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

4/1/1 Get Out Of Your Bubble and Ask Questions

November 11, 2021

By Ramzi Marjaba

4/1/1 Weekly

4 Random Thoughts, 1 Tool, and 1 Quote

Happy Remembrance Day Canada! And Happy Veterans Day USA. I don’t usually mention days like this in my podcast and newsletter, but today, for a change, I remembered :). Please don’t hold me to this standard going forward. Now let’s move to the meat of this email.

This week I chatted with Kyle MacArthur, an experienced channel SE who in less than 60 minutes, taught me a lot about what it’s like being a channel SE. It’s a role where you have to embrace what you can control, and not worry about what you cannot. And we all go through trials and tribulations, some more than others, and at different periods of our lives. IF they don’t break us, we may get a chance to be great at what we do.

Check out my conversation with Kyle here.

Speaking of learning, something we are never taught in school or universities other than Sales Engineering is investing. Sales Engineers tend to make enough money to take care of their families, have some fun toys, and invest a lot of it. Patrick Pissang is very passionate is seems about that subject, so he wanted to share with you what he does in this week’s Youtube video.

With so much great stuff talked about, let’s dive right into the 4/1/1!

4 Random Thoughts From Me:

1- There is always something you can learn. I’ve had assumptions about what a channel SE does or has to do. These assumptions were based on my experience. While talking to Kyle, he opened my eyes to different parts of his world, and there is so much to learn. Funny enough, I feel that way with every person I talk to on the podcast. Experienced or rookies

2- Giving back is such a big piece of successful sales engineering. Kyle and many experienced folks that I’ve talked to say that they do not post on LinkedIn to be famous. Most of them already know the people they need to know to have an impact. They simply do that to give back. Here’s the thing, you can give back wherever you are in your journey. I’ve worked with people who are still aspiring SEs, and they are helping other aspiring SEs. They can do that by providing their experience or pointing them to the right person they should talk to.

3- And the best feeling in the world is when someone calls you up to tell you the great news and attribute some of their success to you. I had that happen yesterday. Someone I’ve been working with got an offer to the company he chose. He thanked me. I know that I was only the guiding hand, the Morpheus to their Neo, where they put in the work, never gave up, fought hard against competitors. I didn’t get him the job. He got the job. But still, my chest puffed with pride when he told me, and I blushed when he thanked me. So if you don’t want to help others for their sake, do it for yours.

4- You can do it alone, but you don’t have to. I coach people, so of course, I would say that. I only coach people because I wished someone coached me, and I have my coaches today. Even if you don’t want me as a coach, reach out and I’ll refer you to others who might be more suitable. Find someone like Kyle who would be happy to help, find someone to guide you. It’s even more fun that way.