Trapp Technology’s Sales Manager, Brian Swartz, offers his industry knowledge on the art of the sell, to help others navigate through the changing landscape of technology sales.
It’s a problem facing many industries today, most especially prevalent in industries such as Technology, where hot buzzwords, products, and services are just as quickly in fashion as they are out. With so many industries relying on leveraging technology to be more efficient and increase productivity, the modern sales force has to be more versatile than ever before. From my experience, full product and service offering knowledge is now just the beginning. In order to succeed and thrive, I’ve found that these 5 skills are essential to help navigate through the changing landscape of technology sales.
The Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, Public, Private, Hybrid Cloud, Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), SaaS, “insert any word here” as a service, and BGP Bandwidth are a few of the names and phrases that are used in the tech industry. More specifically, in the sale of its products and solutions. The problem with these terms is that often times, the person you are selling to probably cannot tell you what any of them mean, much less how they can utilize them effectively in order to grow their business. That’s where education becomes fundamental.
Educating Tech Buyers
Your value proposition needs to clearly define why your product or service solves the client’s problem, increases ROI, and differentiates you from the competition. This is problematic if the client doesn’t have the necessary knowledge to decipher those features and benefits.
Sure, you may understand why a hybrid cloud is the best solution for your client’s situation, but their core competency is not in the technological arena. They use technology every day in their business but usually only look at making changes or implementing new technology when a situation arises that becomes painful. You must find a way to talk to them in terms that they can understand well enough to recognize your solution’s value.
Make note of which technical terms aren’t commonly used or understood and need clarification in your client interactions. Next time you’re making a sale and using those keywords, you will recognize them and be prepared with a simplified definition in layman’s terms. This should foster a connection on a personal level, and avoids the situation of talking down to them with terms and acronyms they don’t understand.
Get an Oil Change
It is much less expensive to change the oil in your car regularly than to replace the engine when it blows up, right? The same principle applies to technology, be proactive not reactive. Maintaining a close relationship with your clients allows you to recognize their long term needs and propose a proactive solution that will mitigate future risk while showing immediate returns. When your client realizes that you treat them as more than just another invoice number, then you’ve built the type of trust that fosters loyalty and leads to continuing profitability.
Consultative Sales vs. Transactional Sales
A consultative sales approach is often the best route to take. Sales 101 tells you to ask your potential customers open-ended questions, but it shouldn’t stop there. Allow them to talk about themselves, their business, their vision, their goals, and actively listen and take note. Because soon enough, you will both arrive at their true pain points. That is your golden opportunity to pair your product knowledge with the proper information that your potential customer will see the value in. Technology sales isn’t just about selling the product or service, it’s about being the client’s advocate and communicating the benefits in a way that your potential customer understands.
Doing Your Homework
Look for trends, understand the goals and overall technological operations strategy of the company you are selling to, research the challenges that are facing not only their specific company but their entire industry. If you are able to do this you will be ahead of the game and be able to steer the client where they need to go while making them feel like they arrived at the conclusion on their own.
Don’t Be Slimy
Let’s face it, many people have an impression of a sales professional as the disreputable, slick, car salesman type. Build trust with your client by being their advocate, do not sell them a solution they do not need simply because you can. Steer them to the option that truly addresses their needs and you will foster the long term relationship that leads to future sales and future success for both you and your client.
Brian Swartz is the Sales Manager for Trapp Technology, the construction software industry’s leader in cloud hosting, technology infrastructure, and outsourced IT solutions.
A professional sales executive with a consistent track record, Brian leads a team of internal sales representatives to identify opportunities, develop focus, and provide tactical business solutions. Using his consultative sales style and a keen client needs assessment aptitude, he crafts custom product packages built to make his clients more productive. Praised for his attention to detail and comprehensive knowledge of cloud hosting and managed services, Brian provides informed insight to the IT sales process. Outside of the office, Brian is an avid sports fan and enjoys golfing throughout the Phoenix valley.
