A few weeks ago I’d posted a very similar brief message on LinkedIn and received an overwhelming number of responses both on LI and private messages sent to me from SE’s/Sales Architects thanking me for the “shout out.” Below I’ve elaborate a bit, because I can within the framework of a LI article vs. a simple post and felt a need to add more color to what I was intending to highlight.
Below is the updated message.
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I wanted to say a few words in support of Sales Engineers/Sales Architects. A top tier Sales Engineer can be nearly or just as important as a top tier Enterprise Account Executive.
The best SE’s can present well and/or read a room while the Account Executive is making a presentation. They can determine who is truly listening, and pay attention to meta messages the Account Executive may have missed.
Many of these folks travel most days of the week away from family and friends, all the while working to support multiple sales representatives and not making a whole heck of a lot on the back end compared to sales representatives.
Over the last six months speaking with CRO’s, COO’s, and SVP’s it’s clear many are gaining more respect for the role of SE’s/SA’s in closing large deals. In fact, some of the feedback I’ve had includes comments like, “Thank you so much for locating (fill in the blank), they were the key in closing a 1.1 million dollar sale.” This is an actual quote and highlights how much Sales Engineers add to the process.
When a Sales Engineer is in a meeting, they’re almost always dealing with push back and bombarded with technical questions from the IT staff invited to meetings. Oftentimes the questions are ridiculous, though they take the questions in stride and answer with poise and professionalism.
Lastly, I know all of this first hand and appreciate the SE’s I’d worked with over my 17 year Enterprise Sales career prior to starting my recruiting firm. In addition, because we all traveled so often together to meetings, we all became friends, allies, and many would confide the difficulties related to all their travel supporting multiple Enterprise Account Executives. It impacts marriages and relationships with children, not to mention overall health and general well-being.
In summary, appreciate your Sales Engineers. 🙂
Melanie Wise, CEO
425.681.2108
[email protected]
https://resourcewiseconsulting.com