sales person | Sales Aerobics for Engineers ® Blog

When the Price Pitch Falls Short

March 7, 2013 By Babette Ten Haken Leave a Comment

We recently vacationed in Hawaii. We bought a mini-option on a timeshare a while back. It was one of those use it or lose it deals. So we used it. We knew part of the deal involved attending one of those sessions where corporate sales folks try to get you to go all-in and buy a time share.

Considering the line of work I am in, I was interested in how they were going to approach us. The program is offered by a first-class company, so I didn’t hesitate to sign us up. I was interested in experiencing how the sales professionals were going to position their investment opportunity to us. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Sales, Pitching & Business Development Tagged With: being pitched to, Clayton M. Christensen, investment opportunity, objections to purchase, pitching at, price-value, sales person, The Innovator's Dilemma

Bright Shiny Objects and Whiskers on Kittens

February 7, 2013 By Babette Ten Haken Leave a Comment

Having trouble staying focused on the task at hand due to all the opportunities your core competencies appear to entitle you to pursue?

You are not alone.

Even if your mature business or start-up has generated a business plan, you feel the world is your potential oyster. Everyone can benefit from your product, platform or service. Well, maybe.

As the CEO of your start-up, you task your first hire, the VP of Business Development, with the goal of “going out there and selling to anyone who will buy.” After all, they are the consummate sales person with an immaculate and impressive resume. That’s why you hired them. They can sell. Not something you want to be doing. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Entrepreneurs and StartUps, Professional Development & Social Selling, Sales, Pitching & Business Development Tagged With: Angel investor, business development, mature business, sales person, sales type, selling, start-up, VP of Sales

You talk. They think. Anyone listen?

December 7, 2012 By Babette Ten Haken Leave a Comment

This is not another post about why you need to shut up and listen. Not all of us talk all the time. Some of us tend to be quiet, because we are thinking. That’s how we process information. However, the quieter we become, the more you talk. Nature abhors a vacuum. And if you are talkative, you can’t stand the silence. It doesn’t matter whether you are a gregarious engineer or a left-brain sales person or sales engineer.

So you fill it with yakity-yak, hoping you’ll get some attention to whatever it is you have to say.

Avoid Being Marginalized in Your Sales Role

October 4, 2012 By Babette Ten Haken Leave a Comment

Are you a sales person who avoids calling on manufacturing and technology-intensive companies full of engineers? Then you are limiting your sales potential. Because you feel the type of personalities in these companies make you feel stupid.

I’m speaking to you in these two scenarios. Read on.

Scenario 1: Business is getting harder and harder to acquire in this post-recession, global economy. Every appointment you make, phone conversation you have, prospecting voicemail and email message you leave, counts. It counts a lot. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Professional Development & Social Selling, Sales, Pitching & Business Development Tagged With: engineering-intensive, engineers, manufacturing, sales person, sales spiels

Where Do Sales Engineers Fit In? Guest post by Aynur M. Akyaz

August 15, 2012 By Babette Ten Haken Leave a Comment

Several months ago, sales engineer Aynur M. Akyaz asked the question: “Sales Engineers – Where do we fit in?” on the Sales Engineering Professionals and the Electrical Sales Engineers LinkedIn discussion groups. Over the past few months, many of us joined in this discussion. Depending on where you sit around the table, you see the same thing differently. She asked the question based on her own observations of others, as well as her own experiences. Her insightful summary of these collaborative discussions are today’s guest post.

“I have read every post and wanted to thank everyone for their insight and opinion. I find it interesting that we’ve carried such a spirited debate only to be summarized with the same bottom line: the question I posed doesn’t have a black or white answer.

The right balance of sales and engineering is completely based upon what the customer expects the output to be. Does he or she want brownies or is it cake?