Key Takeaways
- Thanks to the heavy customization involved in each project, ETO sales are challenging. Sales cycles are usually long and complex, and there isn’t enough data to properly estimate projects.
- An ETO sales rep will benefit from a background in engineering to help them understand the customers’ requirements.
- The right technology, such as an ERP designed for ETO, not only streamlines processes in engineering, procurement, and manufacturing but also collects and organizes data from past projects to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and profitability of every estimate.
Trusted by hundreds of Custom Machine Builders
Salesperson: “This machine will cut your workload by 50%.”
Office manager: “That’s great! I’ll take two of them.”
It’s a classic joke… and we chuckle because we can relate to wanting a perfect solution, just like that.
We can also relate to wanting to close a deal that quickly and easily.
As a sales professional, you’re no stranger to the hurdles of closing a prospect. However, Engineer To Order (ETO) sales reps face a unique set of challenges that set them apart.
ETO Sales Challenges
ETO manufacturers stand out in our industry thanks to the innovation that goes into each and every unique project. While your clients love the flexibility and customized solutions you provide them, they don’t always understand the true complexities of Engineer To Order machine building.
ETO sales involve a detailed and precise process of
- Understanding a manufacturer’s (clients) needs,
- Translating them into technical specifications,
- Proving the feasibility and value of your proposed solution.
Sounds easy enough, right???
Unlike standardized products, where features and prices are more predictable, ETO projects require extensive upfront collaboration and negotiation. Some of the challenges your team will face include:
Complex Customer Requirements
ETO projects can be a little ambiguous to start with. Sales teams must have strong technical expertise to interpret these needs accurately and propose practical solutions.
Engineering Feasibility
Once the problem and the solution’s initial requirements are understood, the sales team works closely with engineering. Their first priority is to ensure the proposed solution is technically feasible, especially considering constraints such as time, budget, and available resources.
Long Sales Cycles
Due to their intricacy, ETO machines often have longer sales cycles than standard products. Building trust and maintaining consistent communication throughout these extended periods is crucial but demanding.
Risk Management
ETO projects come with some added risk. Design complexity, supply chain disruptions, and unforeseen technical challenges can be easier for standard manufacturers to plan around. ETO sales teams find it helpful sometimes to address these concerns upfront to reassure customers and mitigate potential issues.
NuLine Automation, in Denver, specializes in designing and building equipment tailored to their customer’s exact specifications. Not only do they experience long sales cycles, they also face complex customer requirements.
Total ETO, however, helps NuLine record and find data from previous jobs, improving each estimate’s accuracy and efficiency.
Strategies for Success
Much like the joke we referenced earlier, there is no perfect “one-size-fits-all” solution. Creating an efficient and profitable sales funnel will need the right skills and the right tech.
The Right Skills
A salesperson at an ETO manufacturer should have a background in engineering. Their knowledge and experience in this domain will help them understand the customers’ requirements.
Such expertise will help provide some important preliminary details such as rough estimates for costs and time involved. They’ll also have an understanding of possible hurdles or scenarios the team might face during the project.
The Right Tech
As Custom Machine Builders, you know how important the right technology is to your team. We’re not just talking about the shop floor, though. Sales, accounting, procurement, and management will benefit from investing in the right tech and the right software.
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are known for streamlining processes and improving efficiency and communication. But again… it’s not so easy for ETO manufacturers. No ordinary ERP will work here. Not even a manufacturing ERP, or an MRP. Standard machine builders have a lot more options than custom. This is because of your unique ETO workflow.
One of the biggest hurdles Engineer To Order manufacturers face, for example, is the engineering-procurement bottleneck. Designers and engineers translate customer specifications into technical drawings, models, and simulations.
Iterative discussions between engineering and the customer help to perfect the solution; while all this is going on, procurement is trying to get their hands on the bill of materials (BOM).
The sooner procurement can access the BOM, the sooner the parts will arrive.
Extra time will also help your purchaser to secure the best prices and/or delivery options. Supply chain management in ETO relies on flexibility… the right software gives you that flexibility.
The Right Solution
You know you need an ERP designed for ETO. Total ETO is the original Engineer To Order ERP. Our first clients, many of whom are still Total ETO users today, have had front-row seats since the mid 90s, as our software grew into an all-encompassing ERP solution. This ERP will improve processes throughout your organization, including engineering, manufacturing, procurement, and accounting.
Here, we’re focusing on simplifying your sales team’s daily tasks and improving their accuracy and efficiency. Some of the benefits your sales team will appreciate include:
- Automatically roll up estimated material and labor for different equipment to a project’s total cost.
- Copy similar project elements from past projects using budget or actual costs.
- Quickly turn on/off components like an option list.
- Easily add and modify labor and material lines by type to compare to actual values as the project is completed.
- Record and track estimates to completion for accurate percentage complete revenue recognition.
- Capture change order information, including labor, material, and sales prices, so they aren’t omitted or forgotten.
If your customers have worked with other ETO manufacturers, they may know and understand the challenges you face. They may be worried about problems such as those experienced in procurement. Put their minds at ease, let them know you have a solution in place that helps keep projects on time and within budget.
Why ETO Sales Reps and Other Custom Machine Builders Prefer Total ETO
“Over the past 10 years Total ETO has helped our company become successful both locally and internationally.”
Ron Gill, Systems Specialist, Advanced Dynamics, now EPIQ Machinerie
“Total ETO has improved our job costing metrics, providing enhanced operational decision making and production efficiency”.
Ben Baker, Program Manager, Quality Machine & Automation
“Total ETO has given us the tools to win bids successfully and become a world wide competitor”
Tom Hirschler, Purchasing & Logistics Manager, Metform International
Read more reviews and case studies here.
FAQs About ETO Sales
1. How easy is it to find historical data within Total ETO?
Total ETO provides many powerful search wizards to find all types of historical data. From sales estimates created years ago to part purchase history, all historical data is easily searched, accessed, and utilized when needed.
Benefits to you:
- The ability to access material and labor costs is essential to estimating when quoting new jobs.
- When engineering can access previously designed BOMs, they reduce their efforts for new jobs.
- Manufacturing can use past job commentaries to highlight production opportunities.
- Management can use past history to reduce the risk in setting selling prices and target margins.
2. Can I link to other files on our network to items within Total ETO?
We understand that there are many internal and external documents that can be attributed to just one project, and they can be stored in different network locations. Total ETO allows users to create links to any document related to a project, job, and even a part.
Benefits to you:
- Management can return to any project or job in the past to evaluate quotes versus costs.
- Quick access to this information is invaluable for sales when creating estimates for similar jobs in the future.
3. What reports are available within the application?
Total ETO provides users with more than 200+ reports, all accessible from the ‘Report Center’, or from within the various modules themselves. Additionally, custom reports can be developed using Crystal Reports, and can be integrated right within Total ETO itself.
Benefits to you:
- Management has rapid access to all reports for timely information on projects.
- Staff can quickly find and run necessary reports without having to learn how to navigate the system.
- Daily report access ensures that you are on top of any issues within a project.
Written by Taylor Dykstra