Industrial Interface Research & Design Blog

When I worked as a design and manufacturing engineer, there were certain salespeople that consistently stood out in my mind. These were the people that I called time and again for advice and to whom I ultimately ended up giving the most money. Below are 8 ways to stay on an engineer's mind.

8. Present products and services to your customers as tools, and not just something else to buy. Prepare powerpoint presentations, bring samples of relevant technologies, and do live demos of your products. Engineers are always interested in learning about new tools and ways to apply them.

7. Make yourself easy to approach about a problem. Be friendly and jovial in meetings but always very professional. This makes you seem dedicated to your job and interested in your customers' needs.

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Nova produces wonderful scientific specials. They are compelling, interesting, and timely. Their two hour season premier this year (2009), however, is the greatest piece of scientific television I have ever seen. Since I found it about six months ago, I have watched it a half dozen times to introduce it to my friends and family.

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8. Machinists will often need to alter your part to machine some of the features. Work through this together and you'll both be happier.

7. When you first bring your drawing to the machine shop, it's common to scribble notes and explain what's "not that critical." This is a valuable exercise, but take the time to alter the drawing in your design software before giving it back to the machine shop.

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In past blog posts (here and here), I discussed change in the high-tech design workplace. Today's blog is about innovation: the driving force for profit in this market. Companies who deliver the newest, best-performing, most-reliable products to market are almost always the most successful. This requires an efficient company streamlined to foster, cultivate, and encourage designers to come up with cutting-edge ideas on a daily basis.

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It takes a tremendous amount of time and skill to be the first person called about a problem. Below are five tips that helped me become more than just a Sales Engineer.

1. Know Your Stuff – Become a RESOURCE

If you know your products and services inside and out, great! You can go meet with engineers, be an awesome order taker, and repeat the same spiel like a broken record. Now, you know your competitors products TOO! You are starting to become dangerous now because you understand the landscape of available products and can competitively sell. Finally, you understand the applications that your products are used in. YOU just became a resource to engineers as opposed to just another salesperson. This is the factor that separates the amateurs from the pros!

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