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{"id":3481,"date":"2021-03-15T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-15T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wethesalesengineers.com\/?p=3481"},"modified":"2021-03-15T01:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-03-15T06:00:00","slug":"152-changing-a-commodity-sale-to-a-solution-sale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vertexdimension.com\/wethese\/152-changing-a-commodity-sale-to-a-solution-sale\/","title":{"rendered":"#152 Changing a Commodity Sale to a Solution Sale"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"3481\" class=\"elementor elementor-3481\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-59b6ef03 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"59b6ef03\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-4b4df337\" data-id=\"4b4df337\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4cb0f570 elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"4cb0f570\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-59252dc2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-theme-post-title elementor-page-title elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"59252dc2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"theme-post-title.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">#152 Changing a Commodity Sale to a Solution Sale<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-272350a5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"272350a5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WeTheSEs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"twitter-follow-button\" data-show-count=\"false\">Follow @WeTheSEs<\/a><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-24e79c1a elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"24e79c1a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4c2cae43 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"4c2cae43\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"625\" src=\"https:\/\/vertexdimension.com\/wethese\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/152-1024x625.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-3498\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/vertexdimension.com\/wethese\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/152-1024x625.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/vertexdimension.com\/wethese\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/152-300x183.jpg 300w, https:\/\/vertexdimension.com\/wethese\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/152-768x469.jpg 768w, https:\/\/vertexdimension.com\/wethese\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/152-1536x937.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/vertexdimension.com\/wethese\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/152-2048x1250.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-313053c1 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"313053c1\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-7dadd7cb\" data-id=\"7dadd7cb\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-40f48efc elementor-share-buttons--view-icon elementor-share-buttons--shape-circle elementor-share-buttons--align-center elementor-share-buttons--skin-gradient elementor-grid-0 elementor-share-buttons--color-official elementor-widget elementor-widget-share-buttons\" data-id=\"40f48efc\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"share-buttons.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-grid\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-grid-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-share-btn elementor-share-btn_facebook\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-share-btn__icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<i class=\"fab fa-facebook\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t   aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"elementor-screen-only\">Share on facebook<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-grid-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-share-btn elementor-share-btn_reddit\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-share-btn__icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<i class=\"fab fa-reddit\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t   aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"elementor-screen-only\">Share on reddit<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-grid-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-share-btn elementor-share-btn_twitter\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-share-btn__icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<i class=\"fab fa-twitter\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t   aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"elementor-screen-only\">Share on twitter<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-grid-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-share-btn elementor-share-btn_linkedin\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-share-btn__icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<i class=\"fab fa-linkedin\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t   aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"elementor-screen-only\">Share on linkedin<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-6aeb3991 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"6aeb3991\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-4eb18880\" data-id=\"4eb18880\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-241055e7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"241055e7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-618b3727 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"618b3727\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-30ab7d4b\" data-id=\"30ab7d4b\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4d61be41 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"4d61be41\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<iframe style=\"border: none\" src=\"\/\/html5-player.libsyn.com\/embed\/episode\/id\/18310373\/height\/90\/theme\/custom\/thumbnail\/yes\/direction\/backward\/render-playlist\/no\/custom-color\/e0e1dd\/\" height=\"90\" width=\"100%\" scrolling=\"no\"  allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen><\/iframe>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-3223ec6b elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"3223ec6b\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-286fb9a0\" data-id=\"286fb9a0\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1f62677d elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"1f62677d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-789c2df0 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"789c2df0\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-58d3d43e\" data-id=\"58d3d43e\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2d5b85b2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-video\" data-id=\"2d5b85b2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;youtube_url&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/youtu.be\\\/rbuElDNPaLk&quot;,&quot;video_type&quot;:&quot;youtube&quot;,&quot;controls&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"video.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-wrapper elementor-open-inline\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-video\"><\/div>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-2828cdf3 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"2828cdf3\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-242f4d73\" data-id=\"242f4d73\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-610b7170 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"610b7170\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the most difficult but also most rewarding parts of solutions selling is unearthing your customers\u2019 exact needs and problems. I say it is quite difficult because sometimes even our customers don\u2019t know what they want or what solution they\u2019re looking for. We often have a hard time then articulating the value of our solution to them because we haven\u2019t collected enough information from our customers to make it relevant for them. This is why in today\u2019s episode; we have an expert presenter with us to take us through how he communicates with his customers and what better way we can use to ask questions.<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Doc Ballje is a Subject Matter Expert and Solutions Architect in the printing industry. He is highly experienced<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with PaperCut as well as other print management, copier solutions, and Data Collection Agents having worked for over 20 years.<\/span><\/p><p><br \/><br \/><\/p><p><b>Key Takeaways<\/b><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tune in to our conversation with Doc Ballje and learn:<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">His career in radio way before entering the printing industry<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How printing has evolved and why it remains integral to businesses today<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What copiers and printers can do for any company or organization<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What Doc\u2019s role is specifically in selling printers<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Shifting from commodity selling to solutions selling<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How his experience and background in the radio industry became one of his unique strengths as a solutions Sales Engineer and in communicating with customers<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why solution selling is less talk about features of the product and rather asking questions to the customer and understanding their specific needs and problems<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How to convince the customer that it\u2019s important to meet with a technical expert\u00a0<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Active listening and being comfortable with dead air<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How to present the solution without the customer being too overwhelmed with information<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Important tips on how to communicate best with your customer<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Finding that balance between showing and telling when you&#8217;re selling a physical product<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Storytelling method and Doc\u2019s philosophy on how to gain your customer\u2019s trust during a demo<\/span><\/li><\/ul><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">20:16\u00a0<\/span><b><i>\u201cUse some good techniques for solutions sales to make sure they\u2019re not just talking about a copier they\u2019re talking about how this will benefit them and if it\u2019s done right, how they can actually get a return on investment for what they spent and not have an expenditure itself.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p><p><br \/><br \/><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">29:55\u00a0The beauty of a solution sale: \u201c<\/span><b><i>If you specifically have the solution that your customer is looking for their problem, price is almost out of the window.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">31:52\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When Don talks about tech:<\/span><b><i> I talk about it in regular words. that they understand. This where a good solution salesperson needs to be, speaking about technology in regular words\u2026 and then another thing that I\u2019ll do is, verify satisfaction, or verify that I\u2019m understanding your problem. this is what I heard, now let me repeat back that this is what you need. Therefore, they know that you&#8217;re listening,\u00a0and you know when they nod your head they go yeah that&#8217;s exactly it.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">34:47\u00a0How to articulate the value of a physical product using show and tell: <\/span><b><i>\u201cProbably the biggest help for that type of thing is the storytelling method, and that involves case studies. Storytelling is wonderful, people like hearing stories of how you&#8217;ve helped other customers and brought them to a success area that they\u2019ve never reached before.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">41:22\u00a0Active listening to get better answers from your customer<\/span><b><i>: \u201cStart asking questions ask questions as long as you can. And then you\u2019ll get to a point where you cant answer the questions and this is what you do. you say these are great questions, I would like to set up another appointment I&#8217;m gonna bring in my SE along with me who can explain a lot of this stuff and you close for the next appointment.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p><p><br \/><br \/><\/p><p><b>Not So Fire Round<\/b><\/p><p><br \/><b><\/b><\/p><p><b>1- What do you love about solutions selling?<\/b><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I love talking to customers and finding\u00a0out what the problem is, it\u2019s really fun to be able to do that. When the customer\u2019s just hemming and hawing, and the salesperson couldn&#8217;t get that out of them I just get a big kick out of it.<\/span><\/p><p><b>2- What would you change about sales engineering?<\/b><\/p><p>From what I hear from some other folks who are pretty good, just the better techniques of asking questions, so many people including SEs are listening and wanting to reply right away without that dead air silence. I would like to see just a better way of asking questions or better vetting out of the process from a lot.<\/p><p><b>3- What tools, books or resources would you recommend to Sales Engineers?<\/b><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I listen to a lot of webinars, I don&#8217;t have any specific books. a lot of what I do has just come from life experience, my radio career, just gives me the ability to speak and relate to people and all of my stuff I&#8217;ve really pulled from life\u2019s experience. So I don&#8217;t have a good answer for that one, other than, I consume whatever I can, articles, webinars, as much information as I can.<\/span><\/p><p><b>4- What separates a great Sales Engineer from not-so-good ones?<\/b><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the end of the day, it&#8217;s pretty much going to be the close-ratio that you have. If you&#8217;re a good SE and you do everything the right way the salesperson&#8217;s next step, would be, okay. When do you want this delivered? and sign and so many engagements that I get involved with 70 -80% when I get involved the salesperson just have to get the process started, what do we need to get going, and that&#8217;s a sign of a good SE and that&#8217;s what separates them from a not so good one.<\/span><\/p><p><b>Connect with Doc Ballje on<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/docballje\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Linkedin<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-32dba5c9 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"32dba5c9\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-49d99a42\" data-id=\"49d99a42\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-50acdfc3 elementor-grid-3 elementor-grid-tablet-2 elementor-grid-mobile-1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-portfolio\" data-id=\"50acdfc3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;columns&quot;:&quot;3&quot;,&quot;columns_tablet&quot;:&quot;2&quot;,&quot;columns_mobile&quot;:&quot;1&quot;,&quot;item_ratio&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:0.66000000000000003108624468950438313186168670654296875,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;item_gap&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;row_gap&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]}}\" data-widget_type=\"portfolio.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-portfolio elementor-grid elementor-posts-container\">\n\t\t\t\t<article class=\"elementor-portfolio-item elementor-post  post-7034 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-podcast tag-assigned-mentors tag-career-advice-for-sales-engineers tag-coaching-for-presales tag-coaching-for-ses tag-coaching-vs-mentoring tag-finding-mentors tag-mentoring-sales-engineers tag-mentorship-sucks tag-presales tag-presales-coaching tag-presales-mentors tag-ramzi-marjaba tag-sales-engineering tag-sales-engineering-coaching tag-solution-consultant tag-solution-engineering tag-we-the-sales-engineers tag-we-the-ses tag-what-is-coaching tag-what-is-mentorship tag-why-mentorship-sucks entry has-media\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-post__thumbnail__link\" href=\"https:\/\/vertexdimension.com\/wethese\/207-mentorship-sucks-how-to-overcome-it\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-portfolio-item__img elementor-post__thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"183\" src=\"https:\/\/vertexdimension.com\/wethese\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/207-300x183.png\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium wp-image-6925\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/vertexdimension.com\/wethese\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/207-300x183.png 300w, https:\/\/vertexdimension.com\/wethese\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/207-1024x625.png 1024w, https:\/\/vertexdimension.com\/wethese\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/207-768x469.png 768w, https:\/\/vertexdimension.com\/wethese\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/207-1536x937.png 1536w, https:\/\/vertexdimension.com\/wethese\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/207-2048x1250.png 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-portfolio-item__overlay\">\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-portfolio-item__title\">\n\t\t#207 Mentorship Sucks, How to Overcome it?\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<article class=\"elementor-portfolio-item elementor-post  post-6980 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-podcast tag-building-trust-with-customers tag-building-trust-with-external-partners tag-building-trust-with-internal-partners tag-customer-trust tag-customer-trusting-sales-engineers tag-customers-trusting-sales tag-john-cares-trust-formula tag-mastering-technical-sales tag-presales tag-sales-engineering tag-sales-trust tag-solution-consulting tag-the-trust-formula tag-working-with-customers entry has-media\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-post__thumbnail__link\" href=\"https:\/\/vertexdimension.com\/wethese\/206-building-trust-through-genuine-care-for-the-customer\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-portfolio-item__img elementor-post__thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"183\" src=\"https:\/\/vertexdimension.com\/wethese\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/205-Sacrifice-and-Dedication-Have-a-Great-Payoff-1-300x183.png\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium wp-image-5030\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/vertexdimension.com\/wethese\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/205-Sacrifice-and-Dedication-Have-a-Great-Payoff-1-300x183.png 300w, https:\/\/vertexdimension.com\/wethese\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/205-Sacrifice-and-Dedication-Have-a-Great-Payoff-1-1024x625.png 1024w, https:\/\/vertexdimension.com\/wethese\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/205-Sacrifice-and-Dedication-Have-a-Great-Payoff-1-768x469.png 768w, https:\/\/vertexdimension.com\/wethese\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/205-Sacrifice-and-Dedication-Have-a-Great-Payoff-1-1536x937.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-portfolio-item__overlay\">\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-portfolio-item__title\">\n\t\t#206 Building Trust Through Genuine Care for the Customer\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<article class=\"elementor-portfolio-item elementor-post  post-5012 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-podcast tag-becoming-a-sales-engineer tag-customer-office-hours tag-demonstrating-workflows tag-educating-customers tag-managing-our-work-time tag-managing-the-schedule tag-presales tag-ramzi-marjaba tag-sales-engineer-organization-structure tag-sales-engineering tag-solutions-engineer-vs-sales-engineer tag-supporting-the-customers tag-training-new-account-managers tag-tremble tag-we-the-ses tag-working-with-customers tag-working-with-product-management tag-working-with-sales entry has-media\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-post__thumbnail__link\" href=\"https:\/\/vertexdimension.com\/wethese\/205-sacrifice-and-dedication-have-a-great-payoff\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-portfolio-item__img elementor-post__thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"183\" src=\"https:\/\/vertexdimension.com\/wethese\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/205-Sacrifice-and-Dedication-Have-a-Great-Payoff-300x183.png\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium wp-image-5016\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/vertexdimension.com\/wethese\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/205-Sacrifice-and-Dedication-Have-a-Great-Payoff-300x183.png 300w, https:\/\/vertexdimension.com\/wethese\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/205-Sacrifice-and-Dedication-Have-a-Great-Payoff-1024x625.png 1024w, https:\/\/vertexdimension.com\/wethese\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/205-Sacrifice-and-Dedication-Have-a-Great-Payoff-768x469.png 768w, https:\/\/vertexdimension.com\/wethese\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/205-Sacrifice-and-Dedication-Have-a-Great-Payoff-1536x937.png 1536w, https:\/\/vertexdimension.com\/wethese\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/205-Sacrifice-and-Dedication-Have-a-Great-Payoff-2048x1250.png 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-portfolio-item__overlay\">\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-portfolio-item__title\">\n\t\t#205 Sacrifice and Dedication Have a Great Payoff\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-45daa718 elementor-section-stretched elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"45daa718\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;stretch_section&quot;:&quot;section-stretched&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-7b15158\" data-id=\"7b15158\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7b059b99 elementor-widget elementor-widget-shortcode\" data-id=\"7b059b99\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"shortcode.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-shortcode\"><script async data-uid=\"d832de0300\" src=\"https:\/\/we-the-sales-engineer.kit.com\/d832de0300\/index.js\" data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" data-no-defer=\"1\" nowprocket><\/script><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-281d7322 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"281d7322\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-309ed8a7\" data-id=\"309ed8a7\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4bfb7cff elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"4bfb7cff\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<script src=\"\/\/platform.linkedin.com\/in.js\" type=\"text\/javascript\"><\/script>\r\n<script type=\"IN\/MemberProfile\" data-id=\"linkedin.com\/in\/ericwwatson\" data-format=\"inline\" data-related=\"false\"><\/script>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9fc6677 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"9fc6677\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Music on the show: Watchmaker&#8217;s Daughter by Reeder<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-280293db elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"280293db\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href = \"http:\/\/www.iamreeder.com\/\"> Reeder's Site<\/a>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-52c1314f elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"52c1314f\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-1861864b\" data-id=\"1861864b\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Doc Ballje is a Subject Matter Expert and Solutions Architect in the printing industry. One would not think that the print industry as a complex sale, more as a commodities sale. Doc is able to actually move it from being a commodity to a solution and closing the deal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":3498,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_header_footer","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"publish_to_discourse":"","publish_post_category":"","wpdc_auto_publish_overridden":"","wpdc_topic_tags":"","wpdc_pin_topic":"","wpdc_pin_until":"","discourse_post_id":"","discourse_permalink":"","wpdc_publishing_response":"","wpdc_publishing_error":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"ocean_post_layout":"full-screen","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"0","ocean_second_sidebar":"0","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"0","ocean_custom_header_template":"0","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"off","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"0","ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"off","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[60,618,9,7,621,623,625,13,619,624,620,617,65,49,338,339,622,601],"class_list":["post-3481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-podcast","tag-presales","tag-presales-solution-selling","tag-sales","tag-sales-engineering","tag-sales-engineering-and-sales","tag-sales-engineering-training","tag-sales-engineering-vs-sales","tag-sales-engineers","tag-sales-engineers-and-solution-selling","tag-se-nation","tag-selling-commodities","tag-selling-solutions","tag-solution-engineering","tag-solution-selling","tag-we-the-sales-engineers","tag-we-the-ses","tag-what-is-sales-engineering","tag-working-with-salespeople","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vertexdimension.com\/wethese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vertexdimension.com\/wethese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https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