Sales Engineers

• Summary

• Details

Work Activities

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

Skills

• Judgment and Decision Making
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
• Management of Personnel Resources
  • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
• Active Listening
  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
• Operations Analysis
  • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
• Technology Design
  • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
• Operation and Control
  • Using equipment or systems.
• Quality Control Analysis
  • Testing how well a product or service works.
• Speaking
  • Talking to others.
• Active Learning
  • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
• Systems Evaluation
  • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
• Time Management
  • Managing your time and the time of other people.
• Monitoring
  • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
• Management of Financial Resources
  • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
• Systems Analysis
  • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
• Coordination
  • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
• Persuasion
  • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
• Negotiation
  • Bringing people together to solve differences.
• Instructing
  • Teaching people how to do something.
• Complex Problem Solving
  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
• Repairing
  • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
• Writing
  • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
• Mathematics
  • Using math to solve problems.
• Critical Thinking
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
• Learning Strategies
  • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
• Programming
  • Writing computer programs.
• Troubleshooting
  • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
• Management of Material Resources
  • Managing equipment and materials.
• Installation
  • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
• Equipment Maintenance
  • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
• Equipment Selection
  • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
• Reading Comprehension
  • Reading work-related information.
• Social Perceptiveness
  • Understanding people's reactions.
• Service Orientation
  • Looking for ways to help people.
• Science
  • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
• Operations Monitoring
  • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

Abilities

• Dynamic Flexibility
  • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Category Flexibility
  • Grouping things in different ways.
• Mathematical Reasoning
  • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
• Visualization
  • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
• Number Facility
  • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
• Dynamic Strength
  • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
• Speed of Limb Movement
  • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
• Oral Comprehension
  • Listening and understanding what people say.
• Gross Body Equilibrium
  • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
• Memorization
  • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
• Time Sharing
  • Doing two or more things at the same time.
• Depth Perception
  • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
• Arm-Hand Steadiness
  • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
• Stamina
  • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
• Spatial Orientation
  • Knowing where things are around you.
• Glare Sensitivity
  • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
• Hearing Sensitivity
  • Telling the difference between sounds.
• Selective Attention
  • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
• Information Ordering
  • Ordering or arranging things.
• Perceptual Speed
  • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
• Oral Expression
  • Communicating by speaking.
• Static Strength
  • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
• Multilimb Coordination
  • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
• Explosive Strength
  • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
• Far Vision
  • Seeing details that are far away.
• Auditory Attention
  • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
• Peripheral Vision
  • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
• Speed of Closure
  • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
• Reaction Time
  • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
• Inductive Reasoning
  • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
• Flexibility of Closure
  • Seeing hidden patterns.
• Manual Dexterity
  • Holding or moving items with your hands.
• Wrist-Finger Speed
  • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
• Extent Flexibility
  • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Written Comprehension
  • Reading and understanding what is written.
• Speech Clarity
  • Speaking clearly.
• Control Precision
  • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
• Fluency of Ideas
  • Coming up with lots of ideas.
• Near Vision
  • Seeing details up close.
• Response Orientation
  • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
• Speech Recognition
  • Recognizing spoken words.
• Finger Dexterity
  • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
• Written Expression
  • Communicating by writing.
• Gross Body Coordination
  • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
• Originality
  • Creating new and original ideas.
• Problem Sensitivity
  • Noticing when problems happen.
• Rate Control
  • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
• Trunk Strength
  • Using your lower back and stomach.
• Visual Color Discrimination
  • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
• Night Vision
  • Seeing at night or under low light.
• Sound Localization
  • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
• Deductive Reasoning
  • Using rules to solve problems.

Knowledge

• Personnel and Human Resources
  • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
• Engineering and Technology
  • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Transportation
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
• Law and Government
  • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Production and Processing
  • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• Administrative
  • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
• Physics
  • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
• Medicine and Dentistry
  • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• Mathematics
  • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Sociology and Anthropology
  • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
• 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.
• Administration and Management
  • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Building and Construction
  • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
• Geography
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
• Economics and Accounting
  • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• 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.
• Mechanical
  • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Biology
  • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• Philosophy and Theology
  • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
• Public Safety and Security
  • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• Telecommunications
  • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
• Communications and Media
  • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
• Food Production
  • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
• Chemistry
  • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
• Design
  • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• English Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
• Foreign Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
• Psychology
  • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Therapy and Counseling
  • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
• Computers and Electronics
  • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Education and Training
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Fine Arts
  • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
• History and Archeology
  • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

Education

Education

Bachelor's degree

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

1 to 12 months on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

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Education and Training Opportunities

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Pay

Washington Annual Salary

122240/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

58.77/hr

Washington Employment Trends

Currently Employed

1,260

Yearly Projected Openings

140

Personality

Enterprising: People interested in this work like activities that include leading, making decisions, and business. They do well at jobs that need:

• Attention to Detail
• Integrity
• Dependability
• Independence
• Cooperation
• Initiative

Tools

• Desktop computers
• Mainframe computers
• Notebook computers
• Personal computers

Technology

• Access software
• Administration software
• Application server software
• Authentication server software
• Business intelligence and data analysis software
• Calendar and scheduling software
• Cloud-based data access and sharing software
• Cloud-based management software
• Communications server software
• Computer aided design CAD software
• Content workflow software
• Customer relationship management CRM software
• Data base management system software
• Data base reporting software
• Data base user interface and query software
• Development environment software
• Document management software
• Electronic mail software
• Enterprise application integration software
• Enterprise resource planning ERP software
• Expert system software
• Financial analysis software
• Graphics or photo imaging software
• Internet browser software
• Internet directory services software
• Internet protocol IP multimedia subsystem software
• Network monitoring software
• Network security and virtual private network VPN equipment software
• Network security or virtual private network VPN management software
• Object or component oriented development software
• Office suite software
• Operating system software
• Presentation software
• Process mapping and design software
• Project management software
• Spreadsheet software
• Switch or router software
• Transaction security and virus protection software
• Video conferencing software
• Web platform development software
• Word processing software