You're new to Sales Engineering. How can you decide which skills to learn first?

First and foremost your role as an SE is to know the product inside and out and be the technical product expert on sales cycles. Once you have a fairly good understanding of the product/solution, it is important to familiarize yourself with customer stories and competition. Finally, I would focus on your sales skills--asking good questions, understanding the sales process, uncovering client needs, positioning the product, mapping to business value. There are also other skills to learn, but by focusing on these to start, you can quickly ramp up your ability to deliver as an SE.

It's always amazing how overlooked the fundamentals are! I often find that sales engineers are satisfied by their deep technical knowledge, and feel that carries their weight in credibility in front of the client. Whilst this is true, I always feel they miss the bare bone basics of sells; simple qualification, for example, to understand if a prospect is genuine or just kicking tyres! I always recommend coaching courses for new starters - to make sure they're ready on all the basic sales skills.

As a new Sales Engineer, start by mastering technical knowledge of your product to effectively communicate its value. Next, focus on communication skills to clearly explain complex ideas to non-technical audiences. Develop strong problem-solving abilities to address customer challenges and practice active listening to fully understand their needs. Collaboration is key, so learn to work efficiently with sales, engineering, and product teams. Finally, grasp the sales process, including lead qualification and negotiation, to better support your team in closing deals. Prioritize these core skills for success, is what I've always taught my sales engineers.

As a new Sales Engineer, use a problem-solving approach to prioritize skills by identifying key challenges you’ll face. In my experience, it helps to assess common customer pain points and focus on learning the technical skills needed to address them. Next, identify communication gaps between technical and non-technical stakeholders, and enhance your ability to translate complex solutions into clear, actionable insights. Additionally I suggest to evaluate team collaboration processes and improve cross-functional communication. Lastly, understand the sales cycle to better anticipate customer needs and tailor solutions effectively. Solving real problems will guide your skill development efficiently.

Personally, it's critical to embrace learning as an ongoing process—attend training, stay updated on industry trends, and regularly evaluate your performance. By consistently adapting and improving, you'll stay relevant and develop the skills most crucial to your success, ensuring you're always aligned with evolving demands.

Relationship building is huge. If you have access to Sales Engineers in your current role or network, reach out to them. Follow top voices in the industry on LinkedIn, blogs, or newsletters - and definitely join the PreSales Collective slack. Most people are willing to help others and answer any questions, just make sure you've done your own homework and come prepared to have a great conversation. - Do you have specific industry experience? - Is there a technology you already know well or are hoping to work with? - How are you working on both sales and technical upskilling?