Eps 32: GTMshift with James Kaikis
James Kaikis, co-founder of Pre-Sales Collective, discusses his entrepreneurial journey after leaving PSC, including his current ventures GTM Shift, AI Revenue Studio, and Solution Exec. He shares insights on the evolution of sales engineering roles and predicts significant changes in go-to-market motions driven by AI.
Summary
This episode features James Kaikis, a prominent leader in the sales engineering community and co-founder of Pre-Sales Collective. James provides a candid update on his journey since leaving PSC, explaining that while the exit wasn't as planned, it led to a period of reflection and ultimately new entrepreneurial ventures. He describes taking a two-month break to reset before joining Testbox as CRO to gain hands-on revenue leadership experience.
James now runs three businesses: GTM Shift (his consulting agency and interview series), AI Revenue Studio (training people to be AI proficient in go-to-market functions), and Solution Exec (a private network for senior solutions executives). He emphasizes the challenge of balancing professional success with personal presence, sharing his struggles with work-life boundaries and his commitment to being present for his young family.
A significant portion of the discussion focuses on the future of sales engineering and go-to-market motions. James predicts the collapse of traditional sales processes, driven by AI-first companies that can demonstrate value with customer data in the first call. He argues that the predictable revenue model with distinct roles (SDR, AE, SE, PS, etc.) is becoming obsolete, replaced by more fluid roles focused on jobs to be done. James believes sales engineers are uniquely positioned for this transition due to their generalist skillset.
The conversation also covers the importance of continuous learning, networking, and being intentional about career development. James advises listeners to be students of the game, consume diverse content including VC podcasts to understand market trends, and actively communicate their career aspirations. He and Jeff Margalles are writing a book on solutions engineering, set to be announced at their March 4th virtual event.
Key Insights
- James argues that AI-first companies are collapsing traditional go-to-market motions by showing customer data in products during the first call, eliminating the need for multiple discovery calls and custom demos
- James predicts that the predictable revenue model with distinct SDR, AE, SE, PS roles is becoming obsolete, replaced by consolidated functions focused on jobs to be done rather than internal silos
- James believes sales engineers are uniquely equipped for the next era of B2B SaaS because they are generalists who can perform multiple functions - CSM, AE, implementation - making them valuable during organizational changes
- James explains that the Chief Solutions Officer role gained some traction but didn't take off as much as expected, though he sees companies continuing to consolidate solutions engineering with professional services and customer success
- James reveals he was criticized by senior leaders for predicting go-to-market changes years ago, which hurt his credibility until the predictions started materializing
- James advises that it's virtually impossible for individual contributor sales engineers to get sales management jobs outside their company, requiring lateral moves to account executive roles first
- James emphasizes that successful leaders prioritize sleep, mental health, and fitness because they understand how draining it is to be present in everything, noting this sets apart the most successful CEOs and entrepreneurs
- James stresses the importance of being specific when networking, stating he hates when people reach out saying 'I just want to connect' without having a topic or specific question to discuss
Topics
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