Salesforce

Strategic MuleSoft Account Executive

Responsible for the strategy, execution and growth of a Global System Integrator (GSI). Serving customers as a trusted advisor to deliver innovative analytics solutions targeted to their unique challenges and business outcomes.

Demonstrated sales management by managing upwards of 56 Analytics AEs (globally) to create an account strategy to align on messaging, use cases, POVs, and increase international sales into a complex business.

Effective use of LinkedIn and social media marketing to create brand awareness for Tableau and Salesforce.

Global Account Director, Tableau Global Enterprise

Leveraged territory and key account management to developed the overall account strategy, including research, account plans, points of view, forecasting, and business value hypothesis for Fortune 1000 accounts in my assignment. Demonstrated cross-functional team leadership by managing upwards of 30 Salesforce personnel inside each account to collaborate and develop POVs to prove to C-Level and key stakeholders an understanding of their business and provide immediate value at the first meeting. Handled the entire B2B sales process.
Worked with executive stakeholders to solve their strategic initiatives and problems by leveraging Salesforce's full portfolio of value-driven CRM enterprise software cloud solutions: Sales, Service, Platform, Integration, Data, HR, Marketing, Analytics, and Professional Services.

Enterprise Account Executive (Travel, Transportation, Hospitality, and Logistics Vertical)

Developed the overall account strategy, including research, account plans, points of view, and business value hypothesis for Fortune 1000 accounts in my territory. Responsible for managing upwards of 30 Salesforce personnel inside each account team to collaborate on accounts and POVs to prove to C-Level and key stakeholders an understanding of their business and provide immediate value at the first meeting.  Handled the entire B2B sales process.
Worked with executive stakeholders to solve their strategic initiatives and problems by leveraging Salesforce's full portfolio of value-driven Customer Relationship Management (CRM) enterprise software cloud solutions: Sales, Service, Platform, Integration, Data, HR, Marketing, Analytics, and Professional Services.

Client Account Director

Ricoh USA, Inc.

I was in this role because of my customers and the relationships I build with them.  When meeting with customers, I listen to what issues they have while asking the questions that reveal the full landscape and scope of the problem because a complete picture allows us to provide a solution that could solve multiple problems that the customer may not understand one solution can solve.   By bringing my team’s insights, hindsights, and foresights into play, we can bring simplicity to their complexity.

To illustrate our approach, I learned one of my customers was having issues in their Accounts Payable (AP) department.  Through multiple meetings with the customer, we uncovered problems not only in AP, but also in HR with on-boarding and regulatory headaches they had when being audited.  My team brought to the table a solution that streamlined their AP processes, gave immediate access to documents for audits, and would simplify their on-boarding to create a better employee experience.  After the implementation, the customer was amazed at the time that was saved, the better experience their employees had, and the cost savings generated.  In addition, we were able to bring a Digital Transformation in two departments by taking manual paper processes and digitizing them.

In this role, I was accountable for managing and growing market share as a trusted, strategic partner for large accounts with 1,000-10,000+ employees and establishing the Ricoh brand in new accounts. I lead an integrated, collaborative team of experts and engineers to identify and recommend new technology solutions that are scalable and consistent across the enterprise.

✔ Surpassed 100% of quota every year.
✔ Recipient of the Circle of Excellence Award, FY09, FY17, FY18, and FY19, for attaining top 10% in the nation.

Account Manager Enterprise Sales

Selected to take over a challenging territory with the majority of accounts in jeopardy of being lost by the company. Managed accounts with 20-100+ locations around the United States. Rebuilt and solidified relationships with enterprise accounts and large national accounts while securing future revenue producing opportunities.

✔ Ranked #1 highest producing Major Account Executive 5 consecutive years, FY 2011, FY 2012, FY 2013, FY 2014, and FY 2015.
✔ Surpassed 100% of quota every year.
✔ Expanded multiple high-profile accounts which didn't have expansion plans for next 5+ years outside of Florida securing national purchasing agreements for equipment including the addition of other product offerings beyond our core portfolio.
✔ Grew share of wallet opportunities in multiple accounts that previously only considered Ricoh for one type of product.
✔ Recipient of Circle of Excellence Award, FY 2009 for attaining top 10% in the nation.

Major Account Executive

IKON Office Solutions

Promoted, sold and serviced business accounts in the South Florida territory including document management, workflow, equipment, MFPs, and stand-alone solutions for large accounts spending over $100K annually. Identified new customers, built and maintained relationships with existing customer base and focused on long-term customer development. Recognized customer needs, identified new opportunities and translated these into IKON solutions.

✔ Ranked #1 highest producer for Net New Revenue, FY 2008.
✔ Generated 25% of the total revenues for a 10-member team quota, FY 2008.
✔ Surpassed 100% of annual quota in FY 2007 and FY 2008 despite adverse market and economic conditions.				
✔ Closed an average of 5.6 deals per month compared to marketplace average of 1.7.
✔ Recognized as #1 AE in South Florida for FY 2007 and FY 2008.
✔ Circle of Excellence winner for FY 2007 and FY 2008 for attaining top 5% in the nation.
✔ Developed and maintained an opportunity through relationship building with a company who only purchased two machines and turned the account into the #3 revenue producing account in South Florida.

Senior Account Executive

Initially hired as an entry level Sales Representative in the Fort Lauderdale territory accountable for marketing the entire product line from basic Multi-function Printers (MFPs) to high-end production systems. Emphasis on prospecting for new business and developing new clients in the small business sized business market (20 employees or less).

✔ Recognized as the #1 Associate Account Executive in South Florida each quarter and for FY 2006.
✔ Ranked #2 Associate Account Executive in the Nation for FY 2006.
✔ Rookie of Quarter, Q1 FY 2006 attaining 307% to quota.
✔ Recognized as the #1 Ranked Top Associate Account Executive for Q2 FY 2006 attaining 207% to quota.
✔ Achieved quota every quarter of every year.
✔ Circle of Excellence Winner for 2006 for attaining top 5% ranking in the country.

Associate Account Executive  

Vector Marketing

Opened and oversaw day-to-day operations of a district office including recruiting, hiring, training, and mentoring a sales force of 250+ that led to a top performing office. Developed the office business plan and mission statement, conducted weekly sales meetings, and held fiscal accountability for sales materials, advertising, rent, administrative staff, and inventory. 

✔ Awarded Record Breaker Plaques at the District, Office and Personal Sales level during November 2000, becoming the only manager to have accomplished that all in one month during the company’s 56-year history. 
✔ Recognized in 2003 for breaking the all-time Florida sales record for an office during the Summer campaign generating sales approaching $1MM.
✔ Consistently ranked in the Top 3 in office productivity in the Division every campaign.
✔ Developed three sales associates to management positions within the organization. 
✔ Seasoned public speaking / speaker at company conferences and events in front of groups as large as 1000+. 
✔ Increased sales by 24% in 2003, increasing average order size and upsells.
✔ Designed the Home & Garden trade show sales script for the organization implemented company-wide. Increased sales at shows by an average of 750% per rep.

District Sales Manager

Responsible for direct sales of the Cutco product line through pre-set appointments with customers in South Florida. Personally responsible for the creation of the sales program used throughout the Nation at Home & Garden shows, boat shows, and other convention center venues. Effectively leveraged existing customers for lead generation to create a significant referral base of new leads. 

✔ Ranked the #1 representative in the Division out of 10,000 reps, Fall 1996, Spring 1997, Fall 1997, FY 1997, and Spring 1998.
✔ Ranked the #70 representative overall in the company’s 56-year history.
✔ Recognized as the #12 representative in the Southern Zone out of 35,000 reps, 1997.
✔ Personally sold over $301,000 in product sales year-to-date FY2005 through direct customer sales.
✔ Created and networked with a client base of over 1000 customers.
✔ Maintained a 90% closing rate and an average order of $350 (company averages were 50% closing and $200 average order).
✔ Awarded “President’s Club” 15 times out of 15 opportunities.
✔ Awarded “Academy of Champions” in 1997, “Inner Circle” in 2000 and 2001, and “Topper’s Club” in 1998 and 1999.
✔ Awarded the “Malik Cup” 9 times, finishing as one the Top 25 representatives in the country out of 100,000+ reps each time.

Sales Representative

Strategic Account Executive at MuleSoft, A Salesforce Company

𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱-𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 with 15+ years experience in technology sales with a focus on Enterprise consultative selling in addition to 7+ years as a People Leader in Sales.  I help companies grow revenue through my versatile business growth experience and a deep-rooted passion for analytical problem-solving with a proven track record of delivering $300 million+ in cumulative revenue generation through multi-year contracts, across multiple industries by focusing first on my clients’ success.

𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲:

๏ Created a POV following extensive research/discovery that resulted in a digital transformation of a client’s business across Sales, Service, Marketing, Integration, and Analytics with a multi-year contract and 400% ARR growth.
๏ Won new logo account against six competitors by understanding customer and their problems and then grew the account from $0 to over $50M in revenue.
๏ Surpassed quota 94% of my sales career
๏ Led, coached, and mentored 250+ sales executives resulting in the #1 Sales Office (out of 40).

Additionally, when not focused on helping my customers, you can find me doing the thing I consider the most important part of my life and my driving force to be the best version of myself…spending quality time being a husband to my wife of 13 years and a father to my two amazing kids ( 8yo boy & 6yo girl.) 

I get excited about opportunities where I am able to collaborate with a team in the enterprise technology space that involves strategic planning, executive relationships, and consultative selling.

𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀
Strategic Planning & Execution | Sales Strategy Development | Market Research | New Business Development Strategy | Enterprise & SaaS Sales | Platform as a Service (PaaS) | C-Level Communication & Negotiations | Executive Relationship Management | Go-To-Market Strategies | Consultative & Solution Selling | Sales Team Building, Development, & Mentoring | Account Management | Revenue Growth | Contract Negotiations | Client Retention | Artificial Intelligence (AI) | eCommerce | Customer Service | Digital Experience | Marketing Automation | Big Data | Digital Transformation | Data Analytics

Marco Montecchi

CEO @ Alpha Presales | Teaching smart people to talk less and sell more. The smarter your sales engineers are, the more they need this.

I’m on LinkedIn to share stories and lessons from corporate sales training I do and sales kickoffs (SKOs) I speak at.

If you’re in Leadership, Sales, Pre-Sales, or Sales Enablement, you can follow me and get free value.

If you want to train your team to be better at Storytelling, check out Alpha GTM or Alpha Presales training.


--- HAPPY CUSTOMERS ---

✅ MongoDB (app dev)
✅ Optiv (cybersecurity)
✅ Exiger (supply chain / compliance)
✅ Paylocity (HR)
✅ Planful (finance)
✅ NICE (CcaaS)
✅ Eightfold (AI)
✅ OutSystems (dev tools)
✅ Keysight (manufacturing)
✅ Flexential (infrastructure)

--- RESULTS ---

“My sales rep doubled his number the quarter after you did training.”
— Ben, CEO, Iris

“I’m seeing more Alpha behavior happening. The SCs are stepping up in a bolder and more professional manner.”
— Jeff, Director of Solutions Consulting, Paylocity


--- HOW I CAN HELP YOU ---

• Sales Enablement - companies partner with us to supplement their in-house sales enablement. Storytelling is our most common training. We also have SKO workshops and are consistently ranked both #1 content and #1 speaker.

• Presales Leaders - SEs love Alpha Presales training because it’s specifically made for SEs. But most SE leaders don’t buy training for their SE team because they don’t have budget and are too proud to ask for help. If budget is your problem, just reach out. 90% of my clients don’t have budget and I help them get it. Your SEs deserve to feel appreciated and they don’t feel appreciated when your voice is the only one they hear from. 

• Sales Leaders - your sales reps don’t need another sales methodology. They just need to take control of the sale and stop doing whatever the client wants. Note: This doesn’t mean sales reps should be assholes. It means they should be leaders. That starts with the right process and right skills. 


P.S. I take all intro calls myself.  No sales pitch. We'll talk about what you want for your team, I'll tell you what we offer, and then if you think there's a fit, I’ll give you a quote or help you get budget for next year. 

Rew Dickinson

Last week was my last work week of 2025.

Thank you to:
- Every presales leader who trusted me to train their SEs
- Every client who trusted me to deliver a great SKO

More than anything, thanks to YOU for following me on this platform. 

It means so much to me that you would take time out of your busy day to read what I have to say. I couldn't do any of this without your support and feedback. 

Come January, I’ll be flying back and forth between Vegas, Dallas, Toronto, LA, and our virtual training lab for SKOs and SE training. 

Until then, I will be watching Christmas Vacation and Home Alone on repeat.

Christmas movie recommendations welcome. And yes, Die Hard counts.

No alternative text description for this image

This is a sales call from one of my clients. The worst part is that the Sales Rep had been at the company for 6 years but had made countless mistakes. Here are 5 mistakes I commonly see reps make, along with how to avoid them. 

---

1. Unimpressive intros. People don't care how many years you've been at the company. They want to know how you can help them. Talk about that. 

2. If the prospect reveals their pain and problems, don't jump to solutions, instead, validate them and make them feel heard. 

3. If you're talking for more than 2 minutes straight, it's usually because you're talking about how your product works. Stop doing that. Instead, either: 1) Ask questions, 2) Tell stories, 3) Validate what the prospect has said.

4. Never discount pricing without having a good reason, and never talk about pricing without talking about value. This is Sales 101. 

5. Ask yourself if your prospect knows how to sell your product internally? If they don't, then don't offer more information packets, demos and POCs, instead, help them build a business case. 

Summary: If you want to be more effective at sales, you should primarily be doing 3 things:
1. Asking questions
2. Telling stories
3. Validating what you heard

If you're trying to improve your Solutions Engineering (Presales) organization, you need to understand how SEs think. Here are 5 truths I've learned from training hundreds of SEs: 

1. Most SEs don't value money as much you think they do (at Alpha we have data to support this). 

2. SEs are naturally skeptical, so if you have an opinion, you'd better back it up with data. 

3. SEs despise looking unprepared or unintelligent. On the upside, this leads to better preparation. On the downside, it stops them from trying anything new because they despise the feeling of being a novice. 

4. Even if SEs are willing to try something new, they often won't because they are too worried about how their AE is going to react. NOTE: Sending chats/slacks telling SEs what to do during demos does not help.

5. SEs often value "being an expert" more than they value money. 

I had one SE tell me recently that, "I want to be right, more than I want to win the deal." 

---

If you're trying to make your SE team better, consider these 5 truths, and don't propose any changes without first: 

1. Being clear about why change is needed
2. Setting expectations with sales
3. Supporting SEs and telling them that you expect progress, not perfection. 


SE Leaders: For monthly tips on how to improve presales, join 200+ presales leaders who get our newsletter: https://lnkd.in/eKaaGeZr

JSESSIONID

li_at

Sales Navigator

Talks about #sales, #ventas, #presales, and #storytelling

CEO @ Alpha

2025 Wrapped for Solutions Consultants!?

Pre-Sales SCs, SAs, SEs, what else?

Solutions Consulting (Presales) Wrapped 2025

When I was a Solutions Consultant, I thought my job was to be right. 

Unfortunately, that often led to me correcting the prospect and making them feel dumb. 

Fortunately, I learned my lesson from a great sales leader who asked me a simple question:

"Do you want to be right? Or do you want to be effective?"

Point taken. 

The truth is, SCs want to be both right and effective, but it should never be at the expense of our clients feeling dumb. 

It's not our job to correct their speech, it's our job to correct their problems.

I love AI, but for goodness sake, can we stop calling them “hallucinations” and start calling them what they are? Lies.

Hallucinations sounds harmless, but they’re not. 

If you’re in Sales or Solutions Consulting and you regurgitate a hallucination and get called out on it, you immediately lose your credibility and trust. 

And that’s all we have as sales professionals. Credibility and trust. 



Let’s not downplay the risks of AI. With great power there is also great responsibility.

We just wrapped up 3 days of virtual training with Planful’s Solutions Consulting team, and this group blew me away...

They sell to CFOs, Accountants and Financial Planning teams, so they need to know their stuff. But as my good friend Dave Duffett says, “Knowing your stuff is not enough.” 

What I love about this team is that they know their stuff, but they also know how to communicate and tell the story of why their solution is valuable to prospects. 

With this team of Americans, Canadians, Brits, and Germans, we focused on improving demos with better storytelling. 

It’s all about speaking the language of business outcomes, not just features and capabilities. 

It's no surprise that Planful is one of the fastest-growing FP&A platforms in the market.

P.S. They're hiring for BD and Engineering!

When I was a sales rep, I kept a spreadsheet and every December I would buy gifts for my SEs, CSMs, Legal, and other sales partners. I learned this after being a CSM and SE and realizing that sales reps get all the glory and sales support teams are rarely thanked for all their hard work.
 
1- Solutions Engineers (SEs) -> I literally could not close a deal without them. Derek, Brandon, Ben, Angad, Philip, Nick...SEs are the secret weapon to enterprise sales. They get paid fairly well, but probably not as much as they should, given the amount of work they do. 

2- Customer Success -> Yet again, I couldn't have done my job without Tarun. He was the glue that kept my accounts successful, happy, renewing, and expanding. Same with Iana, Steph, Ryan, Eric, and others. 

3- Legal -> Good thing Eileen and I both liked wine. She probably needed it to not go crazy putting up with my shenanigans. Legal is always the last person we thank for getting the job done, but without them, we could never get something closed. 

Pro Tip: I recommend keeping a spreadsheet, and then when you find out random facts about people, you note them in the spreadsheet so you don't forget them by December. For example, I bought Eddie Vedder merch for Pearl Jam fans, unique whisky and wine for others, Amazon gift cards, and just straight cash for others.

graphical user interface, application, table, Excel

We’re thinking about Sales Leadership completely wrong. I speak with Sales Leaders every week. MEDDPICC and a new sales process won't solve our problem because our sales process isn't our problem. This is our real problem (and what we need to do about it).

---

I work with corporate sales and presales teams, so I talk to a lot of CROs and almost all of them tell me the same problem:

“We are good at what we do, but we’re not systematic and repeatable. Every quarter comes down to the last week.”

At that point, I take them through my GTM assessment/audit.

I’ll ask them about their sales process, and many will tell me that they use MEDDPICC (Note: there are problems with this statement that I won't get into in this post).

They often think that they need to qualify better. When I dig into it and watch their sales calls though, I usually find that qualification isn’t the issue.

The issue starts at the bottom:
-> Sales Reps (and SEs) are not OWNING the sale.

Here’s what not owning the sale looks like:

The rep has an intro call and asks a few questions. Then the prospect starts asking some questions and the rep answers those questions. Then the prospect asks for a demo, and the rep brings in the SC for a demo. Then the prospect asks for a trial...(you get the point).

Notice the trend. The prospect is in control and they’re leading the sales rep and SE.

When this happens, you’re screwed. You have no control. You have no idea how to forecast because you have no idea what the prospect is going to do next (if anything).

In short, you’re reacting, not leading.

What needs to happen is the exact opposite.

This is what a good sales rep does:

The rep has an intro call and asks a few questions. Then the prospect starts asking some questions and the rep answers some of those questions, but realizes that the prospect isn't asking the right questions. The rep politely tells the prospect, “You’re not asking me the right questions. Can we take a step back and see if we’re looking at this problem correctly?”

The sales rep has to be tactful in how they do this because they don't want it to feel insulting or pushy. But the minute they do it, they immediately take control of the sale. The person asking the questions is the person in control.

I have watched sales reps do this masterfully and the results are always the same:

- Much tighter sales cycles
- Much less wasted time
- Much more predictable revenue and forecasts for management

I can’t stress this enough...

Yes, sales process and qualification are important. But the bigger issue is that sales reps (and SEs) are not OWNING the sale.

When we don’t own the sale, the problems cascade up the chain:

1. Reps and SEs don't own the sale ->
2. Forecast is a mess ->
3. Leadership can’t predict results ->
4. PE firm starts calling the shots and runs the company into the ground

Sales Reps and SEs SHOULD own the sale. They’re the experts on selling, not the prospect. We just need to empower them to do so.

Should you bring food to your onsite sales meetings? If you do, you immediately look like a “salesperson” (eye-roll). Is it worth it? Here’s my breakdown on when to take food to sales meetings and when not to.

- - -

When I have a big group, I’ll generally bring food because it lightens the mood and creates a more personal connection with people.

But when you do this, you immediately give off “salesperson” vibes, which is a risk. 

In fact, I watched one of my clients ask his buyer for an in-person meeting and when he said “I’ll bring food,” she laughed at him and said, “all you salespeople are the same.” 

For this reason, I typically don’t bring food to 1-on-1 meetings because it can seem like you’re trying to buy the business (getting lunch or coffee is a different story).

If you’re going to bring food, I’m a big fan of making it thoughtful…

For example:
This picture was taken in Munich, Germany when I was there doing some sales training this week. 

I brought Reese’s Trees from the USA because Germans love Reese’s but they’re extremely hard to find in Germany. Everyone was very excited when I broke out the bag of goodies.

So- are you team food? Or team no food? 


P.S. If you lead a Sales or Presales team and want to help your team get better at “sales” without being “salesy,” join 300+ leaders who get my newsletter. Link in bio.

Every December 4th, I get flashbacks to high school, driving a beat-up Hyundai Elantra, listening to Jay-Z - The Black Album on cassette tape. 

Why December 4th? 

Because that's Jay-Z's birthday, and if you're like me, you can still hear Jay's mom, Gloria Carter, blasting through your speakers saying..."Shawn Carter was born December 4th..."

So this December 4th, I decided to drop a new album, "The Sales Album," modified, of course, by my career in sales.

---"December 4th"---

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘴 '𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘸𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦
𝘚𝘰 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘐'𝘮 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭'𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘯

𝘚𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘪𝘯'𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘯𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨
𝘈𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘐'𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘯

𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘢 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘮𝘦
𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘴, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘦 

𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦, 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳 𝘈𝘌, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮
𝘈𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯

𝘈𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘐 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦
𝘐 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦, 𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘰𝘵𝘢 𝘪𝘯 𝘋𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦, 𝘐 𝘢𝘪𝘯'𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵, 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦
𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳

𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘐'𝘮 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦
𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥

𝘐 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬, 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘴, 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥
𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘬 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥

𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘯...

---

What would you add to verse 2? 

What were you listening to on the way to high school? 


P.S. Get my monthly newsletter for presales and sales teams (SEs, AEs, and Sales Leaders): https://lnkd.in/eKaaGeZr

Not long ago, I purchased the Presales Navigation System by Dmitri Lee on Kindle and I'm so glad I did because it is probably the most readable sales book I've found...

Since I travel a lot for work, I often don't have the time to read for long periods of time, so I pull up books on my Kindle between flights and read a chapter or two. Dmitri's book is perfect for this because the chapters are short, concise, and almost always have a relevant story about his time in the trenches in presales. 

The part I like best is that Dmitri talks a lot about Leadership. This is perfectly aligned with our philosophy at Alpha Presales. Our motto has always been "Be a Leader" and Leadership is the Number 1 skill we train. 

The SE's job is to Be a Leader. To lead and guide clients to the best possible outcomes. 

Thank you, Dmitri, for helping advance the narrative around Leadership. This is a great book for any presales pro. Buy it here:

amazon.com

Presales Navigation System: COMPASS, SAIL and ANCHOR A Framework for Winning Deals with Clarity, Momentum, and Truth

AVP / VP Field & Presales Engineering | Scaling Technical Wins to Production | Executive Advisor & Author

Alpha Presales

It’s not too late to close Q4 deals. I closed $110,000 of business this month using this strategy, and another $30,000+ earlier this year with it.

It’s how to use a companies fiscal year to your advantage, so they spend all of their “leftover” money with you. 

This helps them spend their budget so they don’t lose it, and helps you hit quota or exceed it.

Sales leaders, I recommend having all your sales reps do this for:
1- all existing customers 
2- "warm" prospects who are interested but haven’t yet bought. 



P.S. if there is anyone who wants Sales or Presales training next year, and has money to spend this year, I am all ears ;)

We play this game in my sales training workshops because most people are too busy thinking about what THEY'RE going to say instead of LISTENING to the CLIENT. 

This game trains you to listen. It's great for Sales Reps, SEs, and Managers to play. Save this and play it as an icebreaker in your weekly team meeting or SKO breakout. 

---

The game is called "1 word story." (Clever, I know)

How to Play:

1. Create teams of 3-5 players.

2. Someone will start telling a story by saying ONE word only.

3. The next person adds ONE word to the story. 

4. Each player continues the story, adding only ONE word. 

NOTE: Only add words that make sense for the story!

The game is hard because you can't think about what you want to say next, you have to just listen. It's also hard because you will get the urge to add more than one word and control the story. You can't do that either. 

This game teaches us to do what all great salespeople do– listen.

The greatest thing I ever did for my professional career was to stop using the snooze button. When I did I: 

- Got more sleep
- Got more done
- Made more money
- Still napped when I needed to
- And drank coffee when I couldn't

The snooze button killed 10-30 minutes of my day, and waking up still sucked. 

So I started setting my alarm for 10-30 minutes later and got more sleep as a result.

We just wrapped up a week of virtual training with Netwrix, and what a team!
Average tenure: 7.5 years! Highly technical. Former security professionals who know their stuff inside and out.

Normally, deeply technical SEs struggle with storytelling. But not this group! They were packed with great stories, we just had to surface them.

I knew that this group was special because I watched their sales calls beforehand and I saw guys like Dakota already telling stories without even realizing it. The raw material was there. 

Here's how we unlocked it:
- Alpha Storytelling Methodology and playbook
- Guided instruction + group activities
- Focus on translating 7.5+ years of technical expertise into client value

What makes an SE team valuable isn't technical acumen alone. It's their ability to communicate that acumen in a way that gets clients to see value and take action. This team can do both. 

Thank you, Ian and team, for investing in your people and making sure your SEs' voices are heard.

THIS is Solutions Engineering.

P.S. If you want to get better at storytelling and other professional sales skills join the Alpha GTM newsletter where we publish valuable free content once a month: https://lnkd.in/eKaaGeZr

If you’ve watched Home Alone, you’ve seen what most sales meetings look like:

1. The salesperson’s intro is way too long.
2. The prospect becomes uninterested and asks the salesperson to get to the point.

Merry Christmas, ya filthy animals!

All of my clients want to know how my other clients are using AI. Here's one way. Steal this How To so you can personalize your solution to your audience and stand out in a sea of vendors who all sound the same. 

P.S. I'm heading to NYC today to listen to a panel discussion by Austin Meyer at OpenAI, Ryan Lempa at Figma, Jeff Black at Gong, and the Sales Engineers of New York (SENY). I'll do another post on what I learn from them.

---

How to use AI to personalize your solution to your audience and stand out: 

Let's say you're selling a Financial Planning software platform. You likely sell to multiple industries, including Retailers, Manufacturers, Insurance companies and others.

So even though you're selling the same solution, how it is used by your customers is completely different. 

For example, a Retailer like Starbucks operates 30,000+ stores and has to do financial planning around leases, real estate, and everything else. 

But an Insurance company like Progressive doesn't have to do any of that. They have to worry about actuaries, risk, and pricing policies. 

So you could be selling/demoing the exact same Financial Planning solution to them, but how you personalize the value to them should be completely different (but most people don't do this). 

Most sales reps and sales engineers don't think about this because they're experts in their product, not experts in their customer's industry. 

That's where you can use AI to help you. 

Go to your favorite AI and ask this question: 

"I'm selling [Product] to [Industry], what is unique about how they do [What Your Product Helps With] that other industries don't have to deal with?"

Here's a real example I put into ChatGPT: 
"I'm selling Oracle to an Insurance company, what is unique about how they do Financial Planning that other industries don't have to deal with?"

Then you turn that response into a question to learn more about the customer's business in your meeting with them: 

Here's an example question for selling to an insurance company:
"The financial planning process is different for insurance than it is for most companies because you have to integrate actuarial forecasts and other things, so can you help me understand a little more about the nuances of how your team brings all of that together today?”

Then listen. Learn. Figure out how you can help, because that's what sales is all about. 

How are you using AI?

GTM Director @ OpenAI

Global Solutions Leader at Figma

Head of Global Sales Engineering at Gong

Sales Engineers of New York (SENY)

2025 Wrapped?! Sorry Salespeople, we still have a month left to go.

What did we miss on your 2025 wrapped?

taplio

The Battle

Marco Montecchi

Rew Dickinson

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreRew Dickinson's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Marco Montecchi

Rew Dickinson

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Rew Dickinson's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreRew Dickinson's LinkedIn Performance