Jul. 11, 2024
Read time: 3 minutes and 38 seconds.
tags:You can’t code your way to sales. You might think being a top-notch engineer is the peak of a successful career. We often get caught up in the technical skills, thinking that’s all that matters. But here’s a secret: selling is where the real magic happens, and it can be more valuable than coding. I mean, if someone isn’t selling for you, how are you going to code the solution, yo?
Being a great engineer is awesome, and it’s a highly valuable skill. Don’t get me wrong, it’s super helpful especially when you rely on coding for work or helping your team. However, a team of average developers can often outperform a single, highly skilled engineer. Even with the onset of recent AI technologies, you’ll be limited to how fast you can hit keys and create prompts vs. the true value in the division of labour. As good of an engineer as you can be, it doesn’t compare to throwing three or four bodies at the problem offshore.
They can also do it for cheaper and distribute it to different dev houses that can manage the solution faster. Many companies raise millions based on simple, non-modular code, proving that functionality often trumps perfect engineering. And this is likely because you had an all-star at the forefront pushing the solution enough to convince others that there’s something of value in your codebase, even if it genuinely sucks.
No matter how great your product is, it won’t matter if nobody buys it. Sales drives revenue, and revenue keeps the lights on. And you’re going to need the lights to keep your computer running there, dev. Salespeople solve problems for everyone: customers, engineers, and the entire company. An engineer might be able to debug an issue, but if money’s not coming in, how are you going to fulfill payroll?
Great salespeople are often more valuable than great engineers because they bring in the business. It’s something that can keep the wheels turning and well greased.
Someone saw my natural ability to connect with people and understand their problems, even though I never thought of myself as a salesperson. I realized that focusing on customer problems was more important than focusing on my own solutions. This person came up to me one day and told me that I should just leave development behind and just focus on being able to sell to people. I wasn’t selling anything…I’m simply someone who understands others and their problems. But I found it fascinating how this person got out of their comfort zone enough to say something I possibly wouldn’t like to hear. So, I joined a small sales team to learn sales by chat and got hooked immediately.
Funny enough, I found the gig trying to build a product where I was trying to help people get jobs, landed a bunch of different jobs in the process. One of them being a sales job. Aaaaand…
My first client? A hypnotherapist.
My thought was… If I could sell that, I could sell anything. Especially as someone who isn’t likely going to ever purchase hypnosis, I thought, why not try it and see how I can acquire the skills I need from this? I need to convince people that I have a product when I really don’t and selling hypnosis, to me, was selling something that solved a problem when.. it really didn’t.
Modern sales isn’t about being a pushy, used-car salesman. It’s about building trust, understanding needs, and offering real solutions. It’s funny, but people often tell you their problems enough to be able to build what seems like a custom solution for their needs. In reality, you’re going to bake them into the same program as everyone else, but it’s about empathy, high emotional intelligence, and genuine connection. Being able to set up a conversation with a prospect and get them comfortable at each stage is about listening and understanding.
It’s the trust builder. It’s the relationship builder…Someone who can understand exactly what people’s problems are and how they can solve it. You’ll have a script and a toolkit to be able to roll certain, unexpected queries. But what matters most is being able to prioritize customer needs more than your own technical expertise. Although it was something outside of my regular path,it was an experience that taught me to prioritize customer needs over my own technical solutions, a lesson applicable to any field.
Engineering is crucial, but selling is what truly drives success. By learning to sell, I gained a new perspective on problem-solving and business. Embrace the power of selling, and you’ll unlock new levels of success even when you least expect it.