It works great - Things I have learned series.

 I was lucky to have mentors who would tell stories in order to teach.  One of them was Gary Lee Gahagen, who passed away in 2020.  He was a sales rep for Arburg Plastic Injection Molding Machines.

He told the story about when he was starting out, a seasoned sales rep took him on a customer visit.   They met with the one of the principals of the company who asked "How do your machine work"  Gary launched into a complete technical talk of how we had the best hydraulic systems to drive the screw, which was designed to properly mix and plasticize the plastic pellets to insure uniform molding.  He talked about the design of the clamp which was optimized to ensure even clamping force on the mold so there would be no flashing.  He went over the pump system that was built to save energy and yet still provide the speed needed.

After they left the customer, Gary asked the other sales person how hid did.  The answer he got back was "okay - but you should have said - "It works great"  and then asked "What issues are you having".  

I have come across this many times in Sales.  The salesperson does what is called a data or features dump, without knowing what the customer really needs. This way you can focus on what you have than they need.  

And it is important to realize sometimes you may not have a solution right ten and there.  If you make something up to get a sale, you might get one, but not likely to get more.  Better to do more listening than talking.  Under promise and over deliver.

Thanks Gary