What is Sales Engineering?
"ENGINEERING IS THE ACTION OF WORKING ARTFULLY TO BRING SOMETHING ABOUT" AND "THE BRANCH OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CONCERNED WITH THE DESIGN AND BUILDING".
A sales process is a set of repeatable steps that each salesperson takes to guide your prospect to a singular point.
Sales Engineering combines both concepts by applying a set of proven principals and concepts to your sales systems and drive results. It is both the science of selling with the technology which enhances the process.
WHY DO YOU NEED A SALES ENGINEERING?
- To ensure your Execution is Repeatable
- Consistent Evaluation
- Understanding where the prospect is in their evaluation/buying process
- Improved productivity/efficiency
- Improved personal sales effectiveness
- Reduced cost of sale
- Improved forecasting accuracy
Imagine yourself running a 10k marathon. There is a start, a middle and an end. You have ran the 10k several times before. Therefore, you know the hurdles very well. You know when the end is coming and you know how much energy you have to save to finish the 10k. You also know, there aren't any shortcuts. 10k is 10k. You might run it faster than last time, but you still had to go through each street, each turn, same as before, until you get to the finish line.
A well engineered sales process is the same. You need to take your prospect through the steps, if you try to find a short cut, and still arrive at the finish line, you wouldn't have run 10k and therefore, you won't get the sale.
When speaking about sales you always have to speak in %'s. This means, what works MOST of the time. Don't fall into the trap of... well, it worked once for me and has never worked again, but because it worked once, I will keep doing it, because it was easy and I will hope it works again.
The best thing about a sales process is that it has already been mapped out, developed, improved, even mastered. You don't need to reinvent the wheel. You just need to listen and learn from those who already know it. Those who have dedicated their lives to selling, in order to understand how to apply those principals to your company.
If you do not understand the principals and have not been formally taught, it is your responsibility as a founder to understand the language of all teams. Several of my non-techy clients take a coding course just to understand the language and process of coding. My tech-y clients take a finance course, to understand the principals of finance. If you are not a trained sale professional, take the time to learn the principals of setting up a sales team to ensure you are speaking the language and providing your team with the tools they need to succeed.
Sales for Startup works with founders to teach them the foundation of what they need to know before hiring a sales teams. Get in touch if this sounds like something you should be doing.