Pre-Sales Unplugged: Leadership Playbook
Pre-Sales Unplugged is the show for anyone serious about winning in modern GTM in SaaS and the Tech world.
Hosted by Arvi Carkanji, founder of Elite Talent and one of the loudest advocates for Pre and Post-Sales in SaaS, each episode goes deep on the conversations that actually move the needle.
From hiring and leadership to revenue strategy, sales execution, and what it takes to level up as an individual contributor, we cover the full picture of how today's best GTM teams are built and run.
These are honest conversations with the founders, operators, revenue leaders, and individual contributors shaping the future of sales.
Whether you're a CRO building a team, an SE trying to grow into leadership, or a founder figuring out your GTM motion, you belong here and you need to give this a listen!
Past guests include CROs, VP of Solutions, Authors, Founders, and individual contributors from across the SaaS world, people who have actually done the work and are willing to share what it really took to win in their roles!
Pre-Sales Unplugged: Leadership Playbook
How Elite SEs Think, Adapt, and Win Deals with David Schultz
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Give us Feedback on this episode
In this episode of Pre-Sales Unplugged: The Leadership Playbook, host Arvi Carkanji sits down with David Schultz, Head of Solution Consulting at Employe, to break down what it really takes to build a career and lead high-performing Sales Engineering teams.
David shares how he accidentally found his way into Solutions Consulting, why raising his hand early changed his career trajectory, and what he learned stepping into leadership while still mastering the role himself.
This conversation covers:
→ The biggest mistakes new SE leaders make and how to avoid them
→ Why trust and relationships matter more than process alone
→ How to handle pushback and tough leadership decisions
→ What separates good SEs from true A-players
→ Skills vs. knowledge in hiring and why soft skills scale better
→ When to hire proactively and when to pause
→ Metrics that actually matter for SE performance
→ Practical advice for breaking into Sales Engineering and standing out in interviews
If you are a Sales Engineer, Solution Consultant, SE leader, or GTM executive building or scaling a pre-sales function, this episode delivers real, field-tested insight you can apply immediately.
Elite Talent Recruiting helps B2B SaaS leaders hire high performing Pre Sales and Post Sales talent when speed and quality actually matter.
We are on a mission to prove Pre Sales and Post Sales teams are just as crucial to revenue as offensive linemen are to quarterbacks.
They accelerate sales, fuel growth, and help SaaS companies win bigger deals faster.
We build SaaS GTM teams by headhunting top Pre Sales and Post Sales talent and delivering hires in 35 days or less, including Sales Engineers, Solutions Consultants, Solutions Architects, Customer Success, and Technical Account Managers.
If your team is stretched thin, specialized roles are sitting open too long, or you are scaling fast and need reliable recruiting support that actually moves the needle, we help you hire the kind of talent that drives growth, innovation, and customer success without wasting months in interview chaos.
Check out our website: https://elitetalentrecruiting.io/
Connect with Arvi directly on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arvi-carkanji/
All other resources: https://linktr.ee/elitetalentrecruiting