There are a few topics that should be discussed more when it comes to Sales Engineering and Presales but really are not. One of those topics is “Personality”. 

That’s where Aileen McNabb comes in. Aileen is a Sales Engineer and Sales Engineer Director who left the corporate world to start her own company to help Sales Engineers not only get better at their jobs but also get happier. 

In addition to talking about Sales Engineering understanding their personality, we talk about them understanding the personality of the people they are talking to. Whether it is a Salesperson, customer, husband, or wife, it is good to understand their personality so we can tailor our discussions in a way that relates to them.

Key Takeaways:

Tune in to our conversation and learn about:

• Making the workplace a happier place
• Getting into coaching
• The Power of positive coaching
• Where Sales Engineers need the most help: confidence and clarity
• Working on the SE’s confidence
• The Social Skills Styles of Behavior
• Different personalities can drive each other crazy
• Dealing with conflict
• Knowing you’re a good sales engineer
• Working with horses

Quotes:

3:30 “A natural presales person is part expert and part performer. We like to be up there and we like to be the subject matter experts, and when feeling good about it and when we have good interactions with people, we feel happy at work ”

11:49 “People run into problems the most when they lack confidence or they lack clarity on either ‘why is this happening’ with another person or what the issue really is”

 26:11 “There are still a lot of people who think that women should be amiable, they should  be kinda slow-paced and willing to agree, so if you’re a driver and you have opinions, that can drive some people crazy.”

 46:41 “Do you know when you know you’re a good Sales Engineer when you become invisible at the front of the room”

Not So Fire Round

1. What do you love about training salespeople and sales engineers to do demos?

I love being a presales people coach. I truly like presales. I truly am the person who likes to be at the front o the room and to be an expert and a performer.

2. What’s one thing you would change about the sales and pre-sales profession?

In some companies, I would change the sales/presales dynamic. I’ve run into companies where the presales manager’s job is to just what sales tells them to do.

3. What resources would you recommend for sales engineers and salespeople?

Flourish (A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being) by Martin E.P. Seligman 

Link to info about Tal Ben Sahar’s Course – Use at your own risk

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck

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

I mainly have a habit of analyzing myself

Connect with Aileen on Linkedin  or on her website 

If you enjoyed this podcast, please support the show by dropping a review or rating on iTunes. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/we-sales-engineers-resource-for-sales-engineers-by/id1378292171

And if you’ve been affected by COVID as an SE, please check out our Leave No SE Behind initiative so that we can help you. https://wethesalesengineers.com/no-se-left-behind-initiative/