Tech Sales Vs. "Other Sales"

Some people are considered "Natural Salespeople". You must have heard about people who could "Sell refrigerators to Eskimos". I am not one of these people. In fact, my early forays into sales have been unmitigated disasters.

At age 17 I was lured into selling the Herbalife pyramid scheme (yes, I was that stupid). It goes without saying that my money and effort went down the drain. Later on in life, I had several temp jobs selling various products at fairs and other public events. I did not rock the world on those jobs either.

I spent the first seven years of my professional career as an engineer designing and building the products I now sell. I now sell millions of dollars of product to fortune 100 companies.

So what is the difference? I believe I am part of the new generation of sales people. Sales people who rely less on old school "wine and dine" techniques and more on hard core knowledge of the product and "problem solving"to make my sales happen.

Let me make it clear - this type of selling is not unique to technology sales, and to make it work you still need to employ all the classic skills (networking, effective communication, questioning and listening, strong follow ups etc.) that every sales book preaches.

Can this technique work for other industries? I am sure it can, as long as your product or service presents a unique value (or you can instill the quality in the way you deliver your product).

I do not make any claims that my way of selling technology is the only way, or even the best way. It is just the one that works for me. As my old boss and mentor said "There are many different styles of sales people and there are many styles of selling. The only thing that matters is the bottom line".