The job of Sales Engineer is a strategic position for the success of companies. The sales engineer’s role is to liaise between the technical teams and customers. Their ability to understand the company’s products or services and present them to customers helps to boost sales. Archetype, a Belgian recruitment agency specialising in this type of profile, works on a daily basis to attract, select and retain the best talent in this field.

The challenges of recruiting a Sales Engineer

The job of a sales engineer requires a precise combination of technical and interpersonal skills. Their role is generally to sell complex solutions or customised projects to corporate customers. To do this, they need to be able not only to understand the needs and constraints of their contacts, but also to design and implement an appropriate and innovative offering. This requires a thorough understanding of the business sector concerned, the products and services on offer, and market trends.

Business development and project management

To meet the company’s development challenges, the sales engineer must also orchestrate longer-term actions. They work closely with in-house teams (marketing, R&D, production, etc.) to develop and implement strategies for conquering new markets. Genuine expertise in project management and good analytical and summarising skills are therefore essential.

The main selection criteria for the Sales Engineer job

With an often diverse range of sales engineer jobs on the market, a recruitment agency like Archetype needs to understand its clients’ specific needs in order to propose suitable candidates. Here are some of the key elements taken into account during the process:

• The candidate must have a 5-year degree from a business or engineering school with a specialisation in business and/or management.
• At least 3 years’ professional experience in BtoB sales of complex products or solutions is required, ideally acquired in sectors similar to those of the customer.
• The sales engineer must have technical knowledge, i.e. a command of the technologies and standards specific to the sector of activity.
• Given that English is a second European language, they must be fluent or even bilingual
• Personal skills such as interpersonal skills, autonomy, the ability to analyse and summarise, team spirit and leadership.

Archetype’s methodology for recruiting a Sales Engineer

With our experience and our precise knowledge of the Belgian market, the Archetype team has developed a specific methodology for selecting the best sales engineer profiles, as well as country managers, sales directors, account managers, etc.

• Identification of requirements and definition of the position and profile sought in collaboration with the client company.
• Search and pre-selection of candidates according to specific criteria such as skills, experience and personality.
• In-depth interviews to assess the candidate’s motivation, ambition, personality and skills.
• Use of case studies to highlight motivations in everyday situations.
• Introduction of a personality test to measure personality, sales and management skills.
• Administration of specific sales or management tests adapted to the position to be filled.
• Use of role-playing to assess candidates’ skills and aptitudes.

Why use Archetype to recruit a sales engineer?

There are several advantages to using a specialist recruitment agency such as Archetype to recruit a sales engineer:

• Delegating the search and selection of candidates allows companies to concentrate on their core business.
• Our consultants have in-depth knowledge of the market and the skills required for this type of position
• Each candidate is assessed according to rigorous and proven criteria
• Thanks to our database and professional network, Archetype has significant resources at its disposal to find the ideal profile.