Electro-Mechanical Actuators

by Marc Angers

I’d like to set the record straight and refute some myths on Electro-Mechanical actuators. My experience includes having worked for a custom electro-mechanical actuator manufacturer for 8 years as a sales and applications engineer. My mentors for this education are (in my estimation) to be the best in this industry.

Some considerations when selecting an electro-mechanical actuator would be:

• load of the mass?
• velocity to move the mass?
• distance traveled under load?
• orientation of the actuator- horizontal or vertical?
• will the load will be in extend, retract or both directions?

If the actuator is to be mounted vertically, please consider whether the piston is to be mounted up or down. Horizontal loads should look at the possibility of an unsupported length of travel. If the travel is to the end on the stroke, you may have “piston drop” with an unsupported load, causing the front support bearing to wear prematurely. A sign of this would be bearing transfer into the piston. For a vertical mount with piston up the column loading should be calculated to prevent buckling or breaking of the ballscrew.

When looking at electro-mechanical actuators the manufacture’s catalog is an excellent point to begin. But many people fail to examine B10 or L10 life of the ballscrew. Just a simple definition of B10 or L10 life “is the time by which 10% of ballscrews will fail.”  B-10 life will determine the life of the actuator in the application. Typically customers are looking for the maximum B10 life for ROI, which is why calculating B10 life upfront is critical.

Another aspect of actuator sizing is the “move profile”. There are three parts of this. Acceleration, constant velocity move and deceleration. Acceleration should never exceed 1G when considering a ballscrew driven actuator. If acceleration is greater than 1G the circulating balls in the ballnut will skid and not rotate. Over time this will result in infant mortality of the ballscrew. Constant velocity move is when the load has broken inertia. Deceleration is critical. You cannot have the ballscrew impacting the stops during this part of the move profile. Constant uncontrolled deceleration would be the cause for infant mortality of the actuator. One tell-tale sign is the broken fasteners in the end cap. My experience is a servo motor and controller provide the best result for a controlled deceleration. 

Some actuators offer load cells. It’s been my experience that the most accurate way to measure force is with an internally mounted load cell.  We always used an encapsulated donut style cell internally mounted between the thrust and retract bearing. This arrangement is best to measure force in either direction. This has proven to be more reliable in industrial applications over external piston mounted cells with cables hanging.

Let’s say your load falls between two different actuator sizes- how do you properly size this?   

Simple, add another bearing in the direction you need the additional force in. This works if you have only one bearing in each direction which would require a larger end cap, but can be done on some actuators. Other multi-bearing actuators in thrust and retract its best to simply take one bearing and flip it. For example: you need force in “extend” but not retract, and you have two bearings for each direction of force. Simple flip a retract bearing to the direction of force. This would provide you the additional force in that direction.

CV Killers

By the team at CVXperts.com

https://www.cvxperts.com/post/the-cv-is-dead-long-live-the-cv

Resume Killers: Remove this information immediately!

Resume killers undo all of your efforts in the shortest time possible. Instead of an invitation to an interview, usually comes a rejection. The problem: Those who do not recognise what the CV killer is and remove it/them, make the same mistakes over and over again. If you want to have a real chance of being accepted, you need to correctly identify and remove these “CV Killers” from your CV. We identify some of the main ones below;

Mistakes are human and bound to happen, especially if you, like most people dont really ever pay any attention to a CV except when looking for a job, which isn’t usually very often – However, they are still a criterion for exclusion from applications.

Anyone who makes a mistake here quickly loses any chance of being invited to a personal interview and thus of getting the job they want. Resume killers are the worst mistakes you can make in your CV.

The reason:

HR professionals have little time to sift through and assess the large number of application documents. At most, there are only a few minutes, sometimes even a few seconds, left for an initial assessment and decision. In other words: Anyone who makes this first impression with a CV killer will be sorted out immediately.

There are also other reasons:

Curriculum vitae killers show a lack of care. Some of the most common CV killers clearly show that you have not prepared and written your documents with the necessary care. The signal to companies: Even with important tasks, this candidate tends to make mistakes. A No Go for every personnel decision.

Curriculum vitae killers demonstrate ignorance. “I didn’t know better” is no explanation for CV killers. In case of mistakes in the CV, you are more likely to demonstrate that you did not inform yourself.

Which of the two points applies is then ultimately irrelevant. In any case, resume killers lead to your application ending up on the P file like a wastepaper basket.

CV killers can still be found in the documents of applicants. If the CV killer is not recognised and removed, the application will not be successful. Instead, the frustration grows because of repeated rejections. To prevent this from happening to you, we show the most common CV killers, which you should remove and correct:

 

Spelling mistakes

Shortly inattentive or mistyped while writing the resume – spelling mistakes happened quickly. Nevertheless, you are one of the most common resume killers. If a HR professional skims the CV and stumbles across several spelling or grammar mistakes, he or she will most likely save himself or herself a closer reading. Proofread your documents several times and ask others to look for mistakes to avoid this CV killer.

False statements and/or Exaggerations

You want to convince and score points with the best arguments, but false statements and outright lies are an absolute résumé killer. As soon as it becomes apparent that information or points are not correct, the chances of getting a job drop to zero. If you make up qualifications, experience, stations and other details or embellish them far from reality, you will either get an immediate rejection or be dismissed later.

Unimportant information

A full and long CV always looks better? Wrong! Unimportant information is a resume killer. HR professionals want to know what makes you the best person for the position and what you bring to the table to contribute to the company’s success. Irrelevant information only inflates the application unnecessarily, but does not add value. Concentrate on information that is really important to the employer. This is especially true when selecting career stages. The fact that you put up shelves in school or waited tables during your studies does not qualify you for the job of department head. Work experience is good, but must be relevant to the position you are applying for.

Outdated information

The same applies to points in your CV that were so long ago that no one is interested anymore. It does not matter to recruiters which primary school you attended. What matters is the experience and achievements you have made in recent years. The fact that you started school 25 years ago does not qualify you for the job and is a CV killer. The grade point average also loses relevance with the years of employment. Shortly after graduation, it is important, but in later working life it no longer needs to be stated.

Personal data

Name and contact details naturally belong in the document so that your application can be assigned – and to be reachable. However, you should refrain from giving any further personal details. Information about marital status or religion has long since become outdated and counts as one of the life course killers. Such personal details are usually omitted so that they cannot lead to discrimination.

Social Media Profiles

Almost everyone has them, but they only have a place in applications in exceptional cases: social media profiles (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest…) only make sense if they are used professionally. If they contain samples of work (e.g. with photographers), they will be listed. Otherwise they are resume killers. Only professional networks (such as Xing or Linkedin) are not considered to be CV killers if the profiles are well maintained and up-to-date.

Gaps

Longer gaps that are not explained are a big resume killer. For HR managers, such open periods allow only two conclusions: Either you did nothing at all during this time – not good – or you want to conceal something – even worse.

Long text

The curriculum vitae should provide a short and quick overview of the most important information. This is not the place for long texts and epically formulated sentences. The motto is: short and to the point. Everything else is a resume killer. HR professionals want to get all the information at a glance, not have to read and search for a long time.

Exaggerated key point lists

Keywords are a good way to avoid long blocks of text. However, these should also be used sparingly. Key point lists are used to emphasise and highlight important aspects, they are not a stylistic device for dividing the text.

Incorrect fonts

Those who want to attract attention by choosing a font usually do so in a negative way. Too much experimentation is not appropriate here. It is important that the font is easy to read, looks serious and is not outdated. Good options are, for example, Helvetica or Georgia. If the HR manager can hardly decipher the chosen font, this is an instant CV killer. You should also use the same font throughout your application.

Contentless enumerations

Flexible, resilient, organised, motivated… Such lists are supposed to impress, but are in fact CV killers. The reason: They are meaningless phrases that only become credible and comprehensible through concrete examples. Instead of just listing melodious buzzwords, you should give clear examples. This could be, for example, the percentage increase in turnover or the increase in the number of customers you have provided for. Reasons for changing jobs

The CV is about your experience, qualifications and the benefits you bring to the new company. What your motivation is for a change and why you are applying to this employer should be included in the cover letter or a single letter of motivation. It is a CV killer if you mix up the contents of your application documents and mix them up wildly.

Salary details

Money is always an issue in your job and of course you ideally want to earn more in your new job than you did in your old place of work. Nevertheless, salary details are a resume killer. If it is required in the job advertisement, you can state your salary expectations in the letter of application. If not, the financial aspect will only be discussed and negotiated in a later personal interview.

Lack of structure

An unfortunately common CV killer is the lack of structure. Unclear design, no clear structure and personnel have to search for information instead of being able to get a quick overview. The problem also arises when the CV becomes overloaded because every little side aspect of the professional career needs to be mentioned.

Mass dissemination

If you send one and the same CV to many different employers, this is a guaranteed CV killer. The documents in your application should always be tailored and adapted to the company in question. This is the only way you can respond to the different requirements and show that you are applying to exactly this employer.

Good luck on your job hunt!!!

In today’s virtual HR world it is even more important to make your CV and Linkedin profile page stand out so you get noticed, and get hired.

Our expert team of former HR professionals and writers custom make a stand-out CV and Linkedin profile to help you achieve your goals.

Death by Webinar: The BizDev Conundrum of 2020

By Ken Lambert

“Truth be told, we don’t love the term webinar, primarily because it conjures images of boring, “death by PowerPoint” online presentations that sound as appealing as a long walk in a hot desert without water.”

Just today, I was invited to 6 webinars (and the workday is not over yet).  Personally, I am planning and presenting at 4 over the next couple of weeks.

Seven plus months into the COVID crisis, we in business development/ marketing/ sales are swimming in a world of webinars.  Is there an end in sight?  In the meanwhile, how can we somehow make webinars more engaging and attractive?  Is there a practical solution for “webinar fatigue”?

To start with, it would be great if there was a synonym for the quasi-word “webinar”.  I think some tech-savvy people out there have listed “webinar” as one of their SPAM trigger words, and don’t even see emails coming in that have webinar in their title.

The company I work for, a 36-year-old national operation with a wide audience, puts on two national webinars per week- and has been since early April.  In addition, there are probably 4-8 regional webinars that our group conducts each week.  Thus, each month over the past seven months we are putting on about 32 webinars!  And we are not the only ones living and breathing webinars.

Like many outfits that strive to be thought-leaders/experts in a specific niche, webinars are one of the only “COVID era” activities that we can do to be of some distinct value while also trying to engage with our clients and prospects.  That said, there are some realities we need to consider.

• Some (most?) people are getting really tired of webinars. People are on their laptops constantly already, and often on video/Zoom calls and/or virtual conferences.  The chances of them getting excited by a webinar announcement are dwindling as the weeks progress.
• The competition for their “webinar time” is insane. Everyone is offering webinars, mostly free at that.  Right now even if I was sent an invitation, “Insider Webinar: The Answers to Life’s Top 3 Questions Explained SIMPLY” I don’t think I’d have much interest.
• We need to alter how we present and conduct webinars, to engage better with the attendees. If we assume that the standard webinar is 1 hour long total, with 50-55 minutes of one presenter giving a 75-100 slide Powerpoint, we need to be mixing up the formula.  Have a panel discussion, maybe call on attendees during the presentation to ask their opinion on a slide or topic (possibly awkward or painful), mix in some humor or a funny slide (can be dangerous), etc.
• Follow-up is still critical, possibly even more so than pre-COVID. These days people may go to a great webinar, but then they confuse your webinar with the other 3-4 they went on that week and they might forget to reach out to you- even if they fully planned on it.

There is no crystal ball, but there is a solid chance that the current webinar craze will continue for the next 2-3 months anyhow.   (This is assuming that some people start taking a relevant vaccine by mid-December.)  I believe that our chief directive is to try to engage via webinars in whatever means possible over these next few months; our 2021 and 2022 revenues may largely depend on it.

It may be easier said than done.

 

 

Original Article https://smpsboston.org/business-development/death-by-webinar-the-bizdev-conundrum-of-2020?utm_source=mailpoet&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=new-smps-blog-post-newsletter-post-title_1

 

Ken is a Director of Industry Development and Technical Services at the International Masonry Institute. Some of his writings have been featured in ARCHITECT magazine, constructiondive.com, and for U.S. Building News. He can be reached at klambert@imiweb.org.

Creating Innovation using Filters

By Edson Zogbi

If we had to choose the best way to study, inform ourselves, make decisions, feed our tastes, be innovative and creative, live with complexity, and even be happy from now on, it would all be summed up in one word: filters.

Below are 7 keys to fostering an innovative spirit- in business and life:

TEACHING

There is nothing productive regarding teaching- only generating huge grids of subjects and huge volumes of content for students. If a student is interested in 20% of what they receive and these 20% are not equal to the 30% that catches another’s attention, we are being inefficient with this teaching time.  Specifically, in this example, unwanted content is pure informational junk.

There are arguments that all content is important for future admissions for other levels of study, especially the university, this only proves how teaching is totally out of touch with the reality we live in.  It is an old theme, but in many cases insoluble, due to socio-economic and political interests and structures which are obsolete.

If we think of generating a new teaching platform that makes the most of the student’s vocation, the word filters will be very useful. A child is fortunate to have very good natural filters for what interests him, because of his need for social and systemic adaptation, without the conditions that adults have. But beyond this initial child condition, a new education system should develop tools that provide case-specific content and tutoring individually for each student. I believe that with artificial intelligence this will be relatively easy to do using filters.

INFORMATION

From an information point of view the need for filters has long exceeded the point of urgency.  It is simple to detect this by noting that many people around us waste a lot of time with informational junk.  There is a large amount of time which I find it difficult to separate the chaff from the wheat.

Younger generations, born after the information revolution and within the digital age have less difficulties (and perhaps future ones have even less), but not only is information increasing exponentially, the cross-referencing of data contributes to a huge increase of complexity and what seemed to us to be voluminous in two dimensions (linear thinking) now has three, actually four, considering the time dimension (complex thinking); it´s all much bigger.

We have to develop filters, or we will be swallowed by artificial intelligence.  The filters in this case will serve to receive clean, objective, useful information and to return insights or answers (both for men and machines) in the same way.

DECISIONS

In a simple, minimalist environment it is hard to make decisions, our choices are obvious in some cases, in others they are torture. Imagine in a world that gets more complex day by day, as I mention in my book on Innovation Management: “For those who surf seriously a wave is a challenge, it is complex, but it is what we want, but for those who do not surf, the same wave is chaotic and the chance to swallow water or possibly drown is huge. ”

And about filters? Hmmm, things can get a lot easier, first because the “guesswork” is dropped right off the bat and objective decisions can come automated, like a multiple-choice test.  The truth is that it is becoming increasingly difficult to choose this or that.

A well-designed filter could even include opinions from the non-specialist parties, because complex decisions involving various areas of, we do not know in depth can receive differentiated input, would be like Delphi Methodology* applied to the present, rather than applied for the future.

OUR LIKES

Time to feed our EGOs. Well that sounds like the easy part, after all what we like, we just like it and that’s it!  Not quite, when we include the 4th dimension, time, we see that it changes, and changes faster than we think.  It’s easy to notice that as we review ourselves 5, 10, 15, 20 years ago.  When we change our tastes over time, for whatever reason – an influential friend, a passion, a change of country – we always have to deal with a new flood of information, until we’re satisfied, because we use our natural filters, clearly.

But there are other angles to note. Many people decide to close their range because it’s less work, of course it’s lovely to be a specialist in a topic, whether it’s personal or professional, but this should not be confused with “closing in on a topic/ closing your mind”, which is synonymous of “intellectual freeze”. Especially because at the pace of the world, specializing but then closing your mind means “voluntary obsolescence”.

Complexity does not forgive, it grows steadily, although it is not by definition, whoever chooses to close their mind will still be part of it, but it will have a smaller, less relevant, crystallized, melancholy role in history.

CREATIVITY

Now comes the part where I have to walk on eggshells, after all I have the most read creativity book and if I talk about filters without explaining properly it may seem that there is a contradiction, but there is not. Anyone who has studied the creative process, in any version, by any author, knows that to create we have to make two great movements, the first is to open – open the mind, open to the new, the different – finally, receive a lot of information and then making the most of crossings over to generate new ideas, is like the brainstorming (Alex Osborn), or a six-hat session (Edward de Bono), or some other technique for generating ideas.

The second movement is to close, make a funnel to turn the idea into something, a product, a service, art, whatever it is, then we use our filters (we can even superimpose it on the aforementioned theme of the choices, if we wish). It is inevitable that we go through this creative process if we want to create and give relevance to our ideas, but if filters are our choices in this case, there is nothing new about that, right? Wrong.

Because additional filters can vastly increase the level of accuracy we have with our creative actions.  Look at innovations, where we can consider tools that filter the initial concept (idea), and going beyond our natural filters, and can contribute to improving the idea, feasibility, risk mitigation, acceleration and more.

Those who work with project management (PMBOK, SCRUM, Agile, and Design Thinking) know this. Even a picture painter, if he has information about acceptable (or impactful) techniques or themes he has the advantage of using filters, of course in the art business anything goes, but this is what differentiates a successful artist from a starving one.

COMPLEXITY

Yes, I mentioned complexity before, in the information paragraph, but living with complexity means “being inserted into it, even passively,” like a tourist sitting in a square, watching the world happen. This conviviality has to do with our moments of leisure, relaxation, amateur sport, art absorption and entertainment.

Hence the question: Is it still good to have filters? Yes, of course, because the fastest growing segment in humanity is idleness, since robots will do much of the work, so having filters to simply be in the complex environment, or to enjoy your idleness, will be of great importance.  After all the time is our most valuable asset (much more than money, because it buys everything but less time) and if we have filters to help organize our lives and make the best of time we will not complain about anything, right?

HAPPINESS

Finally I mention happiness, the subject is slippery, wide-ranging, but I didn’t want to summarize happiness by using filters, I just predict that they will greatly help us to be able to live well within a world where there is no people to teach to live only on the basis of your previous experience, as it is a fast changing world with no forecast of deceleration (think of demography, technology, complex information).

The older and the recorded history will always be useful to us, but never definitive in the face of the future, again considering the complexity, that is inclusive, we need the tacit knowledge that comes to us through the older, as well as the recorded explicit knowledge accumulated. For humanity that will not be enough, in fact it never was, for mankind does not stop (and I love it).

* Authorial content in the book “Innovation Management: How to Turn Creative Ideas into Viable Products and Services” – Google Play

(https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Edson_Zogbi_Innovation_Management?id=UfCKDwAAQBAJ&hl=pt_PT) Amazon.

** Creativity: Innovative Behavior within Your Comfort Zone -Google Play

 (https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Edson_Zogbi_Creativity?id=23yJDwAAQBAJ&hl=pt_PT) and Amazon.

7 Habits for Highly Effective Proof of Concepts

By Tony Matos

When people are involved, there are many human interactions, including; business and personal aspirations, opinions, procedures, processes and politics. They can all collide and add drama during a proof of concept. Your ability as a sales engineer to be mindful of these human interactions and how you orchestrate them will influence your PoC. Being aware of the many human interactions which occur during a Proof of Concept (PoC) enables a sales engineer to manage a PoC with greater ease, professionalism and trust. The habits and practices we focus on influence how we manage these human interactions.

Habits Influence Our Execution

When people are involved, there are many human interactions, including; business and personal aspirations, opinions, procedures, processes and politics. They can all collide and add drama during a proof of concept. Your ability as a sales engineer to be mindful of these human interactions and how you orchestrate them will influence your PoC.

Being aware of the many human interactions which occur during a Proof of Concept (PoC) enables a sales engineer to manage a PoC with greater ease, professionalism and trust.

The habits and practices we focus on influence how we manage these human interactions.

As presales professionals, we know that listening, follow-up and having consistent and clear communication are markers of world-class PoC engagement. However, during a PoC, there are many other factors at play.

Even sales engineers experience the human emotions of winning and losing proof of concepts. We feel elated when a customer understands our solution and becomes excited about the possibility of what it can do for them. But we also experience frustration when a customer can’t see beyond the marketing fluff of our competitors. Let’s acknowledge that these emotions are part of our personal and professional experience. 

It takes emotional intelligence to manage the range of human emotions we experience.

The Roller Coaster Experience

A sales engineer must recognize the emotional roller coaster that occurs during a Proof of Concept. As such, every sales engineer’s critical skill is being aware of and managing their emotional intelligence.

Investing time in this one area will significantly improve your ability to communicate with your team and customers in an impactful and meaningful way. As well it nurtures the right thinking and emotional management required to deal with people during a PoC. 

The seven habits outlined below and available in ebook format were written with a focus on acknowledging the emotional, human interactions which occur during a proof of concept. Every Proof of Concept requires planning and focus. To improve the human interactions of managing a PoC, leverage these seven habits to improve how you engage with your customer.

The Seven Habits For Proof Of Concepts

Here are the seven habits that help improve the human interactions of a proof of concept with a customer while also improving your technical win-rate.  

1. Take time to document the PoC – there is value in capturing the what, who, when, where and how
2. Understanding why you consent to a POC – take time to qualify a POC.
3. Deliver business value – take the focus off your technology and place the customer at the center of the PoC
4. Focus on the essentials that lead to a successful POC – know and complete the required elements for success – avoid doing a partial implementation.
5. Understand the necessary outcomes of a PoC – understand the bigger picture of your customer requirements
6. Before starting a PoC, conduct a thorough discovery – just because you can do it doesn’t mean you should
7. Build the relationship with your customer by nurturing trust- invest time to understand them, walk in their shoes and see life through their eyes

People Not Just Technology

The practice and focus of these seven habits advance the overall success of your PoC. These habits are less about the technology and much more about the human interactions occurring during a PoC. Being aware of these human interactions improves the overall customer experience during a PoC.  

These seven habits are not technology-centric. Instead, they revolve around common-sense best practices of mutual respect, active listening and collaboration.

Download the EBook!

15 Virtual Meeting Etiquettes for Effective Online Presentations

Making live presentations gives a familiar and dreaded feeling of butterflies in the stomach. Online presentations are a step above; they pose more challenges and of a different nature.

Consider this: You can’t read people’s body language, you can’t know if people are even listening to you. Your effectiveness goes for a toss since virtual presence is a great equalizer. And then there is a risk of home stuff creeping in official business.

All this while you are trying to influence that big sales or swing that executive decision in your favor! That’s why virtual meeting etiquettes are quite important.

In the wake of Coronavirus, people are forced to work remotely and make online presentations. They find themselves seriously under-equipped with the tools and ways of thinking about remote presentations. On the other hand, people who have these skills will rise and shine: They will be the masters of the Virtual Domain.

Here are our 15 Virtual Presentation Tips:

1) Dress up: As you usually would if you were presenting in person, even if it is an audio-only discussion. While it is undoubtedly comfy in your pajamas, you run a psychological risk of slipping into a comfort zone, which can take the edge off your presentation. Be fully groomed, look sharp so that you can be sharp.

2) Gear up: How many “can you hear me now moments have you had”? How about apologizing for the call dropping? Take our advice and do the following:

a)Invest in good equipment. 

Here are our picks:

• Jabra Speak 510: Improves quality of the audio connection from your laptop; has a variety of connectivity options;
• Makes connecting with Skype of MS Teams a breeze
• Sennheiser Double Sided Business Headset: SC 660 USB CTRL (504555): The best headset I have come across. This is the only one with a physical mute button- yes, you read that right- a rare physical mute button that lights up when you press it.

Disclaimer: We earn no commission or have any commercial interests in the recommended products

b) Dial-in two lines simultaneously: Here are the advantages of doing that – You can hear your voice on the other line: that way you will not have to ask if you are audible. If one disconnects, you can pick the other.

3) Warm-up: You do not have the human touchy-feely warmth when on a cold, dry phone call. Believe it or not, we are all humans and need a bit of small talk. Going straight to the point can make you appear very transactional and not interested in the other person. A little bit of warm-up can go a long way. While most discussions these days start with virus talk, weather, sports continue to be safe all-time favorites. One caveat is to find an opening to move quickly to the point and not make the starter encroach your main course.

4) Watch your back: If on Video, a cluttered background can ruin everything for which you should try to use MS Teams if possible and blur the background or use a white background.

5) Read cues: This one needs a bit of practice and is a pro technique. But you will do it if you are willing to listen carefully: The signs are all over the place:

A breath inward: Someone wants to speak.

Sigh: Didn’t fully agree with part of what you said

Total silence: Usually means no engagement

Sounds of typing: Same as above and many others.

6) Leave the keyboard alone: Whether you are taking notes during the meeting or chatting with your friend, the sound of your typing is really distracting. It’s not only preventing you from focusing on the meeting but also distracting everyone else in the meeting.

7) Mute your microphone when you’re not talking: There’s nothing more frustrating than hearing that aching noise from conflicting microphones. It also prevents any unwanted audio from entering your mic. 

8) Send pre-reads: Send pre-reads, if possible, a day in advance for dense topics. It will give you a lot of invisible power and provide a solid impression that you are in command. Then restrict your presentation to topics that require discussions rather than pour over the material. I would recommend you send pdfs to avoid cluttering your audience’s mailboxes. The audience will notice this and thank you in their hearts.

9) Jazz up: The audience will not get the benefit of your charming physical presence. Make up for that by using good quality slides. A thumb rule is that slides have to speak for themselves since, like it or not, many will scroll ahead and read through everything while you are talking and make their impressions, which can often be hard to change. Use SlideUpLift to take advantage of the online library of great looking Powerpoint templates that use principles of vision science to create an impact.

10) Be Early: always! It creates a solid impression that you are on top of your game.

11) Lower Your Voice: Speak at a slower cadence than that of your everyday conversational speech. This is because most people use earphones during meetings and you will be speaking directly in their ears through the earphones.

12) Don’t eat during the conference: Would you ever bring anything to eat in a meeting? Then don’t bring it into your virtual meeting either. This is especially important if others can hear you chewing, it can cause a distraction for everyone.

13)  Stick to the time frames: You should always keep an eye on the clock and make sure you start and finish your virtual meeting on time. This will reflect your professionalism and make others be on time.

14)  Mind your body language: Body language is a vital part of online meeting etiquette. Even if you can speak and present flawlessly, your facial expression and posture say more than your words when you present online. 

15) Protect Sensitive Information: If you are sharing your screen during the presentation, make sure that only the intended content is seen. Before you launch a video conference, close all unnecessary tabs from your browser. Launching a new browser window and preparing before time will help keep sensitive information confidential.

For extra control of what others see during your presentation, choose the option to share the screen only one screen or one app (i.e. only a Powerpoint presentation) instead of your full desktop.

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Conclusion:

Online meetings are an effective means of communication and valuable methods for bringing your team together. But without preparation and the use of effective tools, they risk wasting participants’ time without actually achieving anything valuable.

Follow these 15 virtual meeting etiquette tips during your next meeting, and ask your team members to maintain these standards, to make your video conference more effective.

https://slideuplift.com/blog/remote-presentations-7-tips-to-make-you-masters-of-the-online-presentations/?utm_source=LN_15Vmeetingtips_oct27&utm_medium=LN_15Vmeetingtips_oct27&utm_campaign=LN_15Vmeetingtips_oct27

 

What Ad Campaigns Can Tell Your Pre-Sales Team about How to Accelerate Growth

By Sarah Parker

https://sarahlparker.co.uk/

All Pre-Sales engineers will have been asked the question “What do you do?” Their responses are usually met with silence…or confusion.

But Pre-Sales is at the centre of your business growth and is just as valuable as Sales.

And it is hard work.  

You need to make sure that you have a laser focus. 

Pre-Sales is evaluating your technical, commercial and operational offerings and comparing them to your competitors on a daily basis.

They know better than anyone else why you’re not winning accounts. 

How can you use that knowledge to create compelling content and drive sales?

Using ad campaigns to work back to client needs

We’re going to be looking at how top ad campaigns illustrate the potential impact of Pre-Sales by working backwards to the client needs that these identify.

After all, eventually your Pre-Sales and Sales knowledge should flow to your marketing teams for stunning campaigns that customers can relate to.

The best way to achieve a seamless cross-functional understanding of your customer is to build your Pre-Sales knowledge with Sales and Marketing.

Master these areas on every bid to get started:

• Develop a vision of your customer’s needs
• Make sure that you clarify features and benefits
• Drive your teams to collaborate and share knowledge

Develop a vision of your customers’ needs

At the risk of stating the obvious, all sales activity centres on the customer.  Building a vision of your individual customer’s needs in Pre-Sales includes developing a common vision and architecting a solution.

It’s tempting to make educated guesses about what a customer needs and these can pay off—often resulting in rigid bid templates and pre-written answers.  But not all customers want a one-size fits all solution and the next customer may need a different approach.

Let’s imagine for a moment, that your team has included the following in a pre-sales pitch:

“Our SaaS solution can provide conversational AI that leads to business growth and increased conversion rates.”

This makes perfect sense if your customer is in the private sector.  But if they’re in the public sector, this templated copy is actually a flag that you don’t understand what they’re trying to achieve and why. Their challenges are likely to be citizen engagement, user satisfaction and legacy systems, rather than the constant drive to revenue.

So, this sentence would be more appropriate “Our SaaS solution improves citizen experience, increases citizen engagement and can be easily integrated with legacy systems.”

This is a fairly obvious example, but it’s this kind of rushed answer that can make or break a bid.  Don’t think that customers don’t notice these slips—when there’s millions of pounds and organisational reputation at stake everything is a chance lost or gained.

How advertisements visualise the complexity of customer needs

MMB’s advert for a toaster company perfectly visualises how your bid team needs to capture the differences between each customer.  The tagline is “Finally, toast exactly how you like it.” There’s a clear and direct recognition that customers may buy the same toaster but that they all like their toast done differently—there’s 30 shades of toast in the advert below.

Your customers are exactly the same.

And that’s what they want from your bid, whether they’re in the public or private sector—for you to show that you understand and value the subtlety of their position and can provide the solution that fits their needs best. 

It’s your Pre-Sales team who know all these settings—share that knowledge with Sales and Marketing, and they can turn it into great assets and campaigns (like MMB’s creative advert) for a joined-up process that connects your customer’s vision across channels.

Make sure that your selling team uses features and benefits

A lot of Sales teams forget that buying is essentially a selfish process—the customer cares about solving their problems.  Your organisation is only selected if it fulfils that vision.

Pre-Sales teams need to have deep understandings of your organisation’s features and benefits to support how these fit into the customer’s needs and resolve their issues.

Features are part of the seller’s products or services such as process, price, training or capacity. Benefits are advantages that solve a problem for the customer—they are linked to the customer’s needs and they’re something the customer wants.

You need to remember that customers buy benefits. It doesn’t matter if your product has all the bells and whistles if it doesn’t actually solve the customer’s problem.

Customers are looking for the return on investment, cost savings and improvements that drive directly into their current problems.  For example, if they have a low employee retention rate, they’d want to know how your product or service could increase that and by what per cent.  It’s not good enough to just drop in a figure—use case studies to prove that the benefits are achievable and proven.

But for any of this to work, the Sales team needs to communicate the clients’ benefits to the Pre-Sales team.  Even the best bid writer in the world can’t win a bid if they don’t know what the customer is looking for.  Yes, they might be able to get you in the top three on the back of strong case studies and market research—but winning a bid requires Sales to have confident and strong relationships with clients that can then feed back into the bid cycle.

How adverts use contrast to illustrate features and benefits

M&C Saatchi’s Roladin’s “Opposites Attract” campaign pairs donuts with someone who represents something entirely different—seemingly the unnatural choice.

The use of opposites forces a tension that generates renewed focus.

 

This is similar to bids—the customer does not always know, nor explicitly state, what their needs are.  It may be something that you wouldn’t normally think of.  This is why Sales knowledge is critical to winning bids.

You may be selling a software license with a discount for ten enterprise users and 1,000 social medial posts a month.  You’ve based this on the customer’s current team composition.  But what if they’re scaling up or scaling down, or have just announced a corporate merger?

Then, your solution suddenly becomes arbitrary and potentially far less useful to the client.

Your Pre-Sales team need those more oblique contextual clues so that they can create standout, tailored bids with benefits that speak directly to your customer. 

Drive your teams to collaborate and share knowledge

The best Pre-Sales teams create bids that take their customers’ needs and transform that into messaging that is not directly about a product or a service, but about the values and issues that the customer wishes to speak to.

The campaigns are a strong visual way of understanding this—they’re not designed just to be compelling but to speak directly to customers in their own language.

Behind this success sits a matrix of collaboration between Sales, Pre-Sales and marketing that drives customer knowledge and understanding to the heart of everything you do. 

If you nail that, you will win bids, your Sales team will convert leads and your marketing content will have focus and direction—all the elements you need to knock it out of the park.

 So, what are you waiting for?

How Project Management Insight Can Help a Sales Engineer

– by Alan Geiss

When I worked at IBM, my manager would tell me “Never confuse Selling with Installing”.  I recognized then that these were two separate activities, but I failed to recognize their similarities and dependencies.  Later in my career I led project teams at Bayer Corporation for almost 20 years, and it was then that I came to appreciate my sales experience.

Products and Services – We sell products and/or services, and after the sale project teams must implement the same.  The sales process establishes the business case for the project team, so we owe it to the client to ensure there is a case for change (aka the Burning Platform).  Without this we all fail.

Stakeholder Identification – Identifying stakeholders is just as crucial at the beginning of the sales process as it is in the initiation phase of the project.  It is probably more important for the project team to know who the outliers are than the sales team, as these colleagues could impact the adoption of the product or service.

Communication, Communication, Communication – The three most important activities when selling or implementing products or services.  Having a communication plan is critical regardless of pre or post sale activities.  Get good at it.  Spend more time listening and less time talking.  Be curious, ask questions to understand the client’s requirements. This is where you should be spending most of your time if you want to be successful.

Building a strong team – Selling solutions at IBM involved a team of people, both from IBM and its agents as well as a group of individuals from the client’s team.  Taking the time to build strong relationships is just as important on sales teams as it is on project teams.  High Performance Teams rarely fail, so why not take the time to build one.

Overcoming Objections – Removing obstacles during the sales process is just as critical during the implementation process.  Obstacles are a risk to closing “the deal”.  By understanding the customers objections, we can address their needs.  This is “Risk Management” in project management terminology.  It requires open and honest communications with key stakeholders.  I do interviews with key stakeholders at the beginning of projects to understand what they see as the project’s biggest risk.  Why not consider doing this at the beginning of the sales cycle?

Never take it personal – Saying “Don’t take it personal”, and not reacting emotionally is easier said than done.  I am competitive by nature, so I was never happy when I lost a sale.  In my case, I was missing professional maturity.  Things do not always go as planned in projects, but I conduct “Lessons Learned” exercises so that we can capture what went well and where we can improve.  Doing the same post- mortem on a lost sale would benefit you and company, while at the same time depersonalize the experience.

In my book Managing Sh*T Storms I describe the three essential behaviors required for effective project managers.  Learning to be courageous would certainly be an asset for an effective sales professional.  The most successful sales reps I know were not afraid of anything and were top performers in the company.  Practicing boldness will allow you to get things done and get more opportunities.  The next time the boss is looking for a volunteer, raise your hand.  Trust your instincts as they are based on your life experiences.  Take the time to understand what your “gut” is telling you and trust your own advice.  If you put these three essentials to practice you will have more success in your job and in your career.

BUY THE BOOK HERE: https://smile.amazon.com/Managing-Sh-Storms-Managers-Situations-ebook/dp/B086N37JG4?sa-no-redirect=1

Accruent: VP Global Sales Engineering Opportunity

Every company has a mission. At Accruent, ours is to make sure you are ready to deliver on yours. 10,000+ customers around the globe depend on Accruent to lead their physical resources and gain the transparency to execute their mission. We’re mission ready. Are you? 

Why you want to work for our Sales Engineering team: 

As the front-facing technical leader of our entire pre-sales team, you are the embodiment of our customers. You have one of the most impactful leadership roles to our continued sales growth. You will lead a Sales Engineering technical team focused on sales and customer success with multiple solutions, verticals and geographies. Working cross functionally to promote and influence strategic product direction, supporting sales and customers.??Proactively lead the Sales Engineering team to innovate and develop technical solutions supporting sales and customer use cases.? 

Accruent is looking for a VP Global Sales Engineering whowill demonstrate the capability to excel in a fast-paced environment, demonstrate deep knowledge of the market, leverage a deep understanding of Database’s, SaaS, Integration API’s, and On-Prem Client Server technologies. Someone who will lead by example, translate corporate and sales vision into results, become an agent for change, and emphasizes customer service. 

This position reports directly to the Chief Revenue Officer and can be located remotely. 

How you’ll make a difference: 

• Partner with sales leadership to achieve company and regional revenue targets.
• Build and lead a team of Sales Engineers and Managers who serve as our core product introduction, evaluation, education experts and ongoing customer success.
• Ensure that your teams are enabled to support all required products and solutions along with required sales/soft skills.
• Jointly own customer success, leveraging best practice and focus to ensure our customers are delighted. ?Work cross functionally with counterparts in Professional Services,
  Customer Support, and Customer Success. 
• Proactively engage with Sales Leadership to create close alignment and develop technical tools/programs to support sales campaigns and initiatives.
• Ensure your organization develops and maintains a catalog of Sales Engineering services, with artifacts, SLA’s and KPI’s.
• Work closely with the Sales team to develop strategic and technical territory and account plans.
• Oversee the recruiting, hiring, development and effectiveness of the Global Pre-Sales team.
• Manage performance and key talent closely ensuring that we are taking the necessary actions to retain top talent and manage performance at all levels.
• Ensure pre-sales organization is managing and tracking customer facing activity in a manner consistent with the rest of the company.
• Work cross functionally with support, product management, engineering, and other organizations to ensure alignment with sales, provide process and product feedback, and resolve critical customer situations.

What you’ll bring to the table: 

• BS in Computer Science or equivalent, MBA (preferred) 
• 10+ years in a senior sales engineering leadership / management role with proven success
• Enterprise software industry experience with cloud / SaaS solutions 
• Highly professional persona and polished demeanor.?
• Strong verbal and written communication skills; effective at influencing an organization at all levels
• Ability to work with diverse groups of people;challenge and?lead people toward their peak performance 
• Strategic and forward thinker
• A highly analytical approach, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills
• Strong project management and financial awareness skills
• Experience managing global/diverse teams

Please Note:

• This job requires up to 40% travel domestically & internationally.
• This is a full-time, exempt opportunity.
• Relocation will not be considered for this position. It is a remote based role across the globe.
• At this time, visa sponsorship is not available.
• All job offers are contingent upon a successful background investigation and drug test. 

We believe everyone can bring something incredible to the table with each of our unique experiences and personal skillset. We encourage you to apply for roles that interest you, even if you don’t believe you have the exact experience we’re looking for, or your background doesn’t match the job description perfectly. If you are courageous, adaptable, and love being part of an extraordinary team, we want to hear from you!

We believe everyone can bring something incredible to the table with each of our unique experiences and personal skillset. We encourage you to apply for roles that interest you, even if you don’t believe you have the exact experience we’re looking for, or your background doesn’t match the job description perfectly. If you are courageous, adaptable, and love being part of an extraordinary team, we want to hear from you!

ABOUT ACCRUENT

Accruent is a global software company that helps organizations achieve superior performance by transforming how they manage their physical resources. Its innovative, industry-leading cloud-based software and services enable organizations to optimize all stages of real estate, facilities and asset management, from capital planning through to IoT-based monitoring and control. With a proven track record across two decades, Accruent has created the only integrated SaaS-based framework and reporting platform for full lifecycle physical resource management. More than 7,000 global customers depend on Accruent solutions to drive out hidden costs, extend asset lifecycles, protect their brands, ensure compliance and deliver on the missions of their organization. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Accruent serves a wide range of industries in 149 countries around the world.For more information, visit www.accruent.com. 

Accruent is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action employer. Women, minorities, veterans, and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

All offers of employment are made contingent upon the successful completion of a background check. A background check may include: verification of education, past employment, criminal background reports, motor vehicle driving records, reference checks, civil suit records, drug test and/or investigations into incidents involving theft, fraud, harassment and workplace violence. The company is the sole determinant of a successful background check.

Review: The 6 Habits of Highly Effective Sales Engineers

REVIEW:  The 6 Habits of Highly Effective Sales Engineers (Chris White)

Recently I was asked to read and review a 2019 book written by presales consultant Chris White, regarding the best habits of effective sales engineers.  The book is geared more towards the software industry. However, roughly 85% of the material and suggestions within the book can be used in other fields of sales engineering.

Overall, White’s book has many practical points and insights, which I believe is the key factor in any business publication.  My favorite pieces of advice he suggests include the following:

• A sales engineer IS IN SALES!
• At a presentation/meeting the SE needs to do the same thing that a typical salesperson needs to do:  establish trust and build confidence with the audience, build relationships and develop rapport, offer insights and suggestions, and maybe most importantly- LISTEN.
• SE’s often focus too much on the thing/product, and not the story/message.
• Presales is not consulting.  We are trying to make a sale; we have not been hired- yet.
• Some SE’s rely too much on the information from the sales counterpart, instead of doing their own thorough technical discovery call.
• SE’s might not ask or know who will be in the room during a planned meeting.
• Technical Sales Reps can either underprepare for a meeting, or can waste valuable time and resources by overpreparing.  The trick is staying in that middle ground.
• SE’s may not run thru every click/step during a demo or presentation prior to the actual client meeting.   This is a big mistake and can cause embarrassing and sometimes deal-killing problems in front of the client.
• Confused prospects/buyers always say No.
• In your demo/presentation, make sure there are 3-5 “ah-ha” moments which should impress your audience.  On the same note, know why you are showing each step or slide/page.  Basically, you need to ask yourself, “So what?” to each step or slide.

One aspect of the book would not be entirely correct for “some” sales engineers out there.   The premise of the book is that the SE is always working alongside a sales rep or Account Executive.  While this may be generally the case, especially in enterprise software, it oftentimes is not the case in the non-software end of sales engineering.  I was formerly the national sales engineer for a building product manufacturer, and there was nobody else doing anything sales related in my territory.  I did all of my own prospecting as well as every other aspect of sales and business development or account management.   Many other non-software SE’s are in the same boat.

That said, White’s chapter on partnering with your AE is excellent and is critical for having a successful career where you are in fact working with a sales counterpart.  If that relationship is problematic, there is very little chance of ongoing sales prowess.  The book goes over several aspects making sure you have a solid working relationship, and much of this has to do with communication, and expectations.

In my opinion, Chris White’s book does a good job of what it sets out to do, and is full of valuable lessons for the new SE but also for a professional that has been in the industry or role for several years.  And though it does focus on software professionals, SE’s from other fields should also find it relevant and helpful.

 

You can buy it here https://smile.amazon.com/Habits-Highly-Effective-Sales-Engineers/dp/0578521903?sa-no-redirect=1