There’s nothing quite like seeing your first ProPress fitting be made and watching the technology at work. For some customers or distributors, the Viega Roadshow provides that experience – and it gets their attention.
The Viega Roadshow, the company’s traveling demonstration truck, is making its way from region to region throughout the country. Having the truck onsite is a tool that many Viega sales reps have found useful and something that end users get excited about.
“When customers walk into the van for the first time, it sparks their interest on how many systems we offer,” explained Joe Barrile, District Manager in Texas. “Typically, it is not the company owners in the van, but it’s the project managers and installers doing the work firsthand, and sometimes they are using competitor products. We can then talk about which products they are interested in and see if we can set up a lunch and learn product presentation with their bosses or estimators. By the end of the day we have a good list of contractors to follow up with.”
Barrile said he’s learned through the years that promoting the truck with flyers or putting notations of the event on invoices always helps improve the turnout of contractors that come to see the van.
“I like to start a conversation with contractors and installers at the counter when they are picking up their material and ask them to come out to the truck to have a look, maybe get a piece of pizza or a breakfast taco depending on the time. Then we have another District Manager in the truck to continue the conversation about our products.”
A look inside
When someone walks through the Viega Roadshow, they can get a quick education about all the products and solutions that Viega offers. There are displays that show off each of the product lines, samples to press and tidbits to read. The hands- on, interactive component really brings things to life for visitors.
“I’m still surprised at how many people have just absolutely never seen [press connections] before,” said Josh Siemens, driver for the Viega Roadshow. “Some people are pretty surprised, and if they’ve never had any exposure to ProPress, we’ll have them make a piece and take it back to their employer. It’s a totally new thing for them.”
In particular, Siemens said he’s been surprised at how many people don’t realize there are competing PEX systems available and when they see PureFlow System fittings for the first time, they’re impressed.
Having everything in one compact place and a variety of samples to look at makes it easy for visitors to get all their questions answered, whether they’re long-time customers or new to Viega.
“I’ve seen contractors and customers that we talk to on a regular basis come through the truck, and it showcases our products in a different way for them,” said West Regional Manager Nate Berkowitz. “They might be familiar with one Viega product line, but not another, and so walking through the truck might open up their minds to other ways they can use our stuff.”
Berkowitz finds that having the truck parked at a contractor or engineer’s office is quite successful, or putting it into the hands of end users like the maintenance department at a facility, a military base or manufacturing plant.
“Like at a big mechanical contractor’s office, you find on a day-to-day basis you call on the same people there. But bringing in the truck, it brings in different people that you wouldn’t normally interact with, and deepens our relationship with that contractor’s office,” he said.
Ben Hinton, a District Manager in the Los Angeles area, scheduled a stop for the Viega Roadshow for the first time a few months ago. One of his uses was at a large pharmaceutical manufacturer, and it turned into a big win for him there.
“The facilities guys had been using our stuff for a while for repairs, but the engineers hadn’t had it in the specs so we weren’t allowed on new builds,” Hinton said. “We were able to pull in a couple of the engineers, walk them through things and answer their questions – and now they’re building a new building and we’re in the specs. It will be ProPress the entire way!”
New visuals
The Viega Roadshow has an all-new look. Recently rebranded as the Viega Roadshow, the truck has an eye- catching new wrap that’s simple and draws attention. New products and info have been added to the inside too, bringing it all up to date with new product launches.
To go along with the fresh, new look, there’s an updated and simple process for scheduling the Roadshow at a stop. Simply visit viega.us/roadshow to learn more or request an event. The truck makes, on average, two to four stops per week, and regions are scheduled throughout the country.
“The Viega Roadshow is an amazing marketing tool that other manufacturers do not offer, so I feel we need to take full advantage of what Viega has provided us,” Barrile said. “Once they see the truck in person, visitors see us as their total system solution provider.”
