Ed,
Maybe I didn't make myself clear what I was trying to communicate good to excellent sales people when it comes to the numbers / profit game all have various strengths Dan weaknesses - some have a great technical aptitude others have better personal approach. In lift truck selling a nice blend of both. But the development of the weak side must be improved and always open to changes. Like my mother told me once or twice or a hundred times when I was growing up "Good, Better, Best, never let it rest make your good better, your better best." Followed that philosophy until l hung up my lift truck spurs. But continue to follow it for personal development.

Until one can get to a high level of expertise of either side they need to draw on those who are around him to help close the deal - that's called TeamWork. Dan if he or she is smart will acknowledge those that went out of their way to help or maybe like when I played football some one might just miss a block or drop / fumble a ball to make someone not look so good the next time.

A good example of team work is when working with a customer that has using locations in several locations around the country but all decisions are made from a central location and trade ins or full maintenance rates, etc are required by the home office. The selling dealer or sales person needs to make contact to other dealers and request assistance. If they are successful in securing the business the sales person, who was the point guard, for a lot of the MIGHT claim look at the big order I got rather than what WE earned - somewhat of human nature.

For myself the technical side came easy but the interpersonal side at times was an issue, I worked on those, took night classes to improve (Dale Carnage courses, etc. Later on this thing called Financial Merchandising got really popular. Couldn't wait (need commissions to eat, pay bills, etc) until I had a higher level of expertise in this area - so I sought help from those that could were willing to help. until I felt comfortable.

As far as how to find out the real decision maker is - is by asking questions of a lot of different people sometimes even folks in the accounting department - they tend to be more honest & open than others. Ask questions of your initial contact (s) with that company, who is the person that has the final approval for approving proposals that meet all the specs, etc.

Unfortunately, customers are less interested in the technical know how of products and view forklift as a commodity. It is up to the individual sales person to explain the benefits of his equipment/proposal or support organization and how it can help solve their current issues or concerns. Of course, this takes the skill of asking a few questions and becoming a good listener (some call this empathy phase of selling) when all facts are gathered (technical and/or financial or commercial items) and ready for presentation then going for the close is key (or the ego phase needs to take over).

The only real thing that has changed in selling is that too many folks have forgot how to sell (or have not been afford the opportunities to do so) but have become merchandisers of low prices.

Kinda like technicians that were trained on 1963 technology and say you gotta handle these Tier III lift trucks w/o further training. Heck it stills only take air, fuel and electricity to make an engine run. The decision-makers of today have different viewpoints than those of yesterday and tomorrow will have different view than today. How each can be best approached probably means things need to or had to change. Sales people need exposure to this, like techs need training on electronic communication systems versus mechanical.