What is a Sales Engineer?

Considering that the members of SalesMecca.com are varied and diverse, many of you either may not understand the role of a Sales Engineer or have not had to work with someone in this role. There are also some of you that are graduating college with a sales degree and may not be familiar with the role of a Sales Engineer in the sales process.

Some familiar titles to describe the role of Sales Engineer include: Pre-sales engineer, Systems Engineer, Pre-sales Support, Technical Sales Engineer, SE, Solution Consultants, Technical Product Specialist, plus many more. Just as there are many titles to describe the Sales Engineer, there are just as many definitions of the role.

The U.S. Department of Labor describes the Sales Engineer role as follows:

“Sales Engineers sell and consult on technologically and scientifically advanced products. They should possess extensive knowledge of these products, including their components and processes. Sales Engineers then use their technical skills to demonstrate to potential customers how and why the products or services they are selling would suit the customer better than competitor's products.”

A common misconception of the role of the Sales Engineer is that their sole responsibility is to demonstrate product. Although many organizations do expect the Sales Engineer to demonstrate the product, the role goes well beyond product demonstration.

Complicated product or service sales will require the conveyance of very technical information. In addition, the prospective customers may need to understand how products or services will truly integrate into their environment. It is the role of the sales engineer to address this part of the sale. They will need to rely on their technical background to address prospective customer concerns around integration.

Although many sales engineers find their way into this role after first working as a product engineer, this is not the only approach to landing a job in this role. It is not uncommon that product consultants, trainers or even technical sales representatives become sales engineers.

The most successful sales engineers possess a balance of technical acumen and business savvy. They generally are very good presenters and understand sales processes and methodologies.