MarketStar Blog | Sales Team Specialty Roles

Understandably, 2020 has been a unique year for many sales reps. Many businesses have delayed or canceled investments in products and services until the COVID-19 pandemic is over and they can more accurately plan for the future, others have seen a surge in demand and require quick action and product education. In both scenarios,, the business-to-business (B2B) market is growing increasingly competitive. 

As the B2B buying process has evolved, sales teams have had to continually adjust their strategy to best serve their clients’ needs. Today, the sales process is less linear than it used to be, and it requires a new set of dedicated sales professionals, including sales engineers, to get the job done well.

Of all the specialty sales roles, sales engineers are perhaps one of the most misunderstood. However, it’s important to utilize sales engineers fully because they often play an important part in pre- and post-sales support, delivery and installation, deployment, testing, and even Customer Success. 

Let’s explore some of the most common misperceptions about sales engineers to establish a better understanding of how these sales professionals could fit into your team.

In order to have a topflight sales organization, you need a strong sales channel. When your sales success depends on distributors and partners, you need an internal channel account manager with the right skills to oversee third-party sales.

If you are used to having a direct sales infrastructure, you may not understand the talents that are required of a successful channel account manager. In addition to understanding sales, you also have to be a sales strategist, trainer, coach, negotiator, diplomat, and referee. When you are managing an internal sales team, the team has a common goal—to drive sales for your business. 

A channel manager’s role is more complex because it requires accommodating the business needs of channel partners as well as the success of the supplier. It’s a balancing act that requires finesse and additional skills.

Today’s business-to-business (B2B) sales organizations are selling to increasingly sophisticated customers who are more informed than ever. The B2B buying journey has changed significantly, but customers still need help making the right buying decisions. That’s why we’re seeing a growing number of businesses incorporate new speciality sales roles to meet the needs of B2B customers at every stage of the sales cycle.

In this blog, we’ll explore how to best build speciality roles in a sales team to help your customers make the right buying decisions, while also supporting customer renewals and upselling customers to increase the value of every engagement.