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 SE Leaders Scale Teams, Influence GTM, and Stay Ahead of AI (with Chris Mabry)
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In this episode of Pre Sales Unplugged: The Leadership Playbook, Arvi Carkanji (Founder of Elite Talent) sits down with Chris Mabry, Vice President of Solutions and Partnerships, to break down what actually separates a good Sales Engineer from an A Player Sales Engineer, and what modern pre sales leadership really looks like inside B2B SaaS.
Chris Mabry shares his path from network engineer to solutions engineering leadership, plus the practical frameworks he uses to scale SE teams, build cross functional influence across Product, Marketing, and Sales, and create trust with Account Executives at the deal level. If you lead pre sales, want to become a Sales Engineering Manager, or you are a Solutions Engineer trying to stand out in a crowded market, this episode is built for you.
You will learn:
- Why sales is a process (not a personality trait), and how SEs can master discovery, qualification, objections, and value
- The “solve a boring problem” strategy that gets you noticed and fast tracks leadership opportunities
- How elite SE leaders run cross functional councils to improve GTM execution and give their team real influence
- The real signals of “hunger” in hiring, and why spray and pray job applications are losing
- Why building a warm bench of talent beats reactive hiring when capacity breaks
- How AI is changing demos, personalization, and buyer expectations, plus what SEs must learn now to stay competitive
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