A picture-book career in sales at GEZE
Peter Jüngling's career is extraordinary. Especially in today's fast-moving times. After all, the 63-year-old has spent his entire working life - from training to retirement - at GEZE. No wonder his motto is "keep at it" and "staying power". Here he reveals what he advises young and experienced people alike.
Commercial training at GEZE - at the second attempt
When Peter Jüngling applied for an apprenticeship at GEZE in 1977 with a rather mediocre secondary school leaving certificate, he was initially rejected. But instead of burying his head in the sand, the then 17-year-old went to a commercial vocational college and learnt accounting and bookkeeping. And lo and behold, he was accepted the following year - and has remained loyal to the company to this day. “I prepared myself properly and it worked in the second step of the application process, as I really had all the commercial thinking down pat. That wasn't an issue at secondary school back then.”
Dual study programme for young people
If he were in the same situation today, he would try to do a little better at school and secure a place on a dual study programme at GEZE. "It really is a great training programme that combines theory and practice in a wonderful way. Unfortunately, it didn't exist back then - but I would recommend a dual study programme to any young person who wants a career." And leaving GEZE never crossed his mind. The family atmosphere and the development opportunities offered to experienced professionals at GEZE have been the driving force behind his loyalty to GEZE from the very beginning.
Making a career - it works at GEZE!
After completing his apprenticeship, the young man continues his career immediately. "The good thing about training as an industrial clerk is that you get to move around the company a lot. I was also in all kinds of areas, work preparation, purchasing, etc., but I realised relatively quickly that sales was exactly my thing." And he quickly made a career in this area, which reached its first high point in 1990 when he became an area sales manager in the field service and was granted authorisation to act in 1993. "It was really something special as a young man to be authorised to act at GEZE at the age of 33. Thanks to my wife, who took care of our new family, I was able to concentrate fully on my career and made the most of this opportunity." It is precisely this personal support and the belief in the abilities of individual employees that make GEZE very interesting for experienced professionals. "I would advise anyone who wants to make a difference and get things moving to join GEZE"
I would advise anyone who wants to make a difference and get things moving to join GEZE.
Peter Jüngling, Sales EngineerThe professional highlight of the career: the Slimdrive 7 cm
Peter Jüngling puts his heart and soul into being a Sales Engineer at GEZE. © GEZE GmbH
And the 63-year-old has already achieved a great deal. His absolute highlight: the market launch of the Slimdrive 7 cm - at the time a completely new product that revolutionised the automatic market. "With the Slimdrive, I was involved in brainstorming, the entire development process, patenting and the market launch. Always in a team with product management and marketing, of course. In 1997, we really landed this coup at the BAU trade fair and presented a completely new automatic sliding door that had never been seen on the market before."
We actually had an absolute novelty on the market with the GEZE Slimdrive, for which architects even cancelled existing tenders in order to be able to use the product in their buildings.
Peter Jüngling, Sales EngineerAlways stay on top of the issues
Peter Jüngling will retire on 1 February 2025 - before then, he is looking forward to training his successor Andrada Oprea. © GEZE GmbH
As part of a reorganisation at GEZE, the retail business will become the responsibility of the regional branch managers in 2016 - and Peter Jüngling is faced with the question: what happens next? He was offered his own territory - and the opportunity to continue to look after the major customers he had acquired - together with the branch manager. "Shifting the retail business to the branches was certainly rather difficult for me. But together with After Sales, I was able to approach my existing customers with the new exciting products, such as the networking solutions, and make them a complete, well-rounded offer. This change was ultimately another step forward for me. It's important not to stand still, but to always stay on top of the issues."
Staying in dialogue and open - with staying power
When it comes to networking and digitalisation in particular, the 63-year-old can rely on professional support - in his case in a very special way: "I helped train one of the networking experts in my role as product manager several years ago - and today he is training me in his specialist area! That's the advantage of staying with a company for so long."
The hobby trumpeter has learnt one thing - and wants to pass it on to the next generation: "No matter what you do, you should have staying power for everything - of course there are setbacks in life, there are defeats, but then you just have to keep at it."
