Mastering Technical Sales.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Care, John.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

High technology industries--Marketing.

High technology industries.

High technology industries--Technological innovations.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (403 pages)

Edition:

4th ed.

Place of Publication:

Norwood : Artech House, 2022.

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

This bestselling book -- now in its Fourth Edition - has become the gold standard for Sales Engineers, who engage on the technical side of the sales and buying process and are the people who know how everything works. It helps you navigate a complex and ever-changing technical sales environment and become an effective bridge-builder between the business/commercial interests and the technical details that support the sale. Written by one of the foremost experts in this field, the handbook presents everything you need to improve your skills and increase your value to the sales team. Chapters are written in a modular fashion so that you can choose topics most relevant to you at the moment - or follow them in order as they build upon each other and give you the complete A to Z on your role. Each chapter is short enough so that you can read through it in 10-15 minutes and apply the learning the next day. You'll find actionable hints, case studies, and anecdotes illustrating the topics with lessons learned, both positive and negative. The book helps you: understand the unique role of the Sales Engineer, from the broad picture to the nuances of the job; develop skills needed to become a valuable consultant to your team and the customer team; utilize best practices for creating and completing winning RFPs; effectively integrate global practices into your day-to-day activities; increase your ability think on a more strategic level; become a trusted advisor to executive customers. With this completely updated and expanded edition of Mastering Technical Sales in hand, you will achieve a better win rate, experience higher customer satisfaction, hit revenue targets, and feel greater job satisfaction. Newly added and revised chapters guide you through today's challenges, including the impact of the cloud and everything-as-a-service, new sales models (monthly vs. annual revenue commits), and the virtualization and automation that is now part of the Sales Engineer's world. This book is a must-have resource for both new and seasoned Sales Engineers within tech software, hardware, mechanical, and civil engineering vendors, along with management and leadership in those organizations, and anyone who must present, demonstrate or sell hi-tech items for a living.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

You, the Audience

Using the Book

The Bottom Line

Chapter 1 What Is a Sales Engineer?

Role #1: The Technical Engineer

Role #2: The Salesperson

Role #3: The Trusted Advisor and Consultant

Role #4: The Explainer of All Things (the Storyteller)

All the Other Skills

Summary

Chapter 2 An Overview of the Sales Process

Definition of the Market

The Marketing Campaign

Lead Qualification

Request for Proposal

Discovery and First Customer Engagement

Present, Demonstrate, and Propose

Proof of Concept

Negotiations: Closed Won or Closed Lost

Post-Sales Support and Account Management

Chapter 3 Lead Qualification

Lead Generation

Initial Lead Qualification

Lead Quality

Monitoring the Incoming Leads

Chapter 4 The RFP Process

The Creation of an RFP

The Truth Behind Three RFP Myths

The Go or No-Go Decision

Response Team Infrastructure

Scoring the RFP

RFP Avoidance Strategies

The Alternate Response

Completing the RFP

Presenting the RFP

Chapter 5 Technical Discovery

Initial Research-Before the Main Engagement

Prelude: The Three Behavioral Crimes of Discovery

Tell

Accept

Guess

The Basic Methodology

The Inputs

The Middle Layer/Process

The Outputs

The Visualization

The (Optional) Magic Wand

Chapter 6 Goals Business Value Discovery 1: Pains and Gains

The Sales Engineer Concept of Pain

Latent Pain

Current Pain

Vision Pain

How Not to Talk About Your Technology

The Heart of the Process

Gather a Complete List

Verify That the List Is Complete

Ask Permission to Add Your Own

Prioritize the List

Chapter 7 Business Value Discovery 2: Time, Money, and People

The BVD Quadrants.

How Do You Know It Is a Problem (Evidence)?

What Is the Size of the Problem (Impact)?

How Will You Know When It Is Fixed (Evidence)?

What Is the Impact of the Problem Going Away?

Questions About Questions

The Closed-Ended Questions

The Open-Ended Question

The Nonquestion Question

Answers About Answers

The 3WM+M Approach

The Time, Money, and People Approach

You Can Be the Expert

The Preliminary Financial Checkpoint-a Cost/Impact Comparison

Chapter 8 The FABulous Sales Engineer

Some Basic Definitions

The Sales Engineer Problem

A Classic Nontechnical Example

A More Functional Example

The Fuzziness of Benefits

FAB in a Zero Discovery Setting

Back to Being FABulous

Chapter 9 Successful Customer Engagement

The Technical Account Plan

People: The Organizational Chart

Installs: The Product Chart

Projects: The Initiative Chart

"Coolness": The Technology Adoption Chart

First Contact

Where to Focus

Find a Coach

Now What?

Chapter 10 The Perfect Pitch: Structure

Pay Attention to the Attention Curve

Developing a Focused Message

Start with Structure: Success = RM + 3KP

Drill Down on Solution and Proof Points

Organize the Ideas

Focus the Key Points

Transfer to Your Delivery Mechanism

Chapter 11 The Perfect Pitch: Delivery

Nonverbal Delivery Skills

Physical Appearance

Posture

Eye Contact

Gestures

Movement

Facial Expressions

Verbal Delivery Skills

Pace

Pitch

Tone

Volume

Articulation

Start with a Bright and Beautiful Beginning

Make a Fantastic Finish

Using Your Nervous Energy

Presenting to Large Groups

Chapter 12 The Dash to Demo

Why Does the Dash to Demo Occur?

Failing to Plan Is Planning to Fail

The Agenda

Before You Even Start.

Preparing the Way

Engaging the Audience

Back to the Dash to Demo

Checkpoint Charlie

Chapter 13 Building the Demo

The Pain of the Demo (Customer Perspective)

Introducing the Demo GPS Roadmap

Building the Demo GPS Roadmap

Using the Demo GPS Roadmap

Chapter 14 Remote Demonstrations and Presentation

The Basic Premise

Advantages and Disadvantages

Know Your Customer

Know Your Technology

Know Your Product and Know Your Demo

Chapter 15 Whiteboarding and Visual Selling

The Power of Whiteboarding

The Drawbacks of Whiteboarding

Whiteboarding Within the Sales Cycle

Getting Started

The Overall Content

The Visuals

Whiteboarding Mechanics 101

Stance

Timing and the Chunk

Cadence and Rhythm

Speed and Handwriting

Artistic Ability and Iconization

The Implications of Color

Some Shortcuts (Cheats) from Customers

Using the Whiteboard as a Closing Tool

Chapter 16 Storytelling

The Good and the Bad of Stories and Sales

What Makes a Good Story-Structure and Syntax

Fine-Tuning the Story-Grammar and Numbers

A Special Case-The Conversational Customer Reference Story

Chapter 17 Evaluation Strategies

The Effort Scale (How Did We Get Here?)

Creating the Project Plan

How Do You Define Success?

How to Win: Determining the Success Criteria

Evaluating the Success Criteria

Intellectually Closing the Deal

Running a Proof of Concept

Phase 1: Document the Success Criteria

Phase 2: Mini-Discovery

Phase 3: Development

Phase 4: Test

Phase 5: Deployment

Phase 6: Demonstration and Validation

Phase 7: Presentation of Results

Don't Forget Training and Documentation

Don't Forget the Competition!

And Don't Forget the People

The Technical Win

Chapter 18 Answering Questions.

Listen, Accept, Clarify, and Execute-The LACE Strategy

Listen to the Customer

Accept the Question

Clarify Everything

Execute the Answer

Categorizing the Questions

The Standard Question

The Coach Question

The Competitive Question

The Consultants Question

The Seymour Question

The Hostile Question

Chapter 19 The Trusted Advisor Sales Engineer

The Quantitative Benefits of Trust

Defining the Trusted Advisor

An Introduction to the Trust Equation

Credibility (C)

Reliability (R)

Intimacy (I)

Self-Orientation (S)

Positivity (P)

The Automatic Trust Advantage of the Sales Engineer

Creating Your Own Trust Scale

Calculating the T Score

Using Trust in the Buying Process

Some SE Specifics

Chapter 20 The Executive Connection

An Executive Definition

What Do They Want from You?

Plan the Meeting

Setting the Stage

Follow the Money

Setting the Goals of the Meeting

You Are the Expert

Execute the Meeting

Presentation Ideas

Answering Questions

Follow-Up After the Meeting

The Informal Executive Connection

Chapter 21 Doing the Math and Proving Business Value

Proving the Value

How Do Customers Assess Value?

Typical Assessment Methods

The Importance of Time to Value

Closing the Loop

The Customer Does Have to Spend Money, Too

How Do Customers Create Budget?

Value Engineering and FinOps

Cloud Financial Operations

The Emotional Return on Investment

Chapter 22 The New SE: Getting Started

The Ramp Process

Setting Goals with Your Manager

The Need to Succeed

Boot Camp

Develop a 30-/90-/180-Day Plan

The Overall 30-90-180 Structure

The First Six Months

Find a Mentor

Read the Manual

Watch the Movies

Join the Club

Master the Product

Work in the Factory.

Practice, Practice, Practice

Know Your Customer Stories

Use Your Product (If You Can)

Get Feedback-from Everyone

Chapter 23 Creating Your Personal Brand

Defining Personal Brand

Building the Foundation

Creating the Statement

Using and Living the Brand

Honesty and Ethics

Chapter 24 Selling with and Through Partners

The Different Forms of Partnership

Working the Relationship and the Infrastructure

Defining Account Ownership

Rules of Engagement

Categorizing the Partners

Partner Enablement

The Special Role of the Partner Engineer

Chapter 25 Competitive Tactics

The Competitive Landscape

Your Number One Competitor

Identify Your Competition

Know Thine Enemy

Five Competitive Strategies for the SE

The Frontal Strategy

The Flanking Strategy

The Fragment Strategy

The Defend Strategy

The Develop Strategy

The Customer and the Competition

Reversing the Dirt

Chapter 26 Using the CRM System

Why CRM Is Your Best Friend

Time and People Management

The Beauty of Repeatability

Using the Features and Tapping Organizat

CRM and Personal Gain

Annual Review Time

Chapter 27 Compensation (Show Me the Money)

The Basic Components of a Plan

Fixed (Base) Salary

Variable Pay

MBOs and General Performance

Stock Options and Equity

Other Plans

Leveraging the Plan

Ramping

Who Else Cares?

Negotiating the Plan

What Is a Target?

Building the First Plan

Chapter 28 Moving into Sales

Skill Building

You Want to Do What?

Preparing for the Transition

What Are My Chances?

What Should I Expect?

Making It All Work

Chapter 29 Career Progression

Some Typical Organizational Structures

Behavioral Competencies

Functional Competencies.

The Many Paths to Greatness.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Other Format:

Print version: Care, John Mastering Technical Sales: the Sales Engineer's Handbook, Fourth Edition

ISBN:

9781523145751

1523145757

9781630818739

1630818739

OCLC:

1321802183