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Up Topic American Welding Society Services / Certifications / Certifying welding equipment & gas sales personnel
- - By ross (***) Date 09-18-2009 13:48 Edited 09-18-2009 18:17
AWS has a new program for experienced, knowledgeable welding sales reps to prove that they have what it takes to add value to their sales activities. This can be for people who work for the equipment manufacturers, welding supply distributors, robotics integrators, etc. You all have experience, probably, of working with both good and bad sales reps who can make a difference in your results, so I just wanted to let you know about something that we think will be a benefit to the industry. Applicants have to have proven experience and pass an exam that tests their knowledge on all the welding, brazing and cutting processes, terminology, safety, ventilation, shielding gases, filler metals, electrical requirements, and more. Someone who has this cert is the kind of sales rep you'll be more comfortable working with, I bet.

Ross
AWS Marketing
Parent - - By Lawrence (*****) Date 09-18-2009 16:21
Do we have a link setup that describes the program in detail?

I know a few locals that would like to look into something like this.

Thanks Ross
Parent - - By js55 (*****) Date 09-18-2009 17:44
Not really sure of the value. Most of us should be able to talk to a rep for 5 minutes and tell a lot more about his grasp of welding than a certification.
Sales reps that are of real value to manufacturers (and in >30 years I can just about count em on one hand) will be folks who have knowledge way beyond anything a minimum standard cert would require. The average and mediocre folks will soon be dispensed with or utilized as needed by a knowledgeable manufacturer with or without the paper. 
This one just seems superfluous to me.
Parent - By Lawrence (*****) Date 09-18-2009 17:51
I think it might be a good barometer for distributers...  Sometimes folks *think* their salesmen are ok..  But this Cert/Qual might cause some folks to invest in training of their staff...

I know I really dislike dealing with Reps who can't function at a reasonable level.
Parent - - By ross (***) Date 09-18-2009 18:21
Js55,

You'd be surprised how many applicants have flunked, even though they had a minimum required five years' experience.

Ross
Parent - By js55 (*****) Date 09-18-2009 19:04
I'll stand corrected on this one.
I think we've all seen quite a few sales reps whom would flunk.
And Lawrence makes a good point about inhouse employer evaluation.
Just my own perspective as a customer of welding suppliers, I wouldn't need to consider it.
Parent - By ross (***) Date 09-18-2009 18:15
http://www.aws.org/certification/CWSR/ has the details.

Ross
Up Topic American Welding Society Services / Certifications / Certifying welding equipment & gas sales personnel

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