As a sales engineer, you are responsible for demonstrating the value of your solution to potential customers. But how do you communicate the results of your sales engineering to your internal and external stakeholders? In this article, we will cover some best practices for sharing the outcomes of your sales engineering, including:
Before you start any sales engineering project, you should define your goals and success criteria. What are you trying to achieve with your solution? How will you measure the impact of your sales engineering on the customer's business objectives? How will you align your goals with the sales team and the customer's expectations? By setting clear and realistic goals, you will be able to plan your sales engineering activities, track your progress, and evaluate your results.
Gaining alignment between the key internal stakeholders (namely Sales Leadership, Product, and/or Marketing) is key. Without alignment from a strategic standpoint, it will be difficult to tell a compelling story about the downstream impact and get the buy-in necessary to make your initiative successful.
The first step in defining the KPIs and metrics to track in sales operations is defining the company's commercial objectives. These objectives must be quantifiable, measurable and achievable so that they can be monitored effectively. For example, a business objective might be increasing the number of new customers acquired, reducing the time sales teams spend on administrative tasks, or improving the conversion rate of opportunities to sales.
One of the key aspects of sharing the results of your sales engineering is to document your process. This means recording the steps you took to design, configure, test, and present your solution, as well as the feedback, questions, and objections you received from the customer. Documenting your process will help you to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your solution, highlight the value propositions and differentiators, and provide evidence and data to support your claims.
A report is a formal and structured way of communicating the results of your sales engineering to your stakeholders. A report should include the following elements: an executive summary, an introduction, a solution overview, a results analysis, a conclusion, and a call to action. A report should be concise, clear, and compelling, using visuals, charts, and graphs to illustrate your points. A report should also be tailored to your audience, focusing on the benefits and outcomes that matter to them.
A presentation is a dynamic and interactive way of communicating the results of your sales engineering to your stakeholders. A presentation should complement your report, not repeat it. A presentation should include the following elements: an agenda, a problem statement, a solution overview, a results analysis, a value proposition, and a call to action. A presentation should be engaging, persuasive, and confident, using stories, examples, and testimonials to demonstrate your credibility. A presentation should also be adaptable, allowing you to adjust your content and delivery based on the feedback and reactions of your audience.
The last step of sharing the results of your sales engineering is to follow up and iterate. This means reaching out to your stakeholders after your report and presentation, asking for their feedback, questions, and concerns. It also means addressing any gaps or issues that may arise, and refining your solution based on the customer's needs and preferences. By following up and iterating, you will be able to build trust and rapport with your stakeholders, and move them closer to the final decision.
A project is only as successful as the commitment and buy-in you get from both ICs and sales leadership. In my experience, success is made much more achievable if you collaborate with the ICs in your business to ensure they have their “fingerprints” on the project and if sales leadership has a level of commitment to hold their teams accountable to the processes that enable partnership between sales and presales.