4/1/1: 4 Random Thoughts from me, 1 tools to help Sales Engineers, 1 quote for motivation

4/1/1 Spring-Boarding to the Numerous Ways of Sales Engineering

May 13, 2021

By Bini Kanungo

4/1/1 Weekly

4 Random Thoughts, 1 Tool, and 1 Quote

Now that we’re pretty much in the swing of Spring and as vaccinations are rolling out across our communities, I think we’re starting to get a taste of “normality” again. For many, the time locked down was an excellent opportunity to reflect on things and consider career changes towards things they want to spend their time doing.

This week’s guest, Ken Lambert, President of the North American Association of Sales Engineers (NAASE), shared several valuable insights with respect to how one can move into sales engineering, the commonalities between “SEing” and other professions, and a number of great sales tips as well.

Listen to our show with Ken here.

This week’s 4/1/1 takes from the idea of the versatility of the profession and runs with it, which is something we’ve talked about in the past here and there but having Ken on really brought those ideas to the top of mind.

4 Random Thoughts From Me:

1- Certifications are sweet. The term “sales engineer” has gained so much meaning over the past few years but all the while, many organizations still don’t know what to look for when hiring for pre-sales. Having a pre-sales certificate is a great way to showcase not only that a person is capable and well versed in xyz, but also is a cool indicator that the profession is on the verge of blowing up as more people seek to differentiate themselves within the unique role of being a sales engineer.

2- The variability in the types of SEs. It’s crazy, inbound, outbound, hardware, software, more technical, more salesy; goodness, the list can go on. Just know that if you want to be an SE, there is a company out there that fits you like a glove.

3- How many careers are great springboards to becoming an SE. There are likely quite a few. Any job that has you talking with people, internally or externally, where you need to showcase value about something, sets you up pretty well to becoming an SE with a little bit of practice.

4- How being an SE is a great springboard to many other roles. We have had so many guests who have moved positions and even started their own companies after being pre-sales professionals.

1 Tool:

Trello

Trello is a great tool to organize tasks and projects among groups. Interactive cards, a Kanban board, and team collaboration are some of the great features of Trello, but its best feature is its price – FREE!