28 Key Attributes Sales Engineers Need To Succeed In Their Career

by Ethan Jones

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Sales engineers sell business goods or services, the selling of which requires a technical background equivalent to a baccalaureate degree in engineering.

The core tasks that sales engineers are likely to carry out include:

Plan and modify product configurations to meet customer needs.
Collaborate with sales teams to understand customer requirements, to promote the sale of company products, and to provide sales support.
Confer with customers and engineers to assess equipment needs and to determine system requirements.
Secure and renew orders and arrange delivery.
Develop, present, or respond to proposals for specific customer requirements, including request for proposal responses and industry-specific solutions.
Sell products requiring extensive technical expertise and support for installation and use, such as material handling equipment, numerical-control machinery, and computer systems.

In order to successfully forge ahead with their careers, analysts in a survey carried out by U.S. Department of Labor (via O*NET) have marked out the following as important attributes that sales engineers would need. These attributes have been selected from characteristics and requirements strongly associated with the occupation. They are

Abilities: Enduring attributes of the individual that influence performance
Interests: Preferences for work environments. Occupational Interest Profiles (OIPs) are compatible with Holland's (1985, 1997) model of personality types and work environments. Six interest categories are used to describe the work environment of occupations: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. An OIP consists of six numerical scores indicating how descriptive and characteristic each work environment (or interest area) is for an occupation
Knowledge: Organized sets of principles and facts applying in general domains
Skills: These include basic skills, which are developed capacities that facilitate learning or the more rapid acquisition of knowledge. Plus cross-functional skills, which are developed capacities that facilitate performance of activities that occur across jobs
Style: Personal characteristics that can affect how well someone performs a job

We have listed out attributes which were scored 80% or more in terms of importance by the analysts.

Having a strong preference for enterprising work environments. Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
Attribute Type: Interests Score: 100%

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.
Attribute Type: Knowledge Score: 92.4%

Being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 92%

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.
Attribute Type: Knowledge Score: 90.6%

A willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 90.4%

Developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 88%

Persistence in the face of obstacles.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 87.8%

Establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 87.2%

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.
Attribute Type: Knowledge Score: 87.2%

Being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 87%

Being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 86.8%

The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Attribute Type: Abilities Score: 85%

Being honest and ethical.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 84.8%

Accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 83%

Maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 82.6%

The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Attribute Type: Abilities Score: 82.6%

The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Attribute Type: Abilities Score: 82.6%

The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Attribute Type: Abilities Score: 82.6%

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Attribute Type: Skills Score: 82.4%

Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Attribute Type: Skills Score: 82.4%

Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Attribute Type: Skills Score: 82.4%

Being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 82%

Analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 81.8%

A willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 80%

Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Attribute Type: Skills Score: 80%

Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Attribute Type: Skills Score: 80%

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Attribute Type: Skills Score: 80%

The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Attribute Type: Abilities Score: 80%