Meet the NAASE Advisory Board

Here at the North American Association of Sales Engineers, we are honored to have a great Advisory Board involved, to help us steer the way in 2021 and beyond!  In addition to President Ken Lambert and VP/GM Matt Mahoney, this group of volunteers and industry professionals are part of what makes NAASE unique.  We strive to represent the interests of sales engineers from all industries and sectors.

Without further delay, our current and slightly revamped Board:

Damian Hanna– Sr. Director, PreSales Engineering (US Enterprise), CITRIX:  Damian is based out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with over 23 years of technical software sales experience.  His focus over the past 12 years has been in a leadership capacity, running large PreSales Engineering organizations across the US East Coast.

Robert Bernasconi–  Senior Project Manager, Sodexo / Sanofi USA:   Robert has worked for several years as a project manager and a sales engineer for a couple of well-known firms in the Greater Boston area.  He has a keen understanding of specifications and programming requirements.

Diana Diaco Cervantes– Senior Business Analyst, Configure One:  Diana has nearly 15 years of experience working in the Chicago technology space. Her experience spans roles in product management, over 5 years in sales engineering and most recently, customer success in the manufacturing CPQ space.

Jerome Sanders– Infrastructure Sales Manager, Unistress Corp:  Jerome has more than 20 years of experience in the engineering field and currently works as Infrastructure Sales Manager in the New England area. He specializes in infrastructure, utility, & civil products and projects.

Stephanie O’Connell– Solutions Engineer, LBMX:   Based in Ontario, Canada, Steph is a Senior Solutions Engineer with a B2B SaaS technology company specializing in business marketplaces for buying groups, their members, and suppliers. She has over 7 years experience in the software sector, with experience in technology support, implementation, account management and sales engineering.

Adam Joyce– Director, Technical Sales & Services, Copley Consulting Group:  Adam is based out of the Denver, Colorado region, specializing in software and professional services sales of data analytics, business intelligence and cloud application solutions. He began his career as a Sales Engineer and has since moved into management positions, leading a team of technical sellers and solution consultants.

As always, the Advisory Board and the Executive Staff welcome your questions, suggestions, and inquiries related to what NAASE can do to help further the sales engineering and technical sales profession.  Please reach out anytime via email, LinkedIn, or even the phone (267-350-9396).  Thank you-

How Companies Get Bragged About Today

By Marc Cox- Over the years I have become increasingly interested in company culture and 12 years ago I founded The Company Spirit. Nowadays I get hired by CEO’s and Leadership Teams from all around the world, including the USA, to help them understand what their company stands for and what makes it different. To do this I help them create an authentic set of values, sense of purpose and beliefs which their employees get, and customers feel. This is what I call the Company Spirit.

When I started my company, part of what made my approach different was the use of the word love. It was very polarizing with a lot of senior people seeing it as a very soft and fluffy idea and nothing to do with business. So to help me overcome these objections, I set about creating a business case for why love was important. I have now used this with my clients over the last decade and ultimately led me to the writing of my book. Visit https://www.thecompanyspirit.com/ for more information.

My start point was my own experiences and observations. Which companies did I love and why? The more I looked into this, the more it seemed to me that these companies, both big and small, and regardless of category, behaved in a different way. They worked hard with their employees to engage them around a clear sense of purpose and company culture. They were proud and confident of what made the company different and they all had the mindset of wanting to create a memorable customer experience. These companies seemed to have a winning approach and right for the times we lived in post 2008, whilst many others were losing their appeal.

In simple terms it became clear to me that if a company wants to have a strong and emotional relationship with their customers it needs to do the same with their employees. When this happens employees who love what they do, normally care more and are more productive. Whilst customers who really do love the experience  are more than happy to tell others. The company gets bragged about and their business grows in a sustainable way.

This is what I mean by the business case for love.

So why does love matter in business, and why will this be even more important as a consequence of Covid-19?

In my work, I always start by asking people to talk about a customer experience they love and why? Over the years 100’s if not thousands of people from a variety of countries , companies, jobs and ages have given their own answer. The types of companies and experiences mentioned varied greatly. Everything from major global brands to the local independent store, the latest app, restaurant or even favorite sports team.

The reasons given are always a mixture of what I call ‘Heart and Head’. A strong emotional connection balanced with practicality, such as ease of use or a consistent experience every time.

What has become more pronounced over the years is that as customers we want the companies we are loyal to, and spend money with, to have a clear set of values,  which are lived by the employees. After all why spend money or do business with a company where the staff do not care or believe in the company they work for?

In parallel to this, something else has changed.

Partly as a consequence of the breakdown in trust in many of our well known companies, particularly banks and other financial organizations since the Financial Armageddon of 2008. Partly  as a result of the frequent appearance on the ‘front pages’ of our media by Business and CEO’s for bad, sometimes criminal behavior.

Today, the vast majority of employees I have come across, wherever they are in the world, really want to feel proud of the company they work for. They want it to have a clear set of ethics and a strong authentic company culture. They want to trust what it does and says. They increasingly reject working in a toxic culture with narcissistic leadership. An attitude that is particularly strongly felt amongst millennials and even more so amongst Generation Z.

What has also struck me is that these very same companies who are loved almost always aspire to behave as ‘best in class’ Company. To be the best at what they do. Yet, the majority of companies do not have the same level of ambition. Instead they become obsessed by being ‘best in category’ and spend all of their time comparing themselves with how they are doing vs their immediate competition.

Knowing what your competitors are up to is good, but if that is all the company does it creates a very narrow frame of reference. It breeds complacency, a lack of ambition and little to no innovation. Perhaps that is why so many customer experiences feel the same.?

The trouble is, as customers we do not think like that. We have this Rolodex of experiences in our head and judge what we feel and what we think against that. Back in the day when we were allowed to fly in Europe we would judge that experience not just against other airlines but how it fared vs the last trip to the Apple store, the on-line chat with the energy supplier or the ease of use of our favorite shopping app.

So what does it take to be a ‘best in class’ company?

Through a combination of my own experiences as a customer, observations about how winning companies behave and, most importantly listening to the comments and opinions of the hundreds of people I have worked with, I have come to the conclusion there are six. I write about each one in some depth within my book and here is the headline summary.

• Image and experience match

(Get really clear on what the company stands for and what makes it different. Then say what you do and do what you say)

• Constantly Inside The Heads of The Customer

(Get out from behind the desk and be out: not in. Be curious, talk listen and understand what people are thinking and how people live their lives)

• Brave yet disciplined

(the confidence to have new ideas but the discipline to make sure what the company does fits with what the company stands for)

• Constantly innovating

(the more people listen, the more insights they will get and the more ideas they will have. Bring them to life)

• Create memorable customer experiences

(start with the customer experience you want to create and work backwards to the product offer)

• Personal values and company values match

(recruit for cultural fit, not just skills)

None of these six are difficult to do. They apply to any company and any category. They are, after all, largely a mindset.

In normal times all are important in helping a company be loved by its employees and customers.

In the time of the Covid-19 they are crucial in helping a company navigate through this pandemic and be seen as a ‘hero’ not a ‘villain’ or a “predator’.

They are fundamental to helping a company get bragged about today.

Game plans are not a game

by Dean de Jongh, CEO at Kamelian Tech

Why bother with strategy? You may have played the sales and key-account game over and over. We’re going through major shifts due to the Covid-19 pandemic so we need great strategies to survive and grow again.

Strategy brings remarkable change – just look at SpaceX and governments’ Coronavirus strategies.  Strategy is crafted and like all craft, it can be done well with discipline and the right tools. The principles of strategy apply to business as much as they do to politics and other spheres. Strategy should never be a once-a-year exercise which updates or produces a ‘sacred’ master plan. The world is live, continuous and in constant flux – Strategy needs to be dynamic, adaptive and relevant. Sales and key-account management in particular, have much to gain from well-crafted and up-to-date strategies.

Many organizations have great sales and negotiation strategies, and to their advantage, many others don’t. In both instances though, their strategies are often scattered about in presentations and documents. Alongside this, the underlying strategic analysis often lies dormant in slides or worksheets, or even worse, discarded flipchart pages from team breakaways or a person’s mind. Surely, strategic data should at least be treated with the same care and rigour as operational data? Data is the new oil after all and strategy steers operations.

Strategy Platforms in B2B Sales

Kamelian Tech has developed new practical tools for crafting sales strategies and negotiation strategies – both vital for growing and defending the key accounts and customer segments which carry businesses. Robust strategies can be built from the bottom up and easily updated to stay relevant. Precious strategic intelligence is captured and made accessible for future re-use. Decision intelligence is at your fingertips to inform pivots and pitches. Tactics are also garnered to contribute to an arsenal for future battles for clients and sales.

There’s a myriad of third-party strategy platforms out there but these are typically at an organizational level and they can be quite rigid. Our strategy tools are functionally oriented and are customized quickly and affordably. They can tap into your existing systems behind your firewall for extra analytical enrichment and added perspective, while keeping an eye on strategic alignment across the organization. Our purpose is to craft and customize strategy tools for you which will keep you in the game so that you can win and grow more sales and bigger client accounts.

B2B sales are probably going to get a lot harder for the foreseeable future. Purchasing teams are tasked with cutting and avoiding costs to stave off bankruptcies and customers are tightening their wallets. We built our sales-strategies tool to compliment the key elements which purchasing managers base their sourcing strategies on – to give you a better chance of closing sales and growing accounts. Negotiations will be highly contested in these trying economic conditions – preparation is vital for successful negotiations and our negotiation-strategies tool can assist you tremendously with this.

Times are changing and there’s no way we can stop it. Reach out to us and let’s craft strategy solutions for your team and organization to win sales, grow and defend your vital key accounts. NAASE members are eligible for a 2-for-1 deal on Kamelian Tech’s strategy tools.

For more information, please visit https://www.kamelian.tech/kamelian/kamelian.php

Guerrilla Marketing for B2B

“Guerrilla marketing” as a term and technique has been around for a long time, but typically it is associated with B2C endeavors. However, guerrilla marketing can also be used in the B2B world. As competition is always fierce, and as everyone’s attention span gets shorter and more jaded, perhaps more AEC firms should implement some guerrilla tactics.

First, what exactly is guerrilla marketing?

One thing it is not, is GORILLA marketing. That is a very specific niche of marketing not super relevant to the AEC field.

“Guerrilla” marketing is often low-cost and UNCONVENTIONAL, and it aims to be out-of-the-box while often surprising its viewers/readers. In some ways it can be seen as less dignified (??) than normal marketing schemes. A firm does not need a large marketing/advertising budget to partake in guerrilla marketing- but one does need to be creative and also willing to take some risks.

In the B2B arena, there are several tactics that could be implemented. Several are noted below, per a recent blog post on Stratabeat:

https://stratabeat.com/guerrilla-marketing/

1. Crash The Party / “steal” attention from your competitors
2. Deploy Temporary/ Pop-Up Shops
3. Revamp Your 404 Pages (Webpage error message landing page)
4. Utilize Billboards
5. Create Exclusive Events

A few points on the above article and partial listing.

• Your firm is not “above” doing guerrilla techniques. Salesforce was very successful in crashing the party of a competitor’s event- and Salesforce is now a $13 billion / year company- and the leader in its field.
• I don’t see a lot of relevance or ROI on altering your company’s various 404 web error messages. If people are already on your website, that kind of gimmick shouldn’t be needed.
• My old employer, a medium-sized real estate developer, utilized “mobile billboards” for a while to advertise his newer townhouse development. He paid a banner/ A-frame truck to drive around in a few towns, and when it was done it parked all night/ after hours at a very busy intersection on the main road in town. Many eyes were on that large sign every day. It certainly brought some brand recognition- if nothing else.
• For the AEC industry specifically, I would say #5 is maybe most relevant and is the most used. As we all know, there are TONS of events and offerings. Maybe we do need to be more creative with these events though.  Topics, locations, attendees, environments, etc.

As we roll into 2021 and the unknowns of the market and commercial activity, it may be even more needed to market and set yourself apart from competing outfits. Guerrilla marketing is not a bad word, and may be worth looking at closer.

(NOTE: this article, by Ken Lambert, was originally published on the website of Society of Marketing Professional Services in January 2020.)

How Many Software Firms can the Economy Support?

In my daily and weekly perusal around the internet in general, and especially on LinkedIn, I am amazed at just how many software companies exist.  Some are US-based, but of course many are not.  We are in a global marketplace and generally a software developed and sold out of India, or Belarus etc, can function just fine within the US for a US company.

Right now, depending on who you believe, there are between 600,000 – 700,000 software companies in the world!  Some experts believe by 2027 there will be a cool million.  Right now, in 2021, how many of these 650,000 (??) are profitable?  That is a tough question to answer.

It is often said and estimated that, within 5 years, 90% of start-ups will fail and go defunct.  Clearly if they are not profitable, they are going out of business.  Do we extrapolate that and assume that only 10% of the 650,000 software firms are profitable on a regular basis?  Perhaps.  If so, there would be roughly 65,000 active and at least borderline successful software companies in the world today.  But more and more come online every day.

What can a healthy and robust economy support exactly?  If there are 65,000 today- can the world economy support 90,000 software outfits?

I’ll make a comparison to an industry that is very different from software, for whatever that might be worth.  Let’s take a quick look at the auto manufacturing industry.

There are 30 auto manufacturers within the USA; worldwide the total amount is 62.  Sixty two brands in the world, to service 7.8 billion people.

It appears that with these 62 companies there is enough competition, and variety, to adequately service everyone’s needs in regards to cars and trucks.

Of course making autos and developing software are 2 different worlds, in many aspects.  The barrier to entry for a new auto manufacturer would be enormous, and that is why we rarely see them.  Conversely, to create and then sell (online) a new software program is relatively “easy” and cheap- in many cases.  Overheard is fairly minimal, and as such it does not take a crazy amount of sales to turn a profit for some of these small software companies.

Software marketers naturally point to widespread digital transformation, and also more likely software use in developing nations/ economies.  Once you start looking around, there really is a software program for nearly every conceivable business and purpose.  So maybe the optimism is warranted.

In conclusion, there is no true conclusion.  Start-ups in software will continue unless and until it doesn’t make fiscal sense to do so.  But I do wonder where we are on that industry growth curve.

What is Reverse Marketing?

(the following article is courtesy of Above The Standard)
Reverse marketing is a form of marketing that utilizes people who are trying to sell and/or
market their product and/or service to you.
Best Results with Reverse Marketing?

1. Lead with Questions.
2. Get permission from the person (permission marketing).
   Three Things SHALL Happen (from the person who is contacting you)
   • Not be interested.
   • Hear more about you, what you offer, and your company.
   • Build a long-term client and networking relationship.
   When Someone Calls or Meets with You …
3. Person starts talking to you.
4. Hear what the person is offering from their business.
5. There might be a benefit to work together with leads in your business – your local
   insurance agent, local banker, local CPA, Lender, Business Planner, Venture Capitalist,
   etc.
6. If there is not a benefit to both parties (you and them), let them know about what you
   are doing.
7. Tell me about your business (Let them talk).
8. Build a rapport and relationship on the phone and/or in person.
9. Ask Questions. How is your company? How long has the company been around? How
   long have you been involved? What is your name, email, phone, and company?
10. Find out where they are at with their commitment to their business.
    You Never KNOW Who Knows Who
    It is about listening and valuing each person, as well as letting each person know what you do.
    You want business relationships that are give and take, not just one sided.

“High-Pressure” Sales Tactics – For Better or Worse

Throughout my career I have attended several generic sales trainings- which often could be deemed “high-pressure” sales tactics.  Most were a long time ago, and they crossed industry boundaries.

For a short time I also was the sales and telemarketing manager for a small company, with a small team of telemarketers under my supervision.  Think “dial for dollars”!

I realize that some sales engineers have not had similar experiences or trainings- especially those who began their career in the technical/ engineering/ software development realms.  These folks typically have the technical aspects of their job and company down pat- but the sales portion can be a bit more of a struggle.

Due to that fact, I offer the following main takeaways from the few sales trainings that I have attended.  I, as well as NAASE, am not endorsing any of these tactics.  Some are not typically done in a B2B environment, but there are some benefits to some points listed.   These can also be viewed as to why many people dislike “salespeople”- which on its own can be good to know as a sales engineer.  Without further ado, in no particular order:

• Confront, and overcome, each buyer objection (typically, as they come).  This is essentially part of “don’t take No for an answer”.  Basically, persuade the buyer that their answer or objection/perception is wrong.  Whatever they say, turn it around on them and try to prove that there really is no obstacle in buying from you.
• Price:  Everyone, almost always, will say that the price is too high.  For many people, it doesn’t matter what figure you quote, it will be “too high” according to the prospect.  Soon enough a salesperson will not even hear the prospect when/if the prospect claims that the price is too high.  Maybe that is part of the point of the sales trainers.
• Rejection is the name of the game; get used to it.  Don’t take it personally.  In many product or service sales operations, it is a numbers game.  In my telemarketing manager role, I would hand out lists of companies and people to contact with phone numbers and titles etc.  People would just make tons of cold calls, and usually get ignored, hung up on, yelled at, or in a slightly more polite outcome- pleasantly rejected.   And yes, I also had to make many of these telemarketing calls myself.  That was a tough job- I respect people that actually do this every day or week.
• Don’t be afraid of silence, during a sales presentation or conversation/ negotiation.  Awkward silence can actually be good; it’s a poker game.  See what the prospect says- wait to hear them.
• Make sure you are meeting with the decision-makers.   Back when I did home improvement sales we would always make a point to set the sales appointment with all relevant decision-makers (typically husband and wife, etc.).  If I got there to the home and 1 of them was absent, it essentially was a lost cause.  Our “closing rate” would go down about 50%.  In almost all cases, the outcome of the sales “pitch” was- “I don’t know yet; I’ll have to talk it over with my wife,”.  And there was no way to really overcome that hurdle in the moment.

Most of what is noted herein is not relevant in today’s consultative B2B sales world.  However, some good advice can still be gleaned from it.  Sales engineers are professionals, and they are technical in nature, but don’t ever forget that the word “sales” is right there in the title.

When confidence feels elusive

by Misha Bartlett

https://www.mishatamiko.com/blog/when-confidence-feels-elusive

When you are stepping into a new leadership role or taking on new challenges, you may start to doubt your capabilities or feel your confidence wane.

There are several dimensions to confidence. There are also several myths about how to become more confident. Fortunately, there is a lot of research to point us in a direction more likely to build confidence. 

Confident people are able to quickly learn from and move past failures. They lean into mastery rather than perfectionism, and to foster a positive self-concept of their capabilities even when challenged.

The truth is that you are entirely in charge of how you feel, including whether you feel confident. Once you understand that your feelings are in your control, you’re starting to understand how to build up your confidence. 

Confidence is not something you are born with – it’s something you have to create for yourself.  Sometimes daily. Building your confidence fosters feelings of certainty that you can accomplish whatever you set your mind to. It is like any other emotion, and you can train yourself to access it. 

Step 1 to building confidence: Know why you want to achieve it.

Once you figure out your purpose, or your Why as Simon Sinek calls it, learning how to build confidence becomes a matter of retraining how you think. To achieve your goals, you have to embody a confident person. There may still be uncertainty that wants to hold you back. Staying connected to your Why will help you to push past hesitation, doubt, and fear.

Step 2 to building confidence: Uncover the beliefs that are causing self-doubt. 

By confronting your limiting beliefs and shifting how you think, learning how to gain confidence will start to come naturally. If you find yourself focusing on negative, limiting beliefs when it’s time to be confident, stop yourself. Think of something positive about yourself instead and begin focusing on all the reasons you’ll succeed instead of why you’ll fail.

Step 3 to building confidence: Think about something you’re proud of.

When you’re feeling unsure of yourself, think about a recent accomplishment that you’re really proud of.

Your mind will begin to think in positive terms, not negative ones. Learn how to retrain your mind to start thinking more positively, and you’ll start feeling more self-assured as a result. You don’t need to wear rose-colored glasses – it’s more about having a realistic idea of your skills. When you focus on positive self-talk, you’re able to look at setbacks as simply stepping stones to success. 

The research tells us that whatever you put your attention on grows, so consider how you can focus your thinking on:

• Your values
• Your strengths
• Your wins
• Your learning
• Envisioning successes
• Thinking of yourself as capable

How to create a Super Hero style LinkedIn Profile

By David Alto

When creating your LinkedIn profile, it can be unclear what to include, or what to avoid.

I want to ensure that you expand on your personal brand, because let’s face it…this is what your LinkedIn profile is.

If you’re looking to secure a new job, here is what you’ll want to work on first.

Update your Headline

I like to tell my clients your Headline is like the world’s shortest elevator pitch. Please do not put the name of the company you work for here. This is your personal brand. So, let’s say you’re a Project Manager with Amazon…. you could write the following: “Project Manager | Servant Leader | Virtual Trainer | Operations Management” or “Project Manager leveraging across functional relationships to deliver on time projects.

I would suggest searching others on LinkedIn doing what you do and see how they approach it.                                                

SEO

Search Engine Optimization is alive and well and lives in your Headline. This is why it is important to include keywords/skills in your Headline. My clients end up showing up in more recruiter searches because we did some SEO on their Headline.

About section is your opportunity

Recruiters and hiring managers go to your LinkedIn profile to learn more about you. In this section think about writing it as if you are having coffee with a new colleague at a coffee shop. What would you tell them “About” yourself? It’s perfectly OK to write in first person in this section. Tell the world what it is you have done, what you’re doing now, and why you do it. Give people a reason to reach out to you.

Featured section is great to showcase your…

By adding a Featured section, you will now be able to showcase that Project, Presentation, Video/Interview, a mention in an Article, a mention in your Company website, Publication, Award, Certificate, etc.

The Featured is the perfect place to validate those accomplishments, achievements and metrics you have on your resume.

You can also put these same accomplishments and attach them into your work experience section as well.

But if you only have a few (2-4) of these I would highly suggest that you put them in the Featured section because this section is closer to the top of your LinkedIn profile and they show up in a larger format drawing attention to them.

Because the average LinkedIn user does not take advantage of this feature, when others see items in that Featured section they stop and take notice.

Let’s recap

Recruiters visit your profile because:

1)   They searched for people doing what you do and found you

or…

2)   They have your resume and want to visit your LinkedIn profile in order to learn more about you.

This is why you want and need a Super Hero LinkedIn profile.

• Showcase your talents, accomplishments, and metrics…
• Have that Hiring Manager or Recruiter feel confident in reaching out to you because you have what they need it its clear because of the improvements you made to your profile.

When deciding what to include on your LinkedIn profile, it’s important to consider many factors. Ensuring optimal formatting, highlighting information that will support your experience and expertise and tailoring your profile to the specific industry are all crucial elements to a LinkedIn profile that will get you noticed.