TPL INDUSTRIAL PRIVATE LIMITEDJOB PROFILE – SALES ENGINEER – INDUSTRIAL LUBRICANTSPosition
Sales Engineer – Industrial Lubricants
Location
Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Department
Sales & Business Development
Reporting To
Sales Manager / Regional Sales Manager
Experience
2–5 years of relevant experience in Lubricant / Industrial Lubricant Sales
Candidates with direct experience in the lubricant industry will be given strong preference.
1. JOB PURPOSE
To develop and grow the industrial lubricant business of TPL Industrial Private Limited in Chennai and surrounding industrial markets by identifying new customers, developing existing accounts, conducting product trials, converting competitor products and achieving assigned sales and collection targets.
The Sales Engineer will be responsible for technical selling, new customer development, product conversion, key account management and market expansion.
2. KEY RESPONSIBILITIESA. Sales & Business Development
- Achieve monthly, quarterly and annual sales targets.
- Identify and develop new industrial customers.
- Generate leads through market visits, references, networking and cold calling.
- Develop new business opportunities and convert competitor products.
- Increase lubricant consumption from existing customers.
- Develop long-term relationships with purchase, maintenance, production and management teams.
- Maintain a strong sales pipeline.
- Identify new industrial applications and market opportunities.
3. INDUSTRIAL CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT
Conduct regular visits to industrial customers and understand:
- Machinery and equipment installed
- Existing lubricant brands and grades
- Monthly lubricant consumption
- Lubrication practices
- Application requirements
- Lubricant change intervals
- Technical problems
- Pricing and commercial requirements
- Competitor presence
Develop customer-wise lubricant application and consumption mapping.
4. TECHNICAL SALES & APPLICATION SUPPORT
The candidate should have good knowledge of industrial lubricants such as:
- Hydraulic Oils
- Gear Oils
- Compressor Oils
- Circulating Oils
- Turbine Oils
- Spindle Oils
- Slideway Oils
- Cutting Oils
- Metalworking Fluids
- Greases
- Specialty Lubricants
- Synthetic Lubricants
Responsibilities
- Understand customer lubrication requirements.
- Recommend suitable products based on application and operating conditions.
- Conduct technical discussions and product presentations.
- Coordinate lubricant trials at customer locations.
- Monitor product performance during trials.
- Prepare trial reports and obtain customer feedback.
- Coordinate with the technical team for application-related issues.
- Identify opportunities for lubricant optimization and cost reduction.
5. PRODUCT TRIAL & CONVERSION
The Sales Engineer will be responsible for the complete product conversion cycle:
Customer Identification → Application Study → Product Recommendation → Trial → Performance Monitoring → Customer Approval → Commercial Conversion → Repeat Order
Responsibilities
- Identify competitor products being used.
- Obtain complete application and machinery details.
- Recommend suitable TPL products.
- Arrange samples/trial quantities.
- Monitor trial performance.
- Collect customer feedback.
- Prepare trial reports.
- Follow up for customer approval.
- Convert successful trials into regular commercial business.
6. COMPETITOR CONVERSION
- Identify competitor brands and products being used by customers.
- Collect information on competitor grades, pricing and consumption.
- Identify potential conversion accounts.
- Develop product comparison and value propositions.
- Coordinate technical trials.
- Follow up until successful conversion.
- Maintain competitor intelligence for the assigned territory.
7. CHENNAI & TAMIL NADU MARKET DEVELOPMENT
The candidate will be expected to develop business across Chennai and major industrial clusters around the city, including:
- Ambattur Industrial Estate
- Guindy Industrial Estate
- SIDCO Industrial Estates
- Padi
- Avadi
- Thirumudivakkam
- Sriperumbudur
- Oragadam
- Maraimalai Nagar
- Mahindra World City
- Gummidipoondi
- Ennore
- Manali
- Ponneri
- Kanchipuram belt
- Tiruvallur industrial belt
Target Industries
- Automobile & Auto Components
- Engineering Industries
- Machine Shops
- Heavy Engineering
- Steel & Metal Industries
- Foundries
- Forging Industries
- Textile & Garments
- Plastic & Injection Moulding
- Packaging
- Pharma
- Food & Beverage
- Paper
- Cement
- Power
- General Manufacturing
- Electronics
- Precision Engineering
- OEMs and Industrial Maintenance Companies
8. AUTOMOTIVE & ENGINEERING MARKET DEVELOPMENT
Chennai being a major automotive and engineering manufacturing hub, the Sales Engineer should actively develop:
- Automobile OEMs
- Auto component manufacturers
- Tier-1 and Tier-2 suppliers
- CNC machining companies
- Forging and casting industries
- Press shops
- Heat treatment industries
- Engineering component manufacturers
- Industrial equipment manufacturers
Identify opportunities for hydraulic oils, gear oils, cutting fluids, metalworking fluids, greases, compressor oils and specialty lubricants.
9. DISTRIBUTOR & CHANNEL DEVELOPMENT
- Develop and support distributors in the assigned territory.
- Conduct joint customer visits with distributors.
- Generate new industrial customers through channel partners.
- Train distributor sales personnel on product applications.
- Monitor distributor stock and sales.
- Support distributors in achieving monthly targets.
- Develop new channel partners wherever required.
- Maintain strong distributor relationships.
- Ensure healthy and sustainable channel growth.
10. KEY ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT
Develop strong relationships with:
- Plant Heads
- Maintenance Heads
- Purchase Managers
- Production Managers
- Maintenance Engineers
- Stores Managers
- OEMs
- Contractors
- Distributors
Increase customer share through:
More Applications → More Products → Higher Consumption → Higher Customer Share
11. CUSTOMER COMPLAINT & TECHNICAL SUPPORT
- Attend customer complaints related to lubricant performance.
- Visit customer locations for technical investigation.
- Collect machinery and operating-condition details.
- Coordinate with the technical team.
- Support root-cause analysis.
- Ensure timely resolution of customer complaints.
- Maintain customer satisfaction and retention.
- Document recurring technical issues and corrective actions.
12. SALES & COMMERCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES
- Prepare quotations and commercial proposals.
- Negotiate pricing within approved company guidelines.
- Follow up enquiries and quotations.
- Convert enquiries into orders.
- Coordinate with internal teams for order execution.
- Follow up for timely payment collection.
- Monitor customer outstanding.
- Ensure adherence to company credit policies.
- Support management in reducing overdue receivables.
13. MARKET INTELLIGENCE
Regularly provide information on:
- Competitor brands
- Competitor pricing
- Competitor activities
- New product launches
- Customer requirements
- New industrial projects
- New manufacturing units
- Market opportunities
- Customer consumption trends
- Product availability
- Competitor conversion opportunities
14. REPORTING & MIS
Maintain and submit:
- Daily customer visit report
- Weekly sales report
- Monthly sales achievement
- New customer development report
- Sales pipeline
- Product trial report
- Trial conversion report
- Competitor activity report
- Collection report
- Outstanding report
- Customer complaint report
15. QUALIFICATIONPreferred Qualifications
- Diploma / B.E. / B.Tech – Mechanical Engineering
- Chemical Engineering
- Automobile Engineering
- Production Engineering
- Industrial Engineering
MBA / PGDM in Sales & Marketing will be an added advantage.
16. EXPERIENCEMandatory / Preferred
2–5 years of experience in Lubricant Sales / Industrial Lubricant Sales.
Preference will be given to candidates having experience in:
- Industrial lubricant sales
- B2B technical sales
- Lubricant product conversion
- Customer trials
- Hydraulic oils
- Gear oils
- Compressor oils
- Metalworking fluids
- Industrial greases
- Specialty lubricants
- Distributor management
Direct experience in the lubricant industry is strongly preferred.
17. REQUIRED SKILLSTechnical Skills
- Good knowledge of industrial lubricants.
- Understanding of lubrication applications.
- Basic knowledge of hydraulic systems, gears, bearings and compressors.
- Understanding of metalworking applications.
- Ability to study machinery and operating conditions.
- Ability to recommend suitable lubricant products.
- Ability to conduct and monitor product trials.
Sales Skills
- Lead generation
- New customer acquisition
- Territory development
- Technical selling
- Product conversion
- Negotiation
- Key account management
- Distributor management
- Collection follow-up
Soft Skills
- Excellent communication skills
- Good presentation skills
- Strong interpersonal skills
- Customer-oriented approach
- Strong negotiation ability
- Good follow-up skills
- Result-oriented approach
- Self-motivated
- Problem-solving mindset
18. KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS – KPIsKPIMeasurementSales VolumeMonthly / Annual target achievementNew CustomersNumber of new industrial customersNew BusinessVolume generated from new customersProduct TrialsQualified trials initiatedTrial ConversionTrials converted into regular businessCustomer RetentionRepeat businessCollectionsTimely payment collectionCustomer VisitsEffective territory coverageSales PipelineQualified business opportunitiesCompetitor ConversionCompetitor accounts convertedDistributor DevelopmentSales generated through channelProduct Range ExpansionAdditional products introducedComplaint ClosureTimely resolution of complaints19. IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE
The ideal candidate should be a result-oriented Sales Engineer with 2–5 years of lubricant industry experience, preferably handling industrial lubricant customers.
The candidate should be capable of independently managing the complete sales cycle:
Lead Generation
↓
Customer Visit
↓
Application Study
↓
Product Recommendation
↓
Product Trial
↓
Performance Evaluation
↓
Customer Approval
↓
Order Conversion
↓
Collection
↓
Customer Retention20. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
- Willingness to travel extensively within Chennai and Tamil Nadu industrial areas.
- Two-wheeler and valid driving licence preferred.
- Comfortable visiting factories and industrial locations.
- Good knowledge of MS Excel, Word and PowerPoint.
- CRM knowledge will be an advantage.
- Good command of English and Tamil is preferred.
- Hindi knowledge will be an added advantage.
- Ability to work independently and achieve targets.
21. EMPLOYMENT DETAILS
Company: TPL Industrial Private Limited
Position: Sales Engineer – Industrial Lubricants
Location: Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Department: Sales & Business Development
Employment: Full Time – On Site
Experience: 2–5 Years
Industry Preference: Lubricant / Industrial Lubricant Industry
Travel: Extensive field travel required
Preferred Candidate
Candidates currently working or previously working with lubricant manufacturers, lubricant distributors, industrial lubricant companies, oil companies or specialty lubricant companies will be given preference.
Pay: ₹15,000.00 - ₹40,000.00 per month
Work Location: In person
