你真的想当售前经理吗？这可是销售体系中最艰难的职位！

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So You Really Want To Be A Pre-Sales Manager?

The Toughest Job In Sales

This is the title of an article by John Care, author of the global presales bible Mastering Technical Sales (exclusively introduced to China; detailed introduction here).

When I saw this title, even though he emphasized it's the toughest job, my inner response was immediate: Yes, I really do want it!

Taking this article as a springboard, let me share my personal experiences and reflections on "holding office" (当官).

I started school 40 years ago. Because I got good grades and was obedient, class leadership roles naturally fell to me. I never actively sought them, but I always held them. It seemed that being a "class officer" in school required no real leadership—it was all thanks to my academic performance. Honestly, whether as class monitor or Youth League branch secretary, I was really just going through the motions. It wasn't until high school that I could basically host a class meeting smoothly and naturally.

My only proactive choice about holding office during my student years came in my sophomore year of high school. The annual student union election was always nominated by the school's Youth League committee. For some reason, they had their eye on me and hoped I would become student union president. I later learned why: most previous student union presidents had failed to get into a four-year university. At our provincial key high school, this was a huge embarrassment and put immense pressure on the Youth League committee. Why was I the target? Because in my freshman year, my worst exam ranking was third in the entire grade. Barring any surprises, I was basically on track for Tsinghua or Peking University. So nominating me guaranteed they wouldn't have another president who failed to get into college. That goal was certainly achieved! But as a Tsinghua candidate, after a year of serving as student union president, I successfully dropped to outside the top 50 in my grade! I spent my entire senior year in a desperate sprint. Although I did have a final mock exam where I ranked first in the city, I still didn't make it through Tsinghua's gates. I had to settle for a university that accepted anyone above the cutoff score. After much reflection, I realized I didn't enjoy holding office and wasn't suited for the bureaucratic path. I resolutely went back to being a poor, bookish, and unremarkable student focused solely on studying.

Early in my career, right after graduation, I became the general manager of a business unit at a 200-person software company. A year later, when the company hit a crisis, the board had already confirmed me as vice president in charge of project delivery. But a newly parachuted-in general manager put that on hold.

After realizing domestic companies couldn't offer much room for growth, I joined multinational corporations for 18 years, spanning IBM, HP, Cisco, and others. I had several opportunities to become a manager, or was probed about my interest, and I declined every time. Yes, I knew being a manager was hard and not exactly a recipe for longevity. Looking back now, my choice was right. After foreign companies peaked around 2013, it was a long decline. As an expert who didn't hold a management title, I survived longer, faced less pressure, was more comfortable, and my compensation wasn't much lower than a manager's. When I resigned from HP, my boss said: "Your new company's salary is significantly higher than mine (50%+), and my boss and I really wanted to keep you. I tried to get you a raise, but we genuinely couldn't match that offer..."

It was only in the final years of my career that I developed a strong ambition to become a manager, and even push for higher positions. The main reason was that after deciding to pursue presales training as my future direction, I wanted to quickly solidify my team management experience and earn a milestone that the world would recognize. Remember how ancient biographies describe someone: "...rose to the rank of XX"—that represents the pinnacle of personal ability and recognition. Unfortunately, the right opportunity never materialized. The timing, the circumstances, and the people never aligned. I ultimately ended my career with a title like "APAC Presales Community Lead" at a US company.

Returning to the main topic, I couldn't agree more with John's view, especially regarding presales leaders at most Chinese companies. So please take good care of yourself! If it's too much, switch companies and become a presales expert instead!

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"I want to become a presales manager." In every presales organization, about 40% of people want to be managers. This is a phrase I hear constantly in annual reviews and in my regular coaching and mentoring sessions with employees. So, if you genuinely want to become a manager who leads a team, what should you do to get someone to give you that opportunity and maximize your chances of promotion? This is my conclusion after numerous conversations with SEs who have 4-5 years of presales experience but no management experience, from my perspective as a former VP of Presales.

I should also state upfront that I'm not talking about a player-coach manager. I mean the kind where you both manage a small team of 3-4 people and continue to be an excellent presales person. You don't get the best of both worlds; you get the worst of both. It doesn't work in sports, it doesn't work in business, and it certainly doesn't work in presales.

1. It's Not About Being the Best SE

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单子越来越难赢，你们公司的售前管理跟上了吗？