What a College Student Understands about Selling

Following my guest lecture at Brown University last week, I had the opportunity to speak with six students from the class and the Entrepreneurship program.

One particularly insightful observation came from a student who followed up by email requesting a conversation.

She wrote:

“I am currently a junior doing a double concentration in Engineering and Economics, and although my academic background is quite technical, I’ve become increasingly interested in sales and business development as a complementary skill. I’m particularly interested in how technical knowledge can be translated into a compelling value proposition and ultimately into a business relationship.”

Get this right, and your ability to generate meaningful revenue for customers takes off.

At 20, this young woman recognizes something many organizations, particularly in Life Sciences and High Tech, continue to miss: the connection between technical expertise, customer value, and business relationships.