Mastering The Art Of Sales Consulting & Solution Engineering

Accelerate Your Pre Sales Career. Learn Sales Engineering Processes & Excel in IT Software and Solution Sales.

What you'll learn

Understand the way Pre Sales Work in a Software Product Organization

Understand Sales and Presales Cycle

Understand Customer Decision Making Processes

Give Effective Demos

Manage your Presales Career Better

Requirements

Some understanding of sales process will be helpful.

Description

Are you involved in selling high-tech technology products, including software, hardware, or associated services? Do you have other roles, such as product development, marketing, sales, pre-sales, training, or product launch? Do you want to improve your technical sales skills to become a successful sales consultant, pre-sales consultant, or solution engineer? If so, this comprehensive course is for you!The course is designed to equip participants with the skills and knowledge necessary to excel in sales consulting and solution engineering roles within the software and technology industry. The author has over two decades of experience in software solution implementations, including working with major companies such as Oracle and IFS, software implementation partners like Tech Mahindra, and running their own business consulting and software implementation company, as well as a startup founder in the Ed-Tech software product space. This wealth of knowledge enables the author to bring a unique perspective to the table.The course covers a wide range of topics, including:The purpose of the course and intended audience.Navigating complex sales and understanding the foundation blocks of sales.The sales environment, including pre-sales roles and challenges.Demand generation, lead generation, and qualification.Understanding the customer's needs through Request for Proposal (RFP).Doing effective presentations and demos.Evaluation and selection processes, including trial, POC, reference customer visit, and customer commitment.Post-sales engagement and objection handling.Building relationships with executive management and understanding the partnership model.Understanding competition and value engineering.Pre-sales training and enablement, including sales methodology and product training.Performance management systems for pre-sales teams.Career progression in pre-sales and solution engineering.By the end of this course, you will have a comprehensive understanding of the technical aspects of sales, specifically in the high-tech industry. You will be equipped with the skills and knowledge necessary to:Create value for the pre-sales organization.Improve your performance in communicating the product and solution's value to the customer.This course is ideal for those involved in pre-sales, solution engineering, or technical sales, as well as anyone interested in pursuing a career in sales consulting. It is suitable for various industries, including software, hardware, professional services, system integration, and complex capital equipment. The course is suitable for individuals and companies of all sizes, from start-ups to large software corporations and their partner networks.Invest in yourself and unlock your potential for a successful career in sales consulting and solution engineering!

Overview

Section 1: Course Introduction

Lecture 1 Introduction

Lecture 2 Expected Learning and Benefits

Lecture 3 Product Development and Marketing

Lecture 4 Understanding Sales Process

Lecture 5 After Sales Processes

Section 2: Understanding Sales Process

Lecture 6 Understanding Sales Cycle

Lecture 7 Lead Generation and Qualification

Lecture 8 Request for Quotation ( RFQ ) Process

Lecture 9 Conducting Discovery

Lecture 10 Customer Enagement

Lecture 11 Partner Engagement

Lecture 12 Customer Presentations

Lecture 13 Customer Proposal

Lecture 14 Customer Evaluations

Lecture 15 Negotiation

Lecture 16 After Sales Support

Section 3: Understanding Sales Environment

Lecture 17 Skills Requirement in a Sales Opportunity

Lecture 18 Environment of a Sales Opportunity

Lecture 19 Roles in the Sales Organization

Lecture 20 Career Progression in Pre Sales Roles

Lecture 21 Challenges of a Pre Sales Organization - External

Lecture 22 Challenges of a Pre Sales Organization - Internal

Section 4: Demand Generation Process

Lecture 23 Overview of Demand Generation Process

Lecture 24 Understanding Lead Flow in the Sales Funnel

Lecture 25 Challenges of Lead Generation Process

Lecture 26 How Favorable Decisions Happens

Lecture 27 Importance of Lead Rating System

Lecture 28 Subjective Criterias of Lead Qualification

Lecture 29 Objective Criterias of Lead Qualification

Lecture 30 Lead Qualification in All Stages of Sales Cycle

Lecture 31 Lead Qualification by Sales Consulting

Lecture 32 Developing and Using a Lead Rating System

Lecture 33 Using Lead Rating to Drive Business

Lecture 34 Challenges of the Lead Rating Syytem

Lecture 35 Lead Generation and Sales Consultant Role

Section 5: Request for Quotation ( RFQ )

Lecture 36 Overview of RFP Process and it's Risks

Lecture 37 Improving Win Rates

Lecture 38 RFP Go and No Go Decisions

Lecture 39 Designing a RFP Rating System

Lecture 40 Avoiding RFP Release to Many Vendors

Lecture 41 First Analysis of a Received RFP

Lecture 42 RFP Tasks and Managing Workload

Lecture 43 Customer Communication After Receiving RFP

Lecture 44 Submitting RFP

Lecture 45 RFP Best Practices

Section 6: Discovery

Lecture 46 Purpose of Discovery Workshop

Lecture 47 Roles of Sales Consultant in a Discovery Workshop

Lecture 48 Discovery is More than Customer Business Processes

Lecture 49 With Whom to Engage in a Discovery

Lecture 50 How to Conduct the Discovery Sessions

Section 7: Demo

Lecture 51 Purpose of a Demo or Presentation

Lecture 52 Type of Demos and Presentations

Lecture 53 Face to Face Time with Customer

Lecture 54 Key Factors Influencing Demo Success

Lecture 55 When to Do The Demo

Lecture 56 Preparing For The Demo

Lecture 57 Strategies of a Feature Function Demo

Lecture 58 Demo Time Management and Having a Plan B

Lecture 59 Non Verbal Communication in a Demo

Lecture 60 Managing Variety of People in the Demo Room

Lecture 61 Managing Demo Pitfalls

Lecture 62 Demo Check List

Lecture 63 Demo Agenda

Lecture 64 Demo Finer Points

Lecture 65 Make Demos Non Boring

Lecture 66 Presentation to Senior Executives

Lecture 67 Repetition in The Way to Remember

Lecture 68 Demo Best Practices

Lecture 69 Question Handling

Lecture 70 Common Demo Mistakes

Lecture 71 Short Demos

Lecture 72 Summarizing Section of the Demo

Section 8: Web Demos

Lecture 73 Overview of Web Demos

Lecture 74 Challenges of Web Demos

Lecture 75 Essentials of Web Demos

Lecture 76 Web Demo Best Practices

Lecture 77 Web Demos Bad Habits

Section 9: Customer Evaluations

Lecture 78 Overview of Customer Evaluation Phase

Lecture 79 Agreeing to a Software Trial / Proof of Concept ( POC )

Lecture 80 Phases of Software Trial / POC

Lecture 81 Assuring Decisions Happens After Trial / POC

Lecture 82 Customer Reference Visits to Avoid POC

Section 10: Pricing

Lecture 83 Understanding of Sales Pricing by Sales Consultants

Lecture 84 Sales Consultants and Commercial Discussions

Section 11: After Sales Service

Lecture 85 Role of Sales Consultants in After Sales Activities

Lecture 86 Optimizing Pre Sales Time in After Sales Activities

Lecture 87 Making Customer Self Reliant during Implementation

Lecture 88 Engaging with Partners After the Sales and During Implementations

Section 12: Objection Handling

Lecture 89 Overview of Objection Handling

Lecture 90 Type of Questions

Lecture 91 Handling Generic Questions

Lecture 92 Best Practices of Objection Handling

Section 13: Executive Relationship

Lecture 93 Need of an Executive Relationship

Lecture 94 Preparing for Executive Meeting

Lecture 95 What Executives Wants to Hear

Lecture 96 Know the Executive Style for Better Preparation

Lecture 97 Connecting Executives of Vendor and Customer Organizations

Section 14: Partners

Lecture 98 Overview of Partnership Model

Lecture 99 How Software Vendors Handle Partners

Lecture 100 Classification of Partners

Lecture 101 Challenges of Partnerships

Lecture 102 Engaging with Partners for an Opportunity

Lecture 103 Engaging with Customers

Lecture 104 Involves Partners in Sales Consulting and Enablement

Pre Sales Engineering, Technical Sales Specialists, Solution Sales Specialist, Software Sales, Product Management, Product Marketing