Revenue Stocking Stuffers — No Sales Allowed! Outreach(7 of 8)
This is part seven of the Stocking Stuffer Series.
Understanding Target Audience Behavior
Improve Outreach Credibility
Support the Ideal Purchase Process
Reassess Product-Market Fit
Break Down Barriers to Inbound Interest
Adopt a Digital Adoption Platform
No Sales Allowed! Outreach
Invest in Long-Term SuccessNo Sales Allowed! Outreach
As the holiday season approaches, sales professionals often find themselves facing a unique challenge — a dip in prospect activity and responsiveness. This can be particularly frustrating for those aiming to finish the year strong or set the stage for a robust start in the upcoming quarter. In such times, it’s essential to rethink outreach strategies rather than simply increasing the volume of conventional approaches.
One often overlooked but incredibly valuable resource for overcoming this challenge is the sales engineering team who can play a pivotal role in pipeline generation, especially in difficult accounts. It’s crucial to view them not as a replacement for Business Development Representatives (BDRs) but as an additional avenue to penetrate an account, in a similar way you would utilize your Chief Revenue Officer, Founder, or VP of Product.
Engineers naturally gravitate towards conversations with their peers. They share common interests, backgrounds, and possess hands-on experience with technology and problem scenarios. Importantly, they approach discussions from a technical standpoint rather than a sales-driven one.
The title of “engineer” carries significant credibility worldwide, and this is not without reason. In fact, approximately 100 countries require engineers to obtain certification to be considered as such, emphasizing the global recognition and respect associated with the title. This credibility becomes a powerful asset in sales outreach, as prospects are more likely to engage with an engineer who can intelligently discuss problems and propose solutions.
Imagine a scenario where a sales representative conducts a discovery call and the prospect’s perception has roots in, “they’re aiming to assess budget, authority, need, and timeframe.” Now, picture the same conversation conducted by an engineer. The perspective shifts from a potential deal assessment to a genuine effort to understand the problem thoroughly, providing valuable insights based on technical expertise. In practical terms, this distinction can be likened to discussing engine trouble with a car salesman versus a car mechanic. The gut reaction and level of trust differ significantly. Leveraging this credibility in outbound sales outreach can set the stage for more meaningful conversations and increased prospect receptivity.
While it may seem that sales engineers are not there to sell, the reality is different. A successful sales engineer is one who is adept at both technical conversations and sales processes. They have the ability to seamlessly switch between the ‘engineering’ hat and the ‘sales’ hat, providing a unique advantage in client interactions. Sales engineers should undergo training in sales processes and methodologies to be both effective partners during traditional sales cycles and proficiently self-sufficient when going it alone. This ensures they can navigate conversations effectively, presenting themselves as enthusiastic engineers excited about technology when needed, and as strategic sales partners when the opportunity arises.
Inbound: Free Consulting Hour
In today’s dynamic business landscape, not every prospect wants to immediately commit to evaluating or purchasing a product to solve their problems. Engineers, in particular, often relish the challenge of solving issues themselves, turning it into a fun and rewarding experience, akin to a hackathon. Recognizing this inclination, offering a free consulting hour becomes a strategic move, allowing sales engineers to provide expert advice, insights from past experiences, and hands-on experience without any commitment from the prospect.
The beauty of this approach lies in its simplicity — there’s no catch. A sales engineer offers guidance and steps, leaving the decision to the prospect regarding whether they want to explore a vendor solution or continue the journey independently. To implement this effectively, a well-crafted marketing campaign should be devised, spanning various channels such as websites, trade shows, and targeted ads. The goal is to offer a free hour of consulting services with a sales — no, solutions engineer to explore an issue that aligns with your company’s expertise. Importantly, emphasize that this is not a demo or a sales meeting, but with the potential to produce various options or solutions. These options can range from no opinion to recommending other services if they are better suited to suggesting techniques that can be immediately applied. The ultimate goal, the most enticing for your company, is the possibility of engaging in a formal model if your company is exceptionally well-suited to address the problem.
Implementing a free one-hour consulting initiative can indeed be a powerful strategy, but it requires careful structuring and scaling to ensure that it generates genuine interest and potential sales opportunities without overwhelming busy sales engineers. Here’s a step-by-step guide to structuring and scaling this program effectively:
1. Define Clear Objectives: Begin by clearly defining the objectives of the free consulting initiative. Is the primary goal to uncover potential sales opportunities, enhance brand awareness, or both? Understanding the key goals will guide the structure of the program. If more the latter, consider building a Community and Developer Relations team dotted-lined between marketing and engineering.
2. Set Criteria for Qualification: To address concerns about sales engineers’ time, establish clear criteria for qualification. Consider factors such as the prospect’s industry, the size of the company, and the nature of the problem they’re seeking assistance with. Use these criteria to filter inbound interest and prioritize meetings with higher potential.
3. Run a Limited-Time Trial: To assess receptiveness and quality, run a trial period for a month or a quarter. During this time, closely monitor the number of inquiries, the level of engagement, and the quality of discussions. Collect feedback from sales engineers about the usefulness of these meetings in terms of generating interest and awareness.
4. Prioritize for Revenue: To prevent overwhelming sales engineers, set specific days or times dedicated to these free consulting hours. This ensures that the initiative doesn’t consume time necessary to support sales engagements, but is concentrated within manageable timeframes. I suggest reserving Monday and Wednesday afternoons, 12–5pm, allowing sales teams to book customer meetings around those known blocks.
5. Territory-Based Organization: For larger companies, divide the program along territory lines, assigning a sales engineer from each region to handle respective inbound interests. This regional approach ensures a more personalized interaction and allows sales engineers to leverage their knowledge of local markets.
6. Utilize Calendly for Efficiency: Implement scheduling tools like Calendly to streamline the process. Set specific availability windows for each sales engineer, allowing prospects to choose slots that align with their schedules. This not only makes scheduling efficient but also ensures optimal time allocation for valuable sessions.
7. Regularly Evaluate and Adjust: Continuously monitor the performance of the initiative during the trial period. Track the number of engagements that progress to more formal discussions or result in scheduled formal engagements to estimate the impact to sales. Assess the quantity and quality of engagements, gather feedback from sales engineers, and adjust the criteria for qualification if necessary. Regular evaluations will help refine the program for maximum impact.
Engineering Demo
In the world of sales, a typical demo meeting often starts with a sales deck and an accompanying pitch and takes up 30% or more of the allocated time. However, many prospects, despite their interest, prefer skipping this routine and getting straight to the demo. The very expectation of listening to a sales pitch can dissuade teams from responding to sales outreach, no matter how enticing. Recognizing this preference, it becomes imperative to train sales engineers on the intricacies of the sales process and desired outcomes, with a particular focus on methodologies like Gap Selling. This empowers sales engineers to handle initial calls alone, catering to the audience that wants to dive right into the core of the product. To facilitate this, recording tools like Gong can be invaluable, serving as a method for sales to be practically in the meeting and capturing the necessary MEDDICC datapoints. It’s crucial to position the recording not as a sales listening device but as a tool for sales engineers to take detailed notes and feedback. This subtle shift emphasizes collaboration, where the sales engineer is an integral part of understanding the prospect’s needs thoroughly.
Having the engineer be the sole representative of the company in the room serves to disarm the prospect, fostering an environment where they feel more inclined to share specific details about the problem, its scope, and its impact. The sales engineer’s dual training in both technical and sales methodologies positions them as a skilled intermediary, adeptly translating critical details into the CRM while qualifying the technical fit. This approach may well continue for the duration of the engagement, where the SE leads one arm of the deal plan and the sales rep leads another.
Stamps.com was a notoriously difficult account for sales to penetrate. Our contacts there just didn’t like salespeople. I suggested to our sales team that I give Stamps a demo, engineer to engineer, without sales presence. The occurrence was fortuitous as our Vice President of Sales Engineering recently playfully extended a bonus incentive. Specifically, any Sales Engineer independently closing a new customer deal surpassing $400,000 stands to earn a substantial cash award. To our surprise, Stamps accepted, and I arrived onsite to meet with the VP and his direct team. As we discussed their problem I discovered they had already started a free trial but it was ‘delayed’ due to ‘vendor complexity.’ But their technical setup was squarely in our wheelhouse and I committed to the VP our solution would be up by that evening and value realized by the following morning if they gave me authority of the evaluation team and prioritization of this project. Imagine that! the customer team reporting to the vendor. My request granted, two days later they were discussing a purchase. We closed just shy of $400,0000 in less than three weeks with no sales involvement until procurement. No, I didn’t get the cash bonus but I enjoyed showing how close he had come to paying out of his own pocket.
Engineering Meetups
In the realm of building brand presence and fostering community engagement, engineering meetups can be an exceptionally effective strategy. Drawing from our experience starting the New York City AppDynamics meetup, we observed several positive outcomes. Firstly, these meetups served as a nexus for connecting existing customers, creating community-based support and offloading some post-sales work from the sales engineers. Secondly, they provided a place for prospects to interact with other local tech companies, fostering networking opportunities. Lastly, and strategically, they offered our own company visibility for some of the most influential companies in the world.
To ensure the success of these events, a few ground rules were established. Sales personnel were prohibited from the main room for the duration of the meetup, allowing the focus to be on technical discussions and community building. The agenda included sessions delivered by existing customers on various technical topics, advertised ahead of time in the invite. AppDynamics reserved a small portion, around 20–30 minutes, to discuss the company’s roadmap, product releases, or select training seminars. Importantly, this sales-centric portion was limited, maintaining the primary focus on technical insights and customer interactions. Following the sessions, attendees were welcomed to a catered bar area, the only place where sales engagement was allowed.
Checkups and Brown Bags
Engaging in the practice of offering ‘brown bag’ sessions to existing customers is a strategic move that can foster long-term relationships and enhance customer satisfaction. These sessions, named after the tradition of being hosted around lunchtime and usually included a catered lunch, serve as a valuable pay-it-forward initiative. While sales engineers are not a substitute for the comprehensive training programs offered by Customer Success teams, spending an hour or so going over the basics and fine-tuning specific aspects can contribute significantly to customer success.
The ‘brown bag’ sessions function as a form of preventative maintenance, ensuring that, along with formal training, there are minimal degradations in the quality of product administration and usage. This is especially crucial as new users are onboarded, expanding beyond the original training cohort. The aim is to provide customers with a refresher on key features, address any questions, and offer tips for optimization. By dedicating time to these sessions, customers come away with a higher Net Promoter Score (NPS), an increased likelihood of renewing, and a revived interest in exploring new features or expanding their usage.
To scale this initiative, consider offering webinars where multiple customers can join anonymously to cover the same topic. This approach allows sales engineers to efficiently reach hundreds of customers in a single session. While the primary goal is to provide value and support, these sessions also serve as opportunities for customers to express additional needs that can improve sales elsewhere. Depending on the outcomes, sales engineers can then defer to the Customer Success team for follow-up or guide customers back to the sales team if additional purchases are requested.
