In a recent coffee shop meeting, we were in conversation with a business marketing consultant with considerable success with some large corporations that most of us would recognize. He volunteered the following, “…one thing I hate to do, and that is to sell. Okay, I really hate that so much. And that’s because (when I am selling) I don’t feel that I’m being truthful. As much as I want to be truthful. I believe that I’m always saying what I think they want to hear in order to get the sale. And I don’t like that.”
What he came to believe was that he is too direct for typical sales situations. “I will not talk to VPs. If you’re not the CEO with total P&L responsibility, I’m not interested in the conversation…with one exception”. If the people that he’s dealing with are engineers, he can be direct because of their tendency to look for proof and actual solutions. But people who are from other disciplines are more concerned about their career than the well being of the entity that they represent.
“I want to know what their problems are. I don’t really want to hear any good news. If you tell me good news, we’re not going to be successful. Just tell me what your problems are. I’ll fix your problems. And that’s my only way of selling. And it’s always worked; when I have that proper audience. And that’s why it works with engineers because they’re focused on solving problems. They’re focused on getting things to be better and better.”
I (Paul Bunn) found his words to be unusual or at least contrarian. Over the years, I have seldom heard of salespeople who ENJOYED selling to engineers. Until this moment, I didn’t really understand why.
I (Carl Ingalls) have had more experience as a consulting engineer than as a salesperson. In that role, I met quite a few salespeople who seemed to feel at home when selling to engineers. However, I am beginning to understand why so many people find engineers frustrating.
Paul Bunn and Carl Ingalls will discuss this topic, “Selling to Engineers” in an open discussion on Thursday 13 June 2024, as part of our High Probability Selling Community Forum Series. It will be on Zoom, starting at 10:00 AM (USA Eastern Time). If you want to be part of this, please register by providing your full name and email address on this webform. We will then email the Zoom invitation details to you. No charge.
