Modern Presales

The Blog

Presales Engineering Insights

Frameworks, templates, and hard-won lessons for sales engineers who want to close bigger deals and build better careers.

FeaturedCareer7 min read

What Does a Sales Engineer Do? The Complete Guide to Presales Engineering

Discover what sales engineers actually do day to day, the skills that separate top performers, and how to build a career in presales engineering.

Read more
CareerFeb 17, 20267 min read

Sales Engineer vs Solutions Consultant vs Solutions Architect: What's the Difference?

Break down the real differences between sales engineer, solutions consultant, and solutions architect roles, including responsibilities, career paths, and how to decide which one fits you.

Read more
DemosFeb 14, 202612 min read

Strategic Demos: How to Prove Value Instead of Showing Features

Stop giving feature tours. Learn how top presales engineers structure demos that tell stories, prove business value, and move deals to close.

Read more
VERTEXFeb 7, 202610 min read

The VERTEX Framework: A Complete Presales Methodology for Enterprise Deals

Learn the six element VERTEX framework that gives presales teams a repeatable, structured approach to winning complex enterprise deals, from first discovery call to post sale expansion.

Read more
PartnershipsFeb 3, 202610 min read

How to Partner With Your AE: The SE AE Relationship That Wins Deals

The SE AE partnership is the most important relationship in B2B sales. Learn how top presales engineers build trust, align on strategy, and avoid the most common partnership breakdowns.

Read more
DiscoveryFeb 3, 20268 min read

50+ Technical Discovery Questions That Actually Uncover What Matters

A comprehensive guide to technical discovery questions for presales engineers, organized by stakeholder role and deal stage to transform your discovery calls.

Read more
DiscoveryJan 31, 202611 min read

Discovery Sprints: How to Compress Discovery Into a Structured Process

Stop running open ended discovery calls that drift. Learn how to structure discovery sprints, focused, time boxed sessions that uncover what matters in half the time.

Read more
POV / POCJan 27, 20269 min read

Proof of Value vs Proof of Concept: Why the Difference Matters in Presales

Learn the critical differences between POV and POC in presales, when to use each approach, and how to structure evaluations that actually close deals.

Read more
Value EngineeringJan 27, 202610 min read

Value Engineering for SEs Who Aren't Finance Majors

You don't need an MBA to build a business case. Learn the practical value engineering skills that help presales engineers translate technical outcomes into financial language buyers actually approve.

Read more
CareerJan 24, 202611 min read

The Presales Career Ladder: From IC to Manager to VP of Solutions

Map out the presales career path from associate SE to VP of Solutions. Learn what skills, experience, and mindset shifts define each level, and how to make the jump.

Read more
DemosJan 20, 202612 min read

Remote Demo Best Practices for Sales Engineers

Remote demos are harder than in person ones. Learn the specific techniques top SEs use to keep remote audiences engaged, handle technical issues, and close deals without being in the room.

Read more
CareerJan 17, 202612 min read

Presales Salary Guide 2026: What Sales Engineers Actually Earn

Real compensation data for presales roles in 2026. Base salary, variable comp, total earnings by experience level, geography, and company size. No fluff, just numbers.

Read more
VERTEXJan 13, 20269 min read

Vision and Value: Why Business Outcomes Must Come Before Features

The first element of the VERTEX framework. Learn why top performing SEs start every deal by mapping the customer's vision to measurable business value, and how to build a value map that anchors every interaction.

Read more
PartnershipsJan 10, 20269 min read

Champion Enablement: Equipping Your Internal Advocate to Sell for You

Your champion sells for you in every room you're not in. Learn how presales engineers can equip internal advocates with the materials, language, and confidence to drive deals forward.

Read more
VERTEXJan 6, 202610 min read

Environment and Evidence: Mapping Technical Reality Before Proposing Solutions

The second element of the VERTEX framework. Learn how to map the customer's current state architecture, stakeholder landscape, and operational reality so every recommendation is grounded in evidence.

Read more
VERTEXJan 3, 202611 min read

Risk and Readiness: Assessing Whether the Customer Can Actually Succeed

The third element of the VERTEX framework. Learn how to identify and retire technical, organizational, and political risks before they derail the deal or the implementation.

Read more
VERTEXDec 29, 202511 min read

Trajectory and Transformation: Building Roadmaps That Enable Decisions

The fourth element of the VERTEX framework. Learn how to build transformation roadmaps that show customers a credible path from current state to desired future state, turning evaluators into implementers.

Read more
VERTEXDec 22, 202511 min read

Evaluation and Experiment: Designing Proofs That Test What Matters

The fifth element of the VERTEX framework. Learn how to structure evaluations and POVs as mutual commitments with defined success criteria, so every proof of concept leads to a decision.

Read more
VERTEXDec 15, 20259 min read

Execution and Expansion: Turning One Win Into a Franchise

The sixth and final element of the VERTEX framework. Learn how to structure the presales to post sale handoff and plant the seeds for expansion revenue that grows the account.

Read more
CareerDec 15, 202513 min read

How to Become a Sales Engineer (No CS Degree Required)

You do not need a computer science degree to become a sales engineer. Learn the skills, experience, and strategies that actually matter for breaking into presales from any technical background.

Read more
CareerDec 8, 20259 min read

AI in Presales: What's Actually Changing and What's Just Hype

AI is transforming parts of presales while leaving others untouched. A practical guide to where AI creates real leverage for sales engineers and where the human skills still matter most.

Read more
CareerDec 1, 202511 min read

Presales Interview Questions and How to Answer Them

Preparing for a sales engineer interview? Here are the most common presales interview questions across technical, behavioral, and situational categories, with frameworks for answering each one.

Read more
CareerNov 24, 202511 min read

Transitioning to Sales Engineering: A Guide for Engineers, Consultants, and Support Professionals

Thinking about moving into presales? Whether you're coming from software engineering, consulting, technical support, or another technical role, here's how to make the transition successfully.

Read more
PartnershipsNov 17, 202510 min read

Working With System Integrators in Complex Enterprise Deals

System integrators can make or break large enterprise deals. Learn how presales engineers navigate SI partnerships, align incentives, and turn channel complexity into competitive advantage.

Read more
PartnershipsNov 10, 202510 min read

The Customer Success Handoff: How to Protect the Relationship You Built

The presales to post sale handoff is the highest risk moment in the customer lifecycle. Learn how to structure the transition so nothing gets lost and the customer experience stays seamless.

Read more