Sales Fundamentals
for Engineers

Overcome your team’s fear of selling, improve client relationships, and grow your revenue

I’m an ex-electrical engineer who’s sold products and services for engineering consultancies for 30+ years. I understand how hard business development can be, and I’m here to help your team build stronger, more profitable relationships with your clients.

Sales simplified for engineering consultants

 

If you’re struggling to grow your consultancy. Or you know you need to do business development, but you don’t know where to start. Or you’ve too much work coming from one key client and need to diversify; sales coaching can help.

 

civil engineers

Electrical engineers

Structural engineers

Geotechnical engineers

Your team don’t want to know about sales

And why would they? They didn’t get into engineering to do sales. They’ve never been taught to sell. It’s often way outside their comfort zone, and not their preferred discipline. But you can’t afford to hire a sales team, you’re all in this together, and you need them to step up. I can help.

 

Selling doesn’t have to be scary

Selling isn’t some mysterious skill for shiny shoed people with big white teeth. Sales is simply solving problems for your clients, so they can deliver their projects on time, and on budget. And once your team get that, it all becomes less scary.

I teach honest, authentic selling, where your team can build great relationships with your clients, simply by being themselves.

At the end of our time together, not only will your people be more confident selling, but you’ll also have robust processes, better marketing, a clear plan, and be able to forecast revenue more accurately. Best of all, you’ll have a strong pipeline of work you want to do (not the sort of work you have to do to pay the bills).

  • “Often when you’re busy, it’s hard to find time to slow down and make sure you’re heading in the right direction. It was good to finally be able to spend a day with the Evnex sales team for a full day of training with Ian.

    Great session thanks Ian, lots of actions and learnings to take away.”

    Ed Harvey, CEO, Evnex

  • “Having Ian there to bounce stuff off as a sounding board has been valuable. He’s great. He’s relaxed, easy to talk to, laid back, and not pushy at all. That’s what makes him a good salesperson.

    We’ve been seriously selling for a few months now and sales are going well.”

    Greg Martin, Co-Founder, Entuitive

  • “Ian’s really genuine, there’s nothing flashy about him, he’s a decent person who knows what he’s doing and cares about results. He knows his stuff because he’s been there and done that, and his material is on point.

    He got our team onside by reframing business development as problem solving. Engineers love solving problems. We’ll definitely work together again.”

    Dan Tombleson, Managing Director, Lumen

  • “Ian became an integral part of our team from day one and has played a key part in our success. Having Ian onboard means that we stay focused on our strategic direction.”

    Bjarke Byllemos, General Manager, iDrives

  • “A critical strategic initiative for this year was to help our dealer channel to transition towards solution selling. Ian assisted us greatly in achieving this initiative by providing independent objective research and understanding of the offering, customers and dealers. With those inputs he then helped to craft a customer focussed sales playbook, process and supporting sales tools which have been enthusiastically received by sales team and dealers.”

    Elliott Chisholm, Marketing Manager, Trimble Loadrite

Testimonials

  • “Often when you’re busy, it’s hard to find time to slow down and make sure you’re heading in the right direction. It was good to finally be able to spend a day with the Evnex sales team for a full day of training with Ian. Great session thanks Ian, lots of actions and learnings to take away.”

    Ed Harvey, CEO, Evnex

  • “Having Ian there to bounce stuff off as a sounding board has been valuable. He’s great. He’s relaxed, easy to talk to, laid back, and not pushy at all. That’s what makes him a good salesperson. We’ve been seriously selling for a few months now and sales are going well.”

    Greg Martin, Co-Founder, Entuitive

  • “Ian’s really genuine, there’s nothing flashy about him, he’s a decent person who knows what he’s doing and cares about results. He knows his stuff because he’s been there and done that, and his material is on point. He got our team onside by reframing business development as problem solving. Engineers love solving problems. We’ll definitely work together again.”

    Dan Tombleson, Managing Director, Lumen

  • “A critical strategic initiative for this year was to help our dealer channel to transition towards solution selling. Ian assisted us greatly in achieving this initiative by providing independent objective research and understanding of the offering, customers and dealers. With those inputs he then helped to craft a customer focussed sales playbook, process and supporting sales tools which have been enthusiastically received by sales team and dealers.”

    Elliott Chisholm, Marketing Manager, Trimble Loadrite

  • “Ian became an integral part of our team from day one and has played a key part in our success. Having Ian onboard means that we stay focused on our strategic direction.”

    Bjarke Byllemos, General Manager. iDrives

How the sales coaching process works

A customised nine-month sales coaching programme, designed to meet your needs. Improve your team culture, get your people more engaged, and grow your sales.

 

1. Discovery & Development

I get to know your business and understand your coaching needs, by spending time with your senior leaders and sales team. This helps me plan your workshop. A pre-workshop briefing gives you confidence I’m addressing all your pain points.

$3,500+GST

 

3. Strategy & Planning

After the workshop, I deliver detailed recommendations to help you implement your new insights. A sales strategy explains how you’ll grow sales, and a sales plan outlines actions for your team to take.

$3,500+GST

2. Workshop

This interactive full day workshop helps your team understand the value you deliver and explores how you can do this for more customers, more often. We cover strategy, client relationships, communication, processes, mindset, and daily actions to grow sales.

$8,000+GST

 

4. Six Months Coaching

Changing behaviour can be hard, so for six months I sit in on monthly meetings to keep your sales team accountable. I’m there to answer questions, offer advice, and coach your people through any tricky situations

$15,000+GST

Topics we will cover together

 

  • Nail your sweet spot and find out how you make more sales like that.

  • Make customers’ lives easier so they feel you’re on their team.

  • Explain what you do clearly and ask better questions.

  • Retain your best customers and attract more like them.

  • Grow your team’s confidence and resilience.

  • Gather momentum with regular wins.

Trust me to grow your pipeline

 

  • Originally from an electrical engineering background, I’ve worked with engineering consultancies for 36 years.

  • They want to get projects done fast and effectively. If you make their lives easier, they’re going to do more business with you.

  • I know engineers. And I get the fear they feel about having to go out and sell, because I once felt those fears myself.

  • When I worked for Danfoss I grew their South Island sales 300% over three years. My personal best was the year I made two million in under 12 months.

FAQs

  • The initial program lasts between nine and twelve months, depending on how long it takes to develop and deliver the workshop. Your team’s availability can impact on how long this part of the process takes.

    Some businesses like to extend the coaching phase of the programme for twelve months, because they value the accountability and the sounding board that gives.

  • It’s all about doing the work you really want to do and being able to afford to say no to work you don’t like.

    Do any of these challenges sound familiar?

    • Relying too heavily on one key client.

    • Frantically doing all the work that comes in the door.

    • Accepting unprofitable work that you don’t enjoy.

    • Your team struggling to articulate what you do.

    • Having difficulty finding great talent for your team.

    If these are pain points for you, sales coaching can help.

    Sales coaching is more than simply a bunch of sales techniques. We improve your entire sales process from marketing to customer service so you’ve a sustainable pipeline of work full of clients you really want to work with. Attracting the right work helps you attract the right people, top talent excited to work on great projects.

  • A few businesses choose to do the first three steps of the programme and forgo the sales coaching. This gives your team a solid foundation in sales and equips you with a sales strategy and action plan.

    But most businesses choose coaching to ensure their new insights from the workshop are implemented. The workshop’s a valuable tool. But it’s the action that happens afterwards that makes the difference.

    People often need support to change. Coaching provides accountability. I’m there to be a wise friend who’ll walk beside your team as they learn new skills, to boost their energy, answer their questions, and make sure they don’t revert to old habits.

  • This coaching will help you make your marketing more compelling, by identifying the sort of client you really want to work with and creating messaging that talks directly to them about their challenges and goals.

    Marketing attracts. Sales converts. Your sales team supports your marketing engine, by explaining to potential clients how you can solve their problems.

  • Absolutely. Your clients are resource poor and under time pressure too. So, when you make their lives easier and help them deliver their projects on time and on budget, you become more than a consultant. You become part of their team.

    This coaching helps you build stronger relationships with your clients. I coach your team that it’s all about having a problem solving, partnership mindset. This helps your team identify opportunities for work early and grows repeat business.

  • The workshop is customised to your needs, to make sure I address your pain points and tackle your business growth goals.

    The workshop is a fun interactive experience. It’s not a talk fest where I bore on with a thousand slides. Your team will be working together in breakout groups doing hands on exercises that will improve your business results.

    Here are examples of some exercises we may do:

    • Identifying the problems you solve for your customers.

    • Investigating the impact you have on your customers’ businesses.

    • Discussing what your best customers are like, and how you can find more of them.

    • Looking at how you can build better relationships with key customers.

    • Talking about ways to educate your customers about what you offer.

    • Role playing telling customers what you do.

    • Exploring ways to integrate sales into your team’s daily routine.

    I create a safe environment, where your team can ask questions and enjoy playing with new ideas. By the end of the workshop your team will know the principles of effective sales and marketing and be equipped with quick wins they can take away and implement to start growing your business straight away.

  • Yes. I offer one-on-one coaching for sales reps and sales managers.

    I can also serve as a sounding board and mentor for your sales manager, you, or your senior leaders. Email me for more information.

Case Studies

 

Lumen’s consultants embrace a new problem solving approach to sales

Read More
 

Helping Trimble Loadrite Dealer Sales Reps Talk Their Customers Language

Read More

Ask about funding for your sales coaching

 

I’m approved as a Regional Business Partner Network service provider. You maybe able to access funding towards your sales coaching. Ask me for more info.

Ready to start selling more?

 

Make your team more confident salespeople, improve client relationships, and grow your revenue with sales coaching for agribusiness and engineers.