies of technical selling. Whether you are seeking to refine your existing skills or acquire new ones, this book aims to provide you with the knowledge, skills and tools necessary to excel in your career as a sales engineer.

Remember, success in technical selling is not solely determined by product knowledge or technical expertise. It is a combination of effective communication, building relationships, continuous learning, adapting to change, and a positive sales mindset. We encourage you to therefore approach each chapter with an open mind, embrace the practical tips and strategies presented, and apply them to your unique sales situations.

Best wishes on your journey to becoming a Champion in Technical Selling!

Part: 1

You!

The Technical Sales Champion

Why a Book on:  

'Technical Selling Skills'?

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You could be wondering: Why a book on this subject: 'Technical Selling Skills’ and how this book can help you as a Technical Sales Engineer?

This Book as you will see is a valuable resource for technical sales engineers as it provides comprehensive guidance and insights into the unique challenges and requirements of selling technical products or solutions. Here's why this book can be beneficial for you as a technical sales engineer:

✓  Specialized Focus: Technical selling requires a distinct set of skills and knowledge compared to general sales. This book specifically addresses the nuances of technical sales, equipping you with the expertise needed to succeed in this field. It covers topics such as product knowledge, effective communication, building relationships, handling objections, and more, all tailored to the technical sales context.

✓  In-depth Knowledge: The book offers a wealth of information and practical advice on various aspects of technical selling. It provides detailed explanations, strategies, and real-life examples that help you understand the underlying principles and best practices in technical sales. By expanding your knowledge base, you can enhance your ability to engage customers, address their needs, and close deals effectively.

✓  Skill Development: The book serves as a comprehensive guide to developing essential technical selling skills. It presents proven techniques and approaches for conducting effective sales presentations, presenting demos, handling objections, negotiating deals, and other critical sales activities. By following the guidance provided, you can improve your sales skills, boost your confidence, and increase your chances of success in selling technical products.

✓  Practical Examples: The book includes practical examples that illustrate how the concepts and strategies discussed can be applied in real-world scenarios. These examples provide insights into successful sales techniques, customer interactions, and problem-solving approaches. By studying these examples, you can gain valuable insights and adapt them to your own sales situations.

✓  Problem Solving and Troubleshooting: Technical sales often involve addressing complex customer needs and overcoming technical challenges. This book equips you with problem-solving techniques and strategies to effectively analyze customer pain points, propose solutions, and troubleshoot any issues that may arise during the sales process. It helps you develop a structured approach to problem-solving, ensuring that you can meet customer requirements and exceed their expectations.

✓  Career Growth: By acquiring and applying the knowledge and skills presented in the book, you can enhance your professional growth and career prospects. Technical sales is a specialized field, and being well-versed in the techniques and strategies specific to this area can set you apart from the competition. The book provides insights into the evolving nature of technical sales, allowing you to stay ahead of industry trends and adapt to changing customer expectations.

✓  Continuous Learning: The book emphasizes the importance of continuous learning and professional development in technical sales. It provides guidance on staying updated with industry knowledge, attending conferences and events, engaging in networking, and leveraging training and certification programs. By incorporating these practices into your career, you can continually enhance your skills and knowledge, keeping yourself competitive in the dynamic field of technical sales.

As you will see this book: ‘Technical Selling Skills is an invaluable resource for you as a technical sales engineer, by offering you specialized knowledge, practical insights, and proven strategies to help you navigate the challenges of selling technical products By leveraging the concepts and techniques presented in the book, you can improve your sales effectiveness, build stronger customer relationships, and achieve greater success in your role as a technical sales professional.

Key Attributes and Qualities of Successful Technical Sales Professionals

Successful technical sales professionals possess a range of key attributes and qualities that contribute to their effectiveness in the role. Here are some of the essential attributes for you to work on:

✓  Technical Expertise: A solid understanding of the technical aspects of the products or solutions being sold is crucial. Technical sales professionals should be knowledgeable about their offerings and capable of explaining complex concepts in a clear and concise manner. Example: A sales engineer selling industrial automation systems must have in-depth knowledge of PLC programming, sensor technologies, and control systems to effectively communicate with customers and address their technical requirements.

✓  Strong Communication Skills: Effective communication is vital for building rapport with customers, understanding their needs, and articulating the value of the solutions being offered. Technical sales professionals should be able to adapt their communication style to different audiences and present technical information in a way that is easily understood. Example: When presenting a cloud computing solution to a non-technical executive, a successful technical sales professional would use language and visuals that focus on business benefits such as cost savings, scalability, and data security, rather than diving into technical details.

✓  Problem-Solving Ability: Technical sales professionals need to be adept at identifying customer pain points and proposing solutions that address those challenges. They should possess strong problem-solving and analytical skills to diagnose complex issues and recommend appropriate remedies. Example: When working with a customer experiencing network downtime, a successful technical sales professional would investigate the root cause, analyze network architecture, and propose a solution that improves network stability, such as implementing redundant systems or load balancing.

✓  Empathy and Customer Focus: Understanding and empathizing with customer needs is essential for building trust and developing tailored solutions. Successful technical sales professionals actively listen to customers, ask probing questions, and demonstrate genuine care about solving their challenges. Example: A technical sales professional selling healthcare IT solutions should understand the unique pain points faced by healthcare providers, such as interoperability issues or regulatory compliance requirements. They would take the time to understand specific workflows and design a solution that integrates seamlessly with existing systems, enhancing patient care and operational efficiency.

✓  Adaptability and Continuous Learning: The technology landscape is ever-evolving, and successful technical sales professionals stay up-to-date with industry trends, emerging technologies, and market dynamics. They embrace continuous learning, adapt to new challenges, and proactively seek opportunities for professional growth. Example: A sales engineer specializing in artificial intelligence would continuously educate themselves about advancements in AI algorithms, machine learning frameworks, and use cases across different industries. This knowledge enables them to position AI solutions effectively and propose innovative applications to customers.

✓  Relationship Building: Building strong relationships with customers fosters trust and long-term partnerships. Successful technical sales professionals excel at relationship building, maintaining regular communication, and understanding the unique needs of each customer. Example: By actively engaging with customers, attending industry events, and providing ongoing support, a technical sales professional develops a trusted advisor relationship. This leads to repeat business, referrals, and the