As the Sales Engineering profession has evolved over the years, it has taken different shapes and forms as well. Companies in varying industries have tried to apply the principles of sales engineering with their own approach, methods, and organizational structures. Even though the core responsibilities may be the same, you’ll see the individuals with a different sounding title. Now there is truth to the variance as some SE roles require a higher level of technical expertise, or a higher level of consultative competency. In some companies, SEs play a role primarily in pre-sales (before a sales cycle is concluded) or sometimes both pre and post-sales (after a prospect becomes a customer). Let’s review a few common variations of the Sales Engineering role:
Solutions Engineer - One of the most common titles that emphasizes the individual to focus on building and recommending solutions to a prospect. The absence of “sales” in the title is often deliberate to separate and differentiate SEs from the “selling” motions and instead focusing on the technical solutions
Solutions Consultant - SC has gained prominence as Sales Engineering broadened to even less technical and sophisticated solutions. The lack of “Engineer” in the title signifies a more consultative nature of the profession and less “salesy”
Pre-Sales Consultant - Over time, we have seen a growing distinction between pre and post-sales boundaries. When the expertise is dedicated to the sales cycle only, the title Pre-sales makes sense as it indicates limited involvement of this resource with customers.
Solutions Architect - This is the strongest technical title out there and one that clearly differentiates from just plain selling or consulting on a technical solution. The expert is expected to develop and architect even the most complicated solutions that a prospect may need.
Technical Sales - One of the original titles from the era when the sales process was evolving for technology companies and the role needed to differentiate from a sales rep, with a resource with technical skills as well.
Field Engineer - A fairly common in non-technology focused sales organizations where the Sales Engineering may be conducted hands-on and in the field with prospects. The “Engineer” emphasis is for the higher level of technical expertise required in this role.
Application Consultant - A less common definition of a Consultant, solely focused on a specific application.
Value Engineer - A new and emerging title, though still uncommon. The intention is for the SE in this role to focus on creating more value to the prospect vs only highlighting features and capabilities.
There may be many others in our industry but these should cover the most common ones.