Technical Sales

MANY products and services, especially those purchased by large companies and institutions, are highly complex. Sales engineers, also known as manufacturer's agents, sales representatives, or technical sales support executives, work with the production, engineering, or research and development departments

Selling is an important part of the job. Sales engineers use their technical skills to demonstrate to potential customers how and why the products would suit the customer better than a competitor's products. In some instances, there may not be a direct competitive product. In such cases, the sales engineer's job is to demonstrate the usefulness of the product or service, for example, how much money a new production machinery would save.
Sales engineers require at least a diploma in a related discipline. Most hold a bachelor's degree in engineering and some experience in a related industry is a prerequisite. This experience is crucial as engineers apply the theories and principles of science and mathematics to solve technical problems. Their work is the link between scientific discoveries and commercial applications. Many sales engineers specialise in an area related to an engineering specialty. For example, sales engineers selling chemical products may have chemical engineering backgrounds, while those selling business software or information systems have qualifications in computer engineering.