FUNDAMENTAL SALES SKILLS FOR THE TECHNICAL PROFESSIONAL

 By Jim Johnson

 © 2006, Technical Training Associates

            An old saying in Texas goes, "If you've got to swallow a bucket of frogs, you might as well start with the big one."

            Sometimes, the idea of selling can be a big frog for technicians to swallow. I know this to be true because in many of the customer service workshops we have presented for technicians, it is one of the more uncomfortable topics for them to discuss. When we present our workshop on-site for service organizations, I often ask for a show of hands on two questions. The first question I ask is: "Has anybody here ever had a negative experience with a salesperson?"

            Invariably, hands shoot up all over the room. Then I ask another question: "Has anybody here ever had a pleasant experience with a salesperson?"

            When I ask this question, it takes more time, but eventually, everybody in the room, after they have had time to think it over, raises their hand and admits that they have had a pleasant experience when with dealing with a salesperson.

This brings me to the third question I always like to ask: "So what was the difference?”

            When people think about the answer to that question, they usually have some difficulty providing a specific answer. It is apparent something was different about the two kinds of experiences, but it is hard to explain.

PERCEIVED SALES QUALITIES

Comparing two lists from surveys might help. In these surveys, people were asked about the terms they usually use to describe salespeople Then, they were asked about the terms they tend to use when describing a professional. This first list contains the top six terms that people commonly use to describe salespeople.

            * Pushy--This is at the top of almost everybody's hit parade. Salespeople sometimes can be downright pushy.

            * Phony--People often say that one of the things the bothers them most about salespeople is that they change who they are in some way to close a sale. Then they switch back to being themselves or somebody else on a moment's notice to get a signature on the bottom line.

* Sneaky--When people use this term to describe a salesperson, they do not say the salesperson was flat out lying, but maybe just practicing some "creative avoidance.” You realize you have been dealing with a sneaky person when you suddenly find yourself blind-sided by something you did not even think about when you were saying yes.

            * Dishonest--Unfortunately, sometimes salespeople are just dishonest. They lie, then say whatever they need to cover it up. They will twist things around when confronted or hang on for dear life to a seemingly insignificant point to defend themselves when a deal goes sour.

            * Slick--When salespeople are slick, you just can't catch them in a direct misrepresentation. You know things did not go as planned or promised, but you just can't tie them directly to the problem.

            * Desperate--Often, salespeople work on a draw against the commissions they plan to earn during a given time frame, such as a month or a quarter. If they have been drawing a salary against their commission for a long time and they are behind in the game, it can make them appear as desperate.

They know they have some ground to make up and time is marching on. They might even be at risk of losing their job if things do not turn around in a hurry. So they can sometimes come off as desperate.

PROFESSIONALS' QUALITIES

This is the list that was the result of surveys on people's opinions of professionals.

* Competent--The ideas of competence and professionalism seem to go hand in hand.

            * Honest--Although dishonestly is fourth on the typical salesperson's list, honesty is second on the list for professionals. This simply says that most people are willing to accept quickly that a professional is honest.

            * Knowledgeable-- Professionals are trusted to be competent in their specific area of expertise and knowledgeable of their industry or business as a whole. We often feel that we can get good advice from a professional on how to get information on something that is related to what they do.

            * Dependable--When a professional makes a promise, we can count on them delivering on the promise. If something beyond their control goes wrong, we can count on them to make things right. For most of us, that is dependability in a nutshell.

            * Caring--When consumers are asked to describe professionals, one of the common responses is that they care about their customers.

* Flexible--One of the things people like about professionals is that they can roll with the punches when necessary. If something comes up and it means that plans, scheduling, or procedures have to be adjusted, then the professional can handle the change.

When you look at the two lists, can you understand why some technicians are resistant to the idea of selling? When a technician is asked to be more involved in selling, on the outside they may be nodding their head in agreement. However, at the same time, an inner voice is saying to them, "You want me to be a pushy, phony, sneaky, dishonest, slick and desperate person? No thanks--I'll pass."

            That kind of thing can go on because of a person's concept of salespeople, but the idea a service organization wants to focus on is that selling can be part of a professional approach to customer service. And providing information and training to technicians on how to communicate effectively with customers is part of the professional “selling” package.

            The material for this article was excerpted from Jim Johnson’s audio program “PEAK Performance for the Technical Professional.”