Having Trouble Hiring and Keeping Sales Engineers??

In today’s tech world, the Sales Engineer, aka Pre-Sales Engineer, Solutions Consultant, Solutions Engineer, or whatever new fancy title you want to use, has become more and more important in the sales process and success of a territory. Everyone has recognized it. I hear that in some cases, the “SE” is more of an influencer in the final decision-making than the Sales Executive!  Not surprising at all. 

It has become a bloody war when it comes to hiring SE talent, due to the increased difficulty in finding and retaining them. I’ve been placing these types of professionals for 14 years and must say-- it’s great to finally see this role get its due justice and recognition!

If you’re a technology company looking to find some good SEs, here are some steps to help you win the battle:

1) Call me (of course)! 

My network and relationships allow me to get four to eight qualified and targeted candidates to your table for just about every SE search I tackle, to ensure we get down to a "bride and a bridesmaid"-- ensuring a smooth and successful hire.

2) Pay them well! 

SEs directly impact your revenue. They are expected to deliver like a salesperson. They know it and have that mentality, wanting to earn as much commission as possible on top of their base salary. You don’t want to be a company trying to convince a top SE to take a pay cut because your organization is “special”. MY ADVICE: This is one area in your company where you don’t want to cut corners or be cheap.

3) Don’t run them into the ground! 

As you can guess, I talk to a lot of Sales Engineers. One of the top motivators for them making a move is that their respective company has them spread too thin, trying to have them cover too many opportunities, or supporting too many sales reps.

4) Sell them on your technology! 

Most SEs have that “techie bug” and want to represent a technology that they can be passionate about and REALLY get behind. MY ADVICE: During the interview process, be sure to feed into that, by showing them how great your product is and what differentiates it from other competitors.

5) Offer them a chance to enhance their skill set! 

Many SEs talk about their interest in adding to their skill set and getting a chance to get their hands dirty with new technologies. MY ADVICE: If you are looking to hire an SE that has experience with five different languages, protocols, or whatever it may be, don’t just pass up on the candidate that has three or four of your five technical requirements. You will have an edge if you are offering candidates a chance to learn a new technology. That is something the other companies they are interviewing with may not be offering!

It is a battle in the technology candidate market. You are going to win some and lose some. However, you can have more wins and hire better sales engineers if you follow these simple steps. In many cases, they can be the difference between winning and losing that big deal. The good ones are worth it.

TELL ME ABOUT THE TALENT OR JOB YOU’RE LOOKING FOR.                                                                                                    Get in touch with me today!