Plant & Facilities Engineering

stereotyping saves time

_{The maps are great}

Engineers CAN make good salespeople, but salespeople never rarely make good Engineers.

Salespeople usually have boundless confidence in their own ability, so all problems are invariably "easy", costs are always "low" and timing is always "achievable".

All they need then are some technical skills and they'd make great engineers. Unfortunately, once they know what they're talking about things stop being easy, low and achievable.

I don't think that "logic" applies at all, I was talking about salespeople.

However, I suspect that good technical engineers have a side that enjoys cutting themselves off from humanity while they solve challenging problems.

All my career, i helped sales people sell my company's products, especially the new ones i and my team designed. i always gave honest advice to the customer. i did not always go by 'the customer is always right'...after all, i am the expert in my area, and the customer must respect me for telling him the truth, even if it goes against his ideas. What is more, i even recommended a competitor's product in preference to my own, when i felt it served his application better. Invariably, such instances, rare as they were, scored big with the customers who paid me back by shifting their major orders to my company. Honesty does pay.

Some do, and some don't.

Sales/Marketing department is the core department in any business. If the sales people cannot sell the company's product as per the projected target the company becomes gradually sick. Engineers can always be a good sales engineers particularly to sell sophisticated equipment as they can only explain to the ordinary customer the technical ingredients of the product. Many times a good engineer cannot be a good sales engineer.

For preparing quotations for engineering goods(mechanical,civil,electrical,you name it) and to go and meet clients with catalogues,to explain the performance of equipment, after sales service,to answer queries on technical aspects etc engineers are the best.

"For preparing quotations for engineering goods(mechanical,civil,electrical,you name it) and to go and meet clients with catalogues,to explain the performance of equipment, after sales service,to answer queries on technical aspects etc engineers are the best."

This is not what sales is about. Sales success is when a potential customer agrees to invest his valuable time to do those things you suggest. Identifying those customers has to be done religiously, each day, in order to be a good producer. It is precisely this devotion to the process that makes it difficult for most people to be good at sales. Constant rejection can be depressing. I have known several highly accomplished engineers who were outstanding sales people. There is a difference between account rep and sales rep.

Engineering sales is different from selling other types of goods. Without engineering knowledge most of the times it is impossible.

It depends entirely on your definition of 'good'. Are you looking at short term sales figures or a longlasting trusted relationship with customers?
Oh I see, short term sales figures...then 'No'.
Del

It is possible for engineers to be good Sales People. There are many living examples. In case of high tech products only engineer can sell the product as he has in depth knowledge of the product. MBA qualified graduate can not present his high tech product if he does not posses intricate knowledge of the product. Such person should be engineer with good oral and written communication skills, presentable personality, polite etc.

Lots of good thoughts here, but one critical aspect of sales is missing in the discussion; Closing the sale.

Most engineer types are excellent at addressing questions and objections, but don't really have a clue about actually asking for the sale. This is what "salesmen" inherently know, or are trained, how to do.

I'm a techie type and I learned sales techniques but as an introvert it is not something that comes naturally. For example, I love selling but I detest prospecting/cold calling.

All that said, selling can be learned by engineers and engineering can be learned by salesmen, but is learning both detrimental to either one? Can an introvert personality move into the extrovert arena, or vice versa? Yes, no, possibly. Depends on the individual. Sales psychology is a field in itself.

I worked in my favorite sales model when I was in the CAD/CAM industry. We generally had a 2 person team; the salesman and the technical expert. I was usually more successful (and more comfortable) as the techie, and less successful (and less comfortable) when I moved into the sales person role.

Hooker

You be the judge. Watch these videos......

VFD Cable

Energy Savings

Well, in a couple of places I've worked, those would've been called marketing or marketing training videos, produced to be used by sales, support and/or training personnel.

The guys in the video aren't asking anyone to buy the products so I wouldn't consider them "salesmen" in this context.

Hooker