If you have a complex product and a direct sales team, you must must must have sales engineering. Because if salespeople can’t get a sales engineer, they’ll call on the product manager for support.
Sales engineers play a crucial role in the sales cycle, particularly for complex products, by providing in-depth knowledge and technical expertise that helps prospects understand how the product fits their unique requirements. They ensure that customers grasp not only the capabilities of the product but how those features can solve their specific challenges.
Early in my career, I was hired as a sales engineer for a product I had used as a programmer. In those days, sales engineers did pre-sales support and post-sales training, which taught me how to work with both salespeople and customers. Sales engineering was perfect for me. I learned to explain complex ideas, configure appropriate solutions, and create compelling demos—all skills I would use later in product management.
What is sales engineering?
A Sales Engineer (SE) supports the sales team by providing technical expertise during customer interactions. They assist with product demonstrations, answer in-depth technical questions, and configure solutions based on a prospect’s requirements. Sales engineers also act as liaisons between the product and sales teams, providing feedback on product features, customer pain points, and potential improvements.
Technical Presentations. Leading product demonstrations and answering detailed technical questions during the sales process.
Solution Design. Collaborating with sales and product teams to configure solutions that meet the specific needs of potential clients.
Handling Objections. Providing technical explanations to overcome customer concerns or objections related to product fit, capabilities, or integration.
Post-Sales Support. In some cases, SEs help with the initial setup and configuration of the product after a sale is made to ensure the customer’s technical requirements are met.
Having sales engineers on board allows sales teams to focus on relationship-building and deal-making while the SEs handle the technical complexities of the sale.
Alas, the typical sales team is understaffed in sales engineering. The sales engineer-to-salesperson ratio is generally 1 SE for every 2 to 4 salespeople. For extremely complex products, we often see sales teams with one sales engineer for each salesperson.
How does this compare to your organization?
Be an advocate
Sales engineering can be a great resource for product management and product marketing. Product managers can take several proactive steps to ensure a strong sales engineering team.
Provide Deep(er) Product Training. Sales engineers need to be product experts, so regular, in-depth product training is essential. Make sure they understand not just the features but the "why" behind product decisions—how the product solves specific customer problems and differentiates in the market. This helps them better articulate the value proposition during technical demos and conversations.
Create a Shared Feedback Loop. Establish a formal channel where sales engineers can provide product feedback based on their direct customer interactions. They’re often the first to hear about technical challenges or feature requests in the field, so capturing and acting on that feedback is vital to product improvements and feature prioritization.
Collaborate on Pre-Sales Support Materials. Work closely with sales engineers to co-develop technical playbooks, competitive analyses, and demo scripts. These materials not only equip sales engineers but also ensure the product is being presented in the best light during the sales process, aligned with both sales and product goals.
Host Joint Customer Meetings. Encourage sales engineers to join key customer meetings alongside product managers. This helps the product manager see what technical concerns arise in real time while also demonstrating the importance of sales engineering support in the sales cycle.
Champion the Role Internally. Product managers can advocate for the importance of sales engineering by emphasizing its critical role in complex sales cycles. This might include creating a business case for expanding the sales engineering team or securing resources for additional training and support, ensuring leadership understands how sales engineers contribute to higher close rates and customer satisfaction.
By fostering a strong partnership between product management and sales engineering, you ensure that the technical expertise required in complex sales is always available, freeing product managers to focus on their core responsibilities.
And—don’t tell anyone—sales engineering is an excellent source of future product managers. They already know the market and products; they simply need to learn the fundamentals of managing products. (Product Growth Leaders can help)