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Social Selling versus Personal Selling in the Valve Industry
The era of industrial valve salespeople visiting customers with their sample case and technical product binders is over . Social selling via social media has become the modus operandi in the valve industry today . While valve salespeople at smaller companies without the technical savvy and capital to adapt to social selling are still pounding the pavement and knocking on doors – their days are numbered .
By Bob Donnelly - Consultant
End user engineers today have grown up on the internet and are tech-savvy . They are at ease electronically locating the valves and valve automation components that they need and do not need to talk to or see anyone to collect technical specifications . If they have a question , they go to the “ chat feature ” of the valve manufacturer ’ s website and get an answer electronically via a chat with the valve manufacturer ’ s engineering team .
Online sophisticated “ configurators ” are also available that can do the same thing for valve engineers without any human interaction , and supply them with specifications , technical data , and photos of the valve or valve automation assembly .
The dynamic change in the selling process has been further enhanced by the digitization of all the technical specifications and applications of valves and valve automation components by valve manufacturers . This data in an electronic format has transformed the traditional
sales process into a more efficient and more profitable social selling model .
Additionally , product presentations and applications can be captured in a variety of video formats and shared and posted on valve suppliers ’ websites . Historically , valve salespeople had to make the same presentation over and over again on every sales call . Given that each salesperson had a different level of knowledge , their presentations typically varied . By developing standardized sophisticated video presentations , a much more effective explanation of the unique aspect of each valve and best application has been achieved .
Velan small forged valves get a BIG design update
Velan has added pre-drilled / tapped field injection ports ( FIP ) as a standard feature on all API 602 small forged bolted bonnet gate and globe valves NPS ¼ – 2 ( DN 8 – 50 ), Class 150 – 1500 . This patent-pending design upgrade adds life to an already high-performance valve by allowing for precise application of Low-E injectable packing should a repair be required as part of a LDAR compliance program . Our FIP valves maintain API 602 wall thickness and comply with API 622 , API 624 , and ISO 15848-1 for fugitive emissions .
To learn more about Velan supports end-user ESG initiaves , contact sales @ velan . com for more information .
velan . com
16 Valve World Americas | April 2024 • www . valve-world-americas . net