When and how does a sales team engage when marketing to developers?

The best sales people that I’ve worked with “know enough to be dangerous” meaning they dont try to know everything, but they know enough to have a basic conversation and then know the right resources to bring in to continue the conversation. So I try to arm Sales with 101 level content so that if an API conversation comes up, they can handle the first couple of questions and use it as a reason to schedule a follow up call with an engineer or developer advocate. But if you’re expecting a sales team to carry the full conversation with a developer, it's probably not going to be a successful outcome as it's too specialized (persona style, talk track, questions, etc.) versus your sales team's normal buyer. 

Traditional sales tactics will not help you start conversations with developers. you will rely more on content marketing than sales in order to "sell" to developers. 

Do not cold call developers. Instead make it very clear how your product will solve developer problems on a very technical level. You have a choice - 

1. you can try to build a champion with the developer through some of the tactics I discuss in other answers here, then have them champion the product to their VP or CTO who owns the budget. (preferred) or

2. You could go after the dev lead/manager with more traditional B2B tactics but if their developers are not asking for it, they are not buying it. 

This is a really good question. I like to bring in the sales PoCs at the right milestone in your customer purchase journey till you make the sale. I like to leverage sales perspective typically for the following reasons - to

1. Understanding Developer Preferences: Developers often prefer self-service options and hands-on experiences. Sales teams should engage at the right touchpoints without being too intrusive. Sales team can help here by providing the right material, understanding when to step back and step in during the entire process. In some ways, the sales team should be able to project manage the onboarding/purchase funnel providing the right amount of assistance.

2. Developer-Centric Messaging: Sales teams need to communicate in a language that resonates with developers. Focus on technical aspects, APIs, integration possibilities, and how the product solves specific developer challenges. I would say avoid traditional sales pitches; instead, provide value by offering expertise and support.

3. Adopting an Educational Approach: Rather than pushing for a sale, focus on educating developers about the product's capabilities and benefits. Offer webinars, workshops, or educational content that adds value and helps developers understand how the product solves their problems.

4. Data-Driven Approach: Use data analytics to understand when developers are most engaged and responsive. This helps in timing engagements effectively and tailoring approaches based on their preferences.

In essence, the engagement of the sales team when marketing to developers should revolve around providing value, assistance, and expertise in a non-intrusive manner that aligns with the developer audience's preferences and needs.

It depends on the organization's GTM motion. My previous company, Crossbeam is hybrid, eg. sales-led and product-led. They drive leads to sales and follow a traditional "funnel" model where certain criteria is met to unlock sales stages. For example - has the contact reached out for a demo or trial? Has marketing qualified the lead? Upon qualification, this account would be marked as a stage 1 opportunity where the sales team would begin their first outreach the pitch and demo.

In a sales-led cold outreach scenario - there could be intent signals that trigger engagement from the sales team to developer prospects. In this case I would advise the sellers to lead with "help" not sales., e.g., new regarding the tech / surrounding community. Invitation to join a workshop to learn - etc.