What is the best way to engage potential agents?
Update on Pay an agent or Hire a team – what is the best way of meeting potential agents in new markets?
It has been awhile since Eagle Filters started really looking into the US markets. We chose the more cost intensive route by employing our own sales team and establishing name in the market by participating in the trade shows and Customer events before strengthening the sales with Agents.
Now we felt the time was right to look for local agents to help us talk with even more power plants.
We had of course toured the trade shows and screened potential agents before, but it′s kind of hard to find suitable filter agent who doesn′t work for one of the competitors. After some considerations we chose to work with a matchmaker working in connecting foreign companies like us with US agents and Customers.
The process started with Capteeni interviewing us on our targets on the expansion and agreeing on the description on the preferred agent profile, Our offering and background and when we could be available for meetings. With this information Capteeni started contacting the potential agents on our behalf.
10 meetings in 5 days in 6 states
Within a few weeks our travel plan was finished - 10 meetings in 5 days in 6 states across US in our most important new market areas.
The travel plan was quite intense – in most of the days we had 9 am meeting followed by a several hundred miles drive to a late afternoon meeting and we still needed to catch a late flight to another state for the next meetings. Brutal traveling was made possible by careful pre-planning and good travel companions – I am more than happy to have executed the journey with Eagle Filters′ US sales Managers, Kirk Mize and Shawn DeTroye, couldn′t have done it without you guys.
Hard work often pays off
We had some promising meetings with a new agent candidates and hopefully soon we will be able to finalize the discussions - and have more opportunities to offer the Inlet air filtration to more US customers and Protecting Performance in new GT locations across US.
Can you tell which of the pictures was taken before the trip and which was after the last meeting – I see three superstars!