Going straight to customers' doors, ABB Low Voltage Products trailer stops in five N.Y. cities
• Visits more than 300 customers in 10 days to see full range of drives and control products.
NEW BERLIN, WI, July 27, 2006 -- In a 10-day mini-Roadshow blitz across the state of New York, June 5-16, ABB Low Voltage Products, manufacturers' reps Lachut Electrical Sales and RPM Controls, along with distributor KOM Lamb, visited 10 locations in five major markets -- and introduced 327 customers and prospects from 62 different companies to ABB controls and drives products.
It utilized one of two ABB LVP Trailers, which contains working demos of a variety of these products.
"I'd read about the LVP Roadshows that make stops in major regional markets across the country, and I wanted, initially, to bring that Roadshow here; but, then, as I investigated, it started to make more sense to bring a demo trailer to this market and go right to customer sites," said Bill Griffith, sales manager for KOM Lamb.
A lot of planning and work went into getting out invitations, plotting the stops, ordering shirts for the team, and lining up food and tents for every stop. Taking the trailer on the road included two-day stops in five key markets around the state that have KOM Lamb offices. Each day, the trailer stopped for half of a day at two customer sites.
Alongside the trailer, the team, which included personnel from the local offices of KOM Lamb, and the rep organizations, set up tents for additional product displays, and to provide food and refreshments for the visiting customers.
Team Synergy and Strong Customer Turnout
"We are very pleased with the initial results of this event," Griffith said. "The turnout at every location exceeded our targets and hopes!" He said the team effort was critical, with ABB Power and Control Sales Team district manager Carl Tuch facilitating the ABB side, including providing ABB Business Development Managers would be on hand at every stop. "Don Martell and Nick Masucci were awesome in that capacity," Griffith said.
"These guys served as technical experts, wonderful hosts and sold the heck out of all the ABB products. I was amazed that a group of customers could be so enamored by the IDC contact slot of a terminal block or the unique capabilities of an SSAC unit."
The two manufacturer's rep organizations were on hand throughout the tour, as well. RPM Controls, representing drives, shadowed the trailer throughout the entire two weeks with their RV, and made themselves available each and every day. Likewise, the Lachut Electrical Sales, representing control products, "supported our activities all the way across the state at each stop in sunshine and in pouring rain," Griffith noted. "And, yes, we did have customers visit us as the rain poured down."
Why Take the Trailer on the Road?
The major, and most obvious, objective of the endeavor was to drive sales growth. KOM Lamb will track that growth over the coming months. "But, just as importantly," Griffith said, "we wanted to increase dramatically the visible affiliation between the ABB and KOM brands in our market." And, on this front he said, any expectation or objective at the outset was far surpassed.
The good name, automation expertise and customer relationships that KOM brings to the party were borne out by the sheer number of attendees. "And the amount of interest in ABB products and capabilities that was demonstrated throughout the two weeks indicate that these customers and prospects know and trust the ABB name," he said.
It is safe to say that the joint effort will generate more demand and create a significant increase in sales in the coming months, according to KOM Lamb managers.
"This is an effective way to take products, services and expertise right to customers' doors -- literally," said Tuch. It's up close and personal, it's on customers' turf; it makes it very easy for them to get a lot of information quickly, and then get back to their own work. The proximity was very compelling in increasing positive customer response and turnout.
ABB Inc., Automation Technologies, Low Voltage Drives (www.abb.us/drives), is the world's largest manufacturer of electric motors and drives. In the United States, an integrated channel of sales representatives, distributors, and system integrators allow ABB, New Berlin, WI, to supply a complete line of energy-efficient electric drives, motors and engineered drive systems to a wide range of industrial and commercial customers. Products manufactured include AC and DC variable speed drives for electric motors from 1/8th through 135,000 Hp, and application-specific drive system solutions to meet diverse customer needs.
ABB (www.abb.us) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 102,000 people. The company's U.S. operations employ about 9,000 in manufacturing and other facilities in 40 states.
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