The 3 Must-Have Skills for a Technical Sales Engineer

Technical sales engineers provide pre- and post-sales technical advice and support about products.

They’re often a key point of contact for clients and answer queries, provide technical advice and demonstrate how to use a new product or service.

A technical sales engineer has moved on from just being an engineer. They have now become a salesperson who happens to be highly knowledgeable about the offered products or services.

Here are the 3 must-have skills for a technical sales engineer.

1. Strong Technical Skills

Any technical sales engineer should have strong technical skills to fully understand the product, the ability to research and analyze what works best for the client’s needs, and how to improve the service or product.

2. Negotiation

Any good sales engineer must possess strong negotiation skills to get a potential client’s focused attention. If your product isn’t exactly what they need, can the product be adjusted to suit? Or is there an improvement that needs to be made prior to the client buying from your company?

3. Customer Service

Congratulations! You’ve made the sale! Now you need to keep your clients happy. If you’re updating or tweaking your product or service to your client needs, have you communicated the desired outcome accurately across multiple teams? Did you clearly explain the technical jargon to non-technical people and listen to the client feedback? Did you relay that feedback to your colleagues to ensure the best products or services.

Ask thoughtful questions to improve understanding or how the product solved, or did not solve, their problem

A technical sales engineer must have strong technical skills, the ability to negotiate, and excellent customer service skills. Begin with on-the-job experience as an engineer, and build your negotiation and communication skills prior to applying for a technical sales engineer position.  Once ready, contact us to help you find the perfect technical sales position!