This is a guest blog by Pamela A. Scott
“I hate sales!” “I could never sell anything!” I wish I had a dime—maybe a dollar—for every time I uttered phrases like that.
My first business coach helped me break that thought pattern. Here is how the thinking goes:
- You are an engineer who excels at (fill in the blank).
- You happen to meet Chris, whose company does (fill in the blank).
- Chris mentions that he/she really needs help filling a client’s request for (what you provide).
- Upon hearing that, you say, “I/we can help you with that.”
- Chris says, “I’d like to learn more. Call me.”
Did you sell anything? No.
Did you tell Chris you could help with the problem? Yes.
Did you have to take Chris down some long sales conversation to get his/her interest? No.
Will you close the deal? The likelihood is high.
Change Your Thinking
Selling isn’t about selling in that icky, slimy way that you have perceived it. Selling is about you providing a friend/client/stranger with a solution to the problem they’re trying to address. In return for your help, you get paid.
In this episode of The Engineering Career Coach Podcast, I talk with Bill Keen, CRPC who is the founder and CEO of Keen Wealth Advisors – a fiduciary investment firm that focuses on retirement planning and investing for the engineering community nationwide. We will be talking about retirement for engineers and everything around that including a checklist that you can use to prepare yourself for your engineering retirement. Towards the end of the episode, Bill also gives listeners of this episode a free gift, so be sure to listen to the end.
So you want to start your own engineering practice? Becoming an independent engineering consultant can be very lucrative. It also gives you freedom over the work you do. But it is a very different lifestyle than working for an engineering firm. There are several important items to consider before taking the plunge.
In this episode, I am going to discuss the four books that I am currently reading and how these books, or really how my reading process may help you as an engineer. I decided to create this episode because engineers are constantly asking me what I am reading or what books they should be reading to advance their careers. I truly believe that reading the right books and applying the information you learn can make all of the difference in your engineering career and life.
