Sales Engineer

Also called: Aeronautical Products Sales Engineer, Aerospace Products Sales Engineer, Agricultural Equipment Sales Engineer, Applications Engineer, Business Development Engineer

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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.

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

Work Context

Telephone — 100% responded "Every day".
Electronic Mail — 85% responded "Every day".
Deal With External Customers — 68% responded "Extremely important".
Contact With Others — 68% responded "Constant contact with others".
Face-to-Face Discussions — 60% responded "Every day".
Coordinate or Lead Others — 57% responded "Very important".
Work With Work Group or Team — 75% responded "Very important".

Work Activities

Communicating with Persons Outside Organization — Communicating 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 Others — Convincing others to buy merchandise/goods or to otherwise change their minds or actions.
Interacting With Computers — Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.

Analyzing Data or Information — Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.

Thinking Creatively — Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.

Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information — Estimating sizes, distances, and quantities; or determining time, costs, resources, or materials needed to perform a work activity.

Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.

Developing Objectives and Strategies — Establishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them.

Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others — Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.

Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.

Scheduling Work and Activities — Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.

Documenting/Recording Information — Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.

Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or People — Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.

Processing Information — Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.

Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others — Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.

Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards — Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.

Provide Consultation and Advice to Others — Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups on technical, systems-, or process-related topics.

Developing and Building Teams — Encouraging and building mutual trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.

Detailed Work Activities

Gather customer or product information to determine customer needs.
Discuss design or technical features of products or services with technical personnel.
Share sales-related or market information with colleagues.
Sell products or services.
Arrange delivery of goods or services.
Develop proposals for current or prospective customers.

Sell products or services.

Explain financial information to customers.

Recommend products or services to customers.

Develop content for sales presentations or other materials.

Explain technical product or service information to customers.

Deliver promotional presentations to current or prospective customers.

Advise customers on the use of products or services.

Identify potential customers.

Demonstrate products to consumers.

Contact current or potential customers to promote products or services.

Prepare sales or other contracts.

Contact current or potential customers to promote products or services.

Monitor market conditions or trends.

Attend events to develop professional knowledge.

Discuss design or technical features of products or services with technical personnel.

Develop marketing plans or strategies.

Identify potential customers.

Maintain records of sales or other business transactions.

Train sales personnel.

Prepare financial documents, reports, or budgets.

Attend events to develop professional knowledge.

Share sales-related or market information with colleagues.

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.

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.

Computers and Electronics

Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Persuasion

Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.

Reading Comprehension

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Social Perceptiveness

Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Critical Thinking

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Active Listening

Giving 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.

Judgment and Decision Making

Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Negotiation

Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.

Writing

Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Complex Problem Solving

Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

Systems Evaluation

Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.

Service Orientation

Actively looking for ways to help people.

Systems Analysis

Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.

Time Management

Managing one's own time and the time of others.

Active Learning

Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

Coordination

Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

Instructing

Teaching others how to do something.

Monitoring

Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Learning Strategies

Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.

Mathematics

Using mathematics to solve problems.

Oral Comprehension

The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Oral Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Written Comprehension

The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

Speech Recognition

The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

Speech Clarity

The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

Inductive Reasoning

The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

Deductive Reasoning

The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

Problem Sensitivity

The 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.

Written Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Fluency of Ideas

The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).

Near Vision

The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

Information Ordering

The 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 Flexibility

The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.

Originality

The 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 Facility

The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.

Mathematical Reasoning

The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.

Selective Attention

The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.

Flexibility of Closure

The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.

Memorization

The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.

People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out.

They do well at jobs that need:

Achievement/Effort

Persistence

Initiative

Leadership

Cooperation

Concern for Others

Social Orientation

Self Control

You might use software like this on the job:

Network monitoring software

Wireshark

Operating system software

Oracle Solaris
UNIX
Shell script
Linux
Hewlett Packard HP-UX

Enterprise resource planning ERP software

Oracle PeopleSoft
MicroStrategy Desktop
SAP Business One
SAP Business Objects
SAP
Ab Initio
Hyperion Solutions Hyperion System 9 Bi+
Informatica Corporation PowerCenter

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