Pratique du Shadowing: How to Become a Sales Engineer | Without Any Experience - Apprendre l'anglais à l'oral avec la vidéo

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.

100

Congratulations!

101

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

102

demonstrate your passion for the role

103

and how you can contribute continue to research the company

104

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

105

and check them out on linkedin it'll show

106

that you looked at their profile if i was interviewing someone

107

and they didn't check me out on linkedin then

108

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

109

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

110

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

111

This demonstrates that you're engaged in the process.

112

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

113

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

114

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.

116

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

117

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

118

Links are in the video description.

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

✨ Vidéo recommandée

406 phrases

Vocabulaire et conseils d’expression pour cette leçon

Cette leçon d’expression orale de niveau B2 s’appuie sur la vidéo « How to Become a Sales Engineer ». Les mots qui reviennent le plus souvent : sales, role, experience, technical, skills. Cette vidéo contient 119 phrases et 1571 mots à répéter en shadowing. La partie parlée dure 9:32. Le locuteur parle à un rythme naturel d’environ 165 mots par minute, proche d’une conversation courante. 87 % des mots font partie des 3 000 mots les plus courants en anglais, le vocabulaire est donc facile à suivre.

Vocabulaire clé de cette vidéo

Les 15 mots les plus avancés de la vidéo, avec leur prononciation et leur sens :

Mot	Prononciation	Sens
subscribe verbe	/səbˈskɹaɪb/	abonner, s'abonner
showcase nom	/ˈʃoʊˌkeɪs/	vitrine
internship nom	/ˈɪntɜːnʃɪp/	stage
resume verbe	/ˈɹɛz.ə.meɪ/	recommencer, reprendre
demonstrate verbe	/ˈdɛm.ənˌstɹeɪt/	démontrer
newsletter nom	/ˈn(j)uzˌlɛtɚ/	bulletin, lettre d'information
certification nom	/ˌsɜː.tɪ.fɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/	certification, homologation
meaningful adjectif	/ˈmiː.nɪŋ.fl̩/	significatif, qui a du sens
concise adjectif	/kənˈsaɪs/	concis
cybersecurity nom	/saɪbəsɪˈkjʊəɹɪtɪ/	cybersécurité
daunting adjectif	/ˈdɔntɪŋ/	décourageant, intimidant
extroverted adjectif	/ˈɛkstɹəˌvəɹtɪd/	extraverti
familiarize verbe	/fəˈmɪliəɹaɪ̯z/	familiariser
fluently adverbe		couramment
overconfident adjectif	/ˌəʊvə(ɹ)ˈkɒnfɪdənt/	outrecuidant, présomptueux

Les verbes à particule que vous entendrez

Mot	Sens
call out verbe	préciser, spécifier
check out verbe	mater, regarder
pay off verbe	soudoyer
step up verbe	accroître, augmenter

La grammaire de cette vidéo

Les structures que le locuteur utilise le plus, avec les mots exacts de la vidéo :

Structure	Dans la vidéo
Present perfect have/has + participe passé — une action passée qui compte encore maintenant	I've hired · you've done · You've already started
Voix passive be + participe passé — l’accent est mis sur ce qui arrive, pas sur qui le fait	are called · be notified

Prononciation à surveiller

Le locuteur utilise 41 contractions et formes réduites, comme don't, you're, you've. Prononcez-les sous leur forme courte, telles que vous les entendez.

Les sons « sh » et « zh »: showcase /ˈʃoʊˌkeɪs/, internship /ˈɪntɜːnʃɪp/, certification /ˌsɜː.tɪ.fɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/, dedication /ˌdɛdɪˈkeɪʃən/, recommendation /ˌɹɛkəmɛnˈdeɪʃən/
Mots longs — placez bien l’accent: certification /ˌsɜː.tɪ.fɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/, cybersecurity /saɪbəsɪˈkjʊəɹɪtɪ/, extroverted /ˈɛkstɹəˌvəɹtɪd/, familiarize /fəˈmɪliəɹaɪ̯z/, overconfident /ˌəʊvə(ɹ)ˈkɒnfɪdənt/

Les sons difficiles pour les francophones :

/r/ anglais — langue recourbée, sans frotter la gorge: subscribe /səbˈskɹaɪb/, resume /ˈɹɛz.ə.meɪ/, demonstrate /ˈdɛm.ənˌstɹeɪt/, cybersecurity /saɪbəsɪˈkjʊəɹɪtɪ/, extroverted /ˈɛkstɹəˌvəɹtɪd/

Comment s’entraîner avec cette vidéo

Écoutez la vidéo en entier une fois sans parler et notez les mots que vous ne connaissez pas.
Commencez à la vitesse 0,75×, répétez phrase par phrase, puis revenez à la vitesse normale quand cela devient facile.
Enregistrez-vous et comparez avec l’original, en faisant attention à des mots comme subscribe, showcase, internship.

Qu'est-ce que la technique du Shadowing ?

Le Shadowing est une technique d'apprentissage des langues fondée sur la science, développée à l'origine pour la formation des interprètes professionnels. Le principe est simple mais puissant : vous écoutez de l'anglais natif et le répétez immédiatement à voix haute — comme une ombre suivant le locuteur avec un décalage de 1 à 2 secondes. Les recherches montrent une amélioration significative de la précision de la prononciation, de l'intonation, du rythme, des liaisons, de la compréhension orale et de la fluidité.

Technique du shadowing : lire le guide complet étape par étape →

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