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by susan1979 1 view

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I'm not a fan of salespeople... I don't like being told how just a 25 second demonstration of the amazing absorbancy of this shammie will change my life...

So, of course, I'm not that great of a salesperson myself.

I'm not a great telemarketer, in fact I feel horrible when I cold call someone.
I'm not so good at the pop in visit, I feel like I'm interrupting their day.

See, previously I was working with a large computer company and people were calling ME. I'm great at that. I know they want something and my job is to guide them towards what's best. I know my products and my industry and that's where I shine... but now I work for a VAR in another state so the whole game has changed.

People don't call us, we have to call them. Though I still get the fun part of the job where I actually have the opportunity to consult, its far more rare. Most of my time is spent feeling like I'm trying to change someone's long distance service.

I guess what I'm asking for from you guys is an idea of how you, as IT professionals, would like to be approached. What could someone do to make you want to talk to them without using the hard sell?

I hope this is alright to ask here. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

At this point I'm contemplating leaving the industry I love for waitressing... at least then I know that my customers actually want something.

5 replies

by drowningnotwaving

Hi,

* What type of product / service do you provide?

* What would be the typical cost?

* In general, who is the person (or maybe more appropriately, what is the "role") that normally makes the big decision - that is, not just who says 'yeah, this is cool', but says 'here, have our order'.

* What business benefit do you provide?

* Typically how long would a normal sales cycle be? Is it 'one call and you're in', or is there a more in-depth process to go through in a typical client?

* Last one and the biggie - do you really actualy want to be a salesperson, or does it make you not like going to work each day?

by susan1979

- Type of product - Servers, storage, software, consulting and implementation. EMC, IBM, Dell, HP, Hitachi, NetApp, VMware, etc. We do PCs and laptops and peripherals but our focus is on the enterprise side.

- Typical cost - Depends on the product. We're competitive with the market though...

- Who makes the order - Well, every company is different. In some companies CIOs have the authority to purchase, in others they decide on the products they want and its left up to the "purchaser" or the CFO.

- Business benefit - Different for every customer/product. The business benefit of working with me is having an ally in IT buying that takes a consultative approach, versus a hard sale. We do consultations with each customer to see what the pain points are and where the customer wants to be in the future.

- Typical sales cycle - Takes FOREVER... and I think, again, its because I'm not comfortable feeling like I'm "selling"... I much prefer "providing", if that makes any sense. But normally storage purchases are on a 30-120 day sales cycle.

- Do I wanna be a sales person? - No, not really. I mean, I'm working from home... should be a pretty perfect gig, right? But I still hate walking that 10 feet into the office every morning... and I hate making those calls and feeling like I'm interrupting their day. But I'm not sure what else I can do...

by drowningnotwaving

Here are some things to consider:

1. See JamesRL's note. He 100% nailed the pre-sales / sales-engineer (whatever term is used in your company). These people are some of the most highly paid individuals in the game, when they get some success and experience. You get to participate with a lot of clients and also avoid the leg-work of sales.

But is sounded lke you may already have a part to play in that (the 'consultancy' to which you refer?).

It also sounded like perhaps the working-from-home role is a benefit to you in your current circumstance.

So here are a couple of other ideas:

* Training. Like all things, sales is just actually a process and a set of skills. Learn how to do it. Practise it. It will bring more success. And success is fun. Well, at least it somewhat vindicates the cold calling!

* Your emphasis on "providing" is 100% spot on. It makes the difference between the solution sale and the sell-at-the-least-price commodity. And you actually get to build relationshsips and all that stuff. Much more fun.

* Despite popular (and probably true) observation on the abundance of the extroverted sales person, I can assure you nothing is actually further from the truth in terms of long term successful sales people. They are made up of a fair spread of every single character type. If you are selling mobile phones at the mall, maybe loud-and-brash works. In complex long-cycle selling, every single character type can have great success without compromising themselves whatsoever. Often it is the more patient, more detailed person who (in a complex and technical sale) has a stronger chance of long-term success. As long as they learn the basic skills of selling, in exactly the same way that there are basic skills in programming or network management or whatever. And then apply them regularly.

(Again, it is often the more reserved person who is successful at this - they just apply the skills without trying to "second guess" them).

* Obviously your job gives you the opportunity to see/talk with a lot of clients and companies. Keep your eyes and ears open. Maybe some of them need someone like you doing a role more suited to what your objectives are.

* Learn to pick the correct 8 numbers on lotto. Then this particular discussion becomes somewhat superfluous. Since it's my suggestion can we go halves?????

Good luck! :)

edit some of the spelling mistakes.

by jamesrl

I've done inside sales, outbound sales, cold calling, qualifying, sales support.

It isn't for everyone. To be fair most people who do it are highly motivated by money, and are naturally outgoing and a tad bit agressive. I work with systems sales people everyday, but they can't do what I do, and I caem to understand that I didn't have what it takes to be a killer salesperson, though I made my living at it for 3 years or so.

You have to be a natural networker to make it work. Getting to know names, personalities etc. I was good at that, but I was never a killer closer.

There other sales roles though. In this industry it is quite common for the sales person to bring in a technical person when making a presentation. Thats a role you sound like you could do. If they don't have that at your company, look for another where it exists, its quite common. They sell in their own way, and some of them share commissions, but they don't cold call.

I get salespeople calling often. I don't take it personally. I don't always have time for them, but I remember what it was like.

James

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