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In mixed IT circles ten years, almost eight years of factory management technology, has been technical communication with customers; whether it is to do online, or do security, most of the time as pre-sales engineer or feelings, because pre-sales technical work is between jobs between sales and technical, often exposed to a wide range of customers, it has a good temper to improve their communication skills. In other industry generally are technical engineers, that is, we often say that the after-sales engineers, even in the pre-job IT industry is also very special, not only have the skills to communicate with customers, but also a meticulous and dedicated technical personnel, the actual the role of technology-based sales.
Pre-sales engineer's task is to allow customers to accept the company's technology solutions, at the time of the tender, technical standards hit the highest score. If purely technical competition, the work is simple, we put the product tested together, who's good at a glance, but customers purchasing IT products, whether hardware or software is to provide customer service support services, need is not the product itself, instead solution, that clearly some, is how to solve the problems faced by customers, clients generally not IT experts, and some even had a clue specific needs, you need to refine and explain. How to choose a reasonable product composition scheme, low price, features, good performance, suitable for the customer's future development, most rely on pre-sales technical solution of the understanding and explanation. Therefore, pre-sales and technical personnel need to have like communication skills, technical skills, the ability to respond to emergency response ......
I have many years of pre-sales technical work, there are a lot of lessons and experiences, brought to share with everyone, I hope my experience can become the cornerstone of you do pre-work. In order to better explain, to some small way the story is presented to you.
First,
not too much to show off your skills
Technicians like "performance" themselves, especially as soon as possible in order to allow customers to trust themselves, they tend to put their own "long-term" fall out of the tunnel, sometimes counterproductive. Here is what I have experienced a thing.
We do product demonstrations to customers. Well prepared, scene effects are particularly good, the results of some earlier time, before 4:00 pm on the end, not time to eat, a time does not seem to know what to do, live a little embarrassed. Technology has seen customers 'interest', a hot head technician, said:
"Solving this problem, we have two options."
"Really?" The customer is also just right, with the topic of the moment.
"Do you want me now show you another program?" Technicians that can also look at the performance.
"Great, what preparations need?"
We are interested in, you do it. Just embarrassing situation also swept away.
But God not cooperate, it would have been technically feasible, but it was at the customer's site, the technician a little nervous, prior to this program is also not ready to test, the scene began to commissioning, the results due to the neglect of a minor set, second option life and death on the pass. Technical staff had a busy sweating, customers stood also at a loss, not help, but also because it is the additional requirements and some regret, but not opening.
From four in the afternoon until the evening fast eight, did not pass the test, the sales staff in the side also feel that this is not the way to go, I went out rounders:
"This program is more complicated, we bring this product version of some old, may be some problems, we go back and upgrade to the latest version of the support, it should be no problem. Today it was late, or we eat first, etc. next time demo? "
"Good, good," customers "amnesty" is generally ended quickly. We went to dinner together.
Although things are not a big impact on the sales, then customers are no longer intervene, but the work of pre-sales staff is problematic. There are many ways to pass the time, relaxed and happy, might also have other opportunities; show off technology, has not been prepared beforehand, the scene is inevitable that many unexpected happens, the result will leave a bad impression to the customer, the customer is not "technical" person, otherwise it is even more serious harm than good. "Show off" is not a big company's pre-sales technical staff will be guilty of "fault."
Second,
do not dispute with the customer technical point of view, even if you are right
Technical level customers per person is a lot of difference, some experts also have non-technical managers, so the customer is not very understanding, do not dispute with the customer technical point of view, even if you are right, especially not been refuted things become a reality, but it is unreasonable existence, existence is right.
On one occasion, customer response to our network switch problems, doing STP (Spanning Tree Protocol, a network management protocol to determine whether or not the ring) when sometimes crash, causing the whole network outages, we send technical personnel to the scene to communicate ,To understanding.
Customer network solution some meaning, 15 rooms, because the wiring is not convenient, the room is a serial connection, and some will occasionally room power, a power outage caused by a few can not communicate with the room behind, so the customer's information when the director (he liked technology) out of a program, connected to the ring room, machine room power, from another communication link, equal to the link in a redundant fashion, but since the ring network will broadcast storm, so to open the STP protocol to prevent broadcast storms.
In theory, the program is no problem, but the calculation for STP need to take a number of "hops" too much, plus the product itself is imperfect in STP after the power failure recovery process, STP calculates the delay is too large, there is no redundancy closed link, loops, broadcast storm network, network outages.
It is not difficult to solve the problem, you can increase the delay. But technical personnel to the scene, the first feeling is that this connection is 15 hops serial connection, network design is generally not so dry, too "professional" was. Switcher cascaded stages to achieve level 5 or more general recommendations to optimize the now 15 series, this is not a transfer of technology to engage the switch is simply "can not tolerate." So technicians complain networking solutions proposed changes.
Customers very seriously, it is unreasonable to ask the reason of this program, both sides are trying to convince the other party, the dispute over the results, but no one is concerned about the problem of death, there is no detailed analysis, the problem is not resolved, the first technical communication no progress.
Later, the technician first find sales staff to understand the origin of this approach is that the customer's design, but also his leadership, "proud of", said there are problems clearly inappropriate. Technical staff is not on the topology scenarios, but to focus on the analysis on the causes of the crash, and quickly solve the problem.
What problems concern the customer is very important to pre-sales technical staff, because the problem is resolved, customers will naturally appreciate you. There are a lot of customer technical "characteristics", dispute its legitimacy, ignoring the main work is taboo pre-sales technical staff.
Third, the
refined product highlights, demonstrating your technical advantages, is the basic pre-sales technical staff
To simplify complex issues, is a master level, is a real understanding of the technology, is able to hit the mark so-called simple layman's language to express, so refined products, technical highlights, is the basis of homework to communicate with customers. But not necessarily highly technical complex, any product has its "unique" technology, it is critical that you expressed incoherently. We often encounter such a situation, the use of the products we sell very "fool", as if there is nothing to say, customers considered too simple and no technical content, not technology, rely on competition is very cruel than prices.
I remember one time customers to purchase large quantities of the transceiver, because in Fast switching, optical port price is several times the electrical outlet, so most of the switches are purchasing electrical interfaces, but the electrical interface can only transmit 100 meters long needs distance, you need to use an optical fiber, it is necessary that the converter. The transceiver function is to complete the optical signal into an electric signal, the transceiver is connected to a physical layer device, relatively simple indeed.
Customers think so too, so customers made it clear that, since simple, no technical threshold, compare prices on the line, who's cheaper to buy who, in the beginning of the tendering criteria almost exclusively price. The price of our products belong to the upper level, a number of sales communication with customers, clients and finally reluctantly agreed to let us once and technological exchanges, but smiled and said, "You could not speak or something."
After the pre-sales technical staff understand the situation, the tendency for customers to do a nice exchange, reversed the customer's view. I simplified the whole process, to which the core part as follows:
"Converter is a communications device link conversion device to convert light into an electrical signal model, and our products are not purely physical layer conversion, it works on the physical link layer, the second layer is a network of seven when the conversion completion signal, it is also shaped cache completion signal. this facilitates signal transmission distance is extended, and the ends to prevent packet loss rates do not match, so we transceivers using a dedicated chip, switched architecture design."
Customers simply did not expect very much transceiver does not understand the term, a time pricked up his ears.
"Of course, this is only a difference in the internal structure of the design, the difference in functionality even more." Technicians continued.
“收发器作为一个链路上的中间设备，看起来不起眼，但有它之后，对链路上设备的管理是有影响的。原来是两个交换机直接相连，一端出现故障，比如宕机了，另一端马上通过链路电信号或光信号察觉到，通知上层管理，报告链路故障，就停止在该链路上传输。现在中间有个收发器，另一端无法察觉到链路的变化，作为收发器就要负责把这个故障状态通知给另一端的设备，这就是收发器应具备的‘故障转移’功能。很多低端的收发器厂家因为设计简单，是无法实现这种功能的，这就对使用收发器的链路监控带来了盲点。”
“一般收发器都用在长途链路上，负担的都是长途的业务，网络设备都很昂贵，少则几十万，多则上千万，对整个链路的管理监控是很重要的，但因为一个小小的收发器，破坏了整个网络的监控系统，实在是得不偿失的”
后边技术人员还继续分析链路自适应的匹配、收发器设备的管理等等，整整讲了两个小时。
客户开始只是一个科长与几个技术人员来听，后来把处长与总工都请来了，说没有一个卖收发器的厂家能把收发器说得这样明白，这么“简单”的设备中还有这么多“道道”，尤其是对使用中的问题，以前根本没有想过。后来招标时，九个参加投标的公司中，我们以第二高的价格中了标，客户完全接受了技术重要的观念。
其实，销售的任何产品都不“简单”，但往往因为表面的“傻瓜化”，让很多技术人员觉得没有什么“可说”的，产品简单的不得了。产品越傻瓜，技术才越复杂，售前技术人员的责任就是把这些技术“闪光点”提炼出来，让客户相信你的技术，而不只是产品的批发。若一个售前技术人员不炼好这个基本功，销售的工作就等于缺了一条腿。
在IT界流传着这样一句话，“技术好卖技术，品牌好卖品牌，实在没有卖服务，服务也也没有就卖包装”。但IT业的技术人员还是崇尚技术，真沦落到象卖菜的一样卖高科技产品，售前人员就没有用了。其实卖菜也需要卖点提炼，否则你的菜也卖不好，只不过是销售人员包办了而已。
若大伙喜欢，再续...
转载于:https://www.cnblogs.com/licheng/archive/2011/01/31/1948489.html