2 answers
1
Question
Updated
418 views
How can I become a sales engineer?
Is it better to go into industry and get experience in product design and management or sales experience?
2 answers
Updated
Atul’s Answer
I spent many years as a Sales Engineer, among other roles in my career. To do well in this job, it helps to have an engineering background and know a lot about the product and its features. It's also important to understand the industry and what competitors offer. You should be able to explain why your product is better than others and know where competitors are strong so you can address any weaknesses in your product.
Customers usually know what they want and what features they need, so it's important to understand the product's future plans and explain how these features will help them. Great presentation skills are a must; just reading off slides won't work. Tailor your presentation to fit what each customer needs.
Never lie or make things up to close a deal. This can ruin your reputation and might even cost you your job. Keep learning and talk often with R&D engineers and product managers to understand what makes your product special and how it can improve.
Customers usually know what they want and what features they need, so it's important to understand the product's future plans and explain how these features will help them. Great presentation skills are a must; just reading off slides won't work. Tailor your presentation to fit what each customer needs.
Never lie or make things up to close a deal. This can ruin your reputation and might even cost you your job. Keep learning and talk often with R&D engineers and product managers to understand what makes your product special and how it can improve.
Updated
Dr’s Answer
Hey Sarah! Great question, and you’re already thinking ahead by weighing both the technical and business sides.
Firstly let me say our mentor Tharanian Mahendran made a solid point. Gaining experience either on the engineering side or in a business-facing role like PM or program management can help you build a strong foundation. But here’s the thing, sales engineering lives at the intersection of product knowledge and customer engagement. So ideally, you want to have some exposure to both.
Here is a little something I can recommend which I hope helps out.
I would say, if you want to build deep product expertise first start in a technical role (like product design or engineering). Or, if you're more comfortable with communication and customer interaction, begin in a business role tied closely to the product team (like a technical PM or solutions consultant). From either side, gradually pivot into roles where you’re talking directly with clients, explaining solutions, and translating between technical and non-technical teams, that’s where sales engineering shines.
Hope that helps give you a direction! Feel free to reach out if you need any further questions.
Shadow a current sales engineer if you can—or connect with one on LinkedIn to ask how they got there.
Look for internships or entry-level roles labeled “solutions engineer,” “pre-sales,” or “technical account manager.”
Get familiar with tools like Salesforce, CRMs, and learn how to present technical concepts to different audiences.
Firstly let me say our mentor Tharanian Mahendran made a solid point. Gaining experience either on the engineering side or in a business-facing role like PM or program management can help you build a strong foundation. But here’s the thing, sales engineering lives at the intersection of product knowledge and customer engagement. So ideally, you want to have some exposure to both.
Here is a little something I can recommend which I hope helps out.
I would say, if you want to build deep product expertise first start in a technical role (like product design or engineering). Or, if you're more comfortable with communication and customer interaction, begin in a business role tied closely to the product team (like a technical PM or solutions consultant). From either side, gradually pivot into roles where you’re talking directly with clients, explaining solutions, and translating between technical and non-technical teams, that’s where sales engineering shines.
Hope that helps give you a direction! Feel free to reach out if you need any further questions.
Dr recommends the following next steps:
Delete Comment
Flag Comment