When did your journey begin in Sampierana? .
I joined the company in 2021 and for six months I worked in reception, welcoming customers and providing support for various requests.
In December 2021, Mattia, my current manager, asked me if I would be interested in working specifically in the attachments sector. An opportunity that I immediately grabbed with enthusiasm and a desire to get involved.
How was the change? Did you find yourself in difficulty at the beginning?
I had a very soft start. From April 2022, I became a permanent figure on attachments, initially in a backoffice role and then in a commercial role.
When the previous equipment sales manager resigned, my colleague Paola and I took over the reins of this part of the business. I for Italy, she for Spain.
From October 2023 I started visiting customers and getting to know them in person.
Have you been able to train yourself on earthmoving equipment?
I slowly built up new knowledge of equipment. The equipment department was always a mixed backoffice, the English and German market followed Paola.
I also studied at home to be independent. I wasn’t required to have the technical knowledge when the old salesman left, but I was lucky enough and also willing to become passionate about the sector. When you study something that you like and are interested in, it happens.
I had already got to know some customers in reception and a human relationship had been established. My first contact with them was born in that context and it served me well to practise patience and assertiveness towards the customer.
As with the other colleagues, a question arises spontaneously and necessary: did you find it difficult to be accepted or to gain credibility in a sector that is still purely male?
When I moved on to attachments and became, like other colleagues, an important point of contact, it wasn’t easy, but little by little I won them over. Even this type of change takes time. Now there is a good relationship of trust with my clients and colleagues.
Have your university studies been important in this career path?
I studied languages and translation, a branch of the Faculty of Languages for Corporate Communication. I don’t feel too far from what I studied, especially since CNH arrived.
During my university years I studied in Spain and worked for six months in England, I stayed there for a few months. I worked for an agency for several airlines and was responsible for carrying out pre-employment checks for all flight staff. I translated their contracts, talked to them on the phone. The work in England was a piece to get here.
Spain, England and then Romagna again and not just any place, but the one where you were born. What did coming back here mean for you?
From my town you travel more towards the city than towards the hills. I came back by choice, even when I left I knew that, at some point, I would return here. On a personal level I have built a network of friendships with colleagues, on a work level I feel gratified and I have a job that allows me to travel all over Italy. In England they had asked me to stay, but I was sure I wanted to return.
What is one of the difficult aspects of your job?
The possibility of making mistakes if you are not technically prepared. The world of equipment is very broad and above all we are very dynamic, we often re-evaluate our suppliers and also the types of equipment, therefore, it is important to always be on top of things.
Another adventure will begin soon for you, that of motherhood. In the reality of Sampierana, however, it is quite common to come across women’s bellies in the corridors. How did you experience this change in relation to your work?
When I found out I was pregnant I was afraid to show my belly. Instead, my clients surprised me first: they ask me how the pregnancy is going, how I’m doing and then I was supported by my colleagues and my manager who fought every day to allow me to continue doing the job I love without problems or doubts.
What would you suggest to those who want to enter the sector?
To keep curiosity alive, because in this sector it is the drive that leads you to learn. If you are curious you learn and if you learn you have fun.
