Mastering Technical Sales: The Sales Engineer's Handbook

What the book is

Mastering Technical Sales: The Sales Engineer's Handbook is a practical manual for the engineers who support sales: sales engineers, presales engineers and solutions consultants. Its author, John Care, built sales engineering organisations at companies including Oracle, Sybase, Business Objects, Nortel, CA and HP, according to his own site. The book was first published in 2002, with new editions in 2008, 2014 and 2022, and earlier editions were co-written with Aron Bohlig.

What it covers

The handbook walks through the job end to end rather than one skill in depth. You will find guidance on:

• What a sales engineer does, and how the role works alongside an account executive.
• Discovery: learning the customer's situation before proposing a solution.
• Demonstrations and presentations aimed at the customer's problem rather than a feature tour.
• Proofs of concept, evaluations and handling technical objections.
• Managing your time across many deals, and your own career growth.

The publisher describes the fourth edition as updated for cloud software, everything-as-a-service, newer sales models based on monthly as well as annual commitments, and the virtualisation and automation that are now part of the sales engineer's work.

Is it worth reading if you are not yet in the role?

Yes, if you are seriously considering solutions or sales engineering. It gives you the vocabulary and the shape of the job, which makes postings, conversations with practitioners and selection processes much easier to understand. If you are aiming at forward deployed engineering, the discovery and customer-communication chapters transfer well, while the sales process chapters matter less.

How long it takes

It is a handbook, so you do not need to read it cover to cover in order. Read the chapters on the role, discovery and demos first, which takes a few evenings, and return to the rest as situations come up.

Prerequisites

None beyond a basic understanding of how software is built and sold. It is written for engineers moving into presales as well as for people already in the job.

What you can do after reading it

• Explain what a sales engineer is measured on and how a deal moves.
• Plan a discovery call and a demo around the customer's problem.
• Recognise when a proof of concept is worth running and how to scope it.
• Talk about the role credibly with hiring managers and practitioners.

Common questions

Which edition should I read? The most recent edition you can get. Check the author's site, since new material is added over time.

Is there more from the same author? Yes. The site also lists The SE Manager's Handbook, co-written with Chris Daly, for people who lead presales teams.

Best for: engineers moving into solutions or sales engineering who want one practical reference for the whole job.