Cover Story
approved manufacturer lists and worked together to recruit and train a highly technical sales team . For his own part , Riggs , a degreed engineer , is not a stereotypical ‘ sales guy .’ He regularly presents at industry trade and technical organization events . He understands that successfully selling a product requires more than just good business acumen . “ It sounds cliché to say that you need to provide a solution , not a product , but that is the truth . The last thing this world needs is another industrial salesperson pitching products . People are busy . Add value or do not get out of the truck ,” added Riggs . To truly add value , the company must understand the customer ’ s problems and their root causes . The best place to gain insight into these matters is consulting with a subject matter expert ( SME ).
TEADIT ’ s work with technologies like spiral wound gaskets and mechanical packing has raised the bar on sealing performance .
from key decision-makers throughout the organization . As Day sought to identify and understand the challenges in the industries his company serves , he also wanted to understand how those challenges would resonate inside TEADIT North America . “ It is not enough to identify a problem ,” relayed Day , “ we must be equipped to meet the challenges head-on . I knew I needed to put together a team that could bridge the gaps between the various silos both inside and outside of TEADIT .”
A holistic approach
Many key pieces were already within the TEADIT family . Vice President of Sales and Marketing , Robbie Riggs , came to TEADIT several years ago with a wealth of experience implementing national contracts and sealing programs . He and Day had already worked to successfully negotiate and implement a global supply agreement with a major oil and gas / energy company . They had strategically focused on getting TEADIT products listed on
The benefit of SMEs
Day and Riggs agreed that having SMEs on staff was the way to go , and they set out to find them . Mark Ruffin fit the bill . Prior to joining TEADIT in 2022 , Mark worked with Chevron for over ten years where he served as the SME on bolted joint reliability . He has and continues to serve on numerous technical and industry committees . “ Ruffy ” as he is affectionately called , brings a wealth of real-world end user experience to the table . Not only does he know the technical aspects of bolted joint reliability , but he understands the true costs of their impact . He has therefore dedicated his time to finding and developing solutions for leaks in real time .
Bronson Pate was brought in to share his expertise in Method 21 , LDAR , and environmental compliance .
Robbie Riggs : “ It sounds cliché to say that you need to provide a solution , not a product , but that is the truth .”
Mark “ Ruffy ” Ruffin brings a wealth of real-world end-user experience to the table as an in-house Subject Matter Expert .
10 Valve World April 2023 www . valve-world . net