Experienced engineered product sales leaders were replaced with either someone from a commodity market or with an engineer from a non-engineering product market. Bringing over leaders into the engineered product business that have not gain market or industry knowledge is killing our business. The loss of experienced leaders has changed the sales field into confusion about what brings value to the customer. Sales directors not good at customer interfacing, they have a lack of understanding of our products, who our competitors are, and how our products compare to competitors products in quality. Sales is driven towards delivery and cost, they have no understanding of the engineering quality of our products. The directors that were replaced, had more than 10+ years working in the industry, this has been key to the success of our engineered products, that was how Pentair was able to be a growth company. With the turnover sales are way down, and Pentair has become a cost out company. Leadership mentality drives fear, expectation and performance goals are disjointed with resources, no mentors or coaches at the director levels anymore.
Lack of industry knowledge makes decisions based off of very shallow perspectives, and very short sighted market approach. keeping an eye on whats going on in the market, including understand how to recognize up coming changes in market or competitors non-existent with current leadership since they haven't spent time in this market to develop market understanding. Leaders have less than 18 months in markets and engineered product industry. We need solution experts in director roles.
The tendency to take a performer from a completely different market and put them into a leadership role in an engineered market not only sets that person up for failure but also sets the business and the people that support the business in a very hard situation.
