Comments on: 7 Steps to Prepare an Engineer for a Sales Call http://gregstrosaker.com/2010/01/7-steps-to-prepare-an-engineer-for-a-sales-call/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=7-steps-to-prepare-an-engineer-for-a-sales-call Greg Strosaker on leadership, marketing, strategy, productivity, parenting autism, and running Mon, 16 Aug 2010 20:39:29 +0000 hourly 1 By: Greg Strosaker http://gregstrosaker.com/2010/01/7-steps-to-prepare-an-engineer-for-a-sales-call/comment-page-1/#comment-142 Greg Strosaker Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:15:50 +0000 http://gregstrosaker.com/?p=150#comment-142 Thanks for your comment Claudine. Striking the right balance between answering and asking continues to be a challenge for us; one other issue we are struggling through with our application engineers is that they often simply respond to a customers question without understanding what is driving the question. For example, if they are asked for a quote, they view delivering the quote as the goal, not necessarily getting the sale. We are working with them to try and understand the customer's needs better, to see if maybe what we are quoting is not the right product after all. On the flip side though, we have a few engineers who provide way too much information. We are working hard to coach both ends of the spectrum on how to strike the right balance. Thanks for your comment Claudine. Striking the right balance between answering and asking continues to be a challenge for us; one other issue we are struggling through with our application engineers is that they often simply respond to a customers question without understanding what is driving the question. For example, if they are asked for a quote, they view delivering the quote as the goal, not necessarily getting the sale. We are working with them to try and understand the customer's needs better, to see if maybe what we are quoting is not the right product after all. On the flip side though, we have a few engineers who provide way too much information. We are working hard to coach both ends of the spectrum on how to strike the right balance.

]]> By: Greg Strosaker http://gregstrosaker.com/2010/01/7-steps-to-prepare-an-engineer-for-a-sales-call/comment-page-1/#comment-51 Greg Strosaker Tue, 02 Feb 2010 11:15:50 +0000 http://gregstrosaker.com/?p=150#comment-51 Thanks for your comment Claudine. Striking the right balance between answering and asking continues to be a challenge for us; one other issue we are struggling through with our application engineers is that they often simply respond to a customers question without understanding what is driving the question. For example, if they are asked for a quote, they view delivering the quote as the goal, not necessarily getting the sale. We are working with them to try and understand the customer's needs better, to see if maybe what we are quoting is not the right product after all. On the flip side though, we have a few engineers who provide way too much information. We are working hard to coach both ends of the spectrum on how to strike the right balance. Thanks for your comment Claudine. Striking the right balance between answering and asking continues to be a challenge for us; one other issue we are struggling through with our application engineers is that they often simply respond to a customers question without understanding what is driving the question. For example, if they are asked for a quote, they view delivering the quote as the goal, not necessarily getting the sale. We are working with them to try and understand the customer's needs better, to see if maybe what we are quoting is not the right product after all. On the flip side though, we have a few engineers who provide way too much information. We are working hard to coach both ends of the spectrum on how to strike the right balance.

]]> By: uberVU - social comments http://gregstrosaker.com/2010/01/7-steps-to-prepare-an-engineer-for-a-sales-call/comment-page-1/#comment-50 uberVU - social comments Tue, 02 Feb 2010 07:30:43 +0000 http://gregstrosaker.com/?p=150#comment-50 <strong>Social comments and analytics for this post...</strong> This post was mentioned on Twitter by GAStroz: New blog post: 7 Steps to Prepare an Engineer for a Sales Call http://bit.ly/drMzwG... Social comments and analytics for this post…

This post was mentioned on Twitter by GAStroz: New blog post: 7 Steps to Prepare an Engineer for a Sales Call http://bit.ly/drMzwG...

]]> By: Claudine Motto http://gregstrosaker.com/2010/01/7-steps-to-prepare-an-engineer-for-a-sales-call/comment-page-1/#comment-49 Claudine Motto Mon, 01 Feb 2010 23:06:01 +0000 http://gregstrosaker.com/?p=150#comment-49 Great insights, Greg. Your post reminds that everything, even asking questions, is best done in moderation. Too little questions, and we're doing too much talking, and not enough listening. Too many questions, we overwhelm the client and perhaps in some instances even make him/her feel "interrogated" or judged for whatever issues they may be experiencing. This "moderation" applies to the follow-through as well - the answers to the customer's questions should have just enough detail to answer the question the question appropriately, with an invitation to ask for more if wanted/needed. Great insights, Greg. Your post reminds that everything, even asking questions, is best done in moderation. Too little questions, and we're doing too much talking, and not enough listening. Too many questions, we overwhelm the client and perhaps in some instances even make him/her feel “interrogated” or judged for whatever issues they may be experiencing. This “moderation” applies to the follow-through as well – the answers to the customer's questions should have just enough detail to answer the question the question appropriately, with an invitation to ask for more if wanted/needed.

]]> By: Greg Strosaker http://gregstrosaker.com/2010/01/7-steps-to-prepare-an-engineer-for-a-sales-call/comment-page-1/#comment-48 Greg Strosaker Sat, 30 Jan 2010 12:19:50 +0000 http://gregstrosaker.com/?p=150#comment-48 Hi Jim, thanks for your comments and glad it worked this time. I did overlook the idea that visiting a customer can (and should) be viewed as a reward for an engineer. In fact, it should be emphasized up front that time in front of the customer is precious and should be relished. As such, it makes appropriate preparations all that much more important, to maximize the value of this all-to-rare of an opportunity.<br><br>Hope the year is off to a good start for you. Hi Jim, thanks for your comments and glad it worked this time. I did overlook the idea that visiting a customer can (and should) be viewed as a reward for an engineer. In fact, it should be emphasized up front that time in front of the customer is precious and should be relished. As such, it makes appropriate preparations all that much more important, to maximize the value of this all-to-rare of an opportunity.

Hope the year is off to a good start for you.

]]> By: jimmatorin http://gregstrosaker.com/2010/01/7-steps-to-prepare-an-engineer-for-a-sales-call/comment-page-1/#comment-47 jimmatorin Sat, 30 Jan 2010 12:14:32 +0000 http://gregstrosaker.com/?p=150#comment-47 I enjoy your process including an engineer in a solutions based sale. Too many companies fail to recognize how critical is it to include other members of the organization in their sales calls. Rationale: 1.) Demonstrates commitment to the customer, 2.) Opens the eyes of the ancillary support team – being in food when I worked for a manufacturer I would involve R&D, logistics or customer service so they would get a better understanding of what happens on the front line, thus understand how critical their component was in making our company successful; and C.) It was a fun break for the ancillary support team, a form of reward from their day to day routine, a way to motivate. I enjoy your process including an engineer in a solutions based sale. Too many companies fail to recognize how critical is it to include other members of the organization in their sales calls. Rationale: 1.) Demonstrates commitment to the customer, 2.) Opens the eyes of the ancillary support team – being in food when I worked for a manufacturer I would involve R&D, logistics or customer service so they would get a better understanding of what happens on the front line, thus understand how critical their component was in making our company successful; and C.) It was a fun break for the ancillary support team, a form of reward from their day to day routine, a way to motivate.

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