Enterprise Sales Engineer | Career Mentor for Sales Engineers | Trusted Advisor in Cybersecurity Solutions | Focused on Consultative Selling & Customer Success
Sales Engineering is NOT an entry level role. Do you agree or disagree with this? I have met Sales Engineers in their 20s and Sales Engineers in their 60s. I think there is space for both early career professionals as well as seasoned professionals and I think the SE landscape needs both to thrive. We complement one another. Some folks learn about Sales Engineering early on, or transition from a complimentary role such as TAM or Support. They have the drive, tenacity, and energy to learn. Others spend years as practitioners before making the transition. They are a beam of light for their younger SEs and serve as trusted advisors for their prospects. As long as you enjoy the gig and you are good at it, Sales Engineering is for you. So if you are in your 30s or 40s, don’t think you are coming late to the game. Everyone has their own journey. And if you are early on, don’t discount yourself from a career in Sales Engineering. What are your thoughts on this? Are experienced SEs better than younger SEs? What benefit can each bring to the table? Drop your thoughts below.
Matthew Kantor
5mo
100%. Knowing product, knowing technology, knowing people and knowing foot-in-mouth are all important.
Raphael Joseph
5mo
This is a BIG topic, and definitely not one I can answer fully in one comment. Only to say that experience is a tangible "skill", and if the product your company sells, and the clients you sell into, require a certain level of experience (which often only comes with time), then that is no different to your role requiring a certain level of technical skill.
Asmatullah Memon
5mo
I agree
Diana Cappello
5mo
Disagree with the statement and agree with you. Any role can have entry level people. I’ve personally hired and coached up more than 6 ppl who had SE as thier first office job. And they are all still in SE work, managers or PMs.
Sales engineering can certainly be entry-level. It all depends on what you're selling, your GTM motion, your managers' ability to be hands-on and coach, and your budget for L&D. What makes a great SE has very little to do with teachable skills. It's all about unteachable attributes - high integrity, discipline, focus, curiosity, a desire to solve problems and puzzles, a great attitude, tenacity, charisma, and courage. If someone has a few of those and an interest in the SE function, they can be taught how to be a fantastic SE. The question is...is there someone who can help them fill the teachable gaps? Do they need help understanding the product, the domain, the buyer? Do they need guidance on how to demo vs. train, or how to future sell without getting into trouble? Do they need a crash course in sales? If there's no one with the bandwidth or ability to teach and coach, then you can't hire entry level. You'll have to hire experienced people who don't need much guidance. But entry level vs. experience isn't a question of who's better. It's a question of what your org can teach.
Peter Cohan
5mo
Presales can most certainly be an entry-level position - just look at the number of companies who have created academies to harvest fresh university grads into their programs...!
If you’re technical and have soft skills why couldn’t it be entry level? You can easily tell who hasn’t served in the military when the age question comes up lol. My first squad leader at the time was 21 and I was 27 yet he was a great leader that I looked up to. If you limit yourself to looking at someone and judging by their age you are limiting yourself immensely from gaining experience and knowledge.
Depending on the product mix and complexity of integrations, I generally agree. I have seen instances where the product is super simple, delivers obvious value and has a short sale cycle where entry level is suitable.