We often talk about the importance of bringing in the "big guns" to close a deal. Whether it's an engineer, a designer, or a specialized estimator; bringing a Subject Matter Expert (SME) into a meeting adds incredible credibility.
But there is a dangerous flip side to this strategy.
The problem arises when a meeting shifts from being sales centric to operations centric. Your technical experts love what they do, and they love being thorough. But when "thoroughness" turns into a 20-minute deep dive on a parallel topic, you aren't selling anymore--you’re doing unpaid consulting.
The instinct of a support person is often, "You brought me here for my expertise, so I need to prove how much I know". The result? They over-explain.
The reality we have to face is that a confused mind says "No". When we flood a prospect with too much technical data, we don't impress them; we tilt them away from a decision and toward, "I hadn't thought about that… maybe I'm not ready". We give them all the reasons they would need to think more about the decision they are to make and do more research, which isn't often in their best interest because it doesn't help them solve their problem.
If you are hoping that your sales rep does a good job, and hoping your ops person does a good job, you are relying on luck. And the batting average for getting lucky isn't great.
A professional sales call must be choreographed. To keep the team aligned, we recommend using the RACI model:
- Responsible: The Salesperson. They are responsible for shepherding the buyer to a decision.
- Consulted: The Ops/Technical team. They are there to support the strategy, not to drive the bus. If you don't clearly articulate this when you're not pressured, you may forget to articulate it later.
Do You Have a "Safe Word"? One of the tactical takeaways we covered is the need for an internal Upfront Contract between sales and operations. You need a way to change the trajectory of the meeting if it gets too technical without making your team look disjointed.
Whether it's a physical signal (like tugging an ear) or a verbal safe word like, "That’s a great point, let's pause there," your team needs a pre-agreed signal to pull the conversation back out of the weeds.
A Quick Audit for Your Team
If you are regularly bringing support staff into your sales meetings, take a moment to look at your process. If you can’t answer "Yes" to the following questions, you might be leaving revenue on the table due to poor coordination:
- Do you have a pre-meeting briefing where the specific role of the technical expert is defined?
- Does your technical team know that their goal is to help close the sale, not just demonstrate competence?
- Do you have an agreed-upon "safe word" or signal to stop a technical deep-dive before it confuses the prospect?
- Are you running mock presentations, or are you just "winging it" and hoping the chemistry works?
If these questions make you uncomfortable about your upcoming presentations, it might be time to stop hoping for luck and start training for collaboration.
