I started my career as a chemical engineer developing pharmaceutical drug processes, and now I feel fortunate to have a career I love training and coaching salespeople across different companies and from different parts of the world. I tell clients I am living proof that sales can be taught.
In fact, I think that engineers can make really great salespeople. Many of them won’t believe that and many might not want to do the role, but here are 3 reasons why engineers make great salespeople:
1) They Love Process
The best salespeople I have seen are highly process oriented – the way they manage their clients, their preparation process that creates more efficiency, their meeting process that they’re always trying to improve that delivers consistency and strong results. And engineers love nothing more than process
2) They Listen
As a group, engineers are more introverted than typical salespeople. And introverts are better listeners. In this information overloaded world, customers don’t need more features and benefits thrown at them – they need to be heard. And engineers do this well.
3) They’re Problem Solvers
At their core, engineers are problem solvers. This mindset bodes well for consultative selling where the goal is to truly understand the situation and come up with a solution.
Often the only thing missing is good sales training and coaching for things to click. Next time you’re hiring a salesperson, see if you can find an engineer.
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