I had the privilege of working alongside Basia Sudol, our first Solutions Engineer and now head of the SE team. Together, we’re sharing insights into building an SE organization from scratch, the impact it can deliver, and some practical advice from our journey.
How SEs Drive Impact at My Company
Solutions Engineers often work behind the scenes, and their contributions can be undervalued compared to quota-carrying sales reps. But at my company, they’ve been critical to winning new business, expanding customer accounts, and bridging gaps between go-to-market and product teams. Here’s how:
- Establishing Credibility Early and Shortening Sales Cycles
Selling to technical buyers demands fluency in their language. Our SEs excel at this, leveraging their hands-on developer experience to build trust with potential clients. They go beyond flashy slides—using tools like Postman and cURL during demos to show our APIs in action. They even build custom demo environments tailored to specific use cases. This approach not only showcases our technical prowess but also gives customers confidence in our solutions.
The impact? A 3x increase in opportunities advancing to live testing and a 25% reduction in deal cycles.
- Diving Deep in Technical Discovery
Our SEs don’t just validate solutions; they take a proactive role in uncovering customer needs and designing for scalability. By involving SEs early in the sales process, we gain critical insights into customers’ architectures, migration plans, and future goals. This lets us craft solutions that meet technical requirements while aligning with long-term business objectives.
For example, instead of merely adapting our APIs to a client’s existing setup, SEs often suggest transformative strategies like adopting passwordless authentication. These recommendations, while requiring some upfront effort, lead to faster implementation and long-term value for customers.
- Closing the Feedback Loop
SEs act as a bridge between customers and our internal teams, sharing feedback from the sales process and implementation stages. This insight is invaluable for refining our products and prioritizing developer experience.
At my company, two key initiatives help:
Weekly Deal Reviews: A company-wide meeting where SEs present technical challenges and solutions for active deals, fostering collaboration and cross-functional insights.
Customer Pain Points Standups: A dedicated forum for SEs, Product, and Support teams to discuss recurring issues and brainstorm solutions, ensuring we stay ahead of customer needs.
Building a Strong SE and Sales Partnership
Collaboration between Account Executives (AEs) and SEs is essential for maximizing impact. Here are three ways to strengthen this relationship:
Prepare Together: Before customer calls, align on goals, unknowns to address, and tailored technical demos. This groundwork ensures smooth and effective conversations.
Strategize as a Team: Involve SEs in account planning to identify technical opportunities and risks, while leveraging AEs’ client-specific insights.
Complement Each Other: Amplify your SE’s technical expertise with customer success stories and insights, creating a cohesive and persuasive sales narrative.
Conclusion
In today’s competitive sales environment, Solutions Engineers are no longer a luxury—they’re a necessity. At my company, investing in our SE team and fostering a close partnership with sales has transformed our approach to revenue growth. By combining technical depth with customer-focused collaboration, we’ve built a team that not only wins deals but also drives long-term success. Here’s to harnessing the power of SEs for even greater achievements ahead!
