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    Fundamentals of Selling Engineering Software
    Fundamentals of Selling Engineering Software
    Fundamentals of Selling Engineering Software
    Ebook123 pages1 hour

    Fundamentals of Selling Engineering Software

    By Guy D. Haas

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    About this ebook

    Boost your engineering software sales effectiveness & confidence! Learn from a 40-year veteran how to plan, train, and guide your sales force to success. Revisit key Best Practice sections for ongoing growth.

    Fundamentals of Selling Engineering Software is a comprehensive guide designed to enhance the skills

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPalmetto Publishing
    Release dateNov 12, 2024
    ISBN9798822971592
    Fundamentals of Selling Engineering Software
    Author

    Guy D. Haas

    Guy D. Haas, a seasoned sales manager with over four decades of experience in the engineering software industry, is renowned for his successful career. He holds a BS from the University of Maryland and an MBA from Case Western. His professional journey includes tenures at Sperry Univac, FutureNet, Computervision, MacNeil-Schwedler/MSC Software, Data Precision, and Data I/O. In 2004, Haas founded TeamEDA, an engineering software management company, which he successfully sold in 2021. Now retired, Mr. Haas shares his expertise as an adjunct faculty member at Middlesex College. A resident of Tampa, FL, he continues to influence through his book, Fundamentals of Selling Engineering Software.

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      Book preview

      Fundamentals of Selling Engineering Software - Guy D. Haas

      FOR STARTERS

      The purpose of this book is to help Engineering Software Salespeople be more effective, to be more confident, and to help them succeed in selling engineering software products to those that need them. It is also to help the front-line Engineering Software Sales Manager plan for the right sales force, to be more effective in recruiting, to properly train and guide salespeople under their supervision. This book and these principles are based on 40+ years of success in selling both electrical and mechanical engineering software, and in managing technical salespeople. The author’s background is covered on back cover.

      You will see Best practice: from time to time in this book. These are places of critical importance to your success. You may occasionally want to go back and review these sections.

      The life of a Technical Salesperson -

      It’s a good life. A technical salesperson is not your average salesperson. This person is of the highest integrity in the selling profession. This person is serious about their job- smart, articulate and knowledgeable. They work in the world of engineering, where products are conceived, designed and tested. They constantly study and continue to learn. They easily adapt and evolve.

      This person is usually college educated, athletic, organized and confident. They like challenges, adventure, and taking risks. They probably love life, hike, canoe, sports and being outdoors.

      They earn a good living. They are typically married, have children, and are the primary bread winners of their family. They are outgoing and most likely have many friends.

      This person is competitive and likes to win. They usually play sports- golf, tennis, or maybe Pickleball. If they win, they don’t brag about it. If they lose, they get back up and try again. They probably workout once or twice a week. They are high-energy, healthy, and determined to complete tasks. They are resilient.

      They are entrepreneurial. They will probably start one or more businesses in their lifetime. They understand how critical revenue generation is. They understand that cash in must be greater than cash out, a simple principle for running a business. They will probably write at least one book. They work hard and they play hard.

      Hey, I just described myself!

      The nature of technical software-

      Selling software is quite different than selling hardware or other tangible products. Software is an intangible product, typically called a Computer Application. You can’t see or touch it. Hardware is a physical entity. You can touch it, see it, feel it, and maybe hear it. You can point out the features and benefits, and the prospective buyer can immediately see and validate it for themselves. They can get emotionally involved immediately. With software you can talk about it until you are blue in the face, but the prospective buyer needs to see something other than presentation slides or a brochure. They need a way to validate the product and its value, and to get emotionally involved. Don’t underestimate the importance of emotional involvement in your product, your company, and you!

      A brochure is just words and pictures. The pictures can show some features and benefits but again the Buyer needs to see something more tangible, needs to see how this product works and can be applied in their environment. They will not buy off your words or off a brochure. The only exception is if they have previous experience with your product, from within their company or from some other company.

      Assuming this is not the case, the Buyer needs a way to see your product in action. This is typically what they are looking for:

      ‒ Is it easy or hard to use?

      ‒ Is it fast or slow?

      ‒ Does it look user friendly?

      ‒ Does it deliver believable, accurate results?

      ‒ Does it have useful features/functions?

      ‒ What kind of computer is required?

      ‒ What kind of training is required?

      ‒ How can they integrate this product into their environment?

      ‒ Is the company reputable?

      ‒ What are the risks?

      That’s where the Demonstration comes in. We’ll spend a whole Chapter on the Demo (Art of the Demo). It is a critical piece of the selling process.

      Selling technical software is quite different than selling general purpose software. Specifically, I am talking about CAD, CAE, CAM and EDA software. In the mechanical world, CAD (computer aided design) refers to 2D and 3D drawings. CAE (computer aided engineering) usually refers to analytical tools like FEA (finite element analysis) or CFD (computational fluid dynamics). CAM is computer aided manufacturing, tools to program manufacturing machines. In the electronics world the terms are EDA (electronics design automation) and usually includes schematics, PCB Design, ASIC/IC physical (chip) layout and analysis tools. There are many more acronyms across many disciplines!

      Best practice: Technical software requires technical knowledge. You are selling to engineers, to solve engineering problems. To gain respect you need to understand the engineer’s problem, know what you are talking about and be able to answer technical questions. You need to show knowledge. Engineers are science oriented, and respect people who are smart. Engineering software requires you to know something about engineering, whatever kind of engineering the software is supposed to support. If you don’t have that knowledge you need to gain it. Take appropriate courses. Read appropriate books. Talk to your technical support team and learn what the engineering discipline involves, their problems, and how your product can help them. You need to understand and convey your value proposition to engineers.

      Generally speaking, the less experience and knowledge the longer the ramp-up time. You can expect an experienced or knowledgeable Sales Rep to ramp up faster and deliver sales results sooner. That is part of the cost tradeoff. The experienced Sales Rep will cost more up front.

      Lastly, hardware is almost always sold perpetually, as a capital purchase, perhaps with an annual maintenance contract. It can also be purchased on a Capital Lease or an installment payment plan, where you own it at the end of the period.

      Technical Software is sold as a right to use, either on a Perpetual basis or a Subscription basis. Subscriptions are an expense, usually one-year and include Support and Software updates. By 2000, Perpetual licensing has been almost eliminated, and today almost all technical software is sold on a Subscription basis. You may want to tie a discount to a longer term 2-year or 3-year Subscription.

      By definition, Software subscription is a licensing model that allows users to pay regularly for a computer program. Users

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