Technical Sales Engineer at Landis+Gyr

Technical Sales Engineer will be responsible for the generation and development of new business opportunities, Managing existing business relationships with L+G’s key Accounts and developing a direct sales organisation to further and continuously grow the revenue and market share of  Landis+Gyr South Africa.   

The role involves translating and explaining highly complex technical information to customers and clients, focusing on revealing how a product or piece of equipment can solve specific problems, as well as representing the technical aspects of the product and propose how these aspects can benefit the customer. 

Sales engineers must have a strong technical understanding of the complexities of what the company supplies together with excellent sales skills. The technical sales engineer is responsible for staying abreast of the latest developments, breakthroughs, and can pass this vital knowledge on to others..   This position is situated to a person who is ‘sales hungry’ and who can exploit their exceptional sales skills with effective and successful results.

Areas of Responsibility / Tasks

• Develop and implement sales strategies in allocated regions or territories, in conjunction with the Sales Manager
• Develop marketing plans per territory and drive their implementation, in line with overall strategies of Landis+Gyr EMEA, in conjunction with the Sales Manager
• Selling and consulting on technologically and scientifically advanced products.
• Using technical skills to demonstrate to potential customers the usefulness of the product or service and how it may suit the customer better than competing products
• Facilitate the attainment of the budgeted volume and margin targets per territory
• Advising customers on how best to use the products or services provided.
• Provide sales forecasts timeously each month
• Provide sales reports timeously each month
• Monitor the efficient execution of orders per territory
• Act as the point of contact per territory, both for sales channels and directly with customers
• Promote and sell the full range of Landis+Gyr products, where applicable, in each region
• Advising customers on how best to use the products or services provided.
• Collaborating with the design, production, engineering, or research and development departments of the company to determine how products and services could be made or modified to suit the needs of the customer.

Product/System Development

By means of visit reports, formal workshops and informal discussions, keep the Product and System Product Managers abreast of regional developments and needs, so that these can be evaluated for possible future developments

Detailed Functional Tasks:

• Sales/Marketing Activities
• Provide first line technical support to customers in the region
• Provide training to customers on the full range of products and services
• Develop realistic annual budgets for territories
• Manage operating costs within agreed budgeted levels
• Develop plans per territory, which are realistic and in line with regional and product segment strategies
• Seek out and identify preferred sales channels per territory (direct, via Landis+Gyr or via agents)
• In line with above, enter into distribution or agency agreements with selected partners, clearly defining the parameters of operation
• Develop and implement a visit programme per territory based on the operating requirements and market potential of each territory and within the pre-agreed cost constraints, optimising visit schedules to spread costs across several territories, where possible
• Ensure, at all times, that the company is covered for the risk of non-payment via prudent financial arrangements
• Field all communications from the territory and ensure timeous responses
• Maintain relationships with key contacts in each territory
• Prepare and submit, or oversee, all quotations and tenders per territory, ensuring a timeous and suitable submission
• Develop a suitable marketing communications programme per territory and ensure that all key stakeholders in each territory are kept abreast of Landis+Gyr, E460 AMI portfolio, Gridstream AIM/HES and Suprima Vending System
• Assist the Marketing function with information relating to marketing communications needs, including relevance and needs of regional exhibition/conference activities
• Attend conferences and exhibitions where these are considered valuable to the business development activity
• Ensure that all information relating to a territory is readily available in the event of non-availability of the assigned Business Development Manager or handover of the territory for any reason
• Collect information relating to new product and system requirements, as well as customer needs and wants, and feed this information back to Product Management.
• Assist in conducting market surveys and completing customer questionnaires

Strategic Analysis of Territories

• Collect all macro market information related to a territory by scanning all available media on that territory, including country specific news media
• Identify risks, opportunities and threats (economic and political) by territory and factor into market plans and territory strategies
• Monitor the actions of competitors per territory and take appropriate action to neutralise threats, where possible
• Provide detailed visit reports per territory and circulate to interested or affected persons in the company
• Identify the key decision makers and influencers in each territory and track their progress and the emergence of new ones. Build and maintain relationships with them over time. This includes influential parties who may not be resident in the territory but playing a leading role there.

Skills / Attributes

• See:  target fulfillment criteria
• Communication and interpersonal (Cross Functional & Cross Cultural)
• Presentation Skills
• Planning and Organizing
• Leadership and Supervision
• Multi-tasking
• Honest and ethical, with a high level of discretion
• Goal oriented, with high energy and commitment level, and a strong desire to win
• Good listener, with analytical skills and sales professionalism
• Strong commitment to customer service, and the need to deliver solutions to customers' problems rather than just meeting sales budgets at all costs
• A self-starter, who is focused and disciplined, with a high level of initiative and innovation
• The ability to project a professional image and communicate with high-level contacts.