Presales Podcast by Presales Collective Podcast

In this episode, Jack Cochran and Matthew James are joined by Karthik Krishna, Manager of Solutions Engineering at Freshworks and Presales Collective's Regional Community Leader for Chennai. They explore how Solutions Engineers can gain strategic influence in deal cycles beyond just giving demos and answering technical questions.

Episode Highlights

• Karthik shares his journey from developer to pre-sales professional

• The evolution from "demo-giver" to strategic partner in deal cycles

• How SEs can co-own opportunities with Account Executives

• Navigating tough conversations when deals aren't a good technical fit

• Building credibility to increase your strategic influence

• Leveraging customer success and implementation teams for deal strategy

About Our Guest

Karthik Krishna is a Manager of Solutions Engineering at Freshworks, where he has built and coached distributed teams of SEs across companies of all sizes. He also serves as the Presales Collective Regional Community Leader for Chennai, recently hosting an event with over 60 SEs in attendance.

Follow the Hosts and Guest

• Connect with Jack Cochran: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackcochran/

• Connect with Matthew James: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewyoungjames/

• Connect with Karthik Krishna: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karthikkrishna-s/ 

Links and Resources Mentioned

• Join Presales Collective Slack: https://www.presalescollective.com/slack

• Presales Collective: https://www.presalescollective.com

Timestamps

00:00 - Welcome and introduction

02:46 - Karthik's background and journey to presales

05:28 - What it means to "be in the room" for deal strategy

11:27 - Handling deals that aren't a good technical fit

16:30 - Building AE-SE relationships and trust

20:02 - Leveraging past customer experiences

27:14 - Growing strategic influence as an SE

32:30 - First experience in pipeline meetings and QBRs

Key Topics Covered

1. The Evolution of the SE Role

   • From technical demonstrator to strategic partner

   • Building relationships alongside technical expertise

   • Flying "under the radar" while still influencing deals

2. Co-Ownership vs. Support

   • Understanding sales' responsibilities and pressures

   • Taking appropriate accountability for deal outcomes

   • Building a partnership model with Account Executives

3. Strategic Influence Tactics

   • Speaking up consistently, even when not initially heard

   • Framing technical concerns alongside potential solutions

   • Leveraging past experiences and customer success stories

4. Cross-Functional Collaboration

   • Involving product, implementation, and customer success teams

   • Using collective wisdom to validate concerns

   • Creating a "common voice" across departments

5. Building Credibility

   • Trust your instincts and speak up

   • Demonstrate value through accurate deal insights

   • Help teammates at critical junctures

Bottom Line

Solutions Engineers possess unique insights that can make or break deals, but gaining the opportunity to share those insights strategically requires building credibility, relationships, and influence over time. The most successful SEs find ways to contribute to deal strategy while respecting the unique pressures faced by their sales counterparts.

Presales LIVE airs every other Tuesday. Join the Presales Collective Slack community to stay updated on future episodes, and follow the PSC LinkedIn page for upcoming shows.

Today’s episode was recorded during Presales Collective’s AI-Powered Presales Summit on March 26th, 2025. In this episode, Jack Cochran (General Manager, Presales Collective) and co-host Matthew James discuss the ethics and trust issues surrounding AI in sales environments with guest Diana Capello, Director of Solutions Consulting for US and Demo Engineering at Eightfold. The discussion explores how AI is transforming the presales landscape, from creating demo environments to navigating AI buying committees and addressing hiring practices in tech. Diana shares insights from her 20-year journey in AI, offering valuable perspectives on maintaining customer trust while leveraging AI tools.

To join the show live, follow the Presales Collective's LinkedIn page or join the PSC Slack community for updates. The show is bi-weekly on Tuesdays, 8AM PT / 11AM ET / 4PM GMT.

Connect with Us

• Connect with Jack Cochran: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackcochran/

• Connect with Matthew James: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewyoungjames/

• Connect with Diana Capello: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianacappello/ 

Links and Resources Mentioned

• Join Presales Collective Slack: https://www.presalescollective.com/slack

• Presales Collective newsletter: https://www.presalescollective.com/newsletter

• Book Recommendation, "AI Superpowers" by Kai-Fu Lee: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38242135-ai-superpowers 

• Presales Collective's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/PreSalesCollective

• Presales AI Summit recordings, available on the PSC YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@presalescollective7795 

Timestamps

00:00 - Introduction

01:27 - Welcome Diana Cappello

04:10 - Maintaining customer trust while using AI

06:50 - Explaining how AI works to customers

11:45 - Navigating AI councils in enterprise sales

20:34 - AI in hiring processes

27:43 - Book recommendation

31:10 - Q&A

In this episode, Jack Cochran (General Manager, Presales Collective) and guest co-host Allison Macalik dive into the topic of "Presales People in Disguise" with Alex Nation. They explore the journey into presales roles, the importance of effective discovery techniques, the power of silence in customer interactions, and the unique relationship between presales professionals and sales teams. Alex shares valuable insights from her career transition from retail to tech, highlighting key skills that have made her successful in the presales world.

To join the show live, follow the Presales Collective's LinkedIn page or join the PSC Slack community for updates. The show is bi-weekly on Tuesdays, 8AM PT/11AM ET/4PM GMT.

Find us:

• Connect with Jack Cochran: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackcochran/
• Connect with Allison Macalik: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisonmacalik/
• Connect with Alex Nation: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandranation/ 

Links and Resources Mentioned

• Join Presales Collective Slack: https://www.presalescollective.com/slack
  
• Presales Collective newsletter: https://www.presalescollective.com/newsletter

Timestamps

00:00 - Introduction

02:48 - Alex's background and journey into presales

08:59 - The importance of being a presenter pain point gatherer

10:40 - The power of effective discovery

14:24 - The art of silence in customer interactions

20:26 - Presales vs. Sales

26:20 - Advice to younger self

29:25 - How to find Alex

Key Topics Covered

1. Career Transitions into Presales
   • Alex's journey from Nordstrom to tech
   • Finding your strength as a "presenter pain point gatherer"
   • The accidental path many take into presales roles
2. Effective Discovery Techniques
   • The importance of listening more than speaking
   • How good discovery differentiates vendors
   • Building trust with customers through purposeful questions
3. The Power of Silence
   • Using silence as a negotiation technique
   • Training yourself to be comfortable with pauses
   • Demonstrating confidence through patience
4. Presales and Sales Dynamics
   • Developing empathy for sales counterparts
   • Understanding the complete customer lifecycle
   • Working together for customer success
5. Career Development
   • The unique pressures and rewards of presales
   • Developing flexibility and resilience
   • Creating paths for women in presales

In this episode, Jack Cochran and Matthew James are joined by Manisha Raisinghani, Founder and CEO of SiftHub, to discuss how AI is transforming the Presales landscape. They explore how SiftHub's AI sales engineer helps solutions teams consolidate tribal knowledge, automate repetitive tasks, and increase productivity. Manisha shares insights on leveraging AI for RFPs, POCs, and competitive intelligence, while emphasizing that AI serves as a sidekick to enhance SEs' strategic value rather than replace them.

To join the show live, follow the Presales Collective's LinkedIn page or join the PSC Slack community for updates. The show is bi-weekly on Tuesdays, 8AM PT/11AM ET/4PM GMT.

Follow the Hosts

• Connect with Jack Cochran: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackcochran/ 
• Connect with Matthew James: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewyoungjames/
• Connect with Manisha Raisinghani: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manisharaisinghani/

Links and Resources Mentioned

• Join Presales Collective Slack: https://www.presalescollective.com/slack
• SiftHub: https://www.sifthub.io/ 

Timestamps

00:00 Welcome

03:34 Manisha's journey to founding SiftHub

08:12 SE to AE ratios in different organizations

13:10 The changing role of SEs in relationship building

15:06 Three main buckets of SE work and how AI can help

16:30 The evolution of tribal knowledge

20:40 SaaS proliferation and knowledge fragmentation

26:51 How SEs can leverage AI effectively

31:02 Using AI to analyze POCs and RFPs

Key Topics Covered

1. The Evolution of Tribal Knowledge
   • From undocumented information to knowledge scattered across platforms
   • How AI can consolidate knowledge from Slack, Salesforce, call recordings, and more
   • Leveraging recorded conversations to preserve context and insights
2. SE Challenges and AI Solutions
   • Managing repetitive questions from sales teams and product managers
   • Handling documentation tasks and RFP responses
   • Creating custom solutions across different industries and regions
3. The Changing SE Role
   • Shift from technical support to relationship building
   • Evolving buyer journeys requiring deeper technical engagement
   • Balancing solutioning, question-answering, and demo responsibilities
4. Measuring AI Impact
   • Time savings on RFP responses and repetitive questions
   • Using freed-up time for strategic activities and better customer engagement
   • Supporting more deals simultaneously with AI assistance
5. AI as a Teammate
   • Using AI to enhance rather than replace SE capabilities
   • How AI can work 24/7 across global teams
   • The future of visual and diagram-based AI assistance

In this episode, Jack Cochran and Matthew James talk with Kalyan Ramkumar about his journey from novice to expert in the presales field. Kalyan shares his experience starting as an SDR at RSA Security with no technical background and how he worked his way up to become a skilled solutions engineer. He discusses the importance of domain knowledge in security, his framework for effective demos, and strategies for managing POCs and building your internal brand.

To join the show live, follow the Presales Collective's LinkedIn page or join the PSC Slack community for updates. The show is bi-weekly on Tuesdays, 8AM PT/11AM ET/4PM GMT.

Follow the Hosts

• Connect with Jack Cochran: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackcochran/
  
• Connect with Matthew James: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewyoungjames/
  
• Connect with Kalyan Ramkumar: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kalyan-ramkumar-679927151/

Links and Resources Mentioned

• Join Presales Collective Slack: https://www.presalescollective.com/slack
• Presales Collective Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/presalescollective
  
• Presales Collective newsletter: https://www.presalescollective.com/newsletter
  
• CompTIA Security+ Certification: https://www.comptia.org/certifications/security
  
• CompTIA Network+ Certification: https://www.comptia.org/certifications/network

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction

03:15 Kal’s Background

10:12 First Ever Demo

14:10 When did you know you’re an SC

19:40 The Four Do's of Demos

23:35 Challenging the challenger

27:02 Building your personal brand

29:35 POC strategies 

Key Topics Covered

1. Breaking into Presales
   • Starting as an SDR and transitioning to SE
   • Getting hired without technical background
   • Importance of work ethic and eagerness to learn
2. Building Domain Expertise
   • Value of security certifications (Security+ and Network+)
   • Moving from scripted to fluid demos
   • Building trust with technical customers
3. Demo Framework: The Four Do's
   • Conducting your own discovery
   • Framing every click and feature
   • Evaluating specific customer KPIs
   • Challenging difficult stakeholders
4. POC and Success Strategies
   • Customizing POC length to customer needs
   • Collaborating with account executives
   • Building internal relationships
   • Creating workshop sequences for implementation