Half-day workshop teaches effective selling techniques for technical professionals
Friday, Nov. 15, 2019
OLATHE — Technically trained professionals are increasingly serving in sales and business development roles within technical services and product companies. An upcoming workshop from Kansas State University helps teach effective sales techniques to those with a technical background.
"Sales for Technical Professionals" is from 1-5 p.m. Dec. 12 at K-State's Olathe campus. The half-day workshop is for early to mid-level professionals with technical backgrounds in engineering or construction services, as well as product and equipment sales, who serve in a sales or business development role.
“People with technical backgrounds often have opportunities to be in a sales role within their company, and sales is a great career path for people with technical skills," said David Lehman, ag sales and marketing instructor at Kansas State University. "Technical salespeople are really good at understanding the challenges that customers face in their business and then creating solutions to the customer’s problems. However, many technical salespeople have never been trained in professional selling.
"This workshop is designed to enhance the skills of technical salespeople to help them be more successful and add more value to their relationships with the customers they serve," Lehman continued.
At the workshop, professionals will learn effective sales techniques to leverage their technical experience to close the sale and drive trust and revenue for long-term business sustainability.
Topics include establishing rapport and building trust with customers, discovering customer needs and presenting product and service solutions based on needs.
Lehman specializes in agricultural sales, professional selling, new products marketing and agricultural marketing. He draws on his experience in industry sales at Dow Chemical Company to create a practical training with real-world relatable examples and practical implementation strategies.
Register and learn more about the workshop at olathe.k-state.edu/sales.