Presales Podcast by Presales Collective

In this episode, Matthew James and Timmy Hendrickson are joined by Nalin Senthamil, Founder and CEO of Storylane, to discuss the future of pre-sales and AI driving influence beyond pipeline. They explore how demo automation is transforming the self-serve buyer experience, the changing role of solutions engineers, and how AI can create 10X impact in pre-sales workflows. Nalin shares insights on leveraging AI for demo personalization, managing complex product integrations, and why the traditional discovery call may be dying.

To join the show live, follow the Presales Collective's LinkedIn page or join the PSC Slack community for updates. The show is bi-weekly on Tuesdays, 8AM PT/11AM ET/4PM GMT.

Follow the Hosts

• Connect with Matthew James: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewyoungjames/
• Connect with Timmy Hendrickson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timmyhendrickson/
• Connect with Nalin Senthamil: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nalinpradeep/

Links and Resources Mentioned

• Join Presales Collective Slack: https://www.presalescollective.com/slack
• Storylane: https://www.storylane.io/

Timestamps

00:04 Welcome

01:08 Nalin's background and founding Storylane

03:08 What does a self-serve buyer experience look like?

08:18 How AI has changed presales

13:40 Training AI agents to answer technical questions

17:02 AI testing customer scenario

19:28 Overlooked use cases for demo automation

26:30 One workflow where AI can create 10X impact today

Key Topics Covered

1. The Death of Discovery Calls
   • Why buyers are coming to conversations already educated
   • How self-serve experiences span the entire buying journey
   • The role of AI sales agents in initial discovery
2. The Four Categories of SE Work
   • Relationship building and strategic solutioning
   • Demo delivery and POC management
   • Administrative tasks and CRM updates
   • Knowledge sharing and product insights
3. AI as an SE Sidekick
   • Demo preparation and tailoring automation
   • Administrative task reduction
   • Strategic thinking enhancement rather than replacement
4. Demo Automation Use Cases
   • Supporting different AE to SE ratios
   • Managing complex product integrations
   • Upsell and expansion opportunities
   • Micro-demos for specific features
5. Training AI for Technical Questions
   • Leveraging tribal knowledge from Slack, Google Drive, and call recordings
   • Importance of data quality and curation
   • Automatic ingestion of organizational knowledge
6. The Future of Pre-Sales
   • AI enabling faster iteration and personalization
   • Strategic partnership between CS and pre-sales for upsells
   • The evolution from technical support to strategic advisory roles

On the PreSales Podcast, James Kaikis and Brian Mazzaferri connect on the topic "Depth to be Dangerous". Brian, a Senior Solutions Engineer at Slack, talks about his philosophy around Product Expertise and how deep a Sales Engineer really needs to go during a sales cycle.

On the PreSales Podcast, James Kaikis and Chris Browne connect on the topic "Maximizing Your Impact on Your Team". Chris, Director of Solutions Consulting at Lattice, talks about the role of a manager and how creating a coaching culture is a key ingredient to employee and team success.

In this second part of our conversation with Raphael Joseph, former SE turned recruiter and founder of Brando Tech, Jack Cochran and Matthew James dive deep into why traditional job hunting methods no longer work in today's market. Raphael shares strategic insights on how SEs should approach job searching in 2025, treating themselves as products and leveraging their natural skills to navigate the competitive landscape.

IMPORTANT: This is Part 2 of a two-part series. Make sure to listen to Part 1 first for the complete discussion on personal branding and LinkedIn optimization.

To join the show live, follow the Presales Collective's LinkedIn page or join the PSC Slack community for updates. The show is bi-weekly on Tuesdays, 8AM PT/11AM ET/4PM GMT.

Follow the Hosts

• Connect with Jack Cochran: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackcochran/
• Connect with Matthew James: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewyoungjames/
• Connect with Raphael Joseph: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphael-joseph-23044150/

Links and Resources Mentioned

• Join Presales Collective Slack: https://www.presalescollective.com/slack
• Episode Sponsor: Opine - https://tryopine.com

Timestamps

00:00 Welcome

04:42 What is "classic job hunting" and why it's dead

11:52 How to get on recruiters' radar

13:33 Starting your job search the right way

21:04 Treating job hunting like account management

27:23 Interview process changes and AI requirements

30:30 Why it's not a numbers game anymore

Key Topics Covered

1. The Death of Classic Job Hunting
   • Why sending CVs to job postings no longer works
   • How companies receive hundreds of applications they can't process
   • The cycle of posting jobs, failing to hire, then using recruiters
   • Why your application often goes unread
2. The New Digital Job Hunting Approach
   • Treating yourself as a product you're selling
   • Building warm leads with hiring managers
   • Using SE skills for job hunting: research, discovery, and value proposition
   • The importance of targeted, high-touch approaches over spray-and-pray
3. Working with Recruiters Effectively
   • Why good recruiters provide 1-in-3 odds vs 1-in-300 direct applications
   • How recruiters can prep you with insider knowledge
   • The value of having internal champions in the hiring process
4. Market Dynamics in 2025
   • Why it's now an employer's market
   • The shift from growth-at-all-costs to profitability focus
   • How COVID overhiring led to current oversupply of candidates
   • AI's impact on hiring decisions and productivity expectations
5. Interview Strategy in the Current Market
   • Companies' increased specificity in requirements
   • Why "must-haves" are truly must-haves now
   • The importance of AI literacy and demonstrable skills
   • How to address gaps in your experience strategically
6. Leveraging SE Skills for Job Hunting
   • Using research abilities to identify opportunities
   • Applying discovery skills to understand company needs
   • Creating value propositions for yourself as a candidate
   • Avoiding the same mistakes SEs coach AEs to avoid

In today's episode, Dean Shu (CEO & Co-founder, Arphie) joins Jack Cochran and Matthew James to discuss AI agents in PreSales and the evolution of the industry. They explore the changing landscape of PreSales leadership, practical applications of AI, and strategies for evaluating AI solutions.

Thank you to Arphie for sponsoring this episode. Arphie is the leading AI-powered platform for automating RFPs and security questionnaires. Arphie empowers teams — from the Fortune 500 to high-growth startups — to save time, improve accuracy, and deliver results faster than ever by combining your prior responses and company context with the latest AI agent capabilities.

To join the show live, follow the PreSales Collective's LinkedIn page. PreSales LIVE airs bi-weekly on Tuesdays, 8AM PT/11AM ET/4PM GMT.

• Join the Presales Collective Slack:https://presalescollective.com/slack
• Contact Dean Shu: [email protected] https://www.linkedin.com/in/dean-shu/
• LE SSERAFIM, Crazy EP: https://open.spotify.com/album/538vEfAgLJ6g2I8ubuOlap?si=so9xz_qMQBatFqHMDTp5sw
• Hidden Brain podcast episode with Brian Klass - https://open.spotify.com/episode/5MowfIBQdmQEIMYdDL3MYK?si=fff1b1731daa48ff

00:00 - Introduction

03:13 - What are you listening to

06:30 - Dean's background

09:20 - What's top of mind for presales leaders?

11:57 - How to make a presales tech purchase

20:13 - What are AI agents?

26:40 - How do you properly explore AI?

32:25 - Is AI going to replace people?

35:41 - Outro

1. PreSales Leadership Evolution
   • Elevating the sales engineering role
   • Building stronger cross-functional partnerships
   • Gaining executive-level presence
2. Understanding AI in PreSales
   • Different types of AI models and their applications
   • AI agents vs. traditional AI tools
   • Real-world implementation strategies
3. Evaluating AI Solutions
   • Key criteria for vendor selection
   • Security considerations
   • Proof of concept best practices