Sales Engineering 2025 Survey Results

A practitioner-led report pairing a community survey with expert commentary from NAASE board members.

Sales Engineering Signals 2025 is NAASE’s practitioner-led mini report on how Sales Engineering teams are staffed, measured, and evolving. It pairs a short community mini-survey with expert commentary to translate the charts into practical implications and operating-model decisions

What stood out

A few directional signals surfaced clearly in this edition:

• Most teams avoid a single KPI for evaluating SEs. Performance reviews and compensation most often reflect a blend of signals rather than a single number.
• There is no universal “right” AE-to-SE ratio. Coverage models vary widely, suggesting teams are designing for deal complexity and motion rather than a fixed benchmark.
• The SE role is broader than presales in many organizations. Respondents report involvement across renewals or expansion, enablement, and product feedback, creating value but also role-boundary pressure.
• Win rate is the most commonly cited measurable value, but not the only one. Strategic account influence and de-risking work also appear frequently, with experience shaping how SEs describe their impact.
• The most common frictions are operational, not technical. Workload and time pressure, plus insufficient discovery or qualification from AEs, show up as major drivers of reactive work.
• AI use is already common, while guidance is uneven. Individual adoption is ahead of policy maturity at many companies, creating a practical gray zone that leaders need to address with guardrails and approved workflows.

Why this report is different

Most charts include an expert lens from NAASE board members and practitioners. The goal is not to over-generalize from a small sample, but to combine community signals with experienced interpretation that leaders can use to pressure-test their operating model, metrics, and role design.

Method note

Responses were collected December 16, 2025 to January 5, 2026 (N = 42). The survey was voluntary and self-selected, so results are directional. Treat them as signals for comparison and conversation, not as industry-wide benchmarks.

Get involved

If you want to contribute to future editions or share feedback, register in the NAASE member portal and join the community shaping the next set of Signals.