In the not-to-distant future, your friendly automation salesperson may have a new certificate to show off.
The Measurement, Control & Automation Association (MCAA, www.measure.org), a Williamsburg, Va.-based trade association for process control suppliers, announced plans on March 19 to offer a new Certified Measurement, Control & Automation Sales Professional (MCASP) credential.
Through a Web venue known as MCAA eUniversity, industry salespersons can earn the certificate through participation in online, self-paced learning programs established for outside sales professionals, inside sales professionals and sales management professionals, the MCAA said. Individuals may also take the courses on a non-certificate basis and may even purchase access to individual training modules.
Three basic areas of expertise are included in the program: sales skills and the sales process; basic technology knowledge; and undertsanding of primary process industries and the applications appropriate for process control.
Skills and confidence
Individuals who complete the program will have the skills to achieve more in less time, thereby providing increased profits and margins, the MCAA said. Customers will enjoy additional confidence knowing that they are working with a graduate of this program. Distribution firms will have a new means of placing their field sales personnel above the rest of the competition and to distinguish their companies in the marketplace, according to the MCAA.
