These are common notions about the role of the sales engineer, but they are all very wrong! Sales engineers need to work with sale reps to provide support where needed, and it’s up to sales management to define the role of both reps and engineers to help them work together.
What is the difference between a sales rep and a sales engineer? The basic differences are obvious—sales representatives present the larger value proposition and manage the customer relationship, and sales engineers provide technical insight about deployment and implementation, putting the value proposition into practice. Sales engineers are strategic partners who can be included in both the presale and post-sale processes to answer questions and provide technical information. Managing sales engineers is largely a matter of knowing when to tap their expertise and establishing the rules of collaboration between the reps and the sales engineers.
For example, asking an engineer to demonstrate a product on a cold call is a recipe for failure. To make an effective presentation, the engineer needs to understand the prospect’s business, their points of pain, and the problem they want to solve. That means having the rep and the engineer review their strategic plan in advance so each can do his or her homework. Ideally, sales engineers should be involved with the sales process early on, collaborating with the sales reps to improve the chances for a successful deal.
When managing sales reps and engineers, it’s also important to clearly define areas of responsibility. That means that primary customer interaction should be handled by the sales rep, including the setting of contract terms, the scope of work, and pricing. While the sales engineer should be there to offer support, but only by keeping the sales rep informed; the engineer should be careful not to make statements or promises beyond the scope of the customer agreement. Both the sales rep and the sales engineer need to understand when to defer to each other.
Sales engineers can also be instrumental in supporting channel sales. For example, sales engineers can:
Sales engineers are an invaluable part of your sales team if you understand how best to use their expertise and include them as collaborative partners. Clearly define their areas of responsibility, and encourage sales reps and sales engineers to share information and work together. The better the collaboration and communications, the better equipped your sales team will be to impress customers and prospects and deliver superior solutions that will cement customer relationships.