Motivating Sales Engineers in the Industrial Business Essay -- Busines

Introduction Salespeople are often internally driven and self-motivated (Srivastava and Rangarajan, 2008), and are increasingly becoming consultants who sell value-added services (Smith and Rupp, 2003). Nowadays more industrial companies employ sales engineers (SE) and therefore they represent an emerging class of knowledge workers on sales (Darr, 2002). I will first describe my experience in Festo, before briefly addressing some theories about motivation, related to it. Was there a mismatch between theory and business as I knew it? If so, I will try to identify it, and to explain why Festo's incentives failed with me. Finally, I will suggest how Festo should have motivated its SE, based on the theory previously discussed. What is a SE? I have mainly worked as a salesperson, although having studied engineering. Then, let me ask: what is a SE? A salesperson with a strong technical knowledge on the field he/she is selling. Furthermore, a SE could be defined as a technical-consultant salesperson or a knowledge worker (Darr, 2002). These ideas somehow extend Lidstone's definition of a technical salesperson: someone who sells industrial products, equipment or highly engineered components; put a major emphasis in his/her know-how, are often worried with technical details, and tends to forget his/her job is to sell (1995). SE at Festo Festo Argentina had around 20 SE (2007) nationwide (from a workforce of 120), half of them farther away than 400 miles from main office. Every SE had a different emotional background (psychological characteristics), engineering field (industrial, electronic, mechanical), and socioeconomic situation (some married, others young and single; well-off, working class, etc.). We were distributed geograp... .../2010]. Pritchard, R. and Ashwood, E. (2008). Managing motivation: a manager’s guide to diagnosing and improving motivation. New York: Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. Smith, A. and Rupp, W. (2003). An examination of emerging strategy and sales performance: motivation, chaotic change and organizational structure. Marketing & Intelligence Planning, 21/3, pp.156-167. Smyth and Murphy (1969). Compensating and motivating salesmen. New York: American Management Association. Srivastava, R. and Rangarajan, D. (2008). Understanding the salespeople’s â€Å"feedback-satisfaction† linkage: what role does job perceptions play?. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 23/3, pp. 151–160. Steers, R. and Porter, L. (1987). Motivation and work behaviour, 4th edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Inc. Stewart, G. (1994). Successful Sales Management, 3rd edition. London: Pitman Publishing. Motivating Sales Engineers in the Industrial Business Essay -- Busines Introduction Salespeople are often internally driven and self-motivated (Srivastava and Rangarajan, 2008), and are increasingly becoming consultants who sell value-added services (Smith and Rupp, 2003). Nowadays more industrial companies employ sales engineers (SE) and therefore they represent an emerging class of knowledge workers on sales (Darr, 2002). I will first describe my experience in Festo, before briefly addressing some theories about motivation, related to it. Was there a mismatch between theory and business as I knew it? If so, I will try to identify it, and to explain why Festo's incentives failed with me. Finally, I will suggest how Festo should have motivated its SE, based on the theory previously discussed. What is a SE? I have mainly worked as a salesperson, although having studied engineering. Then, let me ask: what is a SE? A salesperson with a strong technical knowledge on the field he/she is selling. Furthermore, a SE could be defined as a technical-consultant salesperson or a knowledge worker (Darr, 2002). These ideas somehow extend Lidstone's definition of a technical salesperson: someone who sells industrial products, equipment or highly engineered components; put a major emphasis in his/her know-how, are often worried with technical details, and tends to forget his/her job is to sell (1995). SE at Festo Festo Argentina had around 20 SE (2007) nationwide (from a workforce of 120), half of them farther away than 400 miles from main office. Every SE had a different emotional background (psychological characteristics), engineering field (industrial, electronic, mechanical), and socioeconomic situation (some married, others young and single; well-off, working class, etc.). We were distributed geograp... .../2010]. Pritchard, R. and Ashwood, E. (2008). Managing motivation: a manager’s guide to diagnosing and improving motivation. New York: Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. Smith, A. and Rupp, W. (2003). An examination of emerging strategy and sales performance: motivation, chaotic change and organizational structure. Marketing & Intelligence Planning, 21/3, pp.156-167. Smyth and Murphy (1969). Compensating and motivating salesmen. New York: American Management Association. Srivastava, R. and Rangarajan, D. (2008). Understanding the salespeople’s â€Å"feedback-satisfaction† linkage: what role does job perceptions play?. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 23/3, pp. 151–160. Steers, R. and Porter, L. (1987). Motivation and work behaviour, 4th edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Inc. Stewart, G. (1994). Successful Sales Management, 3rd edition. London: Pitman Publishing.

Self Discipline

Self-discipline is the ability to make oneself do things that should be done. It is the correction or regulation of oneself for the sake of improvement. Acceptance, willpower, hard work, diligence, and persistence all come together to make self discipline. Self discipline is one of the more important attributes a person can master. Acceptance simply means that you see life as it should be seen and knowingly acknowledge what you see. Without acceptance you get either ignorance or denial.â€Å"Identify the area in which your discipline is weak, asses where you stand, accept your starting point, and design a program to improve. Along with acceptance you need willpower. Willpower is the ability to set a course of action and tell yourself to engage. Willpower gives you an intense temporary boost to create the momentum needed to overcome something. If you gather up all of your energy and use it to make a giant movement forward you can attack your problems at their weak points and break th em.Self-discipline is the ability to make oneself do things that should be done. It is the correction or regulation of oneself for the sake of improvement. Acceptance, willpower, hard work, diligence, and persistence all come together to make self discipline. Self discipline is one of the more important attributes a person can master. Acceptance simply means that you see life as it should be seen and knowingly acknowledge what you see. Without acceptance you get either ignorance or denial.â€Å"Identify the area in which your discipline is weak, asses where you stand, accept your starting point, and design a program to improve. Along with acceptance you need willpower. Willpower is the ability to set a course of action and tell yourself to engage. Willpower gives you an intense temporary boost to create the momentum needed to overcome something. If you gather up all of your energy and use it to make a giant movement forward you can attack your problems at their weak points and brea k them.

What Are Hieroglyphs

The words hieroglyph, pictograph, and glyph all refer to ancient picture writing. The word hieroglyph is formed from two ancient Greek words: hieros (holy) glyphe (carving) which described the ancient holy writing of the Egyptians. Egyptians, however, were not the only people to use hieroglyphs; they were incorporated into carvings in North, Central, and South America and the area now known as Turkey. What Do Egyptian Hieroglyphs Look Like? Hieroglyphs are pictures of animals or objects that are used to represent sounds or meanings. They are similar to letters, but a single hieroglyph may signify a syllable or concept. Examples of Egyptian hieroglyphs include: A picture of a bird which represents the sound of the letter aA picture of rippling water which represents the sound of the letter nA picture of a bee which represents the syllable batA picture of a rectangle with a single perpendicular line underneath meant house Hieroglyphs are written in rows or columns. They can be read from right to left or left to right; to determine which direction to read, you must look at the human or animal figures. They are always facing toward the beginning of the line. The first use of hieroglyphics may date from as long ago as the Early Bronze Age (around 3200 BCE). By the time of the ancient Greeks and Romans, the system included about 900 signs. How Do We Know What Egyptian Hieroglyphics Mean? Hieroglyphics were used for many years, but it was very difficult to carve them quickly. To write faster, scribes developed a script called Demotic which was much simpler. Over many years, Demotic script became the standard form of writing; hieroglyphics fell into disuse. Finally, from the 5th century on, there was no one alive who could interpret the ancient Egyptian writings. During the 1820s, archaeologist Jean-Franà §ois Champollion discovered a stone on which the same information was repeated in Greek, hieroglyphs, and Demotic writing. This stone, called the Rosetta Stone, became the key to translating hieroglyphics. Hieroglyphics Around the World While Egyptian hieroglyphics are famous, many other ancient cultures used picture writing. Some carved their hieroglyphs into stone; others pressed writing into clay or wrote on hides or paper-like materials.   The Maya of Mesoamerica also wrote using hieroglyphs which they inscribed on bark.The Aztecs used a pictographic system derived from the Zapotec. Unlike Egyptian hieroglyphics, Aztec glyphs did not represent sounds. Instead, they represented syllables, concepts, and words.  The Aztecs created codices (dictionaries); some were destroyed, but others written on deer hide and plant-based paper survived.First discovered by archaeologists in Hama, Syria, Anatolian hieroglyphs are a form of writing that contained about 500 signs. They were used to write in a language called Luwian.Hieroglyphics from ancient Crete include over 800 signs. Most were written on clay and seal stones (stones used to seal private writing).The Ojibwe people of North America wrote hieroglyphs on rocks and animal hides. Because there are many Ojibwe tribes with different languages, it is difficult to interpret the hieroglyphics.