What I’ve learned over the years of being an SE, is that you have to consistently push yourself to learn and adapt if you wanna be a good Sales Engineer. It’s not enough for you to learn one product or stay there, you need to keep learning and growing and experiencing new things in order to really deliver your best work. In today’s episode, we’re going to answer the question: How can you constantly push yourself to become a great Sales Engineer? 

Our guest Jose takes us through his journey from graphic design to IT to finally Sales Engineering and how each industry prepared to become great at his role now as a solution architect. He also shares with us what it means to learn in a circular fashion, the importance of culture in any organization, and the role SEs play along with their AEs or salesperson. 

Jose Espinoza has spent the last 15 years helping organizations of all sizes resolve their business challenges by improving their business processes. Currently, he is a Solution Architect at Loftware, the global market leader in Enterprise Labeling and Artwork Management solutions. He is passionate about understanding an organization’s environment and how they conduct business and finding solutions to resolve their challenges. 

Key Takeaways:

Tune in to our conversation and learn about:

• What’s been keeping Jose busy after being on the No SE Left Behind Initiative last year
• How he was able to adjust and get comfortable in his new company
• How his past experiences in graphics and IT-led him to his role as a Sales Engineer
• Understanding the company and product by thinking like a customer
• What it means to learn in a circular fashion
• Viewing things with a holistic mindset and how that can help your team, customers, and organization
• Comparing Sales Engineers and salespeople to quarterbacks
• Why is it hard for sales folk and SEs to understand each other’s expectations?
• The importance of the organization’s culture

Quotes:

17:00 “I just like when business and technology kind of intersect… I just love having these things come together. I started being really curious, that really helps when you’re speaking with customers how does their company operate, and the more you understand about how they run their business day to day and what their goals are.  I found myself just really understanding the value of what we’re doing, because if I can understand it, then I could help a customer understand it.”

23:55 “I do a lot of my best work when I take time to really think and explore… I start looking for multiple ways. I’m not just a product guy, I’m not just a techie who try to speak their language but I really care and understand their industry.”

 47:19 “It really comes down to culture, in the organization… That’s huge as to how successful we are as SEs. If we’re empowered, the friction or lack thereof between sales and SEs comes out of culture. Whether a company’s gonna buy your product, adoption strategies, how they actually utilize the product that’s gonna come down to culture.”

1:01:22 “As an SE, if you care about your craft and you care about being better, you’re gonna go through even unconventional or just find it for me.”

Not So Fire Round

• What is it that you really love about sales engineering?

I really love and enjoy the way technology adds value and really helps. When we say we solve problems, I know it sounds cliche but for me, it matters. But if I’m working with a family member who’s older, I just get as much satisfaction just sitting down with them and explaining what it’s all about. So, the technology itself, the value that it brings and the education component, and the competitive aspect as well. I love to help people.

• What would you change about the role?

There’s still a lot of maybe very old-minded legacy bias in terms of what the SE does, so I’m using terms like John Care will talk about, The Technical Win to being viewed as a strategic business partner. The perception and the awareness of the role.

• What are some books or resources you could recommend to those wanting to learn more about sales engineering?

When you wanna learn something, you’re gonna go all out to learn, you don’t have to wait for your company to give you all this stuff. 

• Is there a habit that you’re working on today so you can improve as a sales engineer?

Don’t wait till you have the skillset, just make it part of your daily life, keep your engine warm… Just learn a little bit every day.

Connect with Jose Espinoza on Linkedin: 

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