Identifying Skills And Values That Lead To Successful Technical Sales Careers
By Emmanuel Lean
08/19/2024
Plenty has been written about the skills you need to have in technical sales roles. Know your product inside and out! Impress potential customers with your technical expertise! Play to the strengths of your product!
The skills required to take technical sales careers to the next level are quite different, though. In competitive and thriving industries, technical sales roles are so important. And succeeding takes more than marketing instinct, memorized scripts, and magnetic charm.
Here are some of the most essential skills you need to flourish in this field:
Two-way communication and the value of listening
We all know technical sales involves a lot of explaining complex processes and difficult concepts. There’s a lot of jargon, so sales discussions entail a lot of simplifying and clarifying too. Scripts and prompts serve as great work aids.
But, successful sales doesn’t start or end with technical communication. Empathetic dialogue is actually the more important skill to use in technical sales roles. Use active listening. Ask lots of questions. Take what your customer is telling you into consideration.
Receiving information is a lot more important in sales than people think. At TTEC, we believe in first seeking to understand. Once you know where your customers are coming from, what they need, and why they need it, you can adjust how you’re communicating your product or services.
Yes, scripts help with sales discussions. But, being able to adapt your conversation based on what the customers need helps you connect with them better. And, we all know establishing that connection is very important.
Show what your product can do
When selling a product, we need to know all about the product. That’s Sales 101. Know all its strengths, applications, and limitations. All functionalities. How it’s used in different situations. How it’s rated in terms of performance, sales, etc.
While all that information is great to share with customers, nothing impresses them more than being shown a product. Many people are visual, experiential. They can connect better with something they see and encounter firsthand. Demonstrating the use of a product can be more effective than describing a product.
That’s why technical demonstration is a skill that truly elevates the success of a technical salesperson. Showing the ins and outs of a product smoothly. Answering questions during a demo confidently. Proving the ease of use and efficiencies of a product. All these build a more highly effective technical sales approach.
Constant learning in sales
Many industries develop new technologies, processes, or business structures fairly quickly. Fields like IT, medicine, finance go through these advances regularly. To have successful technical sales careers in those industries, you’ve got to adapt at a similar pace.
That’s why there are regular discussions with managers on what new developments to watch out for, how competing products are evolving, and how to give your products an edge. But, waiting for all that information isn’t enough.
To be great at technical sales, you have to embrace lifelong technical learning. That means taking a structured approach to staying up to date with industry developments. Identify topics, products or services, and new advances to learn. Take courses. Join online groups of people with technical expertise who discuss new developments.
This approach allows you to not just stay abreast of changes, but actually be ahead of them. Nothing impresses customers more than someone who seems to know what’s current and what’s coming.
At TTEC, technical sales careers are in good hands! We’ve got so many free online courses for you to keep your skills and industry knowledge updated. Learn about AI, specific apps and programs, new technologies. Develop sales, presentation, and management skills. All just a click away!
Your career can be elevated easily with all this available training. TTEC has awesome technical sales jobs in Greece and more technical sales job openings all over the globe that you can check out.
Honesty in sales
In competitive industries, knowing what competing products can do and will be able to do is essential. The awareness of where your own product stacks helps you position it in a better way. A comparative sales approach can be effective.
But, this shouldn’t distract you from the most important focus of your sales approach: knowing your own product. What it can do. What it will be able to do soon. What it can’t do. Who it can really help. Who it can’t. These should be the primary focus of your sales approach.
Most importantly, you should deliver all these facts with great transparency. Be clear and honest about what your products or services are and what they can achieve for customers. Don’t oversell. Don’t overcommit what your product can do in the future. Don’t criticize competing products unnecessarily.
Focus on, believe in, and be transparent about what your product can do for a customer. That will show customers that you’re a salesperson with good strategy and great values. If you put the customer’s needs and how your product can help them above everything else, you’re on your way to being successful in technical sales.
Forge the right path, focus on the important skills and values
Go beyond the basic sales abilities. Don’t settle. Thrive on learning. Focus on your product with honesty. Get better at more than sales talk. Listen. Demonstrate. Do these and you can get any of the technical sales job openings out there.
TTEC has several technical sales jobs in Greece, especially for those who speak German, French, Spanish, or Portuguese. Check them out and ignite your career with us! This is a place where your career can flourish.