You are one of the top in your field. You know your stuff and many people come to you for advice. You are technicians, IT experts, engineers, owners of small and medium-sized engineering and technology companies... But you don't always have your own sales team. You're either too small to afford one, and so the business lies with a CEO who doesn't know much about it or doesn't have time for it. Or you're one of those for whom having a separate sales team is an afterthought. Because "we understand it best. We're the experts. We can do the business ourselves, there's nothing to it. We're not going to pay salespeople yet."
But when there is no one in the company who understands the business and knows how to set up the business process correctly, it starts to get scary. Sooner or later. More like sooner.
When an engineer has to do business
For many years I have been around technicians, engineers, IT specialists and other technical or technology experts who are true professionals at what they do. It's just that they're not business people. They don't have the expertise or experience, they don't care about business and they don't want to be in business. (And I'm glad for the minor exceptions.) Either they are forced into it by the boss, or they are the boss who has to find the contracts to keep the company alive.
Not to mention that for many of them, "sale" and "contract" are almost like a dirty word. Yet these non-salespeople are expected to bring business to the company on a regular basis in addition to their professional work. That they will find contacts, approach them, arrange and win contracts and look after clients themselves. Doing work that would be shared by the entire sales team in a larger firm...
So it's not surprising that the trading strategy of most of these non-traders looks something like this:
I'll meet a contact for coffee or a quick lunch.
Let's have a little chat.
I'll tell you what I'm doing.
I'll leave him acard.
And then I just hope he calls me when he needs something.
Experienced traders are now tearing their hair out. Because this can't work in the long term and bring in a steady income to the company. What is missing is follow-up, more precise and deeper questions to the client and above all a tailor-made offer that answers their problems... Moreover, the whole process often ends with the non-sales professional seeing the full CRM and getting the impression that they have secured the business for years to come. This stops him from going to meetings and looking for new clients. And he starts to focus on his professional work again. Too late, however, he realizes that the orders have suddenly run out and it will take at least half a year to get new ones in a company with a long sales cycle.
Learning to trade carries with it a huge opportunity
However, if an expert, technician, engineer or IT specialist learns a few tricks from experienced marketers, he or she will win and be taken care of for a long time.
The key to success is to be able to listen. To understand the client and offer them answers to their problems. If you're an IT expert and understand your client's technical needs, know the latest trends, but also take the time to explain how your client can use them more effectively, you b e c o m et h e most valuable asset they have. Plus, when you advise them on how technology can save them money, make their job easier or improve their status at work, customers will literally fight over you. Everyone will want you.
If you, the non-traders, can build a similarly efficient business process that works and generates orders, you won't have to spend as much time on it. Instead, you'll be able to throw yourself into what you really enjoy about working in IT, engineering or whatever your field is.
4 steps to success
According to George Brontén, non-traders should keep 4 steps in mind if they want to build a simple business process that really works. I agree with him and add a little of my own:
1. Go about it differently
Most non-sales professionals don't want to sell. But they have to. To succeed. How do we get out of this? Start thinking about the whole process differently. By selling, you're not only helping your company, you're helping your clients. Whether it's through your technical solutions that make their jobs easier and save costs, or your well-targeted advice on what could be useful and bring them further benefits. Look at the sales process as a way to help potential clients make good decisions that will benefit you and them in the long run.
2. Simplify it
The sales process should be as simple, efficient and customer-focused as possible for non-traders. Focus on your ideal clientele, where you have the best chance of delivering exactly what the customer wants. Make every single customer count, give them the care they need, ask them what they need. This will significantly improve conversions between stages of your sales cycle and at the end you will often find that you have closed more business with fewer leads.
3. Take the help of smart technology
Smart technologies, apps or artificial intelligence make your job easier. Take advantage of them. They'll help you automate the entire sales process, guiding you step-by-step.
4. Change the reward system
The reward system in many companies is based on who closes the deal and brings in the most money. Whether the client was referred by someone else or whether the client was happy is not of much interest to anyone anymore. And that should change. So in the companies where I do mentoring, I recommend introducing, for example, a reward for referring a client. Because that counts too. And it motivates others.
If selling is something you have to do and don't have experience with, try these 4 steps. It's the basics. But a foundation that works. Because sales is a craft that can be learned. When you honestly complete all 4 points, you'll see your hands free and you'll have more time to do what's really important to you. Or email me and we can streamline your business process together.