10 commandments of a software Sales Engineer

I was asked a few months back to write a list of SE commandments (before I left the company I was at to pursue my current role). I wanted to write down the key things that were on my mind when I thought about my experience in Pre-Sales/Sales Engineering - the things that have stood me in good stead or things I have learnt on the way. Whether they are commandments, a list of best practices, ideas or tips, I hope there are some things that people find useful, especially for those who are making or considering a move into Sales Engineering (if that's you, then you're making a great decision!).

1 - Be adaptable ?? ?? ? ??

SEs wear many hats. At a minimum, there's technical expert, business expert, product expert, solution architect, storyteller/presenter, competitor analyst and you can often add into the mix helping out with solution implementation, training, customer success. There are probably some others I've missed, anyhow, like I say many hats . . .

You have to be adaptable and be prepared to give all of the above a go, even if it feels uncomfortable and they're not all strengths or things you like doing (with a list that long they can't be) but you've got to be prepared to dive in and give it your best shot.

Different SE roles at different companies will each have a different mix of hats, but the rule is always be prepared to be adaptable. Some hats you will choose to wear, some you'll be asked to wear, whichever it is, wear the hat well!

2 - Be curious and always be discovering ??

Ask questions, ask some more questions, always be asking questions! Great sales engineering process starts with discovery. Make sure technical discovery is something that happens before every demo (See Chris White's excellent book, The Six Habits of Highly Effective Sales Engineers which talks about the importance and nesscity of this).

If you ask the right questions you get the right insight, meaning you can tailor your demos and talk tracks to address the points that really solve the problems for the prospect and add value.

3 - Build demo scripts ??

Whilst you won't need to do this for every demo, if it's a highly tailored demo or there's some really specific items to cover, make sure you type or write up a demo script that you can use to practice your demo (see point 3) and for on the day of the live demo.

The script shouldn't be a word for word account of what you'll say and show in the demo but act as an order of the items you'll cover to make sure you get through everything that is needed through the Tell Show Tell process. Bullet point lists work fine. It can also be helpful to remind you of any data values you may need to use in your demo (Account numbers, product codes etc), particularly if you are running a tailored demo. Your script should also include a demo prep sections at the top (Do you need to reset or delete any data before the demo? Do you need to wake up any services).

Personally, I type up an initial draft of the script and print it off, so I can then update it with written amendments as I practice and refine the demo. I tick the items off as I go through them on the live run of the demo to help me stay on track.

They are also a great way to share and align with your sales counterpart on what needs to be covered in the demo.

4 - Practice, practice again and practice once more ??

As they say, practice makes perfect, in reality, it's more like practice makes perfect preparation. Practice your demos, end to end, at least 3 times before you do it live (if it's a really custom demo). It will get you in the rhythm of the flow of the demos and help you remember to hit all of the key points in your talk track.

Running through your demo out loud will help you have a smooth and natural flow and refine the pace, tone and words you use. You can identify what doesn't sound quite right in advance of the actual session with the prospect.

The other big thing is that you'll know the click path of the demo and it will give you lots of opportunity to make sure all of the technical elements of the demo work properly.

Going through a "dry run" with colleagues can also really help. Sometimes dry runs feel a bit odd, but that live presentation mode in front of others can really help. A dry run should be a dry run, I've been involved in a few dry run sessions where people have just gone through what content they will discuss during the live session and not gone through the content in an actual presentation mode - this is not a dry run and is a prep session (Two different things! You need to do both separately).

5 - Videos are a key component of the collateral you build ??

Recording videos should be as regular as sending emails. They can be a great reference point and are reusable. They also add a more personal touch.

If you record your practice demos from point 3, as well as having done a practice run, you'll also have something you can share internally before the live demo (to make sure everyone knows what you're covering) but also something to share will the prospect after the live session (rather than just the recorded meeting recording). Your video will be a succinct recording of the demo for the prospect for them to watch again or share with their colleagues.

Need to explain a technical concept or detail a particular capability to a prospect? Record a video rather than typing an email. On some occasions, it will probably be easier for you to explain by running through things in the system and easier for the recipient to see/understand. Video make things more tangible.

Invest in some video editing software as it will allow you to do some simple things like cut/trim, insert slides, separate video and audio, rerecord audio etc. Personally, I've used Camtasia over the last few years.

Use a video hosting solution like Vimeo or Wistia to store and distribute your videos. I've used Wistia a lot, it's great for adding things like chapters and password protection. It also gives you useful analytics on who has viewed your videos and the viewing patterns.

(Note to self - record a video summary of this article!)

6 - It's all about selling value and solving business problems ??

Everything you discuss, demo, prove, educate on as an SE with your prospects has to link back to business value and solving a problem that the prospect has.

If you haven't taken a more detailed look at value selling frameworks then I recommend doing so. I went through Value Selling Framework training a few years ago and it was a real eye opener, the key take aways for me (in addition to always linking things back to business value and solving a problem) were to not to go into solution/demo/PoC mode too early, do more discovery and ask more questions (probing, confirmation, open etc) and ask for something in return when the prospect ask something from you.

Part of the value selling approach is partnering with the prospect to build business and technical champions - they make things happen for you. The development of technical champion(s) is the responsibility of Sales Engineering. SEs play a pivotal role in ensuring a multi-threaded selling approach at a prospect. Have an honest conversation with your sales team if you, collectively, don't have a true champion identified or there's not clear business value or a business problem you are solving (otherwise it's probably not a real deal).

One approach I've seen work well is to start every meeting/session with the prospect by reiterating the problem/pain they face, and how you will be able to solve it for them.

Lastly, make sure you speak the customer lingo this can go a long way to make the prospect think you understand their business and industry (which of course you do because you were curious and asked lots of questions!)

7 - You are way more than a technical resource (but knowing your technical onions is key) ??

As Zach Bolt talks about in his article Sales Engineering - The Tip of the Value Selling Spear, Sales Engineering is a strategic part of the sales team and process. Sales Engineering is mission critical and is way more than just a demo or technical resource (Zach's article also talks about SE's role in the whole value selling process, well worth a read).

"when executed correctly, sales engineering rapidly becomes the most strategic component of the sales team"

Having said all that, Sales Engineering does need to own its technical craft. Part of the role is to constantly be technically curious, always be learning, exploring and tinkering with technology and solutions.

Added to this, never try to be the smartest technical person in the room. It's never necessary to showcase your technical expertise and show how much you know to prospects. Even if you're a technical wizard, it's not about you proving that to the prospect. Again, it's all about solving the prospect's business problems.

8 - Learn when to say no (and how to position no) ?

SEs can't be the "yes" people every time, be that for requests for their time and expertise by prospects or internally from sales, marketing, customer success etc.

Sometimes you have to say "no" or more likely "not right now". When there's so much going on and the real need to focus on the key priorities you can't spread yourself too thin. I have always found saying no really difficult, you just want to make sure you're delivering a great service to everyone all of the time.

As mentioned above, it's usually a cause of saying "not right now" and the way to make sure that's the right call is to make sure you're asking the right questions around urgency and priority (if you don't already know) from your sales colleagues in order to make that decision. That's why it's important to get visibility of deals from the sales team as early on as possible (see point 8).

If you need to push back, then do it with early and clear communication of:

• why you need to you need to push back and whey its in the best interests
• when you can pick things back up again
• a short term workaround or alternative option (E.g. Can a colleague fill in? Could you send a video you already have in your library?)

Those types of conversations usually go better than you think, but if they are uncomfortable then better to have them early and find a solution rather than risking something not getting done or done properly.

There's no doubt that you need to be a good juggler to work in Pre-Sales (think back to point 1 on adaptability) but sometimes you can only juggle so many things at once. As an old colleague once said to me:

"If you juggle to many chainsaws at once, you risk dropping one and cutting your arm off"

Don't take on too much that the quality of what you are doing could suffer.

9 - Engage early in the sales cycle ??

Actually, SE's need to be involved (or at least consulted) in the account planning and forecasting stages with the sales teams to give alignment and input.

But back down to individual deals and opportunities . . . it's no good getting involved in a demo and PoC if you've not been involved in the discovery sessions. Otherwise there's a real risk that you're hearing things second hand and you don't yet have a technical champion in place yet. I also believe that SEs can give a real honest view on whether an opportunity is real and warrants everybody's time investment.

Partner and strategize with your sales colleagues to ensure you've involved right from the get go.

10 - Be a custodian of the sales process and best practices ??

SEs need to work with their sales colleagues to ensure everyone accountable is adhering t the appropriate level of sales process and best practice. Common example of these include:

• Can a deal be committed if there isn't a real business problem to be solved or a true champion identified?
• Is a PoC/pilot really the right thing to commit to? How much should time/effort should be invested? What's reasonable for the prospect to invest in the process in order to put skin in the game?
• Should we really do a demo before we've really understood the prospects business problem?
• Making sure there is the appropriate lead time to build, plan and practice a demo before delivering it live (saying no to "can you do a demo today?")

Again, sometimes these can be difficult conversations, but sales is a team game and you have to have honest and open conversations with your team members to make sure you are all focused and working on the right things in the right way.

And finally, remember, Pre-Sales is where the cool kids play ??

Sales Engineering is a great role to be in and those in the role should embrace all the goodness that is Sales Engineering. Most importantly enjoy what you do and have fun doing it!

Thanks for reading!