There is increasing pressure on engineers to meet tight deadlines.

Per a survey by IHS Engineering360 Media Solutions, the average engineer is juggling 4 projects at once, and 55 percent of engineers said they are now asked to do more with less. In the same survey, 60% of engineers said that design cycles are shrinking and 63% said there are more time-to-market pressures.

Management’s edict to do more and do it faster with less resources means that engineers are overwhelmed. That just gives them an excuse to revert to the old tried-and-true widgets they have always used. There just isn’t enough time in the day to research and vet new manufacturers and new products. It’s much quicker and easier to just specify the same widget that was used on the last project.

This works to your disadvantage if you are an industrial manufacturer trying to get your foot in the door. So, how do you get through to busy engineers?

One effective method is to host free webinars for engineers. Present an educational topic related to the products you sell, and award professional development hours (PDH) to the engineers. Professional engineers must make the time to earn their PDH credits.  Otherwise, they will lose their PE license.

The engineer may be too busy to read the industrial trade magazine or surf the social media site where you placed an ad. He may be too busy to open the email you sent him. He may be too busy to even attend this year’s industry trade show because he has a deadline to meet. But invite him to attend a free webinar where he can earn his required PDH and he’ll jump at the chance.

Schedule the webinar at lunchtime so he can attend while he eats lunch. That way, he can earn the PDH credits he needs, and he can do it during a normally unproductive part of his day.

Engineers love attending webinars because…

1. They need PDH credits for license renewal.
2. There are gaps in their knowledge that need to be filled by experts. You can be that expert!

Educational webinars allow you to:

• Demonstrate topic authority and position yourself as a valuable resource that engineers can rely on to help solve their problems.
• Create an authentic human connection with engineers, so they see real people when they think of your brand – not a faceless corporation.
• Build goodwill with engineers by providing something of real value to them.

An educational webinar allows you to begin building relationships with engineers, making it more likely that they will consider specifying your product when the need arises.

Engineers will make time to earn their required PDH – whether they get it from you or somewhere else. Use it to your advantage to find and engage the engineers who specify your products.

If you’d like to chat with an expert to learn more about how to use PDH events to connect with engineers, book a free consultation.

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