Ask HN: Thinking of writing article(s) on Sales for Engineers

[jppope]

Before I got into Software, I spent a decade or so doing sales. I'm thinking about writing some articles or an article on "Sales for Engineers" but I'm curious if people would be interested in it and/or how I could do a better job of writing the article(s).

Would you be interested in it? What would you like to know about sales? What would you like to know about marketing? What are other articles/ books missing? What is talked about too little/ too much?

[verdverm]

There is definite interest, lots of content out there. A summary / survey might be a good place to start.

Some other subtopics

- open source / COSS

- B2B vs B2C

- Playbooks for sales that show that it isn't scummy, misconception is prevalent

- founder led sales

- how to build a sales habit from zero

There are a number of technical people who would like to turn their ideas into businesses and sales is the last thing they want to think about or do. Helping them to change that and succeed could be a good goal.

Books I've found helpful are "Crossing the Chasm", "The Challenger Customer", and "To Sell is to be Human"

[jppope → verdverm]

excellent points. Especially regarding the motivation side... there are a lot of misconceptions out there about sales that it's drudgery for technical folk when in reality is that it will probably be the opposite. good call

[banach]

I would be interested in some advice on how to support the sales team without doing their job for them. Our managers have lately started talking a lot about “focusing on the value we bring to the client” and so on, and while that is surely a crucial perspective to be aware of, there are perspectives that the sales team are not expected to be aware of that are the technical team’s responsibility and I would like to strike a balance there. Are there some things you are now aware of that you wish your engineer colleagues would have shared with the sales team, for example?

[jppope → banach]

Not going to lie here... having been in both worlds I'm actually in awe of how much leniency many sales people get regarding product knowledge and technical considerations- it's a very one sided relationship in that regard. Engineers are expected to be much more empathetic to sales considerations than sales people are to technical aspects of a business. It's kinda messed up IMO.

Specifically to your question: > "Are there some things you are now aware of that you wish your engineer colleagues would have shared with the sales team, for example?"

I think this is a great topic for an article! Just as a knee jerk answer in case you don't see the article:

On a case by case basis (aka depends on the sales person), but I think engineers could do more to provide an approachable "why" they did something that they did.

Put another way, there are often technical decisions which sales people can understand at a high level (if communicated properly) that would help them do their job more effectively. This is especially impactful with client work, but still useful for product work. I know that it is difficult to express our work sometimes to audiences that don't have the same mental models but even just understanding that there is an objective reason can help them communicate with customers more effectively.

The other thing, which to me feels intuitive... the work we do is exciting! We build things, and make things better! I feel like those emotions could be shared... new R&D, new features, new products... that stuff could be another place where sales people can get motivation. They are part of something that is moving forward, which helps A LOT. Energy makes a sale happen

[banach → jppope]

Thank you! I will try to apply both of your suggestions when I get back to work from vacation :) looking forward to your articles, I think the topic has a lot of potential.

[webnrrd2k]

I'd like to see something that highlights the difference between "technical sales" and "retail sales", or "sales in general". (I'm using the quotes because I'm not quite sure of the terminology, but I think that gets the general idea across.)

Selling, say, a car to the general public is very different from selling a specific and highly technical product to financial engineers. Both "technical salespeople" and "retail sales" seem to have a lot of trouble understanding the differences in techniques and emphasis.

[jppope → webnrrd2k]

100%. It's a really important point because the types of sales are vastly different in function, responsibilities, and skills required to do the job. Definitely worth delving into

[shaprack]

Sales & Engneering is a deadly combination that because I only seen Engineers running away from sales responsibility or job, but ya time has changed now.

[joshxyz]

WHERE DO I SUBSCRIBE WHERES YOUR SUBSTACK OR ANYTHING

[jppope → joshxyz]

jonpauluritis.com

not going to lie- thus far I haven't touched the subject. It's become apparent to me that this might be something where I can actually offer something novel, so Im looking into it :)