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Sales Engineers
Sell business goods or services, the selling of which requires a technical background equivalent to a baccalaureate degree in engineering.
Also Known As:
Business Development Engineer
Inside Sales Engineer
Product Sales Engineer
Sales Applications Engineer
Sales Engineer
Technical Marketing Engineer
Technical Sales Engineer
Wages
Annual wages for Sales Engineers in United States
Job Outlook
Bright
New job opportunities are very likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
59,900
6% Change From 2024
Explore Sales Engineers video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Diagnose problems with installed 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.
- Plan and modify product configurations to meet customer needs.
- Visit prospective buyers at commercial, industrial, or other establishments to show samples or catalogs, and to inform them about product pricing, availability, and advantages.
- Maintain sales forecasting reports.
- Identify resale opportunities and support them to achieve sales plans.
- Attend company training seminars to become familiar with product lines.
- Attend trade shows and seminars to promote products or to learn about industry developments.
- Secure and renew orders and arrange delivery.
- Sell products requiring extensive technical expertise and support for installation and use, such as material handling equipment, numerical-control machinery, or computer systems.
- Develop, present, or respond to proposals for specific customer requirements, including request for proposal responses and industry-specific solutions.
- Confer with customers and engineers to assess equipment needs and to determine system requirements.
- Research and identify potential customers for products or services.
- Train team members in the customer applications of technologies.
- Provide technical and non-technical support and services to clients or other staff members regarding the use, operation, and maintenance of equipment.
- Provide information needed for the development of custom-made machinery.
- Report to supervisors about prospective firms' credit ratings.
- 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.
- Arrange for demonstrations or trial installations of equipment.
- Confer with customers and engineers to assess equipment needs and to determine system requirements.
- Document account activities, generate reports, and keep records of business transactions with customers and suppliers.
- Develop sales plans to introduce products in new markets.
- Write technical documentation for products.
- Prepare and deliver technical presentations that explain products or services to customers and prospective customers.
- Create sales or service contracts for products or services.
- Prepare and deliver technical presentations that explain products or services to customers and prospective customers.
- Visit prospective buyers at commercial, industrial, or other establishments to show samples or catalogs, and to inform them about product pricing, availability, and advantages.
- Prepare and deliver technical presentations that explain products or services to customers and prospective customers.
- Recommend improved materials or machinery to customers, documenting how such changes will lower costs or increase production.
- Recommend improved materials or machinery to customers, documenting how such changes will lower costs or increase production.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge 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.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge 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.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge 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.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")