How can SEs help with Customer Satisfaction?

Do you overpromise and underdeliver?

Many companies fail to live up to the early promise or ROI that is claimed in the sales process.  Some customers make assumptions that they don't test and these catch them out in the end. Companies that make their customers successful get repeat business, and a great reputation.  Making customers successful should help SEs be more successful in the long run!

The Sales Engineer's job is to ensure that customers are excited at the prospect of working with their company, and that the proposed solution meets the customer's requirements.  However to ensure that you make them a satisfied customer in the end, it is also important to ensure that the company can deliver on them.

1. Share information with your implementation team, which you gain from the purchase process.
2. Avoid "smoke and mirrors" in demos.  Don't show things the product doesn't do.
3. Don't make promises that can't be supported
4. Make it clear what the customer will get from the proposed solution, and what they might do beyond this.
5. Give the customer useful hints and tips that help them avoid typical pitfalls.

If you follow these simple rules - you avoid 90% of the usual problems that customers run into.  

If you make customers successful, then when you walk into the next meeting, you have an easy reference call, and eventually customers will know before you walk in the room by your reputation.

If you set customers up to fail, by over promising,  no one will want to be your reference, and new prospects will be skeptical about what you can do.