There is a Matrix analogy I often use to describe one of the superpowers of Sales Engineers, “freeze time”. Do you remember that scene in the movie, Matrix, where Neo (Keanu Reeves), after finally realizing that he was the ONE, freezes all the bullets being shot at him? He manipulates the time space continuum and is able to stop the bullets in the air, pick one of them out, look at it and discard it. You see, a technical demo can often feel like that. The bullets represent all the questions and objections that are being fired by the audience, which in a healthy and engaging demo, should be a lot. If you don’t possess this superpower, you’ll chase each question and objection and try to address and respond to it the best you can. It may be out of respect to the audience, out of fear of showing up as not-so-smart, or simply out of nervousness that an SE may take each bullet as it comes. Which may or may not work in your favor, it may derail the entire flow of the presentation, and may fail to accomplish the results you were hoping from that meeting. So instead, don’t answer them all. Yes, I know it sounds counter-intuitive. But really, don’t answer each question at its face value.
SEs with this superpower have the ability, in-real-time, to slow down the time, assess who is asking the question, why are they asking that question in that very moment, what other questions have they asked and is this one related in some ways, what’s the tone in their inquiry, or is there a question behind their actual question. Based on the full analysis of these signals, the response may be to address the question in full depth, punt on the question as a follow-up or answer with a quick yes/no. Yes, all of this happens in real-time, while the SE is often still talking or showing something on the screen. On top of that, the SE is still ensuring the audience is fully engaged, while continuing to establish trust and credibility. The SE has to be fully prepared, in each prospect facing engagement, for such moments, which are sometimes a handful or in abundance depending on the nature and size of the audience.
The importance of this skill is well understood by expert SEs and for many this comes as second nature and they don’t even think it’s a big deal. But it may not always be well recognized or appreciated by their sales reps, who may be totally oblivious to the real-time decisioning and assessment that is taking place throughout the demo. It may just be perceived as “those were great answers. Well done!” But most importantly, the audience benefits the most when this superpower is applied. They generally ask questions out of genuine curiosity, to clear up confusion, to validate an assumption, to compare responses or sometimes just to see how one would respond. Because, at the end of the day, the audience simply wants to make better decisions, not only get their questions answered.
This matrix analogy can be generally applied to many other aspects of the SE role, but it’s especially heightened during a live presentation, in front of an audience. So the next time you get a chance to observe your SE freeze the time, just know that the superhero is using all his/her powers to make the most of the precious time to help win over the prospect.