Every company needs some sales rep to increase its sales volume and meet the monthly sales volume. However, companies with technologically advanced products and services always hire a sales engineer, a professional who combines technical knowledge with sales skills to hit sales targets every year. In this post, I will explain what a sales engineer does, what skills he needs to work well on his job, and how to become one. Let's start getting details one by one. 

Who is a Sales Engineer?

He is a specialist in the sales department. It is often called a sales expert who tries to facilitate the sales process for scientifically advanced products and services. One can find a job role in the B2B market, where that professional has to deal with a complex business product's sales procedure. 

An engineer of a sales department gathers all the technical knowledge of a product and service and then explains these aspects to his clients or sales rep. The purpose is to close the deal after providing all the vital information. He tries to bridge the gap between sales and product development. With his applied technical knowledge, he tries to convince clients to take an interest in the company's product and service. Besides, he works closely with sales reps and explains best selling points, which help them meet monthly and annual sale targets without much difficulty.

Work Environment 

Many sales engineers spend more time traveling for meetings with clients. If a company works on a global scale, this sales expert would often travel to different countries. It's normal to work on off-working hours and overtime to complete sales targets. 

He often creates the best sales strategies through which a company can enhance its sales volume easily. He works with his sales team most of the time and explains the technical aspects of a product/service in detail. 

Some Sales engineers work as self-employed people who run their own sales agencies and offer companies a chance to boost their sales via expert services. Every company wants to meet its sales target, so when these sales engineers come to help them, it's hard for them to deny such a lucrative offer. 

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Sales Engineer Skills

Here are some skills that a sales specialist must have to perform well in this job.

Technical Skills

A sales engineer must have a technical mind to become successful in this job role. For example, if a person works for a software company. He first needs to get a complete understanding of every technical aspect of software that company offers. After this knowledge gain, he would explain every single thing to his sales team and sales rep. He will meet with clients and explain how technical aspects of a product would add value to their business. 

Team player

Every sales engineer has to work closely with a sales team. Thereby, he must be a team player. Delegating all the tasks and explaining the technical aspects of a product in an easy to understand manner is one of the primary skills every sales expert must possess. 

On this job, he needs to build sales strategies. There is a close partnership of sales engineers, and rep must serve their ideal customers better. Many sales reps have to create an enticing presentation for a product or service. It's the engineer who will share the best talking points that would convince the customer.

Problem Solving Skills

There is a need to understand the main problems faced by clients in their business. Once a sales expert knows the issues, the next step is to create a sales strategy through which the company's product would be presented as the best solution. No B2B company would be interested in an innovative product unless it serves customers' needs well. So, when an engineer of a sales department has problem-solving skills, he can develop the most convincing points during client meetings. He can tell clients how his product would benefit the client's company in the future.

Sales Skills

A person can't become the best sales engineer unless he has sound knowledge and experience in the sales field. Thereby, many people gain field experience for almost two or three years to develop sales skills. They work as a sales rep or with a sales rep to have a complete understanding of the sales department. This skill-building is later combined with technical knowledge of the company's offers, and this combination is essential to generate remarkable sales volume.

Communication and Interpersonal skills

The best sales engineer is one who possesses excellent communication and interpersonal skills. His job is all about communication. Inside the company, he works with the sales rep team, and outside the company, he works with clients. 

During the presentation, he often has to address technical questions and concerns. The best one would explain most technical aspects in a least-technical way. 

What Does a Sale Engineer Do? Duties and Responsibilities

Before you make up your mind about a Sales engineering job, you must be interested to know how a typical day for an engineer is. What does he do in his routine life? Here are some duties and responsibilities that come alongside this job role.

• For meeting the company's sales target, searching for new clients who can boost sales volume and can make the most from the company's product/services.
• Traveling to have meetings with potential clients.
• Expanding professional networks by creating new relationships and maintaining existing ones in the business world. 
• Trying to meet customer's requirements and specifications.
• Convincing clients that only the company's product can best serve their needs.
• Calculating and sending quotes for clients.
• Negotiation with clients and trying to close the deal with the mutually agreed terms and conditions of a contract.
• Providing after-sale support options
• Managing and monitoring clients accounts
• Analyzing sales volume and creating frequent sales reports for stakeholders and head office 
• Creating sales strategies and meeting the sale targets
• Coordinating sales projects with the sales rep team
• Keeping a full record of client's sale data and contacts
• Liaising with sales rep team and meeting with technical experts
• Offering pre-sale product technical knowledge and education
• Addressing clients issue and concerns 
• Working with the design and development department for the creation of custom-made products 
• Making it easy to understand presentation of advanced and technical product/services 
• Attending marketing events, conferences, seminars, and trade shows
• Creating training and support material for the Sales department

How to Become a Sales Engineer?

As you have a complete idea of what a sales engineer does and what skills are required for the job, the next thing to understand is what qualifications are required to become a sales engineer. 

Qualification/Education: 

Many sales engineers start their careers after getting a graduation degree in engineering. Some companies also accept graduates with other subjects like science, math, IT, or business and offer on-job training.  For making graduates well-versed with the field, well-known brands offer graduate training programs. According to these programs, a fresh graduate takes an entry into the physical market and works with a full-time sales rep.  Besides, he also learns about every single aspect of this field through classroom training.

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Graduation is the only requirement to become a sales engineer. However, some other people seek post-graduation later in their career. This advanced degree aims to gain further knowledge so that they can land on management or senior-management level positions in the company.

Some sales engineers work for less-technical companies. For example, their job is to boost sales of drones and home security systems. Other sales engineers work with government and public utilities, for instance, selling software for aviation authorities and departments. 

Experience: 

Every sales engineer needs to spend at least two years in the physical market. The purpose is to gain experience and understanding of sales skills. They can become a sales rep team leader without getting any knowledge of how the sales market works. Theoretical knowledge isn't good enough; thereby, every company sends fresh graduates to fields with practical world exposure and experience.

Sales Training: 

The third most important thing to become a sales engineer is to complete your sales training. As you have to work with the company's clients, you must know how to convince them. Besides, you would draft sales strategies to boost sales volume and meet all the targets. You will have to work on your technical knowledge and sales training to excel in this career.

Sales negotiation is one of the critical aspects of this job role. You don't have to convince clients to take an interest in your products and get a complete idea of how to negotiate contract terms and conditions.

Networking knowledge is vital to becoming a successful sales engineer. Your job requires you to stay in touch with the client base.  It's essential to know the best way to attract customers and maintain a long-lasting relationship with them by meeting their needs and requirements.

As your job role involves drafting quotations, you must know how to put together a great proposal. Many people opt for advanced studies to understand business aspects better and develop the most effective sales strategies. Many employers fund postgraduate research of their high-performing employees.

How much does a Sales Engineer make in the UK?

A graduate person often starts his career with an entry-level job and can earn starting salaries of £24,000 – £30,000. Once he starts gaining experience over the years, he can be promoted to a middle-management or senior sales role, and it's where his earning potential boosts up, and he can earn up to £35,000 – £80,000.

Many companies offer entry-level jobs commission-based. That means if an engineer can sell more, he can earn more. Other companies reward their employees on a performance basis. This job also involves many incentives, such as cars from the company side and private health insurance.

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Wrap up

Finally, you have an idea of what a sales engineer does and how you can become one. This specific job role is undoubtedly for you if you are ready to work in a challenging environment. You would be working under a lot of stress, as you will have to create the most effective sales strategies and meet monthly sales goals. Your job depends on your performance, especially the entry-level one. If you perform one, you can earn more. A person who is ready to learn non-stop during his career and doesn't mind using his problem-solving skills can work well in this career. If you can meet the annual sales target, you would earn a big reward, and every company will be ready to open its door for you; since you have outstanding sales skills that are worth a lot in every market.