These are a few of the things I believe in...
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Pre-sales is a great profession to be in. The work is varied, well-compensated, and sitting at the intersection of product and sales means your career options are broader than most people realise.
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The individual contributor (IC) path is underrated. People management isn't for everyone, and you don't need to manage a team to have a successful and fulfilling career.​
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Coaching can change the trajectory of your career. It helped me get clear on my motivations and build a career based on my strengths, rather than following the default path into management.
My story
i. From pre-history to pre-sales
After studying archaeology, I took a marketing role at a local systems integrator. I quickly discovered that being in front of customers was where I thrived, so I moved into pre-sales. When the opportunity came to manage a team, I took it because, at the time, that's what progression looked like to me.
ii. Setting my direction
When I saw Slack was hiring for their first SE in the UK, I knew it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Shortly after joining, I got the chance to work with a career coach who helped me explore what I actually wanted from my career. What really motivated me was scaling my impact, not necessarily managing people. That was a critical turning point.
iii. Scaling my impact
With my direction set, I focused my efforts on how to best scale my impact as an individual contributor. This led me to crafting multiple roles and eventually reaching the level of Distinguished Solutions Engineer. One of the things I found most rewarding across all of these roles was coaching others.
iv. Going AI-native
When Glean were searching for their first SE in the UK, it felt like déjà vu. Once again, I was joining a high-growth company at an exciting moment, this time at the frontier of generative AI. Whilst I loved the technology, I found myself missing the coaching that had been a consistent thread throughout my career. That made something clear to me: it was time to pursue coaching full-time.
v. Coming full circle
Now I have the privilege of doing the thing I kept gravitating towards throughout my career, full-time. Helping individual contributors in pre-sales set their direction, navigate their next move, and build careers that actually reflect what they want.
Where I'm focused now
Three ways I'm involved in the pre-sales profession
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Pre-Sales Pathways
A podcast featuring highly successful pre-sales professionals who share their career journeys, what they do today, and the decisions that shaped their path.
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Pre-Sales Pathfinder
A free tool that maps out 20 roles that pre-sales professionals typically move into (including information on compensation, travel, and availability) to help you understand what's out there.
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Career Coaching
One-to-one coaching for individual contributors in pre-sales who are looking to set their direction or make their next move with clarity and confidence.