Sales engineers are the Swiss Army knife of sales professionals. They must have the skills required by all sales reps, like soft skills, business acumen, and effective communication. Plus, they need technical knowledge, be problem solvers, and be able to juggle various tasks, such as writing technical content and collateral.
They straddle multiple teams in their day-to-day such as sales, marketing, and engineering. The best sales engineers do this to appear effortless while boosting win rates and helping drive more revenue to the bottom line. So, what do these winning sales engineers do that makes them better than the rest?
Tailor sales messaging for various audiences
Influential sales engineers develop messages that resonate with various prospect types like management, technical users, and executives. This demonstrates the sales engineer’s skills, technical knowledge, and understanding of customer problems.
Act as a resource
Sales engineers understand their clients’ needs and talk about the product through their day-to-day interactions with customers. The best sales engineers go above and beyond by sharing these valuable insights with other departments. They provide Marketing with insights into how customers talk about your product, so marketing messaging is always in sync with customers’ language. Sales engineers share customers’ feedback and requests with Engineering to prioritize product updates and new features.
Have a comprehensive technical background
Winning sales engineers leverage their technical expertise to:
- Understand how other software and technologies the customer uses relate to your product and impact its effectiveness.
- Know the limitations of your product’s capabilities, enabling them to avoid making false promises to the prospect.
- Discern competitive differences to highlight why your product is a better choice for the prospect.
- Recognize alternative approaches to solving prospects’ problems and effectively compare the associated costs.
Have business knowledge
Sales Engineers understand their customers’ businesses, goals, and challenges, enabling them to build trust through empathy and ask more meaningful discovery questions.
Are adaptable
Successful sales engineers can adjust their approach and communications based on their audience. They can easily alternate between personal and technical topics and express them clearly. This leads to better relationships.
Are effective presenters
Winning sales engineers know how to clearly and concisely present concepts and demos tailored to the prospect’s needs, challenges, and goals, leading to more closed deals.
Understand the sales process
Outstanding sales engineers are familiar with the sales process and always know what needs to happen next to advance the sale.
Are curious by nature
Effective sales engineers are active listeners and dig deeper to understand better the prospects' needs, problems, and goals. This enables them to craft the most appealing solution for each potential customer.
Think outside the box
Top sales engineers are creative when designing solutions by offering technical and process alternatives that enable prospects to meet their goals more thoroughly and efficiently.
Ready to help your sales engineer shine? Schedule a demo with a team member to see how Demostack can simplify demo customization.
