How to Speak So Senior Leaders Listen with Ben Pearce
Presales Podcast by Presales Collective
Release Date: 07/28/2025
The Convergence of Presales and Post-Sales: A New Career Path with Shamil Turner
Presales Podcast by Presales Collective
Presales teams are being asked more and more to do post-sales work. This isn’t a fad or something we’re doing in the short term. This is a significant change for the broader profession of presales and solutions consulting. What was once occasional support for implementations or customer renewals is now becoming formal job responsibilities for solutions consultants across the industry. In this episode, Jack Cochran sits down with Shamil Turner, Global Technical Solutions Leader at Figma and Presales Collective advisory board member, to explore why this shift is happening and what it...
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What an AI-Enabled SE Looks Like in 2026 with Darlene Volas
Presales Podcast by Presales Collective
In this episode, Jack Cochran sits down with Darlene Volas, a senior solutions engineering executive, to explore what it truly means to be an AI-enabled SE in 2025 and beyond. The conversation moves well past basic ChatGPT usage to examine sophisticated operational workflows, custom automation tools, and practical implementation strategies that enhance both efficiency and quality of work. This episode was recorded during Presales Collective’s 2026 AI-Powered Presales Summit on March 19th, 2026. Pro and Pro+ members can view all of the recorded sessions on-demand in the PSC...
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From Co-Pilot to Orchestrator: AI and the Evolving SE Role with Manisha Raisinghani
Presales Podcast by Presales Collective
In this episode, Jack Cochran welcomes back Manisha Raisinghani, Founder and CEO of SiftHub, exactly one year after her first appearance on the show. Together they explore the dramatic shift in how AI is being used by solutions engineers. Manisha shares what it means for SEs to become Forward Deployed Engineers, how vibe coding is changing live customer interactions, and what enterprise leaders are getting wrong about AI adoption. She also offers concrete first steps for SEs and SE leaders who feel like they're behind. Thank you to SiftHub for sponsoring this episode! Visit to learn...
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Proving the Value of Demo Engineering: Metrics That Matter with Micah Joel
Presales Podcast by Presales Collective
In this episode, Jack Cochran and Matthew James continue their conversation with Micah Joel, diving deep into the metrics that matter when building and justifying a demo engineering team. Micah shares practical approaches to measuring the value of demo engineering, from simple time-saving calculations to sophisticated surveys that capture SE satisfaction and retention indicators. The conversation explores how to frame these metrics in terms that senior management cares about, moving beyond technical accomplishments to demonstrate real business impact. Micah emphasizes the importance of...
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Building a Demo Engineering Team with Micah Joel - Part 1
Presales Podcast by Presales Collective
In this episode, Jack Cochran and Matthew James sit down with Micah Joel, GTM leader and demo engineering pioneer, to explore what it means to build a dedicated demo engineering function from scratch. Micah shares his journey from theater kid to SE to leading Salesforce's legendary Q Branch, and unpacks why demo engineering might be the most underutilized lever in presales today. They cover the difference between deal-focused and infrastructure-focused demo engineers, how to structure the team, why blended teams fail, and how a mature demo engineering org can swim upstream into product...
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The Future of AI in Presales: Beyond Demo Automation with Nalin Senthamil
Presales Podcast by Presales Collective
The Future of AI in Presales: Beyond Demo Automation In this episode, Jack Cochran is joined by Nalin Senthamil, Founder and CEO of Storylane, to discuss the evolution of AI in presales beyond simple demo automation. They explore the hidden costs of demos, how the buyer themselves are becoming AI-powered, and the emergence of AI tools for sellers, much like Storylane has developed with RepEx Thank you to Storylane for sponsoring this episode! Visit to learn more. Follow Us Connect with Jack Cochran: Connect with Nalin Senthamil: Links and Resources Mentioned Join Presales...
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Courageous Leadership: Making Tough Calls Under Pressure with Gretchen Fitzgibbons
Presales Podcast by Presales Collective
In this episode recorded at the Presales Collective Leadership Next Summit in November of 2025, Jack Cochran sits down with Gretchen Fitzgibbons, Senior Manager of Strategic Solutions Consulting at Airtable, to discuss what it means to be a courageous leader in presales. They explore how to make difficult decisions under pressure, navigate organizational politics with integrity, and build the support systems that enable consistent leadership. Gretchen shares powerful stories from her two decades of experience advising Fortune 500 customers and leading presales teams, including standing up for...
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Storytelling as an Industrial Skill with Jon Billett
Presales Podcast by Presales Collective
In this episode, Jack Cochran is joined by Jon Billett, Founder and CEO of StoryQuadrant, to discuss why storytelling in presales needs to be treated as an industrial skill rather than a soft skill. They explore Jon's framework for the four types of stories every SE should master, the danger of "Mad Libs" style customer stories, and why the most important story is the one told after you leave the room. Jon shares insights from his 15 years in presales and his unique background as a member of the Magic Circle, revealing how structure, rather than content, creates memorable presentations that...
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Shaping Decision Confidence and Overcoming Customer Indecision with Nikhil Sarma
Presales Podcast by Presales Collective
In this episode, Jack Cochran and Matthew James are joined by Nikhil Sarma, Founder of GTM Solutions Consulting, to explore why customer indecision has become one of the biggest challenges in enterprise sales. They discuss the factors driving buyer hesitation, how to diagnose value clarity vs. organizational issues, and practical strategies for helping customers build the confidence to move forward. Nikhil shares frameworks for understanding stakeholder dynamics, the importance of financial fluency for SEs, and why de-risking the implementation is often more important than the technology...
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Stop Paying the Demo Tax: How AI Is Transforming Presales with Justin McDonald
Presales Podcast by Presales Collective
The State of Presales and Demo Technologies, and What's Coming in 2026 In this episode, Jack Cochran and Matthew James are joined by Justin McDonald, Co-founder and CEO of Saleo, to discuss how demo automation technology is transforming the presales landscape. They explore the evolution of presales over the past 20 years, the hidden costs of demo preparation (the "demo tax"), and how AI is revolutionizing how solutions engineers create and personalize demonstrations. Justin shares insights on building relational capital, the importance of in-person meetings, and why the future of presales lies...
info_outlineIn this episode, Jack Cochran and Matthew James are joined by Ben Pearce, founder of Elevated You, to discuss how technical professionals can effectively communicate with senior executives. They explore the critical differences between speaking to technical stakeholders versus C-suite leaders, covering everything from preparation strategies to delivery techniques. Ben shares practical frameworks for being relevant rather than just expert, emphasizing the importance of focusing on "what" and "why" instead of "how" when presenting to senior leaders.
Thank you to Storylane for sponsoring this episode. Find out more about Storylane and how to build killer demos in 2 minutes at https://storylane.io
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
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Connect with Jack Cochran: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackcochran/
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Connect with Matthew James: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewyoungjames/
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Connect with Ben Pearce:https://www.linkedin.com/in/benpthoughts/
Links and Resources Mentioned
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Presales Collective Slack: https://www.presalescollective.com/slack
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Elevated You: https://www.elevatedyou.live/psc
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Tech World Human Skills Podcast: https://www.elevatedyou.live/twhs
Timestamps
00:00 Welcome
05:18 Why speaking to senior leaders is different
12:49 Being relevant vs. being an expert
16:19 Mastering delivery under pressure
25:04 Reading the room and course-correcting
32:53 De-risking and the human element
Key Topics Covered
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The Technical Expert's Dilemma
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How technical expertise can become a curse when speaking to executives
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Moving from demonstrating knowledge to demonstrating relevance
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The Three-Part Framework for Executive Communication
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Relevance: Understanding what matters to your specific audience
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Compelling Content: Creating materials that speak to their priorities
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Excellent Delivery: Performing under pressure with confidence
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Preparation Strategies
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Mapping out personas and industries for reusable content
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The importance of team collaboration in content creation
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Practice vs. preparation: Why both are essential
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Reading the Room
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Starting with curiosity and mini-discovery
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Mirroring language and adapting on the fly
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Course-correcting based on real-time feedback
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The Punchline Problem
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Why building up to a big reveal doesn't work with executives
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Leading with impact: "Hitting them between the eyes"
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Getting to value within the first 90 seconds
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Risk Management and Trust Building
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Understanding that you represent organizational risk
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The "never get fired for buying IBM" mentality
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How human skills differentiate in an AI-driven world
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Building confidence through listening and problem-solving
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