Olivia Marcey

Regardless if stakeholders are technical or not, it is always important to have a clear explanation. Bringing things back to the "why this actually matters" is what will resonate most with customers. After explaining it simply, there is a much higher chance that stakeholders will be able to bring this information back to their team to share and explain themselves.

Being in a career where you can travel the country, meet new people each day, challenge yourself, and learn new things is the goal. One of the most important aspects is to have a great relationship with your Account Manager. When traveling, I have so much fun with my AMs, and that makes all of the conferences and meetings that much more of a success. But finding what truly "fills your cup" is the ultimate goal. I am very fortunate, that being an SE allows me to follow all of my passions. I love to coach and mentor college students, especially those looking to go into the SE career. I also find that helping my colleagues, whether it be talking through sales strategies or formal training sessions, also "fills my cup up".

It can be very easy to operate within the silo of your own team, and between your AM/SE team. In small and large companies, there are so many people doing the same thing, but probably in a better way. Being able to reach out to others and ask for help is so important at the beginning of working at a new company. I cultivated a repository of what I call my "top tools". These are resources and presentations that have stood out to me and I use on a daily basis. I have shared this google drive with new colleagues at my company, essentially pairing down the collection of resources for them to also use. This collaboration can help others to get ramped up quickly, and be a great way to share resources and information with other AM/SEs.

When presenting to customers, I always have a roadmap in my mind of where I want the conversation to go. During early conversations, different challenges that the customer is having might arise, and the need to pivot is imperative. By pivoting the conversation, you can address how your technology can solve their problem, which might not have been what you originally expected. The best way to prepare for this, is to have a wide range of resources in your tool box. This means being ready and prepared to address all of the workloads, all of the common challenges customers face, and all of the specific features that make your software special. Being ready to pivot, while also staying on track is one of the delicate arts of being an SE.

The role of a sales engineer is still a sales job. Building a strong relationship with your customer is at the core of being a successful SE. Customers need to feel comfortable coming to you to ask questions. Acting as an extension of your Account Manager allows the AM/SE to act as a reliable unit for their customers, showing that you provide robust support for their team. As an SE, I always do my best to get to know my customers during office hours or the POC process. This makes for an enjoyable experience, especially while working through complex topics. This is one of the many reasons I love the SE role. It allows me to bring my love of people and technology to my job each day, while making a difference for organizations.