Vendors poor at selling hi-tech services

CSW has written before about the growing evidence suggesting that IT vendors are losing – or perhaps never really acquired – the necessary skills needed to sell the capabilities of their technological wonders.

This is particularly so for cloud service providers looking to sell into the SMB community. Here, selling them technology for its own sake when they are looking for business solutions that resolve business management and implementation issues is likely to lead to failure. Indeed, it is not so uncommon that such vendors then blame the customers for not understanding what their technology can do for them.

This opinion, it seems, is also shared by Doug Tucker, Managing Director of Sales Commando.

In his view, while there is new and ever-more capable technology at our disposal, the first to miss the opportunities to bring this to the masses are often tech salespeople.

Sales Commando, run by ex-commando turned motivational sales trainer, Doug Tucker, is based on more than 20 years selling experience. It offers corporate sales training to some of the world’s leading organisations. Its objective is to introduce a set of core sales principles and techniques to enable sales teams to convert leads into sales efficiently and effectively.

Tucker believes that those at the front line of technology sales have all but forgotten the proven sales techniques that are the true drivers behind long-term product success.

“Technology is developing at an unprecedented rate – in terms of R&D it is booming – and this should be great news for the consumer, tech firms and the economy.  Yet my work within the sector highlights that its salespeople typically simply list technical facts to potential clients and believe that that’s an effective sales method.  Believe me, it isn’t.”

As Tucker points out, it is now time for sales staff to go back and rediscover fundamental selling techniques if they want to make the most of new and emerging technology opportunities.

“The odd thing I notice from a sales point of view is that technology is getting more complicated, rather than – as we’re led to believe – more simplified. Consumers are becoming rabbits in headlights, trapped with the dazzle that is technology specification.

“It is the responsibility of technology salespeople to understand what a consumer wants, remove the dazzle and attend to that critical need, which surprisingly may not be the leading edge of technology.”

Tucker is adamant that proven sales techniques “aren’t rocket science” but need to be adhered to, and the first and most basic rule of thumb is the need to listen.

“The easy way out of a difficult technology sales situation is by creating the magpie effect – whatever is shiniest and newest - backed up by a string of senseless jargonistic descriptions. But this, usually, only garners frustration and disillusionment amongst customers,” he said.

“Great selling is all down to the ability to listen to the customer and being able to communicate effectively – every time.  The technology sector is evolving rapidly and will, hopefully, introduce us to products that will change our lives for the better and forever.  But for this to happen, tech firms need to learn how to bring their customers along with them, not alienate them at the first hurdle.”