Shadowing Practice: How to Become a Sales Engineer | Without Any Experience - Learn English Speaking with Video

How to become a sales engineer with no experience is one of the questions that I get on a regular basis.

I've hired many hundreds of people all over the world

and I know what it takes to make it into the SE community.

In this video I'll tell you what skills you need, what career path options there are and how you can get your first SE role.

So if you want to know how to become an SE then keep watching.

If you like this video then don't forget to hit like

and subscribe to keep updated on the new content that we release.

My name's Andy Waterhouse, I'm the Pre-Sales Coach.

Let's get started.

A question that I get on a regular basis is how do I get into an SE role without any experience?

The answer can be quite complex as for many career changes but I'll break it down into some useful areas to consider.

Unlike many other careers and professions there's no bachelor's degree in pre-sales

that you can take but there are some online courses coming soon on the pre-sales coach website that will help.

Many people get here by accident by coincidence or just

because they know someone in technology sales but there are more structured ways to get into an SE role.

But what exactly is a sales engineer?

An SE is the bridge between a company's sales and technical teams and their prospective and existing clients.

They help customers understand how a product or service works and why it's the perfect solution for them.

For a more in-depth review of the Sales Engineer role, take a look at the Sales Engineering 101 video.

The link's in the description below.

And remember, not all pre-sales roles are called Sales Engineer.

Some could be Solutions Consultant, Solutions Architect or a number of other job titles.

So how do you become one without any experience?

Let's break it down now.

You don't need a degree to get started as an SE but you do need some technical skills.

Many of the SEs that I've hired don't have a degree but they've spent time working in various IT roles, learning about technology and how it's best applied.

You should familiarize yourself with the products or services that you're interested in selling, for example cloud services or cybersecurity solutions.

Learn the basics of the industry and the terminology used.

Take some of the certifications that are available like AWS or Azure Solutions Architect or Google Cloud Engineer.

For cyber security look at Certified Ethical Hacker or CISSP.

All industries have some form of certification.

Online courses, tutorials and even hands-on projects are all your best friends on this journey.

Every company will have demo videos or webinars that you can attend or review the recordings.

These will show you how they talk about the subject as well as show you how their SEs deliver the content.

Dive into the technicalities and soon you'll be speaking the language fluently.

It might sound daunting but trust me it's the first step to success.

And if you want success and want to be notified about this

and any other new content then subscribe to the channel

and why not subscribe to our newsletter the links are in

the description for the video now let's talk about networking it's not just about who you know

but who knows you attend industry events connect on LinkedIn

and don't be afraid to reach out to professionals for advice

when you connect with someone especially on LinkedIn don't just use

the default message of I'd like to connect make it personal

and tell the individual why you want to connect

so it can help build your career it will significantly improve your connection rate go to user groups

and meetups face-to-face sessions are usually the best way to build your network

but also to learn they can also be an amazing source

for job referrals get into the online communities for the technologies that you're interested in

but watch out for the trolls that believe their opinion is the only one that matters.

Building relationships can open doors you never knew existed

and remember networking isn't just about taking it's about giving back to the community as well.

And one final point here, unless you're an extrovert putting yourself out there can be a really difficult thing to do.

One way to overcome this is to imagine yourself as the person

that you want to be just before you start a networking event.

Be confident but not overconfident.

Start a conversation but don't dominate it.

Tell people, hey I'm here to learn and make connections.

That level of honesty will help.

Okay so you've got the skills and now you're expanding your network.

Now it's time to showcase what you've got.

Create a killer resume or CV that highlights your technical know-how and your ability to communicate complex ideas in a simple way.

Make sure that you give concise examples of what you've done.

There are many resume tools out there that can help you with this.

And why not start a blog or create content showcasing your insights?

It's not only a great portfolio to have but also a great way to demonstrate your passion for the industry.

Now we need to address the issue of a lack of experience.

Everyone has to start somewhere and there are various options to look at.

In general companies will look at three areas of experience, sales, technical skills and real-world experience.

You've already started to address the technical skills

but we need to look at which of the other two you can build on.

Many of the SEs

that I know spent the early years of their careers working in different types of companies helping to run IT solutions.

It helped them to understand not just what IT solutions are

but why they're important to a company and the value that they bring.

Being able to relate this as an SE is vitally important.

Other SEs came via sales development or business development programs

so they were training to work in sales but for whatever reason they decided to switch track and become SEs.

These are often some of the best SEs as they have

both the commercial awareness as well as the technical skills for the role.

There are many other options for example from IT support,

from professional services and customer success roles but you need to consider what skills

and experience that you're building and how does that apply to the SE role.

One other potential option is to look at internships.

Look for internships that combine both technical and sales aspects.

It's a chance to get hands-on experience and make meaningful connections in the industry

and remember treat your internship like an extended job interview.

Show them what you're made of and always be learning.

One of the key elements of applying for a role is to make your application stand out.

The HR and recruitment team see hundreds of applications every week, so you need to grab their attention.

We already discussed the killer resume or CV, but you should also have a killer cover page.

You should research the company as well as key people inside the company, especially the hiring manager.

Call out what you bring to the company and why you'd like to join them.

Don't just use a standard cover letter.

However, the real step up is to get someone

that you know at the company or someone that knows someone at the company to make a recommendation on your behalf.

That doesn't guarantee the interview but it helps massively as we all want to work with people that others recommend.

This is where the networking discussed earlier will really pay off.

Okay, you've made it to the interview stage.

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Congratulations!

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Now it's time to shine showcase your technical knowledge highlight your sales experience and most importantly

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demonstrate your passion for the role

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and how you can contribute continue to research the company

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and the people make sure you know who'll be interviewing you at each stage

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and check them out on linkedin it'll show

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that you looked at their profile if i was interviewing someone

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and they didn't check me out on linkedin then

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that would be a specific question that i'd ask them in the interview as to why they're not doing their research.

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Also look at blog posts or YouTube videos that they've posted, refer back to them in the interview if possible

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and always check out the latest company news just before the interview and discuss any important announcements.

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This demonstrates that you're engaged in the process.

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Finally be ready with examples of what you've done in the past

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that can showcase how you can help them in the future.

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And there you have it, how to become a sales engineer without any experience.

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It's all about dedication, continuous learning and making meaningful connections.

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If you like this video then hit like and subscribe to keep updated on the new content that we release.

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And why not subscribe to our newsletter for updates on what's happening and hints and tips about pre-sales.

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Links are in the video description.

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Until the next time, I'm Andy Waterhouse, I'm the Pre-Sales coach.

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Vocabulario y notas de pronunciación para esta lección

Esta lección de conversación de nivel B2 se basa en el vídeo “How to Become a Sales Engineer”. Las palabras que más se repiten: sales, role, experience, technical, skills. Este vídeo tiene 119 frases y 1571 palabras para practicar shadowing. La parte hablada dura 9:32. El hablante habla a un ritmo natural de unas 165 palabras por minuto, cercano a una conversación cotidiana. El 87 % de las palabras está entre las 3.000 más comunes del inglés, por lo que el vocabulario es fácil de seguir.

Vocabulario clave de este vídeo

Las 15 palabras más avanzadas del vídeo, con su pronunciación y significado:

Palabra	Pronunciación	Significado
subscribe verbo	/səbˈskɹaɪb/	suscribirse, subscribirse
showcase sustantivo	/ˈʃoʊˌkeɪs/	escaparate, vitrina
internship sustantivo	/ˈɪntɜːnʃɪp/	pasantía, práctica
resume verbo	/ˈɹɛz.ə.meɪ/	reanudar, retomar
demonstrate verbo	/ˈdɛm.ənˌstɹeɪt/	demostrar, demonstrar
newsletter sustantivo	/ˈn(j)uzˌlɛtɚ/	boletín de noticias, boletín informativo
certification sustantivo	/ˌsɜː.tɪ.fɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/	certificación
meaningful adjetivo	/ˈmiː.nɪŋ.fl̩/	significativo
concise adjetivo	/kənˈsaɪs/	conciso, breve
cybersecurity sustantivo	/saɪbəsɪˈkjʊəɹɪtɪ/	ciberseguridad
daunting adjetivo	/ˈdɔntɪŋ/	inquietante
extroverted adjetivo	/ˈɛkstɹəˌvəɹtɪd/	extrovertido
familiarize verbo	/fəˈmɪliəɹaɪ̯z/	familiarizar
fluently adverbio		dominar, con fluidez
overconfident adjetivo	/ˌəʊvə(ɹ)ˈkɒnfɪdənt/	confiado

Phrasal verbs que vas a escuchar

Palabra	Significado
call out verbo	especificar
check out verbo	investigar, chequear
pay off verbo	valer la pena, salir a cuenta
step up verbo	aumentar, redoblar

Gramática en este vídeo

Las estructuras que más usa el hablante, con las palabras exactas del vídeo:

Estructura	En el vídeo
Present perfect have/has + participio pasado — una acción pasada que sigue importando ahora	I've hired · you've done · You've already started
Voz pasiva be + participio pasado — importa lo que ocurre, no quién lo hace	are called · be notified

Pronunciación a tener en cuenta

El hablante usa 41 contracciones y formas reducidas, como don't, you're, you've. Dilas en su forma corta, tal como las oyes.

Los sonidos de “sh” y “zh”: showcase /ˈʃoʊˌkeɪs/, internship /ˈɪntɜːnʃɪp/, certification /ˌsɜː.tɪ.fɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/, dedication /ˌdɛdɪˈkeɪʃən/, recommendation /ˌɹɛkəmɛnˈdeɪʃən/
Palabras largas — cuida el acento: certification /ˌsɜː.tɪ.fɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/, cybersecurity /saɪbəsɪˈkjʊəɹɪtɪ/, extroverted /ˈɛkstɹəˌvəɹtɪd/, familiarize /fəˈmɪliəɹaɪ̯z/, overconfident /ˌəʊvə(ɹ)ˈkɒnfɪdənt/

Sonidos difíciles para hispanohablantes:

/v/ — no es /b/: los dientes tocan el labio inferior: extroverted /ˈɛkstɹəˌvəɹtɪd/, overconfident /ˌəʊvə(ɹ)ˈkɒnfɪdənt/, vitally /ˈvaɪ.tə.li/, massively /ˈmæs.ɪv.li/, prospective /pɹəˈspɛktɪv/
/z/ — sonora, no /s/: resume /ˈɹɛz.ə.meɪ/, newsletter /ˈn(j)uzˌlɛtɚ/, familiarize /fəˈmɪliəɹaɪ̯z/

Cómo practicar con este vídeo

Escucha el vídeo entero una vez sin hablar y anota las palabras que no conoces.
Empieza a velocidad 0,75×, haz shadowing frase por frase y vuelve a la velocidad normal cuando te resulte fácil.
Grábate y compara con el original, prestando atención a palabras como subscribe, showcase, internship.

¿Qué es la Técnica de Shadowing?

Shadowing es una técnica de aprendizaje de idiomas respaldada por la ciencia, desarrollada originalmente para la formación de intérpretes profesionales y popularizada por el políglota Dr. Alexander Arguelles. El método es simple pero poderoso: escuchas audio en inglés nativo y lo repites en voz alta de inmediato, como una sombra que sigue al hablante con solo 1-2 segundos de retraso. A diferencia de la escucha pasiva o los ejercicios de gramática, el shadowing obliga a tu cerebro y músculos de la boca a procesar y reproducir simultáneamente patrones de habla reales. Las investigaciones muestran que mejora significativamente la precisión de la pronunciación, la entonación, el ritmo, el habla conectada, la comprensión auditiva y la fluidez al hablar, convirtiéndola en una de las metodologías más efectivas para la preparación del IELTS Speaking y la comunicación en inglés en el mundo real.

Técnica de shadowing: lee la guía completa paso a paso →

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