Challenges Faced by Sales Engineers

Sam: Any word on our FedEx opp? AE: Ya, the marketer said there's no budget, so I'm moving to other accounts. 😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑 My entire corporate career was selling to ENT accounts, and I'd recently promoted one of my favorite reps to ENT. But, selling to ENT is a different beast. 1. My reply to the above was "Bummer, what about the other 400 marketers we can sell to...?" ^^Think of every business line as its own company, effectively, and consider that some organizations are so silo'd that even teams with the same leader might do different things with different budgets. 2. The higher you go in title/responsibility, the more your standard disco won't cut it. You have to show up knowing something about your client, their space, and earn the 25 remaining minutes of your call in the first 5. The odds of hearing "What do you know about us before we proceed" are high. 3. Create groundswell via ICs and users. Prospect to the high titles, but don't stay there - you have to prospect to users, moles, hidden allies, and champions so everyone is helping you sell when you're not in the room. In 2013'ish, Andy Kellam was the AE selling my company LI Sales Nav and he invested time in selling to me as an AE, which meant I argued for Navigator in meetings he didn't attend - these small interactions not only pay off, they're critical. 4. Multithreading. 75% of opps are single-threaded, and that should alarm sales leaders because it's not that your reps don't want to do it, they just may not know how. "I don't want to ruffle feathers, go around this person, they told me they're the DM" <--all things we have to coach reps on. 1% of the time, multithreading may hurt you as you engage someone who puts the axe on your deal, but if you don't master this in even SMB/MM, you're killing your odds of deals closing. Also, pull a report of your deals forecasted for this Q or FY - how many are in the 75% or commit stages that are single-threaded? 🚨 5. Nurture like your life depends on it. If the deal is worth your time, it's worth your time to add value consistently. This isn't automated cadences, this is your brain building a process on how to interact and add value to all stakeholders. 6. Paperwork. Procurement is brutal at this level. There are approval levels, "your paper or mine?", random stamps that are needed, some companies outsource procurement, others have in it-house but outsource counsel, some let Directors spend 500K, others don't let them spend 5K. Invest time in learning the lessons from seasoned reps. Hell, pull a Slack group and ask "What's your one best procurement lesson" to the reps who have years of ENT scars, and put a one-pager together that you can hand over to onboarding or other leaders <--easy way to stand out internally and get broader exec visibility. 7. Resilience. Selling to this space is not for the weak. Thick skin, hype up music, and a way to keep plugging is critical. #samsales

Did you roll your eyes on this overused cartoon? The joke is on the sales person that does not understand the complexity of technology selling.  On the surface it seems like an obvious solution to a problem however selling new technology is a lot more challenging and takes a real understanding at many levels to get deployed and become useful in B2B relationships. You have to understand your customer’s business deeply and the massive amounts of change operationally, emotionally and politically to effectively deploy your product. You realize quickly that this rooky sales person is far too late and even if he sells a machine gun on the spot, it is unlikely to change the outcome of the battle and his company will be put in the penalty box for the foreseeable future even with the enormous advantages the product offers. Challenges to consider: Existing product supply chain relationships/management relationships – New technologies typically replace existing suppliers and make them obsolete. The current supplier of bows, arrows, feathers, lances, and swords who takes the king and council on lavish hunting trips, Medieval Football matches, taverns and more are NOT going to be supportive nor there clients they have on the hook. Years of supply chain systems are going to have to shift and adapt, also on hand inventory that can become obsolete overnight dragging down your inventory turns and possibly your inventory bonus yikes! Training – Swinging a sword or shooting an arrow is very different than firing a machine gun. You are going to have to convince the user buyers of the superiority of the product through existing management channels or provide comprehensive training and change management services. HSE – Arm protectors for Archers need to be replaced with earplugs and safety glasses. New safety workflows have to be created to ensure that the new product deployment does not harm the existing soldiers and warfare tactics. You BET it's going to increase your carbon footprint, so much for your next zero by 1530 goal. Repair and Service – Your entire service and repair infrastructure (blacksmithing) needs to be changed over to support machine gun, repair and support services. There will be stiff resistance and challenges from the workers fearing obsolescence and change. You can now see the joke is this sales person. Complex technology sales require a lot of work, a lot of research and properly done, needs to involve everyone from the king to the court jester ahead of the battle to do it right.

Your contact has probably NEVER purchased software before. 🤔 They were hired to do a specific job, not to navigate the complex world of buying software. That’s where YOU come in. As the salesperson, it’s your job to introduce the idea of building a financial business case 💰 -not wait for them to ask for it! A fancy demo is NOT going to help your “champion” get buy-in from other stakeholders. Here’s the challenge: -- >The biggest obstacle you’ll face isn’t a competitor. It’s the status quo 🛑. -- >The most likely outcome of your deal? No decision. 😞 Why does this happen? 👉 Poor value articulation. If your champion can’t clearly explain the ROI of your solution, they’ll struggle to secure the budget. But here’s the good news: YOU can fix this. 🙌 -- >Call out the elephant in the room 🐘: Acknowledge that budgets are tight. -- >Share your experience: Let them know that building a strong business case makes all the difference, and you’re here to help. -- >Be the guide they need: Take the lead in crafting the financial story that will resonate with other stakeholders. 🛠️ When YOU lead the way on the business case, you’re not just selling a product, you’re being a true consultant and setting your champion up for success. Remember: Selling isn’t “you vs. them.” It’s “you + them” vs. the challenges they face. 💪 Go be the quarterback of the deal! 🏈 Your buyer needs your guidance more than you think. Happy Selling Michael Farber