Transitioning from a Product Engineer to a Sales Manager

Sean has been with CTS for 8 years and always uses reverse brainstorming to generate ideas and solutions with the team. He not only collects the product application but also analyzes the user needs to help the team understand the market.

What was your development path at the company?

I’m the sales manager at the International Business Division. I’m responsible for the customers in Western Europe and the Middle East. Before transferring to the sales team, I was the product engineer for 2 years and project manager for 1 year. I developed my understanding of the company culture and business direction by writing product proposals and executed the project from planning to tracking. These experiences really helped me on the evaluation from both inside-out and outside-in approach. What’s more, I could ensure the best customer services with proper solutions and useful stories.

What was the new skill you’ve learned?

I would say cross-functional communication and coordination. For example, we had strong demand and emails kept pouring in during the COVID pandemic. The global supply chain was facing the chips and components shortage, we were no exception. My client requested one of our best-selling products while we couldn’t get the lead time from our chipset vendor. In order to secure the delivery and operation of our client, we proposed the product revision with the existing chipset we had in inventory. I drew the timeline and marked the differences between two versions to seek for customer approval. With the help from R&D, product department, purchasing department, manufacturing department, and sales division, we successfully delivered the sample in 2 months and started mass production in 3 months. In the end, the alternative solution was accepted by the customer in a half year.

What’s the relationship like working with the sales team day to day?

The sales role is like a product solution consultant and a marketer. Each sales person has different strengths and experiences. We complement each other and make a good combination. To deal with uncertainties in the future, you know you are not alone, you’ve got a great team with you.

What would be your advice for anyone considering joining CTS?

In general public listed companies, you don’t get to meet the founder or the leader often. At CTS, Antony (the President and the founder) is willing to give chances to employees and brainstorm with the new hires to understand the core values and company culture. Young talents are encouraged to research new topics and bring new ideas. For experienced professionals, there is no workplace factionalism but a platform to challenge yourself. After all, CTS offers plenty of opportunities to grow if you are ambitious.