In this live podcast episode recorded at Sol/Con 2026, Rew Dickinson, CEO and founder of Alpha Go-To-Market, joins co-hosts Jack Cochran and Matthew James to present a framework of four core skills that drive sales outcomes for solutions engineers.
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Connect with Jack Cochran: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackcochran/
Connect with Matthew James: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewyoungjames/
Connect with Rew Dickinson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rewdickinson/
Key Topics Covered
The SE Talk-Time Problem: How Gong call analysis reveals SEs dominating conversations with product talk instead of listening
The Starbucks Story: Rew's revelation that SEs are often the most influential person in the sales cycle
Knowledge Layer: Why SEs must understand how prospect companies make money before demos
Storytelling for Pre-Sales: Shifting from product-centric to prospect-focused narratives
The iPhone Value Exercise: Live demonstration showing value exists in the gap between current and desired state
Discovery Beyond Requirements: Creating vision with questions like "If I shadowed your team for a week, what would I see slowing them down?"
Leadership and Taking a Stance: Why SEs need to be prescriptive ("you should") instead of offering endless options ("you could")
The Tenure Gap: SEs average 7 years versus sales reps at 2 years—and why SEs should leverage this expertise advantage





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