How can solution selling training help you close more deals?

Another aspect that I keep in mind with Solution selling is understanding the impact of the pain points for each individual within the customer. Not just technical ones but their business pain points that will help determine what the solution will be solving for them. This understanding of the stakeholders is an important part of training on how to sell a crafted solution for the customer.

Solution selling training is important for sales engineers because - in the 21st Century all your prospects can find what they want with a the simple click of a mouse. Which completely negates the requirement for consulting a sales engineer - and thus (technically) makes your role redundant. However, if you truly understand how you help your clients - you can show them "the thing they didn't know - they didn't know" 'Cos they can't search for something they don't know exists. What would you put into google? "Tell me the thing I don't know" That would be ridiculous. But, when you work past what your product is - to what it does - through to how it helps - you can ask questions that help prospects recognise the solution all by themselves

Sales Engineers sit in a unique situation in that they are the customer's trusted advisor compared to the AE who is focused on the sale. For the SE, it is important to understand principles such as MEDDPIC or challenger sales but be able to apply them in a way where they are consultative in nature to the key stakeholders while being able to articulate the product benefits to each in a language that resonates not just from a technical perspective but also from their personal role pain solving or benefit perspective.

I personally have seen impacts on not just improved discovery and rapport with each stakeholder but also being able deliver the value of the solution in a much shorter time during demonstrations. By knowing what value is pertinent to present rather than focusing on a feature dump - having solution selling training allows you to not only elicit requirements faster but also present a customized solution that captures customer loyalty while fighting off any FUD(Fear, Uncertainty & Doubt) thrown against your product by way of the competition.

For pre-sales - I recommend having an evaluation of where you are and what you need to level up. Self evaluation only goes a long way so getting advice from mentors and peers would be the first step to take. If you don't have many, find them on LinkedIn and start networking. Second, you can look at various training programs and courses that are available on LinkedIn learning or through other organizations.

In the realm of solution selling, the principles from "The Challenger Sale" elevate your approach. Embrace continuous learning – not just as an event but a lifestyle. Align your strategy with solution selling, infuse it with the Challenger mindset. Set clear goals, measure metrics, and seek feedback relentlessly. The dynamic sales landscape demands perpetual adaptation – stay ahead by absorbing industry trends. Experiment boldly; it's the crucible for discovering what truly resonates with you and your customers. In the world of sales, evolution is the key to perpetual success.

The best teacher is practical experience - But one of the initial steps to start implementing what you are learning is to start scheduling role plays within your organization such as with fellow SEs, Sales Team and Leadership to gather feedback on what they see in changes - after all these are the people who accompany you into customer interactions. Next, as you start implementing your new techniques with customers - use call analysis or AI to review your calls, emails and other activities on what impact you see in terms of customer responses and how to continuously improve.

Learning how to do the right demo , will make life easier for sales engineers. Its not necessary that if you have set up the meeting time for 30 min then you have to keep talking or givr a demo for the entire duration. What is necessary is to first understand in the discovery call what is the need of customer and then try to keep your demo focussed on that area. Even if you give a short demo but it makes sense to what your customer need, you have done the job right. Its not necessary that you have to mention all the features, which makes your customer tired in most cases.