Are Field Sales People The Most Powerful Force In The Industry?

He said what?

A field sales person has the power to create projects that are catastrophic in nature, frequently have minimal accountability after the sale, and wield too much power.

Unfortunately, I have many similar stories to yours. I deleted it from this post for brevity.

I would say educating sales staff would help but that is quite often deemed "beneath them" or "a waste of time". Truly effective sales people spend some time actually using/installing the product. They have a passion for the product and understand it almost as well as the engineering staff. That shows in front of the customer who is much more confident in the sales person's capability to deliver on their hype.

There is one thing I have seen be moderately effective: With all staff I recommend putting them out in the field for a couple weeks to install themselves. They may gripe and will greatly underperform. However, the knowledge those staff gain from that time is invaluable. It's a lot harder to say "it should only take 15 minutes to install that camera" after they have lugged around a ladder for a couple weeks and drove tooling between jobsites themselves. When we did this, suddenly every job had more accurate hours, shop drawings, and tooling budgets freed up. It's a bit like an episode of "Undercover Boss".

Be honest now, who knew precisely what the P in P-Iris stood for?

You or me, we might say, "I'm not sure what it stands for, but this is what it does...". That's ok, but it makes you seem a little less knowledgable, even if at the same time boosting your integrity.

Salespeople don't know a lot of things, so they pretty much have to act like they know everything.

That said some are way better than others in filling in the cracks of their knowledge. A sharper salesguy might have offered "Programmatic Iris" or "Positioned Iris", both which would have gotten by with little harm.

Btw, this is scientifically informed artist conception of what a cat (bottom) sees vs human.

All sales people should get educated on the products they sell, how can one recommend a product when they don't have an understanding on the basics. I had one sales guy for a Major integrator ask me what Onvif was about 3 years ago. IPVM certification is a great start for salesmen and end users. Bottom line Know what you're selling, and know what you are buying.

Where does one start? I would say that sales persons/Reps are very powerful in this industry because they (we) are the sources of information on upcoming technologies, products, trends, and etc. The biggest issue, in that respect (and in my opinion), is that there's a lot of jokers that don't ever power up their demo equipment, OR HAVE ANY!!!

I came across a competitor the other day (at a distributor counter day) that couldn't do the simple task of changing the IP address of their laptop to match the scheme of their NVR...he THEN asked me to configure it for him!?! Needless to say, the customer asked me for recommendations on my product lines.

Guys and Gals,

We are "Reps", that's stand for "Representative", but usually reflects "Reputation"...let's up our game and quit selling off the damn cut sheets! KNOW YOUR GEAR!

(Rant Ended)

IMHO Good Manufacturers have SE's who are the technically proficient brains of the organization. Many have worked in the field and know 2+2=4.

Rattle a set of keys near a bright light and many RSM's and general security salesmen will lose their entire day. The last RSM that stopped by my office for a meet and great / demo with his equipment couldn't get it to work.

Them that can do. Them that can't become Salesmen and Managers.

I think a really good Sales Engineer that can speak at many different levels can often be more influential and powerful than a Sales Rep. The ideal one-two punch IMHO is a really good relationship based Sales Rep with a really good Sales Engineer. One could argue that may not be as powerful as really good marketing. Or really attractive pricing. I think it can also vary depending on the technical depth of the product.

Like many things in this industry...."it depends."

Both on the type of salesperson (Manufacturer, Integrator, Distributor being three core types) and on their ability to have blended sales and technical skills.

Too often we see:

1. Manufacturer Sales Rep: Knows their product cold, but cannot provide context of how it stacks against competitors.

2. Integrator Sales Rep: Walks into a selling situation already decided upon what they want to sell (scripted) and fails to understand customer variables.

3. Distributor Sales Rep.: Feels they can slide by with few technical skills by bringing a Sales Rep from a Manufacturer to every call.

Surely there are good Reps in all of these groups. Getting that "balance" of sales and technical skills-along with market knowledge-is key.

I think Field sales reps are very important. Maybe not the most powerful force in the industry but I know that most customers remember the person that visits their office and puts a face to the brand. Having a face-to face conversation about why your product can help solve their problem is more powerful than emails with attachments. Many times people read emails and forget them, but will remember what the rep said to them in their office while showing them a demo.

To me, the in-person touch is what inherently gives a field sales person so much influence. It gives you a chance to go beyond the products and win their "hearts and minds". My travel schedule may be ridiculous, but it keeps me relevant with my customers which isn't a bad side effect.

I think one of the security mags just added "The Most Powerful Force In The Universe" as a new category for their annual award array

"Having a face-to face conversation about why your product can help solve their problem is more powerful than emails with attachments"...

Socrates said, "Nothing happens until something is sold". The best technical product specifications mean nothing if no one knows about them. Face to face experiences are still the most powerful way to deliver your message.

In today's highly technical sales environmrnt, and in the face of extremely low-cost competitors, "selling" is no longer just selling.

We are a sales rep organization that decided that the only way to successfully service our dealers and support our manufacturers is to provide the best technical pre and post sales support as possible, not "shoot from the hip', and to know when to call the factory for help.

We require our sales people (and myself) to attend all dealer/installer certification classes and webinars offered or required by our manufacturers. Sitting next to (actually or virtually) the technicians who install and service your line gives one an insight not available elsewhere. While we do not circumvent factory technical support, our role is to be the bridge between our dealers, consultants, and our factories.

If buying decisions are truly based on the product, the price, the policies and the people, then, from the many comments submitted on this topic, it appears that it is more important than ever to know if you are dealing with a competent sales person, or merely a peddler.

Customers have Google.

They don't "trust" any salesman.

Spot on as usual Brian!