Technical sales engineer : Training

Most employers offer on-the-job training and opportunities to gain product knowledge.

Many large companies run graduate training schemes. These normally last up to two years and provide the opportunity to work in several different departments. Short periods (around three months) may be spent in design, production, quality assurance, distribution and marketing. This experience provides an overview of the organisation as well as specific product knowledge.

Technical training is normally supplemented by sales training in areas such as sales negotiation and learning how to build and maintain client relationships. Training may be provided in-house or delivered externally.

Once you have acquired sufficient product/service knowledge, your role as a technical sales engineer begins. You are likely to start by selling smaller packages, giving supervised quotes and putting proposals together, before gradually working your way up to bigger deals.

Companies are often keen for technical sales staff to gain membership of a relevant professional engineering body (although achieving chartered engineer status (CEng) is less common in technical sales than in other engineering disciplines). Employers also usually encourage, and may even expect, further study at postgraduate level in technical or business-related subjects.

The Institute of Sales and Marketing Management (ISMM)  and the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM)  offer relevant professional awards in sales and marketing.