Soft Skills That Show Up When It Matters Most.
Soft Skills for Sales Engineers
Technical expertise may open the door.  But soft skills determine whether Sales Engineers earn trust, guide conversations, and influence outcomes.
The Soft Skills for Sales Engineers program helps SEs strengthen the human side of technical selling - how they listen, respond, explain value, and navigate high-pressure moments with confidence.
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Why This Program Exists
Most Sales Engineers are highly knowledgeable in product and tech, yet many struggle in moments that require judgment, presence, and influence. And these are often the moments that matter most.
Common patterns we see:
- Strong technical contributors who hesitate to speak up or challenge assumptions
- Discovery conversations that stay surface-level or feel transactional
- Demos that explain well but fail to persuade
- SEs who default to reacting instead of leading
- Difficult moments - objections, pushback, tension - that derail momentum
These aren’t technical gaps.
They’re communication and confidence gaps. And they’re rarely trained or reinforced.
How this program helps.
The Soft Skills for Sales Engineers program focuses on the behaviors that shape how SEs show up in customer conversations.
Participants learn how to:
Communicate with clarity under pressure
Ask questions that create insight, not just information
Translate tech into what buyers care about
Show up with confidence and executive presence
Handle objections and difficult moments
What participants learn in this program
1. Communicate with intent
SEs learn how to be concise, relevant, and purposeful, especially when explaining complex ideas to non-technical audiences.
2. Listen for what matters
Participants strengthen active listening skills and learn how to hear what’s really being said beneath the surface.
3. Ask better questions
Discovery shifts from checking boxes to guiding thinking and uncovering real business drivers.
4. Show up with confidence
SEs learn how to speak with authority, set boundaries, and engage as trusted partners, not order takers.
5. Navigate difficult moments
Objections, pushback, and tension become opportunities to build credibility rather than moments to retreat.
Who is this program for?
Sales Engineers at any experience level
Teams scaling quickly or moving upmarket
Organizations seeing strong tech execution but inconsistent deal results
Leaders who want SEs to communicate with greater confidence and influence
How is this program delivered:
The Soft Skills for Sales Engineers program is flexible and can be delivered in multiple formats depending on your goals.
It is commonly delivered as:
Virtual
This program is ideally designed to be delivered as a multi-session virtual workshop in six parts.
Onsite
It can be delivered as an in-person, face to face workshop upon request. (Ideal for SKOs.)
Enablement Program
This course can be delivered as part of a broader enablement or reinforcement program.
What are the Modules in the Soft Skills Program?
Session 01
The Art of Active Listening
Foundation: Awareness and Presence
We will start with a session designed to help your SEs become better listeners. This really is the foundation for everything else. If we can’t truly hear what customers mean (as opposed to just what they say), curiosity, storytelling, and selling all fall flat.
Core skill:Â Listening beyond words to surface needs.
Session 02
Curiosity-led Discovery
Explore: Asking Better Questions
Once we begin to develop the skill of listening more actively, we’re better equipped to ask thoughtful, layered, curiosity-driven questions. This session builds naturally on the first to uncover the true business motivations.
Core skill: Uncovering business drivers through purposeful inquiry.
Session 03
Value Selling for Tech Sales
Translate: Connect Dots: Tech to Business
As we begin to understand the customers’ needs better, it’s our job to translate technical capabilities into business outcomes. This is the hinge point where communication becomes persuasion, and persuasion moves deals forward.
Core skill: Framing solutions in terms of value, not features.
Session 04
Storytelling for Influence
Inspire: Making the Message Stick
Articulating value is only part of the game. At the end of the day people make purchase decisions emotionally and justify with logic. SEs need to develop the ability to inspire belief through stories.  Stories connect business value and drive emotions.
Core skill: Crafting relevant stories to make value resonate.
Session 05
Having a Point of View
Lead: Insight and Credibility
In addition to being able to discover needs and tell stories that inspire action, we also need to learn how to develop a strong point of view. This is how we become advisors, not just responders. Leaders, not followers. Influencers, not techies.
Core skill: Delivering insights proactively with relevance and confidence.
Session 06
Handling Objections
Resolve: Navigating Tension
We will close this series with arguably one of the most emotionally advanced skill: conflict resolution. It’s one thing to engage, sell, and influence. It’s another thing to maintain trust when things get tough—disagreements, objections, internal pushback, etc.
Core skill: Staying credible and empathetic under pressure.
How this Program Fits in with the Six Habits Program
The Soft Skills for Sales Engineers program can stand alone - or serve as a complement to the Six Habits framework.
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Six Habits defines how effective SEs think and behave overall
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Soft Skills focuses on how those behaviors show up in conversation
Many teams use this program to deepen specific capabilities or reinforce habits over time.
The Result? SEs who...
Communicate more clearly
Using word pictures and stories that resonate with buyers and drive decisions.
Listen more effectively
By asking better questions and looking for WHY behind the WHAT, and looking for subtleties.
Engage more confidently
By studying the people they serve, knowing how to handle objections, and focusing on outcomes.
Influence conversations
By showing up with a point of view, knowing when and how to interject without creating friction.
Ready to Explore the Six Habits for Your Team?
Schedule a ConversationLet’s talk through your goals, your team, and where you’re seeing friction in deals.
If the Six Habits workshop is a fit, we’ll outline next steps. If not, we’ll point you in the right direction.