Pain and Gain: Aligning Technical Sales

In this curated episode of the Revenue Builders Podcast, John
McMahon and John Kaplan are joined by John Care from Mastering
Technical Sales to discuss the crucial role of Sales Engineers
(SEs) in the sales process. They explore the dynamics between SEs
and Account Executives (AEs), the importance of thorough
discovery, and how SEs can leverage both pain and gain to drive
successful sales outcomes. Tune in to learn how effective
collaboration and a balanced approach to technical sales can
transform your sales strategy.


KEY TAKEAWAYS


[00:00:28] The Role of Sales Engineers in Sales Dynamics: SEs
often act as a counterbalance to AEs by slowing down the process
to ensure thorough discovery and alignment with customer
needs.
[00:01:15] Importance of Discovery in Sales: Effective discovery
is crucial for understanding customer problems and setting the
stage for successful demos and proof of concepts (POCs).
[00:02:02] The "Dash to Demo" Pitfall: Rushing to present demos
without proper discovery can lead to generalized demonstrations
and undefined criteria for success.
[00:03:00] Balancing Pain and Gain: While most deals are driven
by pain points, understanding and leveraging potential gains can
significantly differentiate your sales approach.
[00:05:36] The Power of Storytelling in Sales: Using
before-and-after stories of other customers can effectively
highlight the benefits of a solution and engage prospects
emotionally.


HIGHLIGHT QUOTES


[00:00:57] "The biggest point of friction between sales engineers
and account execs is the speed of the transaction, particularly
when it relates to discovery."
[00:02:09] "One of the most popular workshops that we deliver is
called business value discovery, and it's really, we say, you
have to paint the target before you can shoot at it."
[00:03:23] "Everybody in the world, every sales methodology, says
find the pain, solve the pain, you'll get the deal. However,
about 20 percent of deals are driven by gain."
[00:04:41] "The difference between a good SC and a world-class SC
is that they can find the gain and that extra 20 percent of deals
that they can put in pipeline to help the AE."
[00:07:18] "The best sales conversations include pain and gain.
One without the other is not a very successful sales call."


Listen to the full episode with John Care
through this link: 
https://revenue-builders.simplecast.com/episodes/the-value-of-sales-engineers-in-the-sales-process-with-john-care/


Check out John McMahon’s book here:
Amazon Link: https://a.co/d/1K7DDC4


Check out Force Management’s Ascender platform
here: 
https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/