Engineers, whether you’re a sales engineer or not, are bound to sell something eventually. It could be either for your team, for a project, for your new startup company, or even yourself. But being able to learn how to actually persuade someone to buy what you’re pitching them can be difficult. Especially so, if you don’t have experience. With that in mind, here are some tips that we engineers can use improve our sales skills:
1) Reflect
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To be able to be a good salesperson, one needs to know what sales is. “Selling is not about putting undue pressure on and talking incessantly, all while wearing a light blue polyester suit,” says Scott Edinger, founder of the Edinger Consulting Group. Rather, selling “is persuading, inspiring, and leading. You need to work in collaboration with a client or colleague to drive change.” To do this, Edinger suggests reflecting on past negative and positive experiences as a customer. “When you think about the best sales interactions you’ve had in your life, it’s almost like the salesperson wasn’t there,” he says. “The seller was just a person who’d taken a genuine interest in your problem and was helping you solve it.”
2) Put yourself in their shoes
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“People buy for two reasons,” says Thomas Steenburgh, professor at the University of Virginia, Darden School of Business. “They either have a business problem that needs to be solved or they have a personal need, such as a desire to move up in the organization”. Your product should help accelerate such desire. You need to find your customer’s motivations. Do your research on the clients you’re trying to sell to before making your proposal. “Be empathetic. Focus on understanding the other party — what they need to accomplish and how they measure success.” This’ll help you personalize your recommendations for them.
3) Stay calm and don’t boast
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Even if you practice and prepare your sales pitch to someone, things can go wrong. Your adrenaline might surge through you during the actual pitch and you might end up talking too much about it or missing the point entirely. “Chill out.” Says Edinger. “Try to relax your facial expressions and keep your body language confident and loose. Check your tone and pacing. Nobody wants to be lectured. Be respectful but not overly deferential,” he explains. “Establish a peer-level interaction. You’re not begging on bended knee.”
Don’t get too cocky either. “Sometimes, you get caught up in “talking about your strengths, and not what your counterpart wants,” says Steenbergh. “At best, the person gets bored. And worst, it sends a message that you’re [not right] for the job.”
4) Think long term
Salespeople who have been working for years know that “you’re going to fail more than you will succeed,” says Steenburgh. “You just have to have the guts to keep moving forward.” Muster up your courage by remembering that it’s not always about you. Sometimes, your customer just has other interests to address. Sales is also rarely “a one-and-done deal.” If you’re unsuccessful on your first try, “go back to your target in three months and ask, ‘How’s it going? Are your needs being met?’ If they are, great, but if not,” then you might have another shot. “Think about the big picture.”
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