Powerpoint Demo Tips

Powerpoint demo tips allow a Sales Engineer to help aid and assist the audience at their prospect to better understand and focus their attention to areas on a slide....These tips are very important when it comes to remote based demos like webex, goto meeting, live meeting etc... because oftern Sales Engineers are required to grab screenshots of functionality for a variety of reasons (beta, proof of concepts, limited release etc...) instead of actually demoing the software solution.  So next time you are in this situation, try one of the following....When running in Powerpoint presentation mode, right click on your slide and selection the Pointer Options, from there use the highlighter option....This works great for identifying key unique differentiators to your prospect.  Even better is when you grab a screenshot and email it as a 'leave-behind' for them after the demo so that they can refer to it.   I use the red Felt Pen option also, great circling competitive flaws, negative blogs etc...

Sales Engineer Interview Demonstration Role-Play

I always have Sales Engineer Interviews with new candidates perform a demonstration role-play as part of the interview process...One of my previous mentors always did this and it always give him a great cross section of the potential of an Sales Engineer candidate.  Always have your recruiting team set the stage with your SE that this stage in the interview is to see how they present a solution that they are comfortable discussing.  It is important to have the interview candidate provide the following details at least a day or two prior to the mock demonstration event.  They need to tell the panel the roles of the interviewers, the current mock system/application environment and a couple KBRs (Key Business Requirements).  The demo is usually a 40-45 minute exercise that allows the interviewers to accurately gauge presentation effectiveness, delivery of unique business value, solution crafting, objective handling and thinking outside-of-the-box.

Try it in your next Sales Engineer interview process, and I am sure you will make it an important step as part of your SE evaluation process...Good Luck!

Mastering Technical Sales - Sales Engineer Guidebook

Learning about Mastering Technical Sales? If yes, then this book is a must read!!! Mastering Technical Sales by John Care and Aron Bohlig covers the full spectrum of what Sales Engineers need to know in order to be successful in their technical deals. It starts by covering fundamental concepts around:

-Qualifying Leads
-Determining Go/No Go strategies for RFPs
-Needs Analysis Tactics
-Delivering the Perfect Pitch
-How to Avoid 'Dash to Demo'
-Remote Demonstration Tips
-Objection Handling
-Branding
-Channel Selling with Partners
-Hiring SE Talent
-Time Management & Metrics

This book is a must-have in any Sales Engineer or SE Managers collection!!!

SE Tips - Lose The Techno Talk

Most Sales Engineers are proud of the technical knowledge, that they love to interject it into their sales opportunities whenever possible...The risk here is that the SE maybe the only one who understands the techno talk, leaving the key decision makers at a prospect feeling isolated and for lack of a better word, dumb. The SE leaves the demo feeling that they nailed the demo by throwing in technology terms and acronyms...BUT the key decision maker is left feeling this solution is much too technical for them and typically decides to opt for another vendor's solution...So remember the KISS principle even when selling technology solutions as the decision always comes back to which solution better solves our business pains and process inefficiences...

SEs and References

Many Sales Engineers believe references are the responsibility of the sales rep, so having a variety of reference stories is considering overkill by many sales engineers... I disagree, it is extremely important to be able to tell a RELEVANT reference story to your prospect.

You should have your success stories segmented by: 1) Industry/Vertical 2) Functionality/Scope 3) Company Size 4) Geographic Location and 5) Competitive Wins. I have seen savvy prospect in the prospect specifically ask for a reference during a demo, it was something to the effect of "Who else is using your software in our industry segment, will an employee count equal to or larger than use within 100 miles of our headquarters?" And of course, the questions was directed to the Sales Engineer...Ugh!...What a great way to kill a good demo, ah yes, and turn on the music as the Sales Engineer begins to dance to the Reference Dance Shuffle. Spend a few minutes, learning your competitive wins/success stories and you will see your conversion ratios increase!!!!

Setting Effective Sales Traps

To set an effective sales trap, often the sales rep replies on the sales engineer to do so, and the sales engineer believes that is the responsibility of the rep...So sadly enough, the net result is that no one plants any effective traps. Now, I am not talking about Mud Slinging (although that has it's place only in very specific situations), I am referring setting effective sales traps.

I will call out one of the more successful traps that I have used numerous times with high success. This is only one of many effective methods, but it is the simplest to implement without many steps. The process is very easy, yet elegant and is delivered in a discreet way. When delivered correctly, your prospect will feel that you have genuine interest in their needs first and at the same time you are laying down your trap framework.

Here it goes:
Assumption: Your company is first to demo over your competition. The approach is different when your company is responding to traps set by your competiton who have already demo'ed
Step 1: When you have a significant competitive feature that trumps your competition, as a sales engineer you can Set The Landscape for the trap...This must be done in a POSITIVE 3rd perspective for the need for the feature. For example, Gartner/Forrester/IDS say that by 2011 the need for feature x will have grown by 200%.
Step 2: Next, compliment your competitor on how they have chosen to implement this feature...Yes, I did say COMPLIMENT, BUT spin it with a comment, something like Vendor A has a pretty good Feature X for certain situations, but there approach varies from our we architected ours...
Step 3: Now, list our why your company has selected their approach to how they designed that feature which is unique AND more relevant to prospects key business requirements and business pains
Step 4: This is where the call-to-action for the TRAP comes into play...Proactively invite them to do further research on it, perhaps suggest they reach out to the other vendors they are considering to bring it up as a point of discussion.

This easy to apply sales tactic for setting traps is highly effective when you have the delivery down pat. The genuine interest in looking out for the prospects best interest is paramount, as it will help to solidify you role as a trusted advisor in their solution making process...Good luck!

SEs - Video Tape Your Dry Runs

All Sales Engineers every 3 to 6 months should always go under the microscope, for a self-humbling experience of being video taped during a dry run of their demonstration. I know...I know...Everyone is thinking, I have been doing this for the last 15 years, I know it all, why should I tape myself when I already know it all and have done it all. Seasoned Sales Engineers sometimes form bad habits, often unknown to them, which may hind a deal in the future. It was not until I saw myself demo'ing on video earlier on in my career, that I realized how often I would finish my prospects questions without letting them finish their train of thought...Video has no hidden agendas, so it always provides you with a different perspective and always you to fine tune small imperfections in your game.
Remember, Sales Engineers are a unique breed, many are often defensive about there skills being critiqued by others , so this is an easy way for an IMPARTIAL assessment on your demo delivery. Remember, it will only help you in the long run and the pocketbook!!!

Inside Based Software Sales Engineers

If you are an inside software Sales Engineer, and are looking to get an edge over your competition, below are 2 quick tips to outsmart your competition's SEs.

Firstly, since inside Sales Engineers lose the benefit of seeing their prospects reactions, it is EXTREMELY important, to make use of frequent Named Open Probes...What do I mean?? Hopefully this sounds familar, "John, tell me more if you feel that Feature X that I have just demonstrated does not address your business requirement Y..." This keeps your prospect engaged, attentive, and does not allow them to mentally go to 'another place' during your demo.

Secondly, you must be able to effectively utilize a variety of Web Based Tools for capturing screenshots, mapping out process flows/systems architecture, communicating with your sales team real time, whiteboarding etc...Check out my Tools Category on this blog for more info... Without the use of these tools, your competition will already be a step ahead of you...