What is a Sales Engineer

We’re the guys who do all the work so you can collect your commission checks. 🙂

Just kidding (mostly).

The Sales Engineer is responsible for the technical portion of the sales cycle.

If you’re selling a complex enterprise solution, it’s likely you’re selling as an account team. Ex: A sales rep working with a Sales Engineer (SE).

We show the customer how the stuff works and make sure the solution can (and will) deliver value.

But the SE is more than just a tech nerd. They have to be able to sell.

Translating complex tech topics into easily understandable language is the mark of a great SE.

The Sales Engineer makes the hard things look easy.

The list is long! Most of the time, we do whatever it takes to win deals.

This includes things like:

- Demos
- Technical presentations
- Sizing/scoping of licenses and hardware
- Building relationships with customers and prospects
- Product expertise (not just your own product)
- And much more.

We love them - mostly!

We wouldn’t make the kind of money we do without them.

They get the responsibility of making quota, while we just get paid.

A tight partnership between an AE and SE is a beautiful thing to watch. It’s a work marriage that actually works, and they can get rich together (which is a nice bonus).

Dedicated pre-sales engineer OTEs average between $175k-$240k, if you’re in the field selling to enterprise customers.

If you’re more senior you can make more. I you’re more junior, less.

Sometimes, companies have inside SEs who are fully remote, and many resellers have “hybrid” SEs who handle both pre-sales and post-sales projects.

Most SEs start out working in IT.

They gain hands-on experience and specialize in a certain area (networking, security, storage, cloud, etc). Over time, they build connections with vendors, resellers, and integrators, and ultimately get the opportunity to make the jump to SE.

For most, it’s an accidental transition, ex: they get approached by a vendor.

This is why many SEs have 10-15+ years of tech experience before becoming an SE.

But you can dramatically shortcut this process if your goal is to become a Sales Engineer.

Hiring managers are looking for 3 things:

- Technical knowledge.
- Sales skills.
- Low risk.

If you check these 3 boxes, you have a great chance of getting hired.

Build technical knowledge through hands-on experience, industry knowledge, and certifications. Build sales skills by watching how vendors structure their conversations with you.

And make yourself a safe candidate to hire (low risk).

This means building connections with the team ahead of the hiring process, writing your resume and LinkedIn to emphasize SE qualities, and being intentional about your technical path and career goals.

In my (unbiased) opinion, being a Sales Engineer is the best job in corporate America.

It pays well, has a lot of freedom, and many opportunities for networking and upward career mobility.