PreSales Podcast by PreSales Collective

On the PreSales Podcast, James Kaikis and Ash Davis connect on “Communicating Value Effectively.” Ash, Principal Practice Lead at Red Hat and PSC DEEI Council Member, talks about how Value is not about you or your product but the customer. To effectively communicate Value and establish trust, more listening than talking is required. Ash delivers so much Value around how Solutions Consultants can elevate how they deliver Value in their day-to-day.

On the PreSales Podcast, James Kaikis, Alex Navarrete, and Felix Navarrete connect on "Establishing Yourself as A New SE." Felix, Solutions Consultant at Gainsight and recent PreSales Academy graduate, and Alex, Sr. Sales Engineer at Slack, discuss Felix's recent transition to the PreSales profession. Making a career change can be daunting, so Felix provides his experience from his first few months in the role. Alex, a veteran in the profession, discusses how he has offered guidance to his brother but, more importantly, how SCs need to re-establish themselves year after year.

On the PreSales Podcast, James Kaikis and Diana Cappello connect on the topic "Building a Customer Growth Org". Diana, Director of Solutions Engineering at Eightfold, discusses her experience building out a Customer Growth team at Clari. In this role, Solutions Engineers support the growth of existing customers only. This model is both interesting and important to the future of PreSales organizational structures. Hear Diana offer tactical advice on what and why a customer growth team and how she is going to implement the same structure in her new role at eightfold.ai. 

On the PreSales Podcast, James Kaikis and Ajay Jay connect on "The Disparity between Technical Win and Business Win Rates." Ajay, Co-Founder and CEO, talks about his experience with the highly debated Technical Win. Ajay also provides a valuable framework for understanding Technical Win and its impact on organizations related to Sales 3.0.

On the PreSales Podcast, James Kaikis and Dola Akinduro connect on the topic "Always Be Learning". Dola, Senior Manager of PreSales EMEA at Hubspot, talks about her perspective on the constant learning journey that all PreSales professionals are on. Dola provides tactical advice on change and both personal and professional growth. 

On the PreSales Podcast, James Kaikis and Scott Blacker connect on the topic "Leveraging the Flywheel at Scale”. Scott, Global Head of Solutions Engineering at Atlassian, discusses Atlassian’s go-to-market strategy as it relates to the flywheel. With the topic of Product-Led Growth on the rise, Scott breaks down what the flywheel effect is and how it impacts the Solutions Engineers role within the organization. 

On the PreSales Podcast, James Kaikis and Erin Baker connect on the topic "How To Get Promoted". Erin, Director of Solutions Consulting at AlayaCare and PreSales Collective Ambassador, talks about her promotion journey from Client Success Associate to Solutions Engineer and now Director of Solutions Engineering. Erin has been promoted 4 times during her 4.5 years at AlayaCare so she will share what has worked for her, how she has stood out, and what advice she has for those looking to make that leap.

On the PreSales Podcast, James Kaikis and Jonathan Friedman connect on "Connecting Product to Value with Better Storytelling." Jonathan, Co-Founder & CEO at Demostack, talks about how the changes in buyer behavior force organizations to take a new approach to selling. PreSales plays a crucial role in the revenue process in this new approach. Solutions Engineers need to connect product to value through storytelling early and often in the demo and sales process.

On the PreSales Podcast, James Kaikis and Katie Meloche connect on the topic "Career Confidence". Katie, Senior Strategic Value Advisor at Adobe, shares her personal experience and story of her career and how not to tie self-worth into career achievements. Katie is vulnerable and open as it relates to the impact of the demands of the PreSales professional. This is a great episode for anyone struggling with career confidence and finding their worth.

On the PreSales Podcast, James Kaikis and Rishi Kapoor connect on the topic "The Importance of Team Selling". Rishi is a Consulting Lead Sales Engineer at Alteryx, and a PSC Ambassador, discusses what team selling is, why it is essential, and how, if done right, it unlocks a better customer experience.