Mastering Technical Sales: The Sales Engineer’s Handbook

Mastering Technical Sales The Sales Engineer’s Handbook Third Edition For a complete listing of titles in the Artech House Technology Management and Professional Development Series, turn to the back of this book. Mastering Technical Sales The Sales Engineer’s Handbook Third Edition John Care Aron Bohlig Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book is available from the U.S. Library of Congress. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Cover design by John Gomes ISBN 13: 978-1-60807-744-1 © 2014 John Care and Aron Bohlig 685 Canton Street Norwood, MA 02062 All rights reserved. Printed and bound in the United States of America. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.   All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be trademarks or service marks have been appropriately capitalized. Artech House cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contents Acknowledgments xix 1  Introduction: Why Study Technical Sales? 1 New SE 4 Experienced SE 4 Sales Managers and Sales Trainers 5 Sales Representative 5 Marketing and Product Management 6 Technical Consultants 6 2  An Overview of the Sales Process 7 Definition of the Market 8 Marketing Campaigns Customer Events Trade Shows and Seminars Mailing Lists and Outbound Calling Campaigns Partners Web-Based Form or “Fremium” Products 8 8 9 9 9 9 Lead Qualification 10 RFP 10 Discovery and First Customer Engagement 11 Present, Demonstrate, and Propose Presentation Demonstration Proposal 11 11 11 11 v vi Mastering Technical Sales: The Sales Engineer’s Handbook Proof of Concept (Optional) 12 Negotiations: Close or Lose—Getting the Deal 12 Post-Sales Support and Ongoing Account Management 12 Summary 13 3  Lead Qualification 15 Lead Quality Lead Ratings Qualification Criteria Budget Time Frame Fit: Do the Prospect’s Needs Match Your Solution? 17 17 18 18 19 20 Effective Lead Qualification Competitive Implications of Technical Qualification Criteria Making the Decision To Say No Defending Your Position When the Sales Rep Disagrees Low-Cost Fallback Strategies 21 21 21 22 22 Internal Roles in the Lead Qualification Process Sales Representative Inside Sales/Lead Development Sales Management SE Care and Feeding of the Inside Sales Team 23 23 23 24 24 24 Lead Qualification in Action: The Process with Three Common Scenarios Solicited Leads Un