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What does a pre sales engineer do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read
Quoted expert
Dr. Galen Duree
What does a pre sales engineer do

A pre-sales engineer's role is to assist clients by offering technology recommendations and advice, aiming to secure sales and client satisfaction. Aside from selling products and services, a pre-sales engineer is also responsible for coordinating with various sales personnel, identifying the needs of clients, discussing how the equipment and devices can help attain business goals, and answering any inquiries about the subject. Furthermore, it is essential to develop positive relationships with clients, all while adhering to the company's policies and regulations.

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Pre sales engineer responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real pre sales engineer resumes:

  • Manage OEM accounts on organizing their sales initiatives as well as any technical issues that they encounter during the product lifecycle.
  • Configure and maintain Cisco routers, [] switches and VPN concentrators for client installations.
  • Collaborate in closing a major contract with Morgan Stanley for one of the world's largest UNIX to Linux migrations.
  • Provide OEM customers new product training and pre-sales systems analysis and configuration support.
  • WAN network consist of mix of ATM, ISDN and T1 solutions.
  • Support all aspects of Unix program delivery.
  • Redesign and implement the OSPF routing for the entire network.
  • Have worked with multiple VOIP systems, maintaining and installing.
  • Provide customer solutions to add security to IoT edge devices.
  • Utilize AWS calculator to produce a budget for a project on AWS
  • Investigate, develop and instruct quarterly technical training sessions for ISP team.
  • Develop PHP reporting tools to interface with asset monitoring program's xml-base API.
  • Specialize in pre-sales engineering of IP VPN solutions and business grade Internet applications.
  • Play a key role providing assistance with proof of concepts (POC's).
  • Contract, coordinate and support national and international distributors in sales and technical areas.

Pre sales engineer skills and personality traits

We calculated that 8% of Pre Sales Engineers are proficient in Sales Process, Pre Sales, and Cloud. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Problem-solving skills, and Self-confidence.

We break down the percentage of Pre Sales Engineers that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Sales Process, 8%

    Developed and delivered technical presentations and software product demos for clients during sales process.

  • Pre Sales, 8%

    Awarded Pre Sales Engineer of the Quarter 3 consecutive quarters in the highest revenue generating region.

  • Cloud, 7%

    Consulted customers with defining, sizing, and costs of primary, disaster recovery, cloud, and backup storage.

  • POC, 5%

    Provided POC support to customers in the areas of product features, installation, and use of all Trend Micro Solutions.

  • Azure, 4%

    Design, configure, and train users on DocuWare-Cloud-based document management service hosted in Microsoft Azure environment.

  • Linux, 4%

    Collaborated in closing a major contract with Morgan Stanley for one of the world's largest UNIX to Linux migrations.

Common skills that a pre sales engineer uses to do their job include "sales process," "pre sales," and "cloud." You can find details on the most important pre sales engineer responsibilities below.

Interpersonal skills. The most essential soft skill for a pre sales engineer to carry out their responsibilities is interpersonal skills. This skill is important for the role because "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." Additionally, a pre sales engineer resume shows how their duties depend on interpersonal skills: "self-motivated and organized with excellent interpersonal skills resulting in high customer satisfaction reports. "

Problem-solving skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling pre sales engineer duties is problem-solving skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "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." According to a pre sales engineer resume, here's how pre sales engineers can utilize problem-solving skills in their job responsibilities: "originated custom java solutions integrated with client systems, which resulted in increased sales and broader customer base. "

Self-confidence. This is an important skill for pre sales engineers to perform their duties. For an example of how pre sales engineer responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "sales engineers should be confident and persuasive when making sales presentations." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a pre sales engineer: "worked towards product proliferation in post-sales phase which increased customer satisfaction and confidence. ".

Technological skills. For certain pre sales engineer responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "technological skills." The day-to-day duties of a pre sales engineer rely on this skill, as "sales engineers must have extensive knowledge of the technologically sophisticated products they sell in order to explain their advantages and answer questions." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what pre sales engineers do: "generate rfp responses and deliver complex technological demonstrations to c-level executives and operational stakeholders. "

Most common pre sales engineer skills

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Compare different pre sales engineers

Pre sales engineer vs. Territory representative

A territory representative is responsible for selling the company's goods and services within a designated area, negotiating offers with potential clients, and identifying business opportunities according to market trends and customer demands. Territory representatives analyze the sales performance and strategize techniques to reach sales targets by coordinating with the whole sales team. They must be highly knowledgeable of the products offered by the company to demonstrate features and functionalities and respond to the inquiries and concerns the customers may have.

We looked at the average pre sales engineer salary and compared it with the wages of a territory representative. Generally speaking, territory representatives are paid $76,890 lower than pre sales engineers per year.While the two careers have a salary gap, they share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both pre sales engineer and territory representative positions are skilled in customer satisfaction, business development, and crm.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a pre sales engineer are more likely to require skills like "sales process," "pre sales," "cloud," and "poc." On the other hand, a job as a territory representative requires skills like "customer service," "patients," "customer relationships," and "territory development." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

The education levels that territory representatives earn slightly differ from pre sales engineers. In particular, territory representatives are 9.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a pre sales engineer. Additionally, they're 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Pre sales engineer vs. Specialty representative

A specialty representative is responsible for selling specific goods and services to target customers through remote communication or site visits, depending on business requirements and client needs. Specialty representatives assist the marketing and sales team in delivering high-quality sales strategies and promotional techniques to attract customers, identifying their needs by researching industry trends to drive more revenue resources and achieve sales goals and objectives. A specialty representative should have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in responding to the customers' inquiries and concerns, resolving complaints, and updating their accounts within the database.

A career as a specialty representative brings a lower average salary when compared to the average annual salary of a pre sales engineer. In fact, specialty representatives salary is $67,450 lower than the salary of pre sales engineers per year.While the salary may differ for these jobs, they share a few skills needed to perform their duties. Based on resume data, both pre sales engineers and specialty representatives have skills such as "product line," "product knowledge," and "develop sales strategies. "

Each career also uses different skills, according to real pre sales engineer resumes. While pre sales engineer responsibilities can utilize skills like "sales process," "pre sales," "cloud," and "poc," specialty representatives use skills like "patients," "oncology," "dermatology," and "neurology."

Specialty representatives earn lower levels of education than pre sales engineers in general. They're 5.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for pre sales engineers in the next 3-5 years?

Dr. Galen Duree

Head of the Department of Physics and Optical Engineering and Professor, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

People with knowledge, even introductory experience, in quantum effects, quantum computing, optics in general (communication, measurements, imaging, illumination, detection), material science and engineering, biotechnology, and nanotechnology, will be in high demand.

Pre 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.

On average scale, sales development representatives bring in lower salaries than pre sales engineers. In fact, they earn a $65,147 lower salary per year.By looking over several pre sales engineers and sales development representatives resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "sales process," "pre sales," and "cloud." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, pre sales engineers are more likely to have skills like "poc," "azure," "linux," and "java." But a sales development representative is more likely to have skills like "sdr," "lead generation," "customer service," and "account executives."

Sales development representatives earn the highest salary when working in the start-up industry, where they receive an average salary of $54,512. Comparatively, pre sales engineers have the highest earning potential in the technology industry, with an average salary of $112,443.When it comes to education, sales development representatives tend to earn lower degree levels compared to pre sales engineers. In fact, they're 10.1% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Pre sales engineer vs. Consultant and sales representative

A consultant and sales representative's role is to perform research and analysis to devise strategies for reaching sales targets and optimal services. Aside from providing consultations and business plans, they may also represent the company by reaching out to clients through calls and correspondence. They may offer products and services to secure sales, answer inquiries, and even arrange appointments to discuss and negotiate deals. Furthermore, as a consultant and sales representative, it is essential to build positive relationships with clients in adherence to the company's policies and regulations.

Consultants and sales representative typically earn higher pay than pre sales engineers. On average, consultants and sales representative earn a $109,181 higher salary per year.According to resumes from pre sales engineers and consultants and sales representative, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "sales process," "pre sales," and "customer satisfaction. "

Even though a few skill sets overlap between pre sales engineers and consultants and sales representative, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a pre sales engineer might have more use for skills like "cloud," "poc," "azure," and "linux." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of consultants and sales representative require skills like "business relationships," "strong presentation," "lead generation," and "energy efficiency. "

The technology industry tends to pay the highest salaries for consultants and sales representative, with average annual pay of $234,866. Comparatively, the highest pre sales engineer annual salary comes from the technology industry.consultants and sales representative reach lower levels of education compared to pre sales engineers, in general. The difference is that they're 6.9% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of pre sales engineer

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.