What Skills Should Sales Engineers Master in 2025 to Boost Performance and Earn Higher Commissions?
Stay Ahead of the Curve with These Key Skills
Success as a Sales Engineer in 2025 will require more than just knowing your product inside and out.
In a tough job market where layoffs are hitting even the most established industries, staying relevant and indispensable is no longer optional—it’s survival. Companies are scrutinizing every role for measurable impact, and Sales Engineers who fail to deliver tangible value risk being left behind. At the same time, the rising cost of living means that earning higher commissions is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity.
The good news? The skills that can help you secure your position and boost your earnings are within reach. By mastering the right mix of technical expertise, interpersonal savvy, and strategic insight, you can not only safeguard your career but also thrive in an increasingly competitive landscape.
This article breaks down four key skills you need to master in 2025, along with actionable steps to get started.
Are you ready to level up and future-proof your career?
Skill #1: Empathy-Driven Discovery
The best solutions start with understanding your customer at a deeper level.
Empathy-Driven Discovery means putting yourself in the customer’s shoes to uncover their real needs and challenges. Start by asking open-ended questions that encourage customers to share their pain points in detail. Actively listen—not just to what they say, but how they say it—to pick up on unspoken priorities. Take detailed notes, reflecting back on their concerns to ensure alignment before presenting any solutions.
Make every discovery call the foundation of a long-term partnership.
Actionable Advice:
1. Use frameworks like SPIN or MEDDIC to structure your discovery process while staying flexible enough to adapt.
2. Before any meeting, research your customer’s industry, competitors, and recent developments to show you understand their context.
3. Practice summarizing a customer’s problem in one sentence, ensuring it reflects their language and concerns.
The more aligned you are with their pain points, the easier it will be to position your solution as indispensable.
Skill #2: Storytelling Through Data
Numbers and features only matter when they tell a story your customer cares about.
Sales Engineers must bridge the gap between technical details and business value by crafting narratives that resonate. For example, instead of saying, “Our platform reduces latency by 40%,” say, “Imagine cutting customer wait times in half, creating a seamless experience that keeps them coming back.” Use case studies and testimonials as proof points to reinforce your story and build credibility. A compelling story ensures your customer sees your product not just as a tool, but as a solution to their biggest challenges.
Actionable Advice:
1. Develop a library of use cases, analogies, and success stories that connect to different customer personas and industries.
2. Use storytelling frameworks like STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to make your examples concise yet impactful.
3. Supplement your story with visuals, such as dashboards or ROI projections, to anchor your narrative in tangible results.
A great story wins hearts and minds—and earns the deal.
Skill #3: Tech-Savvy Adaptability
The pace of technological change will only accelerate in 2025.
Sales Engineers who stay ahead of trends like AI, automation, and advanced collaboration tools will have a clear edge. For instance, learning to leverage AI-driven analytics platforms can help you tailor demos and proposals with precision. Staying adaptable also means knowing how to translate complex technical changes into customer-friendly language, ensuring stakeholders stay informed and confident.
Being adaptable means staying relevant no matter what’s next.
Actionable Advice:
1. Dedicate time each month to exploring new tools or platforms that could improve your workflow or customer experience.
2. Take online courses or certifications in areas like cloud computing, machine learning, or cybersecurity to deepen your expertise.
3. Experiment with emerging technologies in small ways, such as incorporating an AI chatbot into your Presales toolkit or automating repetitive tasks.
The more you embrace change, the more indispensable you’ll become to your organization and your customers.
Skill #4: Mastering Communication for Clarity and Impact
Clear communication is the cornerstone of success for Sales Engineers in 2025.
Whether you’re presenting to a technical team, persuading a non-technical stakeholder, or aligning with your account team, your ability to communicate effectively will directly impact your results. Customers need clarity to trust your recommendations, and your internal teams rely on your insights to close deals. Without strong communication skills, even the best technical expertise and solutions can fall flat.
Mastering communication ensures your ideas are heard, understood, and acted upon.
Actionable Advice:
1. Structure Your Pitch with SCIPAB:
The SCIPAB framework (Situation, Complication, Implication, Position, Action, Benefit) is perfect for delivering concise and compelling messages. For example:
• Situation: “Your team currently relies on manual data entry for reporting.”
• Complication: “This process takes significant time and leads to errors, frustrating your team.”
• Implication: “As a result, deadlines are missed, and decision-making is delayed.”
• Position: “Our automated analytics tool can eliminate manual entry, reducing errors by 80%.”
• Action: “I recommend we pilot this tool with your marketing department.”
• Benefit: “This will free up your team’s time and allow for faster, data-driven decisions.”
2. Practice Active Listening and Paraphrasing:
Great communication isn’t just about speaking—it’s about listening deeply. During discovery calls or meetings, summarize and paraphrase what the customer says to confirm understanding and build trust. For example, “It sounds like your biggest concern is scalability as you expand into new markets—does that capture it accurately?”
3. Simplify Technical Jargon:
Tailor your message to your audience by balancing technical depth with accessibility. For example, instead of saying, “Our platform provides distributed cache synchronization,” say, “Our system ensures all your team members see the same data in real time, no matter where they are.” Analogies, visual aids, and stories can make your solutions more relatable.
4. Incorporate Storytelling Frameworks:
Storytelling frameworks like STAR or Hero’s Journey can bring your message to life. The Hero’s Journey framework can transform your technical explanations into compelling narratives that captivate your audience.
Instead of presenting features and benefits in isolation, frame your solution as part of the customer’s journey to overcome a challenge. For instance, position the customer as the hero facing a problem (the “call to adventure”), introduce your product as the guide that equips them with the tools they need, and demonstrate how they emerge victorious (the “return with the elixir”). This approach not only makes your pitch more engaging but also helps your customer see themselves as the protagonist in a success story.
By aligning your narrative with their challenges, you create a connection that drives trust and action.
Example Using the Hero’s Journey Framework:
• The Ordinary World: “Your team is operating with slow, outdated systems that make it hard to meet growing customer demands.”
• The Call to Adventure: “Now, you’re facing increased competition and pressure to deliver faster, more reliable results.”
• The Mentor Appears: “Our solution acts as your guide, providing the tools and expertise you need to transform your operations.”
• The Road of Trials: “With our platform, you’ll overcome key challenges like data latency and scalability issues.”
• The Reward: “As a result, your team achieves faster performance and improves customer satisfaction.”
• The Return with the Elixir: “With these changes, your company leads the market, retaining customers and gaining a competitive edge.”
This narrative approach not only humanizes your solution but also inspires your audience by positioning them as the hero of their own success story.
The future of Sales Engineering is bright for those willing to evolve.
By mastering Empathy-Driven Discovery, Storytelling Through Data, Tech-Savvy Adaptability, and Communication for Clarity and Impact, you’ll boost your performance, earn higher commissions, and secure your place as a top performer. The question is: Are you ready to put in the work to future-proof your career?
If you’re ready to take your career to the next level, book a free coaching session with me today. Let’s make it happen.
👉 Book a Free, No Obligation Discovery Session and Let’s map out your success in 2025 together.