Sales Engineer coaching

Close the gap between what you know and how you show up.

For Sales Engineers, presales consultants and technical leaders who are very good at their job, and notice that being good at the job is no longer the same as being at their best.

Book a Chemistry Call What happens in the call

Free · 30 minutes · online · no pitch

Björn Bredenkamp in a blue shirt, seated in a red armchair with a notebook in his hands.

Why coaching, and why now

The problem you haven't considered

You think the gap is knowledge, so you prepare more. Over time you've learned that expertise gives you control: if you know more than anyone in the room, nothing can go wrong. That works until one of two things happens. Either the meeting stops following your plan, and you lose control of it. Or, worse, you leave the meeting believing it went well, without noticing what you never found out. The problem is how you act under pressure: you over-explain, you fill every silence, or you run a feature tour instead of a conversation. More training doesn't fix this. It makes the habit stronger.

The cost of doing nothing

More expertise no longer changes your results, because the moments that decide a deal aren't technical. If you change nothing, the same thing happens in your next demo, and in the one after that. Preparing harder won't stop it.

Why coaching

Training gives you more knowledge, and knowledge isn't what's missing. Coaching works on how you act in the moment. You learn to notice when your usual habits take over, for example when you start explaining instead of asking, and to choose differently while it's happening. Between sessions you try it in your real customer meetings, and then we look at what happened.

Does this sound familiar?

None of these are character flaws. They are strengths, pushed a little too far.

  • You explain a feature nobody asked about, just to be sure.
  • You fill the silence before the buyer has finished thinking.
  • A demo goes sideways and your speech speeds up before you notice.
  • You answer non-urgent messages within three minutes.
  • You fix deal issues before the team has had a chance to try.
  • You stay on calls where your input isn't really needed.
  • People read you as quiet when you are actually thinking three steps ahead.
  • You are the most efficient person in a cycle that no longer inspires you.

If three or more of these fit, we should talk. Book a Chemistry Call

A moment you might know

Twenty minutes in, and nobody has said a word.

The demo went well. Every feature worked, and you covered every question you thought they might ask. Then you hear yourself say it: “Any questions from your side?”

Silence. Someone checks their phone. And an uneasy feeling spreads in your stomach: did this land, or did I just talk for twenty minutes straight?

Nothing broke in that demo. Somewhere along the way the dialogue slipped into a monologue, because under pressure the part of you that wants everything covered took over. It's the same thoroughness that made you good at this job.

That moment is where coaching starts. You learn to notice the shift while it's happening, and to consciously choose the conversation instead.

The pattern

Rational Perfectionism. A strength, overdone.

The same analytical rigor that built your career can quietly become the thing that limits it. It works well enough that nobody questions it, including you.

Excellence
↓ becomes
Perfectionism
Serving others
↓ becomes
Saying yes to everything
Technical depth
↓ becomes
Over-explaining

Most people in this spot think they need more time, more tools or a better process. Usually, what's missing is room to see the pattern, and to choose differently while it's happening.

What change are you looking for?

  • Staying calm and clear when a technical buyer asks the question you didn't prepare for.
  • Moving from feature tours to real conversations with customers.
  • Setting boundaries with AEs and stakeholders without losing trust.
  • Getting your time back from the tasks you are too good at to delegate.
  • Finding out what you actually want from the next chapter of your career.

How it works: Forward and Deepen

Action and learning, in every session

Forward

We move toward what you want to change. You leave each session with a concrete commitment: what you will do, when, and how you will know.

Deepen

We look at what happened and what you learned from it. Action without reflection is just being busy. The learning is what makes the change stick.

  • You set the agenda. I manage the process.
  • We meet as equals. You are the expert on your work and your life.
  • Between sessions, you try things out in real customer meetings. That's where the change happens.
Read more: 'Forward and Deepen' →
Björn Bredenkamp at a flipchart, explaining an architecture sketch.

The coaching

Six sessions, or one

Most clients start with the package. A single session works when you already know what you need.

Coaching package

€1,225–1,7506 sessions

  • About three months, sessions usually every two weeks
  • First session, 90 minutes: your values, your inner team and your goals for the coaching
  • Four sessions of 60 minutes
  • Last session, 90 minutes: a formal completion that brings everything together against your original goals
Start with a Chemistry Call

Single session

€175–25060 minutes

  • For people who have been coached before
  • You come with a defined topic, or an important event to prepare for
  • Booked online, with a short guide to get the most out of it
Start with a Chemistry Call ›

Fees are on a sliding scale from €175 to €250 per hour. You choose where you sit: the lower end if you pay yourself or are early in your career, the upper end if your employer pays or you're in a senior leadership role. These are final prices: as a small business, I don't charge VAT (§ 19 UStG).

WhereOnline, or on-site at your company (travel billed separately)
LanguageEnglish or German
ReschedulingFree up to 24 hours before a session

Why work with Björn

Before he became a coach, Björn spent 25 years in Sales Engineering, IT architecture and technical and sales enablement, among other roles as an IBM-accredited IT Solution Architect and Technical Product Advocate.

So he knows where training ends and coaching begins. And he knows the pressure of a live demo from the inside, not from a textbook.

25
years in Sales Engineering, IT architecture and enablement
600+
people reached through the enablement he built
10+
Sales Kickoffs supported
250+
hours of coaching practice
CPCC
Certified Professional Co-Active Coach, working to the Code of Ethics of the International Coaching Federation (ICF)

It's about chemistry

Coaching only works if the fit is right. So we start with a Chemistry Call.

30 minutes, free.

Bring one situation you haven't solved yet.

I ask questions and tell you what I notice.

You'll leave with a clearer view of it than you came in with.

An honest answer.

If coaching looks useful for you, we talk about how. If it doesn't, I'll say so.

No pitch. A conversation between professionals, on equal terms.

Book a Chemistry Call

Questions you might have

Can my employer pay for it?

Yes, and many clients use their development budget. When your employer pays, there is an orientation meeting with your manager or HR at the start, a three-way alignment meeting where your manager shares their view, and a joint review at the end.

What does my employer learn about the sessions?

Only that you attended. What we talk about stays between us. I encourage you to share your insights with your manager, but that's your decision.

How do I choose my rate on the sliding scale?

You decide. The lower end is for people who pay themselves or are early in their career, the upper end for employer-paid coaching or senior leadership roles. No proof needed.

What happens after the Chemistry Call?

Package: you get an agreement and a getting-started guide. Once it's signed, you receive the invoice and a discovery questionnaire about how you see yourself. Give it some time; the questions are unusual for many people. We set the first session within two weeks.

Single session: you get a booking link and a short guide to get the most out of coaching.

What if I need to reschedule?

Move or cancel up to 24 hours before a session at no cost. After that, the session counts as taken.

How long does coaching take?

The package runs about three months, with a session every two weeks. A single session is 60 minutes and stands on its own.

I have been doing this for 15 years. Is coaching still for me?

Yes. Most of the patterns on this page come with experience, not with a lack of it. The longer something has worked, the harder it is to see.

Can I deduct the cost?

If you pay yourself, coaching can be tax-deductible in Germany when it has a concrete connection to your current or intended job: as Werbungskosten if you are employed, or as a business expense if you are self-employed. Whether the tax office accepts it depends on your specific work, so please check with your tax advisor. You get a proper invoice either way.

General questions about coaching, certification and choosing a coach →

How I think about this

When Silence Speaks First

Why “Any questions?” at the end of a demo often hides the moment the customer checked out, and what the inner voice that takes over under pressure has to do with it.

Read the article →

All insights →

“The customer's silence is rarely the problem. Our silence with ourselves is.”

I provide the space for change when rational perfectionism isn't enough anymore.

Book a Chemistry Call