How to sell to engineers without losing them

If youโ€™ve ever tried selling to an engineer, youโ€™ve probably seen the look. That polite but distant expression that says, โ€œIโ€™m listening, but Iโ€™ve already decided to ignore this.โ€ The problem isnโ€™t the product, itโ€™s the approach.

Most sales tactics are too structured. Engineers donโ€™t like being pushed down a funnel. They prefer figuring things out for themselves. Someone recently put it well: โ€œSelling to tech might just be thinking out loud.โ€ The best way to sell to engineers isnโ€™t a polished script. Itโ€™s an open conversation. Show them something interesting, let them poke at it, and give them space to come to their own conclusions.

I get why people fall back on cold outreach. It feels productive. If you send 20 pitches a day, at least youโ€™re doing something, right? But action for actionโ€™s sake is just a false sense of progress. A hundred generic messages wonโ€™t beat one good discussion with the right person.

So if youโ€™re trying to get through to engineers, forget the pitch deck. Be real, be useful, and let them sell themselves on the idea.