Huh? What’s a sales engineer?

Life as a sales engineer – it’s a profession that a lot of people do not know about. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been introduced to someone new and the conversation goes something like this:

New person: So what do you do for a living?

Me: I’m a SE, which is short for sales engineer.

New person: Oh, so you’re a salesperson?

Me: No, I’m a sales engineer, it’s different.

New Person: I don’t get it, you’re in sales but you’re also an engineer?

Me: No, I’m not an engineer like an electrical engineer or a civil engineer. A sales engineer is a technical guy that goes with a salesperson into clients to help them pitch our company’s technology.

New Person: I still don’t get it.

Me: Let me try this a different way. What do most people think of salespeople? They think of the used car salesperson that is sleazy and will say anything to get a person to buy the used car that may be a lemon. Do you agree?

New Person: Yes, I can definitely relate.

Me: ok, so let me put it this way. Salesperson = promise maker. Sales Engineer = salesperson’s lie detector. We’re technical folks that talk to technical decision makers and position our company’s products to fit the needs of our clients

New Person: Oh, so you must make a ton of commission?

Me: I wish (while smacking myself in the head)