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Job
overview
Total is a world-leading oil company whose
brands are found worldwide. The selection
of several thousand products extends from
gasoline to waxes and paraffins, including
lubricants, solvents, heating fuel, bitumen,
butane, propane, and many other oil products
and derivatives. Total also markets a wide
range of chemical products, with focus on
petrochemicals and specialty chemicals.
To make this highly diversified product
offer available to its customers and business
partners such as manufacturers and wholesalers,
Total relies on its Technical Sales Engineers
and sales representatives. Technical Sales
Engineers have a mission that combines sales
responsibilities with technical consulting:
they are the ones who recommend specific
products as well as customized services
to best fulfil each customer's needs. They
negotiate sales terms and control the execution
of orders and deliveries, and take charge
of all after-sales follow-up and contact
with their customers. They also take part
in market watch by collecting and reporting
information on market conditions and competitor
products. Among the core requisites for
a Technical Sales Engineer are the attributes
necessary to win and preserve customer loyalty
and to conduct pro-active prospection.
First steps
Technical Sales Engineers starting out at
Total generally have use of a company car
and often work from home. In this profession
where contact with people is a key dimension,
expertise is acquired in the field but always
supported with full training on the specific
characteristics and performances of the
Group's products. Working under guidance
from a Sales Manager, Technical Sales Engineers
rapidly assume responsibility for their
own sector.
Career options
After successful performance in their first
position, Technical Sales Engineers can
grow their scope by working on other product
lines or opt for development as a Product
Engineer.
They may also choose to build up marketing
and management competencies leading to management
positions, and for motivated candidates
seeking mobility, there are various choices
that open the way to an international career.
Our recruitment
criteria
. Educational background : Engineering School
or Business School (for certain positions,
a degree in Mechanical Engineering and Industrial
Automation or Maintenance).
. Excellent contact with people, negotiating
talent, technically oriented, exacting,
well-organized, autonomous, tenacious, enterprising.
. Fluent English is a requisite for candidates
planning an international career path.
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Testimonial
Eric T. - Age : 33
Technical Sales Engineer for the Burgundy
region (France)
Degree in Electromechanical Engineering
from ESTP (Ecole Supérieure des Travaux
Publics)
Worked one year for a manufacturer of technical
control equipment for automobiles, then
did his national service, joined Total via
a subsidiary making auto control systems,
became Area Manager for Lubricants in 1996,
and began working as Technical Sales Engineer
in 2001.
What does a Technical
Sales Engineer do ?
I provide technical support to our professional
customers (transport companies, national
and local government offices, public works
departments, etc.) and our Area Sales Managers.
I advise them and train them, collect information
and pass it on to them. I must be available
for them at all times and reassure them
when necessary. I also supervise oil analyses
and tests of new products, and prepare the
necessary technical files if there are problems.
In actual practice,
what does that involve ?
Technical Sales Engineers act as the link
between research and the customer. We take
into account the customer's needs and expectations
as well as constructor recommendations to
find the best lubricants in each case. The
recommendations we give our customers are
not only for the products but also for what
we call ANAC, the analyses made to measure
engine wear.
What's a typical
day in your job ?
I'm responsible for the Burgundy area, which
covers 11 départements in France.
Each day varies : I may spend a week at
the office, in Reims, carrying out studies,
working on files and documents, and answering
the phone. And the week after, I may not
set foot in the office for a second because
I'm out on calls, at appointments or doing
training. Obviously I try to organize my
time as efficiently as possible so that
I don't criss-cross the region in all directions,
but it's essential to be out there in the
field.
What are the upsides of this profession
- what do you like about it ?
What's great is that this job has highly
technical facets but at the same time it
lets you work out in the field. I enjoy
the contact with people, the sales side
of things and the traveling. I don't think
I'd like to be a product engineer. I also
enjoy passing on what I know, the pedagogical
aspect, and the mix of scientific work and
real life. We're in the middle, so we know
what should be done and we see what shouldn't
be done. That's fascinating.
What are the downsides
- what don't you like about it ?
I can't really see any negative sides to
it. Just that I work for a big Group where
you have to respect certain procedures.
Sometimes these can take quite a while compared
to the quick response our customers expect.
But those are the rules : you have to be
patient and know how to anticipate in order
to satisfy both the customers' and the organizational
demands. The advantage of working in a big
company is that you're never alone.
What qualities
do you need for this job ?
First of all, the ability to listen. You
have to listen to people : understand the
customer, and talk to product engineers,
sales reps, constructors, users - to everyone
in fact, so that you can take into account
all the parameters and propose the right
technical solution. So you need "people"
skills, technical knowledge, a certain feeling
for selling and a really pragmatic outlook.
How do you see
your career developing in the future ?
My aim is to gain strong technical and field
experience so that I can work abroad, in
a subsidiary where I can usefully contribute
my knowledge of our products and distribution
systems. I'm very happy doing what I'm doing
here, but I'd be even happier in Vietnam,
for example.
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Testimonial
Claire P. - Age : 35
Technical Sales Engineer (Brittany area)
MA in "Sciences and Techniques"
(Bordeaux), degree from the Université
de Technologie de Compiègne (majoring
in Chemical Engineering).
Joined Elf in 1990, worked in Refining for
5 years and then in Marketing (Lubricants),
started as a Technical Sales Engineer in
Nantes in 1998.
What do you do
as a Technical Sales Engineer ?
The main part of my job is to act as consultant,
for our customers and retailers - garage
owners, farmer collectives, lubricants sellers,
fishermen, transporters, etc. - but also
for our Area Managers, who sell our lubricants
and who need training. The other part of
my job is to conduct expert assessments
to investigate technical problems. In most
cases, it turns out that there was something
the user didn't do properly.
In actual practice,
what does your work involve ?
I write up documents for guidance on the
use of our products, and I provide technical
assistance to our customers and retailers
when they need it. I also keep them informed
on how to use our different lubricants,
and present and explain new products. And
I often go out on the field to give our
Area Managers technical support.
What's a typical
day in your job ?
Half of the time I'm at my office in Nantes,
where all kinds of documents and records
are piled up, because we guarantee long-term
technical performance. The rest of the time
I'm in the field with the Area Managers
and customers, or giving training. There's
one Technical Sales Engineer like me for
each area in France. I'm in charge of Brittany
and supervise ten Area Managers. We all
report to the Sales Manager, and we deal
with the Group's 4 brands: Total, Fina,
Elf, and Antar.
What are the upsides
of this profession - what do you like about
it ?
It's a very dynamic profession; the work
is very nice and very varied. There's something
new every day, and there's always something
urgent to liven up the schedule. I love
that. And I really enjoy the contact with
the customers - I used to miss that when
I was at the refinery. You meet all kinds
of people in this job, and that's very rewarding.
What are the downsides
of this profession - what don't you like
?
Frankly, I don't see any downsides. It's
a profession where service and customer
satisfaction are essential. Every now and
then a customer may grumble about something,
but with a little psychology, you always
get that straightened out. Actually, we
don't have a strictly commercial relationship
- we don't have specific sales objectives,
and we don't talk prices with our customers.
But you have to like customer contact, otherwise
I think you'd be miserable!
What qualities
do you need for this job ?
You need psychology, you have to be a good
listener, to communicate well, and you need
a good memory for names, faces and people.
And you have to be pragmatic. A brilliant
engineer who doesn't see the practical reality
of things wouldn't go over well. You don't
make a success of this job without common
sense.
How do you see
your career developing in the future ?
I think this whole profession is going to
develop. This used to be a job for people
with a lot of experience, at the end of
their career. Now it's an entry-level job,
and it will no doubt become more sales-oriented.
As for my own career, I really don't know.
I'm happy doing what I'm doing, and I don't
feel like giving up either the contact with
customers or the work in the field. The
normal next step would be for me to take
charge of a sales team, to focus less on
the technical side and more on management.
There's no rush - wait and see.
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