Notes:
Thinking about giving presales a shot? If you are considering switching careers and wondering about the potential room for growth or longevity you could have in this role, then this episode is for you. Today, we chat with Supriya Yerramilli as she shares how she made the decision to become a sales engineer and her journey preparing and getting herself into that role.
Suriya Yerramilli changed careers from public accounting to working successfully in the tech space. Her previous experience working as a product specialist, full-stack developer, instructor at General Assembly in coding programs such as Python Programming, Front-End Web Development, and Software Engineering Immersive has led her to her dream role as a sales engineer currently at IT Glue today.
Key Takeaways:
- What led her to her decision to become a sales engineer
- Moving to Atlanta and discovering General Assembly, which changed the game for her
- Was learning coding an intentional move to get closer to being an SE?
- Why having an internship or some technical experience gives you an edge in getting hired as an SE
- How Supriya really thought strategically to move into sales engineering
- What was her first interaction with a sales engineer that pushed her to want to commit?
- How her experience in management consulting from her previous company gave her an edge on the holistic organizational experience prior to becoming an SE
- How Supriya deals with angry customers
- The specific steps Supriya did to transition from being an SDR to software development
- What she enjoys being part of the presales community
- How her teaching experience prepared her for the sales engineering world she’s in right now
- The similarities and differences between teaching students and teaching customers
- How has being a teacher actually hindered Supriya in being a sales engineer?
- Where does Supriya see herself three years or five years from now?
Quotes:
“Sometimes, you have to take things into your own hands if you want results. So, I did what I felt was best for me.” – Supriya Yerramilli
“Denying short term gratification for long term gains, basically.” – Ramzi Marjaba
“I was literally almost like a well-oiled machine who that took no breaks. But I definitely had a goal in mind. And that’s what really helps when you’re working towards a purpose. And I think that that’s what kept me going.” – Supriya Yerramilli
10% of his job is to request stuff from people. And then 90% of his job is to make sure that they do what he requests they do.” – Ramzi Marjaba
“it’s really taking ownership, almost the whole sales cycle, which I actually really enjoy. I like building that relationship with customers.” – Supriya Yerramilli
“Audiences are different. Sometimes it’s the CEO of the company, an SMB, and their CTO, and then other times, it’s the network engineer and the director of it, and they’re the ones who are making the decision. So that’s sort of a switch between a high level, they just want to see key features. And then they really want to see more of like the implementation side, they want to see the integrations and it’s really a difference.” – Supriya Yerramilli
