IT Sales - Does Salesperson need to be sharpest tool in the IT shed ?

[admin]

 The biggest problem within the IT sales area ( as I see it) is not the sales or the technical side. It is communications between the 2 areas. Does a Sales person need to fully understand the IT side of things - well yes and no.

The more he does the better the chances are of closing a sale - the more experienced the Sales person is with the over all sales process itself increases the chances of success too.

Overall though an IT Sales person is really just a conduit between the client and the IT staff. Understanding the features and functions of the IT product can be taught to most good sales people. But teaching the sales process to an IT person is sometimes very hard. The two areas are culturally different. One thinks in abstract terms and the other thinks in finite terms.

We commented on this differences here - http://webglobalnet.net/support/index.php/topic,95.0.html


The point I’m trying to make is that when they work as a team with both sides having an educated understanding of their place in the client or prospect process the better the chances are to close the sale.

Many sales people do not understand this and think they should or can do everything themselves. This base of thinking though is wrong. The smart sales person uses all the available resources at his disposal.

Many IT people on the other hand think the sales person is an idiot, that doesn’t understand anything about what it is they are talking about from the IT standpoint. They provide short answers to questions or just the standard “No” it can’t be done. Not because it can’t be done but either they don’t want to deal with it or they are unsure what it would take to do it.

Getting back to the original question though –

Education is a good thing for any Business Development executive (it's the great ones who get the knowledge they need on their own) but a good Business Development executive also needs to understand what he doesn’t know and bring in the resources needed, when they are needed.

The Business Development executive in other terms is the manager of the sales cycle and does not necessarily need to be the sharpest tool in the IT shed to be successful in IT sales.

A good IT person on the other hand should understand this and should eagerly welcome being part of the sales cycle team. And be willing to expand their knowledge of the sales process as well.

Remember Sales pays the bills.