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.
About this episode
Sales engineering is changing faster than ever, and the traditional go-to-market playbook is collapsing. In this episode of Diary of a Sales Engineer, we sit down with James Kaikis, co-founder of Pre-Sales Collective, founder of GTM Shift, co-founder of AI Sales Studio, and co-founder of Solution Exec, for a conversation about the future of sales engineering, presales, and the entire GTM motion in the age of AI. James breaks down why the predictable revenue model is dying, how AI-first companies are compressing the entire sales cycle into one or two calls, what the rise of the "account engineer" role means for SEs, and how solutions engineers can build a career roadmap from individual contributor all the way to CRO. He also drops a major announcement: he and Jeff Margolese are writing a book on solutions engineering. Whether you're an SE trying to break into the field, a senior solutions engineer planning your next move, or a go-to-market leader navigating org restructures, this is the episode. Fun fact: James and the Pre-Sales Collective are the reason Ryan got into sales engineering. Full circle. ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Intro and why James Kaikis changed our careers 1:49 - James on the impact of building communities in presales 5:14 - Send your favorite creators a thank you 5:31 - What James has been building since leaving Pre-Sales Collective 9:52 - From CRO at Testbox to serial entrepreneurship 11:00 - Balancing family, fatherhood, and building multiple businesses 15:00 - Setting boundaries and being present at home 17:00 - The rise and stall of the Chief Solutions Officer title 19:00 - The collapse of the traditional go-to-market sales process 21:00 - Ryan's prediction: the account engineer is coming 23:00 - Will SEs replace account executives? 28:00 - How junior SEs should prepare for the GTM shift 31:00 - Be a student of the game: resources, networking, and growth mindset 34:00 - Building a roadmap from SE to CRO 37:00 - James's 2026 outlook: impact, Solution Exec, and writing a book 41:00 - Final advice: lean into your superpower as a solutions engineer 43:00 - Post-interview debrief: riding the next wave 📖 Connect with James Kaikis → LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jameskaikis → GTM Shift: gtmshift.com → Solution Exec: solutionexec.com 📖 Connect with Us → Ryan Krueger: linkedin.com/in/ryankrueger20 → Sameer Sahay-Kausar: linkedin.com/in/sameer-kausar → Diary of a Sales Engineer on LinkedIn 🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and everywhere you get your podcasts. 💬 If this episode helped you think differently about your SE career, send us a DM. Those messages keep this show going. 🏆 Spotify Award-Winning Podcast
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
Transcript
[0:01] Hello. Hello everyone. Welcome back to another episode of Diary of a Sales Engineer. We're episode 32 and my name is Samir Sahai Gauer with my favorite co-host Ryan Krueger. And today we have a very special guest with us. We're joined by James Kis, a longtime leader in pre-sales and go to market and truly one of the most influential voices in the sales engineering community. Now, most people know James as the co-founder of the Pre-Sales Collective, but he's also the founder of GTM Shift, a [0:33] co-founder of AI Revenue Studio, and most recently the co-founder of Solution Exec, a private network dedicated to moving the solutions professions forward. He spent his career helping technical teams…
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