Generally a flashy gross sales presentation won’t get the job completed.
Relying in your product/service or who you might be talking with, it’s possible you’ll must get extra technical in your gross sales method.
That is the place a gross sales engineer turns into an enormous asset to your workforce.
A gross sales engineer is sort of a player-coach — one half gross sales, one half engineering. They have to possess in depth, usually technical, services or products data. Usually, it is a function within the B2B world… promoting extra complicated merchandise to different companies.
This text will talk about why a gross sales engineer can velocity up your gross sales cycle and enhance shut charges, define the objectives of a gross sales engineer, the assorted instruments they use and discover whether or not or not your workforce wants one. Oh, and we could discuss Gong right here and there.
Wait. Do I actually need a gross sales engineer?
Sure!
No!
Properly, it relies upon.
Listed below are 3 indicators indicating the necessity for a gross sales engineer in your workforce:
- You promote a technical product
Many merchandise could be categorized as “technical” — from “conventional” SaaS options to AI/machine-learning platforms.
If, as a part of your gross sales pitch, you end up utilizing phrases like API, DaaS, multi-tenancy, cloud bursting, latency, VPC, VPN, or latency, effectively, you possible promote a technical product.
If you happen to discover a lot of your gross sales calls are with CTOs or engineers or builders, you possible promote a technical product.
If you realize what you promote however should not totally certain the way it works, effectively, you possible promote a technical product.
You want a gross sales engineer as a part of your workforce.
- You promote a product that integrates with quite a lot of totally different methods in your shopper’s aspect
Some merchandise are “out of the field” or “plug and play.” You merely grant entry, assign a login and password, and you might be off.
However that’s only for the fundamentals. As of late, many SaaS merchandise carry out even higher with integrations — turning your answer from good (or nice) to OMG, THIS IS AMAZING.
When your buyer’s tech stack performs properly together with your tech, there may be usually a necessity for extra technical minds to have some conversations. In different phrases …
You want a gross sales engineer as a part of your workforce.
- Your gross sales cycles get caught in technical discussions
The gross sales course of is buzzing alongside. You’ve successfully moved from chilly name/e mail to discovery to certified lead. After which …
You hit a bump. Technical conversations. You kinda sorta know what you might be speaking about, however you might be all of a sudden in a (digital?) room with the CTO and their workforce. You are feeling a contact out of your factor, barely in over your head.
You possibly can fumble by issues, however it will get awkward having to always say, “Can I get again to you?” or “I’m fairly certain it could possibly do this, however let me examine.”
Guess what?
You want a gross sales engineer as a part of your workforce.
Don’t promote a technical product? Don’t have a product that integrates with totally different methods? Don’t have gross sales calls caught in tech-talk? Properly, you in all probability don’t want a gross sales engineer.
(You possibly can cease studying now. Or not. I imply, it’s actually your name. You’ve learn this far … why not simply end?)
What does a Gross sales Engineer (SE) actually do?
So now you realize you want a gross sales engineer as a part of your workforce. Test and examine.
However what does that particular person actually do? What are their objectives?
An SE actually has the identical purpose as a “regular” salesperson: WIN MORE DEALS.
Any stable SE ought to be the technical useful resource for gross sales reps, the one that jumps into calls and conferences and offers to assist prospects … and in the end win the account.
Particularly, SEs:
Speak in-depth about supported integrations
In terms of all issues integrations, your SE is aware of all of it — in-depth, intimately. Likewise, they’re effectively versed within the newest and biggest integrations your group presents.
Even higher: They know which of them work greatest in your buyer. SEs can present a high-level overview to a big group or go within the weeds and geek it out.
Focus on safety and privateness issues
In right this moment’s hypersensitive privateness world, safety, up-time, privateness — all of it — will possible come up on each single gross sales name. Most salespeople can tick by the speaking factors, however few are skilled to talk to the extent essential to appease true safety and privateness people.
SEs stroll the stroll and speak the speak in the case of talking intelligently on how their platform or service offers with safety and privateness. Certain, they’ll level to the privateness web page that lives on the corp web page, however they’ll communicate to it confidently?
Assist prospects perceive integrations with unsupported methods, particularly APIs.
Whereas integrations are A-MAZ-ING, there are occasions when tying two disparate methods collectively shouldn’t be straightforward as a login/password.
Integrating with unsupported methods, particularly APIs, is one thing a well-trained SE ought to be capable to do with their eyes closed… or perhaps one eye closed.
Help with information migrations
Lastly, an SE price their weight in gold will be capable to assist prospects migrate information from their prior vendor into your answer. Generally information migrations are as “easy” as a fast export/import; different instances, it’s extra complicated and really particular to the client’s service.
That is the place an SE is available in — for the “non-normal” information migrations.
In addition to the 4 duties outlined above, prime SEs may leap into “non-technical” gross sales calls if wanted. They’re an enormous asset to any group — somebody that rapidly turns into a prime gross sales reps’ BFF.
What instruments does a Gross sales Engineer have of their arsenal?
In a pre-SaaS world, SEs had one “instrument” … themselves!
The most effective-of-the-best SEs used to differentiate themselves by the quantity of trade and institutional data — most of which lived of their heads (and perhaps on authorized pads).
Quick ahead to the twenty first century, and there may be now highly effective software program that homes a lot of that data. Certain the SE nonetheless has to know their stuff and be on the prime of their sport, however numerous software program makes their lives that a lot simpler.
And the RIGHT software program means SEs can reply questions rapidly, and accurately, be on message, and study from their friends.
At Gong (we warned you we’d discuss Gong “right here and there”), we’ve the software program to assist nearly each worker inside your group, together with Gross sales Engineers.
- Name recording software program: Discover what separates the most effective from the remaining. Gong’s name recording software program helps sellers degree up their expertise by listening to best-of-the-best gross sales name recordings from prime performers. Our platform permits gross sales reps to share snippets with their SE earlier than moving into the decision. Moreover, SEs can study from their friends. Discover out what works (and what doesn’t) by digging into data-driven suggestions and studying what a successful dialog feels like.
- Gross sales monitoring software program: Our platform offers complete deal visibility. Our gross sales monitoring instrument offers all the group entry to each buyer touchpoint (name, e mail, net conferencing) all through each deal, offering a transparent view into your pipeline. Realizing what’s within the pipeline is now not reserved for gross sales reps solely. Now SEs are “within the know.” As well as, they’ll observe the ROI of key initiatives supported by the workforce.
- Income Intelligence: Don’t wish to enter name notes into Salesforce manually? Neither can we. With Gong, you’ll be able to routinely report and log calls into Salesforce with the Gong for Salesforce integration. Import conversations and observe exercise in accounts, alternatives, contacts and leads in Salesforce with name recording from Gong. Get hyper-accurate exercise information and all the time up-to-date data routinely to see the place your workforce is performing (and the place they’re falling behind).
Gong does all of that…
… and extra.
Name recording.
Gross sales monitoring.
Recording and logging calls into Salesforce.
These are just some of the numerous methods Gong’s Income Intelligence platform helps prospects unlock actuality and gas their income engine.
Gong provides science to the artwork of promoting that can assist you win extra offers.
Find out how we may also help your Gross sales Engineers and your whole group.
Rating this presentation template in your subsequent SE name
So that you’re trying to step up your Gross sales Engineering sport.
The most effective (and quickest) method to do this: Use this data-backed gross sales presentation template.
You’ll study which slides to chop out of your workforce’s deck (these 5 are identified offenders that diminish gross sales effectiveness).
And what to current as a substitute so you’ll be able to shut extra offers.
It’s as straightforward as copy, paste, win.