Sales Engineers Occupation Details

General Job Description and Education/Training Levels for Sales Engineers

The main tasks and work activities of Sales Engineers are to discuss design or technical features of products or services with technical personnel, gather customer or product information to determine customer needs, share sales-related or market information with colleagues, arrange delivery of goods or services. In general, for the Sales Engineers, persuasion, speaking, reading Comprehension, social Perceptiveness and other 17 skills are required.

Sales Engineers Job Description
Education	Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Related Experience	A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Job Training	Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Example	Many of these occupations involve coordinating, supervising, managing, or training others. Examples include real estate brokers, sales managers, database administrators, graphic designers, chemists, art directors, and cost estimators.

The following chart shows the education/training levels for Sales Engineers jobs. 9.76% of Sales Engineers have High School Diploma (or the equivalent) and 3.72% of Sales Engineers have Post-Secondary Certificate.

Less than a High School Diploma

0.00%

High School Diploma (or the equivalent)

9.76%

Post-Secondary Certificate

3.72%

Some College Courses

0.06%

Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree)

23.57%

Bachelor's Degree and Above

62.89%

Tasks and Work Activities of Sales Engineers

Plan and modify product configurations to meet customer needs.
Confer with customers and engineers to assess equipment needs and to determine system requirements.
Collaborate with sales teams to understand customer requirements, to promote the sale of company products, and to provide sales support.
Secure and renew orders and arrange delivery.
Develop, present, or respond to proposals for specific customer requirements, including request for proposal responses and industry-specific solutions.
Sell products requiring extensive technical expertise and support for installation and use, such as material handling equipment, numerical-control machinery, or computer systems.
Diagnose problems with installed equipment.
Recommend improved materials or machinery to customers, documenting how such changes will lower costs or increase production.
Prepare and deliver technical presentations that explain products or services to customers and prospective customers.
Provide technical and non-technical support and services to clients or other staff members regarding the use, operation, and maintenance of equipment.
Research and identify potential customers for products or services.
Visit prospective buyers at commercial, industrial, or other establishments to show samples or catalogs, and to inform them about product pricing, availability, and advantages.
Create sales or service contracts for products or services.
Arrange for demonstrations or trial installations of equipment.
Keep informed on industry news and trends, products, services, competitors, relevant information about legacy, existing, and emerging technologies, and the latest product-line developments.
Attend company training seminars to become familiar with product lines.
Provide information needed for the development of custom-made machinery.
Write technical documentation for products.
Develop sales plans to introduce products in new markets.
Identify resale opportunities and support them to achieve sales plans.

Communicating with Persons Outside OrganizationCommunicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
Selling or Influencing OthersConvincing others to buy merchandise/goods or to otherwise change their minds or actions.
Interacting With ComputersUsing computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal RelationshipsDeveloping constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or SubordinatesProviding information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Making Decisions and Solving ProblemsAnalyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Getting InformationObserving, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing WorkDeveloping specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
Analyzing Data or InformationIdentifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.
Thinking CreativelyDeveloping, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.

Discuss design or technical features of products or services with technical personnel.
Gather customer or product information to determine customer needs.
Share sales-related or market information with colleagues.
Arrange delivery of goods or services.
Sell products or services.
Develop proposals for current or prospective customers.
Recommend products or services to customers.
Explain financial information to customers.
Deliver promotional presentations to current or prospective customers.
Explain technical product or service information to customers.
Develop content for sales presentations or other materials.
Advise customers on the use of products or services.
Identify potential customers.
Contact current or potential customers to promote products or services.
Demonstrate products to consumers.
Prepare sales or other contracts.
Monitor market conditions or trends.
Attend events to develop professional knowledge.
Develop marketing plans or strategies.
Maintain records of sales or other business transactions.

Skills and Abilities for Sales Engineers

PersuasionPersuading others to change their minds or behavior.
SpeakingTalking to others to convey information effectively.
Reading ComprehensionUnderstanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Social PerceptivenessBeing aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Critical ThinkingUsing logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Active ListeningGiving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
WritingCommunicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
NegotiationBringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Judgment and Decision MakingConsidering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Service OrientationActively looking for ways to help people.
Time ManagementManaging one's own time and the time of others.
Systems EvaluationIdentifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Systems AnalysisDetermining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Active LearningUnderstanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Complex Problem SolvingIdentifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
CoordinationAdjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
InstructingTeaching others how to do something.
MonitoringMonitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Learning StrategiesSelecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
MathematicsUsing mathematics to solve problems.

Oral ExpressionThe ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Oral ComprehensionThe ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Written ComprehensionThe ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Speech RecognitionThe ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Inductive ReasoningThe ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Speech ClarityThe ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Deductive ReasoningThe ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Written ExpressionThe ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Problem SensitivityThe ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Near VisionThe ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Fluency of IdeasThe ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
Information OrderingThe ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Category FlexibilityThe ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
OriginalityThe ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
Number FacilityThe ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
Mathematical ReasoningThe ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
Selective AttentionThe ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
Flexibility of ClosureThe ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
MemorizationThe ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.

Desktop computerse.g. Desktop computers
Notebook computerse.g. Laptop computers
Mainframe computerse.g. Mainframe computers
Personal computerse.g. Personal computers

Sales and MarketingKnowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Customer and Personal ServiceKnowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Computers and ElectronicsKnowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Engineering and TechnologyKnowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
English LanguageKnowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
MathematicsKnowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Sales Engineers Occupation Detailed Description

Tasks and Work Activities of Sales Engineers

Skills and Abilities for Sales Engineers