Career Profile: Sales Engineers

Salary and Outlook

According to the US Department of Labor, there are 60,700 people employed as sales engineers in the United States. The median annual salary is $103,710. Entry level employees earn approximately $62,300 per year and senior employees earn approximately $182,850 per year.

Estimates do not include other potential benefits such as health insurance, overtime, or retirement benefits that may be offered by employers.

Job Duties

• 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.
• 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.
• Write technical documentation for products.
• Identify resale opportunities and support them to achieve sales plans.
• Secure and renew orders and arrange delivery.
• 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.

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