{"id":36652,"date":"2022-07-14T08:55:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-14T06:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/?p=36652"},"modified":"2022-07-14T08:59:41","modified_gmt":"2022-07-14T06:59:41","slug":"technology-sales-connecting-customers-with-technology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/technology-sales-connecting-customers-with-technology\/","title":{"rendered":"Technology Sales: Connecting Customers With Technology"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Coinciding with the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR)<\/a>, and as a result of the perfect storm of technological innovations that brought it about, the traditional concept and functions of \u2018sales\u2019 has changed<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With all this technological innovation \u2013 such as artificial intelligence (IA), the internet of things (IoT), robotics, quantum commuting and 3D printing – it is no longer feasible to manufacture and sell a product or even provide a service without ongoing backup and support. Sales staff require <\/a>ongoing training and refresher courses in how best to use these new technologies<\/a>.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, technology advances at such a rapid pace that products frequently need to be replaced or upgraded<\/strong>. Microsoft Word, the Apple iPhone and HP printers are just a few examples of technological product evolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tech sales is not about selling<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, one of the primary Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of technology sales is customer satisfaction<\/a><\/strong>. Is the customer satisfied that the product and service provided have not only filled a need in their organization, but have added measurable value in terms of revenue growth?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This satisfaction is measured objectively using a variety of \u2018metrics of success\u2019 such as NPS (Net Promoter Score)<\/strong>, a management tool used to gauge the loyalty of a firm\u2019s customer relationships, or CSAT<\/strong> (customer satisfaction) which measures how satisfied a customer is with a particular product<\/strong>, transaction or interaction with a company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Customer success is therefore a post-sales operation that focuses on value attainment<\/strong>. It does this by identifying desired outcomes for customers and implementing plans to achieve them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"EU<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tech sales vs. customer success<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The nature of new technology – especially computers and software – is such that the sales function differs considerably from other products. From the mid-1990s, tech companies realized that selling a perpetual license to use software resulted in high rates of failed implementation and damaged future sales – what the industry refers to as \u2018churn\u2019, or loss of customer retention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New tech sales, or selling to new customers, is more a process of connecting customers with technology<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 taking a discovery rather than selling approach. It is about understanding customers\u2019 requirements, existing technologies and challenges, and how the vendor\u2019s products and\/or services can complement their operations or solve an issue for them. Salespeople with traditional training are often unfamiliar with this process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The role of client relationship management (CRM)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So, if salespeople are new to the discovery process approach, what should they focus on for customer satisfaction?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf Build customers\u2019 understanding<\/strong> of your product technology, what you are selling, and its limitations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf Build a relationship with the person to whom you’re selling<\/strong>. The company will have needs to fulfil as a whole, but individuals may also have goals that they’d like to achieve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf Understanding the personal element of a sale also enables you to approach customers differently, striving not only to satisfy customer expectations, but to exceed them. \u2018Customer delight\u2019 promotes loyalty<\/strong>, word-of-mouth endorsements and increased profitability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf Once the goals and challenges have been identified, sell the value<\/strong>. This value is how your product or service solves a problem, generates revenue and maximizes opportunities for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf \u2018Value\u2019 will be different depending on customer buyer types; are you talking to the economic decision-makers, technical decision-makers and influencers, or the CEO?<\/strong> Their needs are different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf The sales proposal should include a demonstration<\/strong> of the product and how the company could or should use it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf Above all, don’t focus on selling<\/strong>. If you can understand their needs and match your products to those needs, you can forge a trusted relationship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connecting customers with technology<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Finding new customers is important, but on average this process takes four to nine times more time and money than: selling to existing customers, customer retention through renewals, cross-selling (adding a complementary product or service to the first sale), or upselling (upgrades or add-ons to a purchase). Overall, these strategies are more efficient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How successful such efforts are depends on the vendor\u2019s skill in showing understanding of the client\u2019s needs, and creating a position of trusted advisor so that recommendations are not seen as focused on selling but rather on value attainment<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Business<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

How do we do this?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The customer journey in a customer success model follows a structured flow:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf Sales to success handover:<\/strong> ensuring the client\u2019s understanding of the product that they have purchased, and the support team available to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf Customer onboarding:<\/strong> training and enablement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf Adoption:<\/strong> driving comfort with the product and\/or service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf Engagement:<\/strong> driving utilization with the product and\/or service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf Expansion and renewal:<\/strong> growth and renewal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of the above should be aimed at achieving customer goals and desired outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Study with EU<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

EU Business School<\/a><\/strong> offers a number of subject specializations that cover the principles of tech sales. These specializations include qualifications in Business Administration; Digital Business, Design and Innovation; Marketing; Business Management; Project Management; Cloud Computing; Information Systems; and Business Technology. Visit EU Business School\u2019s website<\/a> for details of these and other graduate and postgraduate qualifications<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Coinciding with the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), and as a result of the perfect storm of technological innovations that brought it about, the traditional concept and functions of \u2018sales\u2019 has changed. With all this technological innovation \u2013 such as artificial intelligence (IA), the internet of things (IoT), robotics, quantum commuting and 3D printing – it is no longer feasible to manufacture and sell a product or even provide a service without ongoing backup and support. Sales staff require ongoing training and refresher courses in how best to use these new technologies. In addition, technology advances at such a rapid pace […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":36655,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1771,1764],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-trends","category-eu-business-school","post--single"],"yoast_head":"\r\nTechnology Sales: Connecting Customers With Technology | EU Business School<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/technology-sales-connecting-customers-with-technology\/\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"EU Business School\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.euruni.edu\\\/blog\\\/technology-sales-connecting-customers-with-technology\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"EU Blog\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.euruni.edu\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Business Trends\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.euruni.edu\\\/blog\\\/category\\\/business-trends\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Technology Sales: Connecting Customers With Technology\"}]}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Technology Sales: Connecting Customers With Technology | EU Business School","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/technology-sales-connecting-customers-with-technology\/","author":"EU Business School","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/technology-sales-connecting-customers-with-technology\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"EU Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Business Trends","item":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/category\/business-trends\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Technology Sales: Connecting Customers With Technology"}]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36652"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36652\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36686,"href":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36652\/revisions\/36686"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.euruni.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}