Bryan Young is an experienced SE who works for Cisco, one of the largest technology conglomerates in the world. Today we cover some of the unique perspectives of an SE who has to know so much about a constantly changing technology stack. We also discuss the dynamic between SE Generalists and Specialists, the importance of understanding the human side of selling, social selling, and a number of other topics.
In this show we will discuss:
The Generalist vs. The Specialist
According to the Oxford Dictionary:
Generalist: “a person competent in several different fields or activities.”
vs.
Specialist: “a person who concentrates primarily on a particular subject or activity; a person highly skilled in a specific and restricted field.”
On the topic of having to know so much:
It is natural to feel anxious to be responsible to know everything about the topics you’re supposed to know about, however…
“You only have to be 15 mins ahead of your customer/prospect,”
Whether you’re a Generalist or a Specialist, there’s a lot of content that you likely expect yourself to know. Don’t stress about your known unknowns or even your unknown unknowns so long as you can comfortably feel like you are 15 mins ahead of your customer at most times. If topics change to areas you’re not as comfortable in, the credibility you’ve gained up to that point by being ahead of the conversation will soften the impact of your lack of understanding of the current topic.
When working in organizations that have Generalists and Specialists, regardless of what type you are, you have to learn to work with those and leverage the resources around you.
Being a Generalist allows you to broaden your perspective of how different industries function, what different companies need and you can use your experience from one interaction in creative ways to relate to an entirely different interaction. It helps you relate and get to know many different types of needs and requirements across verticals. As a Generalist, you should consider bringing in a Specialist to support you in an area you’re not an expert on.
As a Specialist, you should consider learning from Generalists to broaden your own understanding of the overall product offering and suite.
Specialists can be in high demand – how do Generalists get the time of day from their Specialist counterparts? How do I deal with an unresponsive colleague?
Communication is key – if certain attempts to contact do not work, change method.
If all methods do not work – have a defensible due diligence trail showing your efforts.
Learn from past failures to be better in the future.
Take ownership for situations that you are in control of.
Leadership typically LOVE those that take ownership.
Go the extra mile – if you’re involvement to a project is inhibited by the process (or other reasons) and you have a stake in that project’s success, be involved and aware of that project right up to the line of what’s acceptable
TAKE OWNERSHIP EVEN IF IT’S NOT YOUR FAULT – there are always lessons to be learned from every outcome.
When working with Specialists as a Generalist or vice versa – use your discretion to define what’s appropriate.
Resources are finite, you don’t want to overburden your colleagues unnecessarily.
On the flip side, be aware when you SHOULD bring in Specialists because you don’t want to NOT use them when they are necessary.
Generalists can still have their areas of expertise – some organizations will have a pool of Generalists with each having their own areas of expertise. SE organizations with this specialized pool of Generalists can have multiple Generalist skill sets complement each other.
Good Selling Advice:
Price isn’t the hill to die on – VALUE is. Sell your value, sell your competitive advantages, DO NOT sell your price.
Fighting on price can devalue your solution in the eyes of your prospect.
Connect to your audience on a human level. If you can show that you get them, they’ll trust you to help them.
There’s more to Sales Engineering than getting the technical win, you have to make that connection – people buy from people they like.
The Enabler vs The Salesperson
You want to be an “enabler” vs. a “salesperson” You want to be their trusted advisor, you want to enable them to be more productive, save time, money, etc.
Think about how you like to be sold to. Do you like to be beaten down with sales pitches and value statements on how your company can be helped or would you rather feel empowered to champion the introduction of a new kick-a** solution to help your company?
Not So Fire Round:
Bryan loves maintaining a relationship with his prospect even after an interaction is complete. He becomes the trusted advisor not just one time, but for the duration of their relationship.
He makes use of multiple techniques, including Social Selling via his podcast, Conf T With Your SE: The World of Cisco By Those That Know It Best.
There are so many great resources out there (whether they be internally or externally) but there needs to be a better way to keep it all organized for more effective use.
What Separates the Great SEs from the rest?
Being adaptive, flexible, agile.
Being able to think on the fly is great, but be sure to take your time to think of your solution before just spitballing.
Sometimes it’s good to “do not solution on the first date,”
Other resources mentioned:
