Are Sales Engineers limited in terms of function to Discovery calls, demos, and Proof of concepts? There are so many other things we do that no one ever talks about.
Here are the things that Bini and I discussed with zero prep time, but a lot of think time:
Connecting Project Managers with Customers. Sales Engineers tend to know what Product Managers are working on in terms of new features or products, and which customers would benefit most from it. If we can connect them with each other, Product Managers gather more info, customers have a say in how the product looks like, and Salespeople get to a future opportunity to close.
Being servant leaders. We don’t call the shots, but we have a big say in different aspects of the company, product, how demos look like, and the strategy behind an opportunity.
Doing logistical preparations before being able to do a demo. For example, in my line of work, I receive physical hardware that I provide to the customers, and then I have to ship it back. Not fun! And every company has something similar. Maybe not shipping, but could be just configuring a server with specific software in order for their software to run.
Expense reports! ‘nough said.
Tracking past tasks. Not all SEs do this. It’s very dependent on the company. By co-host Bini has to do track.
Tracking future tasks. We all get requests which we cannot do on the spot, but we still have to remember to do the. The only reason I don’t enjoy this is because I don’t want to miss anything and due to the huge number of questions or requests that customers, product managers, or Account Managers request, that is a high possibility.
Showing your value to your manager. Some managers can see what an individual is doing and their value. Other managers will need their employees to show their value mainly because they don’t track what they are doing.
Taking in harsh negative feedback from customers. Some customers pay for a Honda but want the performance of a Ferrari. And sometimes you just have to sit there while the customer is talking trash about your product and company, which makes me feel like he’s talking about me (I’m thinking of a specific person here).
Negotiation. I may have said this a few times. Every time an SE opens his or her mouth they either add to the value or reduces the value of the product.
I’m adding the youtube video I created on this topic a few weeks back that covered different aspects of the “Unspoken” tasks that we do.
