In this episode of Altar of the Demo Gods, hosts Keith Wilson and John Morton welcome Ahmed Usmani, a Senior Sales Engineer with over a decade of experience in both technical support and sales engineering. The conversation covers Ahmed's unique career journey and insights into the role of a sales engineer, from his beginnings in platinum-level support to becoming a cloud success coordinator and ultimately a senior sales engineer.

The episode provides valuable lessons for both aspiring and seasoned sales engineers, especially about transitioning from technical roles into sales. Ahmed shares his experiences with learning the sales cycle, navigating sales processes, and the importance of being a fixer—someone who can bridge gaps between teams, solve technical problems, and still maintain excellent relationships with customers.

Some key topics include:

• Transitioning from Support to Sales Engineering: Ahmed explains how his technical background in security and cloud infrastructure laid a solid foundation for his sales career.
• Learning Business Acumen and Sales Cycles: Ahmed highlights how working with sales leaders and mentors helped him gain the business knowledge needed for success.
• The Importance of Relationships and Teamwork: Ahmed emphasizes that internal collaboration and shared knowledge are key to winning deals and creating successful outcomes.
• Navigating Sales as a Fixer: The importance of being both technical and people-oriented, with the ability to handle tough customer situations.
• Sets and Reps in Sales: Ahmed talks about the need for repetition to hone skills in both technical support and sales, stressing that ongoing learning and practice are essential.

In this episode of Altar of the Demo Gods, hosts Keith Wilson and John Morton sit down with Jose Barajas, VP of Worldwide Sales Engineering at AttackIQ. The conversation dives into Jose’s career progression, from his early days as a security researcher to transitioning into sales engineering, and eventually moving into leadership as the VP of Sales Engineering.

Jose shares valuable insights on how his technical background in malware analysis and reverse engineering helped him develop a deep understanding of the products he now helps sell. He discusses the evolution from technical work to sales and leadership, and how learning soft skills, such as public speaking through Toastmasters, prepared him for success in the world of sales.

The discussion also covers key aspects of his transition into a leadership role, where he highlights the importance of building relationships, learning the sales process, and adapting to challenges like hiring and managing teams. Jose offers actionable advice for those in technical roles looking to transition into sales or leadership, such as developing a strong partnership with account executives and honing communication skills to better connect with customers.

Key Topics Discussed:

• Transitioning from security research to sales engineering.
• The importance of relationship building and networking in career growth.
• Challenges and solutions in technical sales, including POC development and using cyber ranges to accelerate the sales process.
• Learning to adapt to formalized sales processes as a company grows.
• How to develop soft skills, like public speaking, through Toastmasters and other opportunities.
• The complexities of hiring and managing teams, including the principle of “hire slow, fire fast.”
• Moving into leadership and the importance of effective communication in technical sales.

In this episode of Altar of the Demo Gods, hosts Keith Wilson and John Morton welcome special guest Evgeniy Kharam, author of the book Architecting Success: The Art of Soft Skills in Technical Sales. They dive deep into the world of soft skills, especially in the context of sales engineering, discussing how these often-overlooked abilities can make or break success in technical sales roles.

Evgeniy highlights the importance of adapting communication styles to your audience, understanding when to go deep into technical details, and when to keep it high-level. He also explains how critical it is to engage with customers based on what they want to learn, rather than simply showing off demos and presentations.

Throughout the conversation, the hosts and Evgeniy cover key themes from his book, including how to ask the right questions, overcome the fear of public speaking, and build rapport with customers and teammates. Evgeniy also introduces the concept of a Soft Skills Development Plan (SSDP), offering practical steps for professionals to improve their soft skills over 30, 60, 90, and 120 days.

Pickup "Architecting Success: The Art of Soft Skills in Technical Sales" from Amazon and other major book retailers.

Learn more about Evgeniy and the book here: https://www.softskillstech.ca/

In this episode of Altar of the Demo Gods, Keith Wilson and John Morton dive deep into the topic of documentation in sales engineering, emphasizing its critical role in the sales process and beyond. They discuss how effective documentation can reduce friction, improve clarity in communication, and ultimately help close deals. From early discovery to proof-of-concept (POC) engagements, having a structured approach to documentation helps sales engineers and their organizations win over customers and streamline their internal processes.

The hosts share practical tips and tricks for making documentation less painful, including how to record your work, transcribe it, and organize your notes to build a playbook for success. Keith and John also touch on how proper documentation allows teams to avoid scope creep in POCs, foster accountability, and create artifacts that live beyond the immediate sales process.

While the conversation centers on documentation, the episode is filled with personal anecdotes, lighthearted banter about DuckTales, and the occasional AI reference—like how ChatGPT can assist in brainstorming and making tedious tasks a little more manageable.

Key Topics Discussed:

• Importance of documenting pain points, customer environment, and use cases.
• How documentation benefits not just sales, but also marketing, product development, and leadership.
• Tips for creating effective POC documentation to prevent scope creep and streamline the sales process.
• Using technology, like transcription services, to make documentation easier and faster.
• Building personal and team success through structured policies and procedures.
• How proper documentation leads to better sales enablement and long-term client satisfaction.

In this episode of Altar of the Demo Gods, Keith Wilson and John Morton dive into the world of sales engineering culture and how it impacts team performance, retention, and overall success. Drawing from their personal experiences across various industries—from the military to startups—the duo explores the importance of positive work culture and its far-reaching effects on sales teams.

They discuss key elements such as mental health support, the role of HR (or Chief People Officers), and how values set at the top can shape the entire organization. Keith and John also touch on hustle culture, burnout, and the shift from traditional HR departments to people-focused leadership.

With plenty of lighthearted banter about childhood TV shows and generational identity (they proudly proclaim themselves members of the DuckTales Generation), this episode blends humor with insight into what it takes to build a culture where employees thrive.

Key Topics Discussed:

• How a strong organizational culture affects turnover, productivity, and brand perception.
• The balance between hustle culture and burnout prevention.
• The role of leadership in setting cultural values and maintaining a healthy work environment.
• How cultural missteps at major events like Black Hat can damage a company’s reputation.
• Encouraging dissent and feedback to foster a culture of continuous improvement.
• Personal accountability in shaping and maintaining company culture.

In this episode of Altar of the Demo Gods, hosts Keith Wilson and John Morton dive deep into the complex world of ethics, integrity, and legality in sales. Picking up where they left off from the previous episode on building trust and rapport, they now explore how having a solid ethical foundation is critical for long-term success in technical sales.

Keith and John share anecdotes about the fine line between moral, ethical, and legal decisions in various sales scenarios, including international deals where practices and expectations may differ greatly. They emphasize the importance of transparency and accountability, especially when navigating high-stakes deals. Throughout the conversation, they highlight how companies that prioritize integrity can build stronger brands, attract top talent, and establish lasting trust with clients.

Key Topics Discussed:

• The difference between integrity, ethics, and legality in sales.
• How to handle ethical dilemmas when large amounts of money are on the line.
• International sales challenges and how ethical standards differ across regions.
• The importance of transparency, accountability, and involving leadership when facing ethical decisions.
• The long-term impact of maintaining high ethical standards on brand reputation, trust, and recruiting.
• Why it’s harder to be “shady in the light” and how involving others helps maintain integrity in challenging situations.

In this episode of Altar of the Demo Gods, hosts Keith Wilson and John Morton discuss the crucial topic of building trust and rapport in sales engineering and technical sales. Drawing from their extensive experience in cybersecurity, they explore strategies for establishing genuine connections with clients who are often cautious and skeptical.

Keith and John delve into the importance of authenticity, integrity, and curiosity in the sales process. They share personal anecdotes about how being genuinely interested in solving a client's problem—not just making a sale—can set you apart from the competition. The hosts also touch on the challenges of rapidly building trust in fast-paced sales cycles and offer practical tips for overcoming these hurdles.

Key Topics Discussed:

• The significance of trust and rapport in sales engineering.
• Strategies for building authentic relationships with clients.
• The role of curiosity and genuine interest in client interactions.
• Balancing the need for quick sales cycles with the time it takes to build trust.
• The impact of integrity and reliability on long-term client relationships.
• The value of being present and consistent in professional settings.

In Episode 39 of Altar of the Demo Gods, Keith Wilson and John Morton dive into the critical topic of sales forecasting and why it’s a make-or-break element for any company, especially startups. The hosts discuss the importance of accurately forecasting revenue and how failing to do so can lead to catastrophic results, particularly for startups relying on investor confidence.

John, who’s especially passionate about sales forecasting, explains how startups and established companies alike depend on forecasting to track revenue goals, and how it directly affects the confidence of investors, stakeholders, and leadership teams. Keith and John also delve into the sales process, outlining how sales opportunities move through different stages of the funnel, from marketing qualified leads (MQLs) to sales qualified leads (SQLs), and how this progression informs forecasting accuracy.

Keith highlights how important it is to use historical data to inform predictions and avoid "happy ears" when forecasting deals. Both hosts emphasize the significance of maintaining alignment between sales efforts and genuine customer pain points, ensuring that deals are forecasted based on realistic data, not just optimism.

Key Topics Discussed:

• The dangers of inaccurate sales forecasting for startups and established companies.
• Understanding the stages of the sales funnel: MQLs, SQLs, and beyond.
• How to apply data-driven insights to forecast more accurately.
• Role-playing scenarios for better forecasting conversations between AEs and sales leaders.
• The importance of tying forecasts to real customer pain and business problems.