How to Gain Confidence of Leaders in the Technology Industry

‘To Build A Long-Term, Successful Enterprise, When You Don’t Close A Sale, Open A Relationship.’ – Patricia Fripp

Running a technology services firm for years and staying successful is not rocket science. The goal becomes quite achievable if you can gain the confidence of the technology leaders. Of course, as the first step, you need to promote your services (or products) in a way that catches the eyes of the leaders. But that’s only part of the solution.

Being the CEO of IzelTech, which has been running successfully for more than a decade now, I, wanted to share a personal note on how I gained the confidence of the technology leaders, despite being a non-tech person myself. This has been key to our survival and growth. As a product development company, pretty much all the customers we work with occupy roles like CTO or VP Engineering. These are the folks that own the products that they trust us to build. So, how did they start trusting us?

However, before I get down to my own experience, let me give you an idea as to what most sales leaders will suggest you do.

·      Analyze different buyer personas

·      Check if your clients are a good fit for your services

·      Revamp your website from time to time

·      Invest in the content

·      Maintain a healthy relationship with your clients

Now, although these suggestions are quite important in the long run, these impact the top of the funnel largely. Even if you do everything here well, what happens when you get in front of a VP Engineering? How will the conversation drive confidence?

I feel that you have to first learn how to convince your clients about your credibility. That task is harder if you are not a tech-savvy person. As for me, I am not a software engineer, and it is unlikely that I will be aware of all the nitty-gritty of the technology that my clients talk about in their regular conversations.

But, I do what I have to do – Sell!

If you ask me how I approach these people, here’s what I think is important:

Gain Awareness through In-Depth Research

‘Sales Success Comes After You Stretch Yourself Past Your Limits On A Daily Basis.’ – Omar Periu

Before I approach any technological company for my services, I make sure that I am aware of all the markets their products operate in, their current status, latest trends, and product evolution. I conduct thorough research on their immediate stories and condition so that I can craft my selling strategy around those. When I do talk to them, I try to create a sales approach that fulfills their basic needs directly, instead of beating around the bush.

Focus on our credibility and feed information

Once I gain the client’s attention, I try to make them aware of our company’s credibility through well-crafted case studies and success stories, including the tech initiatives that we have taken. If they require some kind of specific information, I try my best to equip myself with the same. As my primary goal is to gain the confidence of the technology leaders, I feed myself with the information beforehand to make an impression. I see this almost like a slightly more involved form of key-word mapping. If the company has spoken of microservices in the past, have we can case studies about Containerization, for instance.

Try to keep your word

‘Approach Each Customer With The Idea Of Helping Him Or Her To Solve A Problem Or Achieve A Goal, Not Of Selling A Product Or Service.’ – Brian Tracy

The most important thing while pitching your services to a potential client is building a stable ground for a new relationship. Businesses fade away, but relationships don’t. And when you want to develop a strong relationship with your clients, you have to keep your word. As for me, if I ever promise to get back to someone with some information, I do it, even if it takes time, and even when that person has no particular interest in my services. That shows that my goal is not only to sell my services but also to build a relationship with him.

Help make the sales process smooth

When I try to pitch my services to the potential customers, my foremost motive is to make them realize that I know what they need the most. Once I am able to do that, and the client shows some interest in our services, I can always help them talk to my engineering team for the technological details they need. That will also improve transparency and reduce friction in the sales process. I try to show the effectiveness of our communication process and the strength of our technology people through this interaction.

Final Words

Trust and confidence are invariably the two biggest contributors in lead closure. I have always felt that the CTO of a technology company knows whom to have a technology conversation and whom to have a business conversation with. All you have to do is get their confidence to pave the path for a long-lasting relationship and make the sales process hassle-free. Of course, it’s important to nurture the newly-developed relationship and make sure you meet their expectations. No matter how good your marketing strategy, once in front of the prospect, this is what counts.