Tech People Are Sales People Too

Technical people are awesome to have on the team.  They often provide the resource, confidence, and expertise prospective customers need to commit to buying from you.  But have you ever had a technical person ruin a sale because they can’t stop talking?  Perhaps an engineer, accountant, project manager who has to inform the customer of their 2 billion combined years of experience on the team.  They’re hearts are in the right place and they mean well, but they are not trained in sales.  Customer wants somebody who listens and technical people aren’t naturally wired for that.

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Sales can be a complicated team effort involving engineers, accountants, IT, project managers, safety, field personnel, tech support and branch managers.  They have a belief that telling clients everything they know builds confidence when in fact that is the fastest way to lose a sale.  Customers want to be heard and technical people naturally want to talk.  So the opportunity to close more sales is to teach your technical people how to ask questions and listen to the true driving needs the customer describes.

Your competitor has 2 billion combined years of experience just like you and your organization.  Years of experience is a “so what” proposition.   Your sales proposition isn’t your years of experience.  What makes you unique in today’s sales environment is that you listen, engage people, and connect with them on an understanding level.  Your engineers, accountants, project managers are no longer there solely for technical support and process management.  Reframe your sales thinking by empowering these people to be integral salespeople, and that will close more sales.