What does an inside sales engineer do?
An inside sales engineer is an individual who uses specialized technical knowledge to negotiate between sales units and clients to increase the profits and revenue of a company. Inside sales, engineers must seek clients who will benefit from their products or services and aim to maximize client potential in the different allocated regions. Inside sales engineers must also provide technical help and carry out training, if necessary, once a sale has been made.
Inside sales engineer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real inside sales engineer resumes:
- Manage inbound domestic and international logistics and domestic shipping with respect to carrier selection, forwarding, brokering and expediting.
- Provide technical contribution during the RFP / RFI process.
- Write custom SQL reports for customers.
- Utilize SQL to query databases while troubleshooting issues.
- Design and configure computer systems for clients in the Pre-Sales mode.
- Generate 3D renderings in AutoCAD and other design software for customer review.
- Update all AutoCAD drawings to reflect accurate positioning of equipment and utilities.
- Assist students in building models to be machine in the workshop on SOLIDWORKS.
- Implement the company's billing solution on both Linux and Microsoft base web servers.
- Install, maintain, and upgrade Unix / Linux systems, databases, and HC application.
- Lead support engineer for electronic gateways, written in Java, between CLEC's OSS and systems of trading partner.
- Produce costing/estimating proposals for large commercial HVAC projects.
- Prepare presentation material through PowerPoint, and handle data-entry.
- Translate manuals, documentation and PowerPoint presentations to Spanish.
- Utilize internal CRM software to track customer designate orders and automatic re-orders.
Inside sales engineer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 24% of Inside Sales Engineers are proficient in Customer Service, Product Knowledge, and CRM. They’re also known for soft skills such as Problem-solving skills, Technological skills, and Interpersonal skills.
We break down the percentage of Inside Sales Engineers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 24%
Provided exemplary customer service/relationship management and consultative selling.
- Product Knowledge, 4%
Developed profitable relationships with current and prospective customers, and provide exceptional customer support through attentiveness and extensive product knowledge.
- CRM, 4%
Performed Cold -Call Appointment-setting and Account Management services utilizing in-house CRM while implementing Pipeline Management skills.
- Customer Satisfaction, 3%
Assisted customers with specialized hydraulic and pneumatic power transmission systems and followed up to ensure system productivity and customer satisfaction.
- Cleanliness, 3%
Maintained cleanliness and organization of stockroom shelves.
- Distributors, 3%
Led and participated in three weekly conference calls with Wal-Mart Corporate executives and distributors updating them on delivery performance and expectations.
"customer service," "product knowledge," and "crm" are among the most common skills that inside sales engineers use at work. You can find even more inside sales engineer responsibilities below, including:
Problem-solving skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for an inside sales engineer to have is problem-solving skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "sales engineers must be able to listen to the customer’s desires and concerns, and then recommend solutions, such as customizing a product for the customer." Inside sales engineers often use problem-solving skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "recognized as sme on co-location services with expertise engineering complex solutions for both e-cloud and co-location product lines. "
Technological skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling inside sales engineer duties is technological skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "sales engineers must have extensive knowledge of the technologically sophisticated products they sell in order to explain their advantages and answer questions." According to an inside sales engineer resume, here's how inside sales engineers can utilize technological skills in their job responsibilities: "validate, investigate, propose, and support technological speech solutions to pre-sales accounts. "
Interpersonal skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of inside sales engineers is interpersonal skills. This skill is critical to many everyday inside sales engineer duties, as "strong interpersonal skills are a valuable characteristic for sales engineers, both for building relationships with clients and effectively communicating with other members of the sales team." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "utilized strong interpersonal skills to cold call and qualify leads as potential new customer. "
Self-confidence. For certain inside sales engineer responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "self-confidence." The day-to-day duties of an inside sales engineer rely on this skill, as "sales engineers should be confident and persuasive when making sales presentations." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what inside sales engineers do: "worked with existing customer base to develop a positive relationship and build confidence in company and product lines. "
The three companies that hire the most inside sales engineers are:
- Eaton20 inside sales engineers jobs
- Carrier7 inside sales engineers jobs
- Schneider Electric Industrial Services7 inside sales engineers jobs
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Compare different inside sales engineers
Inside sales engineer vs. Sales support specialist
A sales support specialist is primarily responsible for performing clerical tasks to support a sales team. Typically, they gather sales leads and data, produce progress reports and presentations, maintain records of all transactions, and liaise with different accounting personnel. A sales support specialist may respond to calls and inquiries, resolving customers' complaints and concerns promptly and professionally. Furthermore, one may arrange meetings and appointments with clients, develop sales strategies for profit growth, and process orders, all while ensuring customer satisfaction.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of an inside sales engineer are more likely to require skills like "cleanliness," "distributors," "cold calls," and "technical knowledge." On the other hand, a job as a sales support specialist requires skills like "salesforce," "account executives," "customer relationships," and "sales reports." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Sales support specialists tend to make the most money working in the professional industry, where they earn an average salary of $65,577. In contrast, inside sales engineers make the biggest average salary, $63,671, in the technology industry.The education levels that sales support specialists earn slightly differ from inside sales engineers. In particular, sales support specialists are 2.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an inside sales engineer. Additionally, they're 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Inside sales engineer vs. Sales operations specialist
The sales operation specialist is the one who is responsible for making certain that the company's sales are efficient and effective. They gather and evaluate sales data for a company. The results are compared with business plans and previous forecasts to find out if goals were achieved. These specialists are also responsible for creating forecasts about upcoming sales data. Also, they make contracts that fulfill both customer and company needs. Skills required for a sales operations specialist include negotiation, good communication skills, analytical, and strong leadership skills.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that inside sales engineer responsibilities requires skills like "customer satisfaction," "cleanliness," "distributors," and "outbound calls." But a sales operations specialist might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "sales operations," "salesforce," "strong analytical," and "resolution support."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Sales operations specialists tend to reach similar levels of education than inside sales engineers. In fact, they're 3.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Inside sales engineer vs. Sales development representative
A sales development representative qualifies leads at the sales funnel's initial stages. Sales development representatives need to conduct research for prospective clients and qualify the leads before handing them to the sales team. They develop sales strategies to attract buyers or solicit potential customers. They need to build relationships with their customers to determine their needs and qualify the viability of interests to drive sales. Also, they collaborate with the sales executives making certain that corporate targets and goals are met.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from inside sales engineer resumes include skills like "crm," "cleanliness," "distributors," and "sales orders," whereas a sales development representative is more likely to list skills in "sdr," "account executives," "linkedin," and "saas. "
Sales development representatives earn the highest salary when working in the start-up industry, where they receive an average salary of $54,512. Comparatively, inside sales engineers have the highest earning potential in the technology industry, with an average salary of $63,671.Most sales development representatives achieve a similar degree level compared to inside sales engineers. For example, they're 0.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Inside sales engineer vs. Sales support associate
A sales support associate is an individual who is responsible for assisting sales staff and help customers. To provide this assistance, sales support associates use customer communication methods such as telephones or email to process customer orders and ensure that they are accurate. They work closely with distributors to make sure that products are available for their customers. Sales support associates may function as either part-time or full time, but companies may require excellent communication skills.
Types of inside sales engineer
Updated January 8, 2025
