This is one of those responsibilities that should be shared between sales and sales engineering... But is often not the case.
Apart from the who and the how (which should WITHOUT EXCEPTION be obtained by sales), the Why is the most important element of any deal. The why not only helps dictate the direction of the demo and POC/POV, but also gives us something tangible to fall back on later on in the deal cycle if it starts to go sideways. It reminds us why we think we can bill here, but also prospects of why they engaged with us in the first place.
The challenge with the why, is we all have a tendency to get generic with both the ask, and the description. In the security space, the need "we have to be more secure" is a great example of this. I can't tell you how many times I've asked an AE "so why did the prospect decide to join the call today?" And I hear some variant of "well, the prospect told me they need to be more secure and are always looking at security products". That's like a car dealership lot attendant coming to a sales guy and saying "there's a guy out there who wants to go faster and is always looking at new cars, I think we should talk to him!"
The reason finding the need is so important, is because time is so important. If a prospect isn't sure why they're looking for the product you're selling, they're probably not ready for a customized 1:1 demo. If this is the case they should be directed to your company website and/or YouTube page . Except for extenuating circumstances, an AE should NEVER schedule you on a call with a prospect unless they know WHY we're talking to them.
Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Oftentimes I get requests from AEs to hop on demos because "they have money, but I'm not sure why he agreed to see our product". In my book this is ok SOMETIMES... and ONLY if we have the who and the how. We can be nice, but I can't stress enough how this can NOT be the norm. If an AE preps me that they're unsure of the need, I will always agree to do the call and help them figure it out... unless I know they're making a habit of it and taking advantage of my good nature. Most often, I get a generic need that needs to be dug into one layer deeper.
So what is that next layer? For argument's sake, let's take the "we need to be more secure" proto-need. The first thing I'm going to ask is "why?" "Mr. Prospect I respect that, we all need to be more secure... So what's driving this sudden need to look at security products?" This should hopefully start to highlight something tangible that the prospect is trying to accomplish, but more often than not, the next response is "we're always looking at the latest technologies." To this I will most likely reply "well we definitely have the latest technology here, what current technologies are you leveraging? Do you think that's adequate? What other new and emerging technologies have you looked at? What element (or lack thereof) in your current security posture keeps you up at night? Did you see on Krebs the other day? This worried some of my other customers that they may have gaps in their infrastructure that could allow the same thing to happen, did you feel that way?"
This line of questioning is aggressive, but because I don't have an actual need from the AE's disco call, it's going to tell me a few things. First, should I be on this call? Or... should they be watching a demo video on the website and the AE follow up in a week? If I deem the video is the best option, this is not a "fuck you junior AE I am above doing your worthless call", but more "let's see if the customer still wants a customized demo once they learn what the product actually does". This will also tell me whether or not I'm on the phone with the right person. The right person is most likely NOT someone who watches commercials for a living and has a free hour in his day, but someone who is invested in the outcome of the problem my product is looking to solve. Lastly, and probably most importantly, I am looking to educate the AE on the questions they should be asking before they engage myself or someone on my team for a call. During this line of questioning, the AE is most likely still on the call and listening in... And I'm always watching to make sure they're taking notes so the next time they're better prepared.
I've always worked at startups and recently I've been doing some consulting for some companies that are at ground zero. Just hired a sales team, no formal training process, no predefined qualification requirements. In these cases, the LAST thing I want to do is insist. My AE's are ultimately the ones who are going to be building the customer base, therefore building the value of the business and making me money. If they're not adequately trained.. it is MY job to help. I can't stand asshole, entitled SEs that think every call should be handed to them on a sliver platter. The type of SE I'm looking for on my team is the real deal nose-to-the-grindstone SE that will suck it up and help the team figure it out. As SEs, sales training falls into our periphery so If you're too jaded with junior reps, go pound sand.
Of course, if we're talking about a senior AE that should know better, I will throw them to the wolves every time. A proper sales bullpen has a pack mentality and if the SE respect factor is set up properly you can bet your ass the pack will eat the weak ones for breakfast... which is as it should be. As SEs we are an important element of the divining rod that tells which AEs will make it and which ones should try a different profession.
No comments:
Post a Comment