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What does a sales support engineer do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read

A sales support engineer assists customers by dealing with complex issues and concerns, resolving them using their technical expertise. They usually communicate with customers using calls and correspondence, and through this, they also develop and deliver sales proposals, answer inquiries, and provide price quotes. Moreover, a sales support engineer also works to assist sales teams by conducting research and analyses to develop procedures that will optimize operations, producing data and guidelines, and creating sales strategies for profit growth.

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Sales support engineer responsibilities

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

  • Manage inbound domestic and international logistics and domestic shipping with respect to carrier selection, forwarding, brokering and expediting.
  • Complete RFP responses with technical specs for project hardware.
  • Assist with HVAC design-build for several high profile projects :.
  • Prepare cost estimates and scheduling for plan and spec HVAC projects.
  • Used Microsoft CRM to document activities of customer issues from start, to resolution.
  • Retain existing clients and perform cold calls to potential new clients and keep record in CRM database.
  • Review the customer requests for proposal (RFP) and establish requirements for the internal team and external vendors/suppliers.
  • Cloud-Base / SaaS platform for testing and monitoring functionality, usability, performance and availability of mobile applications.
  • Tie several disparate products together to create a unique SaaS solution that competitively position the company against larger suppliers.
  • Manage inbound domestic and international logistics and domestic shipping with respect to carrier selection, forwarding, brokering and expediting.
  • Support and help implement ISO controls and procedures, and ERP changes and methodologies.

Sales support engineer skills and personality traits

We calculated that 9% of Sales Support Engineers are proficient in CRM, Product Line, and Sales Process. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Problem-solving skills, and Self-confidence.

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

  • CRM, 9%

    Retained existing clients and performed cold calls to potential new clients and keep record in CRM database.

  • Product Line, 5%

    Achieved Green Belt Certification (Six Sigma) working with Global Sales and Manufacturing Engineers to improve a product line.

  • Sales Process, 5%

    Produced sales process and product branding increasing revenue by 250%.

  • Trade Shows, 4%

    Developed and delivered product presentations and demonstrations at customer locations and trade shows.

  • Engineering Support, 4%

    Provide sales and engineering support by assisting senior account representatives and large voice / data customers with successful communication project implementations.

  • Customer Support, 4%

    Support the sales team by creating customer focused presentations and providing customer support both in house and at customer facilities.

"crm," "product line," and "sales process" are among the most common skills that sales support engineers use at work. You can find even more sales support engineer responsibilities below, including:

Interpersonal skills. One of the key soft skills for a sales support engineer to have is interpersonal skills. You can see how this relates to what sales support engineers do 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 sales support engineer resume shows how sales support engineers use interpersonal skills: "resolved customer issues and complaints with flexible, problem-solving approach to interpersonal communication. "

Problem-solving skills. Many sales support engineer duties rely on problem-solving skills. "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.," so a sales support engineer will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways sales support engineer responsibilities rely on problem-solving skills: "manage cases in the customer support tools to ensure issues are assigned, tracked, escalated, and resolved within targets. "

Self-confidence. sales support engineers are also known for self-confidence, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to sales support engineer responsibilities, because "sales engineers should be confident and persuasive when making sales presentations." A sales support engineer resume example shows how self-confidence is used in the workplace: "worked towards product proliferation in post-sales phase which increased customer satisfaction and confidence. "

Technological skills. A big part of what sales support engineers do relies on "technological skills." You can see how essential it is to sales support engineer responsibilities because "sales engineers must have extensive knowledge of the technologically sophisticated products they sell in order to explain their advantages and answer questions." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical sales support engineer tasks: "generate rfp responses and deliver complex technological demonstrations to c-level executives and operational stakeholders. "

All sales support engineer skills

The three companies that hire the most sales support engineers are:

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Compare different sales support engineers

Sales support engineer vs. Support

A support employee is responsible for assisting the business operations and responding to customers' inquiries and concerns regarding its goods and services. Support logs all customers' interaction and escalates potential complaints to the appropriate department. They also help with implementing strategic procedures to improve operations and reach maximum productivity. A support employee must have excellent communication and customer service skills, ensuring clients' satisfaction with the services and maintain good feedback to boost the company's brand, attract more clients, and increase revenues.

The annual salary of supports is $42,108 lower than the average salary of sales support engineers.While the two careers have a salary gap, they share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both sales support engineer and support positions are skilled in linux, html, and technical assistance.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a sales support engineer are more likely to require skills like "crm," "product line," "sales process," and "trade shows." On the other hand, a job as a support requires skills like "customer service," "cash management," "hr," and "inventory control." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

Supports tend to make the most money working in the professional industry, where they earn an average salary of $50,563. In contrast, sales support engineers make the biggest average salary, $94,119, in the energy industry.On average, supports reach lower levels of education than sales support engineers. Supports are 6.8% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Sales support engineer vs. Professional services engineer

Professional Services Engineers are employees who represent their company in their client's work environment. They are usually software engineers or any other information technology-related engineers. They are expected to be familiar with company's products. Professional Services Engineers act as the bridge between the company and the client. They are usually assigned to be on-site at the client's office to act as the technical representative of the company. As such, they do the installing, setting up, managing, troubleshooting, maintaining, and repairing the company's software for the client. They may also help out in product training and maximizing the user experience.

Professional services engineer positions earn higher pay than sales support engineer roles. They earn a $19,756 higher salary than sales support 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 sales support engineers and professional services engineers have skills such as "crm," "customer support," and "java. "

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, sales support engineer responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "product line," "sales process," "trade shows," and "engineering support." Meanwhile, a professional services engineer has duties that require skills in areas such as "customer service," "professional services," "leveraged," and "professional development." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

Professional services engineers earn a higher average salary than sales support engineers. But professional services engineers earn the highest pay in the technology industry, with an average salary of $113,168. Additionally, sales support engineers earn the highest salaries in the energy with average pay of $94,119 annually.professional services engineers earn similar levels of education than sales support engineers in general. They're 1.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Sales support engineer vs. Engineer

Engineers are highly trained professionals who determine the feasibility of various projects, usually related to the construction industry. They are considered experts in mathematics and science, two disciplines that they need to use in designing and coming up with plans for projects. They should also be well-versed in different construction or industrial materials, and they ensure that appropriate materials are used for the project. They also ensure that the projects meet the requirements of the groups that hired them. They create spaces that would both address the needs of the end-users and the industry standards. They also ensure that the projects they make would stand the test of time.

On average, engineers earn higher salaries than sales support engineers, with a $13,742 difference per year.Using the responsibilities included on sales support engineers and engineers resumes, we found that both professions have similar skill requirements, such as "java," "linux," and "html.rdquo;

There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a sales support engineer is likely to be skilled in "crm," "product line," "sales process," and "trade shows," while a typical engineer is skilled in "python," "cloud," "c++," and "c #."

Engineers earn the best pay in the automotive industry, where they command an average salary of $97,672. Sales support engineers earn the highest pay from the energy industry, with an average salary of $94,119.engineers typically earn similar educational levels compared to sales support engineers. Specifically, they're 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.9% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Sales support engineer vs. Implementation engineer

An implementation engineer is responsible for evaluating the company's technology solutions to support business operations and processes. Implementation engineers assist with the overall technical design concept and diagnostic tests to ensure that the features and performance meet the highest quality standards and business requirements. They also identify the systems' potential failures and develop troubleshooting reports as necessary. An implementation engineer must have excellent communication and technical skills to strategize improvements on the systems' infrastructure for optimization.

Implementation engineers tend to earn a higher pay than sales support engineers by an average of $10,444 per year.According to resumes from sales support engineers and implementation engineers, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "customer support," "java," and "post sales. "While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "crm," "product line," "sales process," and "trade shows" are skills that commonly show up on sales support engineer resumes. On the other hand, implementation engineers use skills like infrastructure, san, project management, and client facing on their resumes.implementation engineers enjoy the best pay in the technology industry, with an average salary of $94,497. For comparison, sales support engineers earn the highest salary in the energy industry.implementation engineers reach similar levels of education compared to sales support engineers, in general. The difference is that they're 1.4% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of sales support 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.