Fostering Collaboration Between Sales Engineers and Account Executives
Designed for Mid-level Sales Engineers and Account Executives in SaaS organizations tasked with pursuing complex enterprise deals and often experiencing friction in deal strategy alignment. to spark real collaboration and high-energy learning.
A 90-minute hybrid workshop hosted at a regional sales enablement meeting. Participants regularly face challenges such as misaligned deal priorities, unclear technical/commercial handoffs, and a lack of mutual understanding of each other's value in the client journey. The group is eager for practical tools but wary of generic 'team-building' activities.
Deal Debrief Mystery
Kick off with a brief, anonymized case study of a recent lost deal—facts only, no names, just what happened. Invite the group to speculate: ‘What do you think went wrong?’ Responses are collected anonymously, sparking curiosity about hidden patterns. The payoff is priming participants to explore underlying collaboration factors.
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Why this works
Curiosity activates engagement by creating a sense of mystery and encouraging hypothesis generation—key for adult learning and opening minds to new perspectives.
Myth-Busting Role Cards
Distribute six cards with common misconceptions (e.g., 'AEs only care about closing,' 'SEs just demo tech') and ask pairs to select one and discuss why it’s false or only partially true, using real client experience. This brings hidden assumptions to light, priming for honest team dialogue.
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Why this works
Uncovering misconceptions enables deeper learning—when participants confront what’s ‘known’ but wrong, they’re more likely to update their mental models.
Silent Job Map Voting
Present a list of key sales journey tasks (e.g., Discovery, Demo, Proposal, Technical Validation). Ask participants to silently vote (with colored stickers or digital polling) who should lead each task: SE, AE, or Both. Reveal the results, showing surprising splits and consensus.
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Why this works
Low-pressure, no-judgment participation builds psychological safety and lets everyone’s voice count before heated debate begins.
Pipeline Tug-of-War
Divide into two teams: Sales Engineers and Account Executives. Each team quickly brainstorms what matters most to them in winning deals. Then, in a lightning round, teams shout out priorities (e.g., technical fit, relationship, speed), and the facilitator scores each for overlap. Energy builds as both sides fight (playfully) for their priorities.
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Why this works
High-energy, competitive exercises boost engagement and highlight shared goals versus perceived gaps—key for breaking down silos.
Client On-the-Line Scenario
Present a real dilemma: The client suddenly requests a technical deep-dive before contract signature, but the AE is on PTO and the SE is unsure about pricing. Small groups role-play how to respond, using both technical and commercial lenses, then report back on their chosen approach and rationale.
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Why this works
Real-world scenarios bridge the gap between theory and practice, pushing participants to collaborate under constraints similar to those faced in live deals.
Personal Collaboration Timeline
Invite each participant to quietly sketch a timeline of their most memorable SE/AE collaboration moment—good or bad. They jot down who was involved, what happened, and one insight about what made the partnership work (or falter). Share in pairs, focusing on personal lessons learned.
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Why this works
Active reflection cements learning by connecting abstract concepts to personal experience—making new behaviors more likely to stick.
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