Train Your Sales Engineers to be Consultative Sellers and Tour Guides

Do you feel like your sales engineers are "good" but they could be better? Figure out how to get them to the next level.

Have you ever taken a guided tour before? 

If so, you probably know that tour guides come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Below are some of the tour guides you may have encountered: 

  • The Historian - Historians are the most basic tour guides. They’re knowledgeable but not very interesting. 
  • The Storyteller - Storytellers are a step up from Historians because you can actually remember the things they talked about. 
  • The Entertainer - Entertainers are usually Storytellers with charisma. They keep you engaged either with funny jokes or mixing in emotion.  
  • The Tailor - Tailors ask questions and personalize the tour according to your specific interests. They’re amazing.
  • The Leader - You’ll know a Leader when you meet them. They don’t stop providing value after the tour is over, instead, they tell you what to do after your tour, where to go, what to eat. They make the rest of your day better.  

Sales engineers are just like tour guides, except that they give tours of software instead of cities and historical landmarks. 

Just like tour guides, some sales engineers are Historians that are boring. Others are Entertainers that are exciting but talk too much. And some are Leaders that make it so that you don’t even have to think, you can just follow their lead. 

What type of tour guides are your sales engineer? 

Boring Historians, Talkative Entertainers, or Quiet Leaders? 

No matter what level your sales engineers are at, they can always get better. The key is to train them on the skills that will help them ascend the Sales Engineer Ladder (see below).

Most sales engineers tend to plateau at the Storyteller and Entertainer level because there is a lack of training to help them get to the Tailor and Leader level. Their training is too focused on Product Skills and Demonstration Skills.

This is why most Sales Engineers talk too much and over-explain.  

You may be thinking..

"so what if my sales engineers talk too much, at least they’re entertaining and the client loves them!"

That’s right.

Unlike Historians that usually lose deals, Storytellers and Entertainers usually win deals. 

But Storytellers and Entertainers are inefficient. 

Storytellers and Entertainers are always overworked and stretched thin. That’s because they lack Leadership skills. 

They’re good at getting the client excited and showing them the “art of the possible,” but that usually just leads to more follow-up meetings that delay deals.

In the current economic environment, it is absolutely essential to remain both effective and efficient

To be more effective, teach your sales engineers to be subject matter experts and storytellers.

To be more efficient, teach them to be Leaders that close deals with less activities.

Are you tired of your sales engineers being seen as just “technical resources?”

Unlike traditional presales training that teaches engineers how to give demos, Alpha Presales training teaches engineers how to be more efficient. Book a call with Alpha Presales and help your team get more done in less time by being more efficient. 


Have you ever taken a guided tour before? 

If so, you probably know that tour guides come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Below are some of the tour guides you may have encountered: 

Sales engineers are just like tour guides, except that they give tours of software instead of cities and historical landmarks. 

Just like tour guides, some sales engineers are Historians that are boring. Others are Entertainers that are exciting but talk too much. And some are Leaders that make it so that you don’t even have to think, you can just follow their lead. 

What type of tour guides are your sales engineer? 

Boring Historians, Talkative Entertainers, or Quiet Leaders? 

No matter what level your sales engineers are at, they can always get better. The key is to train them on the skills that will help them ascend the Sales Engineer Ladder (see below).

Most sales engineers tend to plateau at the Storyteller and Entertainer level because there is a lack of training to help them get to the Tailor and Leader level. Their training is too focused on Product Skills and Demonstration Skills.

This is why most Sales Engineers talk too much and over-explain.  

You may be thinking..

"so what if my sales engineers talk too much, at least they’re entertaining and the client loves them!"

That’s right.

Unlike Historians that usually lose deals, Storytellers and Entertainers usually win deals. 

But Storytellers and Entertainers are inefficient. 

Storytellers and Entertainers are always overworked and stretched thin. That’s because they lack Leadership skills. 

They’re good at getting the client excited and showing them the “art of the possible,” but that usually just leads to more follow-up meetings that delay deals.

In the current economic environment, it is absolutely essential to remain both effective and efficient

To be more effective, teach your sales engineers to be subject matter experts and storytellers.

To be more efficient, teach them to be Leaders that close deals with less activities.

Are you tired of your sales engineers being seen as just “technical resources?”

Unlike traditional presales training that teaches engineers how to give demos, Alpha Presales training teaches engineers how to be more efficient. Book a call with Alpha Presales and help your team get more done in less time by being more efficient. 


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