October 31, 202400:25:29

Engineering Success: Modern Approaches to Sales Engineering for Enterprise Teams w/Advait Deodhar

In this episode, Brian Dietmeyer talks to Advait Deodhar [https://www.linkedin.com/in/advaitdeodhar/], VP America's Sales Engineering at Ping Identity [https://www.pingidentity.com/en.html], about modern alignment strategies for presales and sales in enterprise software. They delve into the importance of making sales engineers 'sticky' in deals, shifting from speeds and feeds to focusing on business value, and the key alignment points between sales and SEs to enhance customer decision-making processes. 

Timestamps:

00:00 Sales engineering team's importance in selling software.

03:21 Sales engineers specialize to better serve customers.

09:24 SE value: qualify deals, shorten cycle, increase win rate

10:20 SE team strategically enhances product understanding for sales.

16:19 Vendor and customer alignment in the buying cycle.

17:48 Complex problem with buyer seller misdiagnosis.

23:15 SE less engaged; AE stays engaged, customer struggling.

24:34 Enthusiastic discussion on continuous improvement and community.

00:00 Introduction to the Show and Identity Security
01:16 Can you elaborate on the importance of making sales engineers more 'sticky' in deals rather than parachuting them in and out?
02:23 Specialization in Sales Engineering Roles
03:41 Account SE as the Technical Quarterback
04:45 Aligning SE Roles with Business Value
05:40 Mapping Technical Features to Business Objectives
08:14 How can alignment between sales and SE teams be improved to achieve key sales goals?
10:45 Tailoring Demos to Business Objectives
12:38 Helping Clients Navigate Buying Cycles
15:45 How can organizations better help customers make more holistic and informed decisions and reduce complexity in a complex buying environment?
18:46 SEs as Trusted Advisors
21:14 Improving SE and AE Alignment
24:55 Continuous Improvement and Community-Building