Commercial engineering is a specialty that combines strong business acumen with in-depth technical knowledge. Sales engineers work to define, propose and sell a solution to companies. It is a high-level profession whose environment is exclusively B to B.
What is sales engineering?
Commercial engineering is, as its name indicates, a clever mix of two profiles, commercial and engineering, and above all the skills to which they refer. However, this specialty is aimed at people who are more attracted to sales, since the primary function of the sales engineer is to sell and not to design the products he sells.
Commercial engineering is concerned with the design of technical answers to companies' problems: it sells products or services developed by engineers, adapting them to the customer's expectations. This implies, of course, a deep technical knowledge as well as a complete business management capacity. Indeed, the sales engineer is responsible for the entire sales cycle: from prospecting to negotiation and customer follow-up.
The job of Sales Engineer
The sales engineer, or business engineer, whether he or she has an engineering or business background, is primarily responsible for selling the company's products and services. They have a real business approach, supported by their second technical hat. It is thanks to his double profile that he is able on the one hand to propose what is best for his client company, to explain the advantages and to negotiate prices and contracts, and on the other hand to translate the needs to the engineers, and to follow up the sites, production, etc., while being aware of the technical aspects and constraints. He works to complete his mission in project mode.
Fields of activity: the sales engineer works for companies in the industrial, telecommunications, IT, construction and aeronautics sectors. They may be very large groups or small innovative startups.
Customer prospecting :
- Identification
- Communication: calls, emails
- Meetings: trade shows, events
- Product demonstration
The sales engineer's mission is to find new customers: he/she identifies the players in the market that concerns him/her, in order to enrich his/her contact book. If he is experienced in a particular sector, he has at his disposal a network built up through professional meetings, trade shows and other professional events. His sense of contact and the power of his network are his best assets. He can also organize demonstrations of his products to the targets he has identified, or to his already known customers if they are new products.
Sales :
- Analysis of needs
- Response to calls for tender
- Presentation to the customer
- Negotiation
The sales engineer defines the specifications with his client in order to meet his demands by composing an appropriate commercial proposal. Everything rests on him because he must gain his client's trust by adapting his response, while taking into account the various technical constraints.
He presents his proposal and manages the negotiations of price, sales conditions or contract (depending on whether it is the sale of a tool, the leasing of a machine or a maintenance contract, etc). The quality of the exchanges and contacts that he maintains with his clients is a key factor in the success of his mission.
Project design and follow-up :
- Follow-up of customer requests, technical assistance
- Relay with the manufacturing teams, design and production follow-up
- Development of new products
The sales engineer may be required to submit specific requests to the production teams in order to create customized and/or innovative solutions for his client company.
The qualities and skills of the sales engineer
Commercial temperament and technical knowledge make the sales engineer the most valuable contact for his customer and his company. His thorough and complete understanding of his product allows him to translate the technology used to his customer and the needs of his customer to the production teams.
- In-depth and high-level technical knowledge & Project management
- Ability to think of solutions
- Sharp and innovative mind
- Curiosity and mastery of the evolutions of the technologies of his market
- Complete autonomy
- Ability to convince, to negotiate
- Relational skills, and ability to adapt and build relationships with customers
- Resistance to stress
- Flexibility and mobility
What training is required to become a sales engineer?
Sales engineers are sought after for their ability to be reactive, to make proposals and to convince. These qualities require a solid and extensive knowledge base with a 5-year degree. The best training courses for developing the necessary intellectual agility are both theoretical, for a good culture, and practical, to acquire professional reflexes.
Recruiters' favorite candidates come from the two types of schools that make up the double specialization of the sales engineer:
Business schools: Management, project management and business development will be completed by a year of technical specialization to be selected according to the sector of activity.
Engineering schools: this technical training can be completed by a commercial/business specialization, either within the school that offers it or within a business school.
Salaries and career opportunities in commercial engineering
The sales engineer is a high-level job that represents a great responsibility and a primary function within the company since it is the sales engineer who brings in customers and sales figures. Salaries are therefore adapted to the position and generally consist of a fixed salary and bonuses based on the sales achieved.
In France, salaries for beginners are around €40,000 gross per year, with an average of around €50,000 per year excluding bonuses. Just like the fixed salary, the bonus portions are very variable depending on the company, the sector, the product or service sold, etc. ranging from the IT startup to the aeronautical equipment manufacturer operating on an international market (from 35K to 300K).
Average salary in US : $78761 per year, in UK : £65 000.
Business engineers can experience significant career development during their lifetime by working for increasingly large companies in their field or by entering international markets. They may reach management positions, or move towards entrepreneurship and new challenges, which are often an important part of their aspirations.
