Our sales cycle has evolved and will continue to evolve in the coming decades. Let’s dissect a few sales trends we have been experiencing, especially in the B2B buying and selling journeys. This Q&A format is derived from a recent podcast I did with the CEO and Managing Partner of the Global Performance Group. (link to the podcast)
How has B2B SaaS Sales cycle evolved over the last 20 yrs?
Sales is getting more complex and more technical. CIOs are in a much more of a driver seat as the decisions have dependency on the full tech stack. Buyers used to expect sales and SEs to show what’s in the box. Demonstrate the features and the value of the solution. The sales evaluation has gotten more technical. As a result, the Sales Engineers have gained more prominence as part of the sales process. Sales engineering has evolved from being a demo monkey to a strategic advisor to the sales rep. The complexity has been driven by the need for customization. Over the 20 yrs businesses have enjoyed and loved using SaaS platforms but they also don’t want to be restricted by the technology. They want and expect the best of both worlds - make it easy for me to scale and make it tailored to my needs. That puts a higher level of burden on how we demo and what we demo. The need for both integration and customization of SaaS has created a higher level of technical complexity in the sales journey, which can most effectively be resolved by the sales engineering expertise.
Why is outcome based selling more important now?
A lot of sales engineering coaching and enablement is now focused on the outcome and value vs features/benefits. The buyer doesn’t care as much about the bells & whistles of what the technology can do, unless it delivers the outcome and solves the problems their business is experiencing. It’s absolutely critical for both sales and sales engineers to be even more aligned on the outcomes that the buyer is envisioning or expecting. This way, the sales rep can focus on the business aspects of the outcome, while the SE demonstrates the technical outcome. There is a higher level of prescription being demanded from the buyers for the SEs to actually not just show or demo, but actually guide them on the best ways to achieve the outcomes they are looking for.
Buyers are more concerned about their stack of technology, how does this shift in the buying behavior?
One buzz word that’s becoming very prominent is “Composability”. It’s defined as the ability for a business to build their tech stack in a composable way. The pieces of the puzzle can be very easily swapped in and out as the customers requirements evolve over time. It’s a mindset of businesses need a faster pace to select the technology they need. They want to be able to replace components of the tech stack as needed. The challenge it creates for a sale cycle is that the prospect has composability in mind. When they are thinking about that in the sales cycle, they want to know how our solution will not only function, but integrate to the full tech stack. The SEs then have to think of solutioning for the full tech stack
Buyers want to re-platform more frequently. How does that change the relationship?
I have always believed that sales is a long term relationship. Even though the sales activity concludes once you win or lose the deal. The trust and credibility that gets developed along the sales cycle is long lasting. This movement to composability and being able to replace tech stack and swap out components of the technology as needed is creating a win/win/win. Prospects win because buyers get to deliver their value at a faster pace, as the customers are not as committed to their monolith tech stack. Buyers don’t need to make a 10 yr commitment to a piece of technology. They can actually afford to make a lower-risk, shorter term decision to evaluate, experiment, and leverage the technology for a few years to see how its working out for them. If not, they’ll swap out with better alternatives. It’s a win for Sales as it translates to more sales cycles. The last thing a rep wants to hear from a prospect is “We love your solution but we are in a long contract so let’s reconnect in a few years”. But if they are in a contract for a year and sales has the opportunity to wow them with the latest innovation and prove the additional value the buyer can gain from enhancing their tech stack, buyers are open ears. Vendors also win in this scenario as the roadmap can be optimized for the innovation that drives short-term results. The product team, leveraging agile methodology, can launch faster products, get them into the market, get immediate feedback from customer adoption, and iterate/innovate as needed.
All of this requires a new approach to Sales Engineers and the way we solve problems. The way both Sales and SEs build trust has to evolve with this new dynamic in mind, The risk profile the buyers are putting on the table is not for the long-term. That impacts how we price the technology, the way we talk about the ROI, the way we promote the roadmap. If you are selling long-term in mind, the buyer may not even be sure they’ll be using your solution 5 yrs from now. So any promises of 5 yrs vision or pricing benefits on years 3-5 may fall on deaf ears. Buyers want to know what your solution will deliver in the next 6 months or next 18 months.
What are the differences in Sales and Sales Engineering role and has it changed over time?
Most SEs fall into this role and have never been officially certified by a university or an academic governing body. That makes the Sales Engineers extremely unique compared to doctors, lawyers, and engineers, who were disciplined through a defined (and proven) curriculum and taught based on historical case studies. SEs on the other hand, fall into this role and develop the expertise along the journey. If you work with an SE, simply ask them: “How and why did you become an SE?” The answer is guaranteed to be a juicy story that will not only bring more empathy in your relationship but will facilitate a level of mutual respect and understanding in building a strong relationship going forward.
The AE and SE relationship has become the most important and critical relationship in the entire sales cycle. In most sales cycles, the AE and SE together have a very limited time in front of the prospect. The strength in this relationship influences a successful outcome. The sales rep has to focus on the business win while the SE is accountable for the technical win from the buyer. The reps that have a really strong relationship with their SEs, claim their wins due to SE involvement, while the reps with a broken SE relationship do everything they can to avoid getting their SE involved. When it works, it works really well.
Does proper planning and alignment happen enough between sales and sales engineers?
It should happen all the time. We usually get only one chance in front of the buyer for them to keep evaluating us or say, “I’ve seen enough. I am not interested” It really needs to be driven and prioritized by top down. The sales leader has to be bought into the value of sales engineering. When not aligned, it’s easy to see Sales Engineer is an additional cost of customer acquisition and not the driver of revenue growth. Once there is awareness across both the SE and the AE, both have to equally invest in each other. Every SE is unique just like every AE is unique in their style, personality, strengths and weaknesses. Being able to understand and acknowledge each other’s strengths goes a long way because Sales Engineering, just like sales, is a very lonely profession. You are often tied to a region or vertical and may not interact with other SEs on a regular basis. The importance of the relationship is at the 1:1 level but it really needs to be endorsed and encouraged at the leadership levels. We need the AE/SE fully aligned to be able to win the most number of deals.
How do we see the number of sales engineers grow overtime?
There is a massive opportunity for the SE profession to grow in the coming decade. We have come a long way but also have a long way to go. There is more awareness now of what sales engineers do. Sales engineering is becoming more mainstreamed. There are technologies and platforms being launched purpose-built for SE operations, workload optimization, and SE process automation. Some of these companies are VC funded that validates the future growth. Industry overall is identifying that sales engineering is not just limited to a great demo, but there is a very positive ROI for the investment in building, growing and nurturing high-performing sales engineering organizations.
What trends do we foresee shaping the role of B2B Sales and Sales Engineering?
The SE profession will continue to be more formalized and recognized. The growth of AI will only improve the importance of sales engineering as more of the mundane, less human-centric activities will become automated. As long as humans are involved in the decision making and the use of technology, the role of sales engineer will maintain its importance. Building trust and credibility is core to the SE profession and that human element will only become even more important.