Social Media “Is An Invaluable Sales Tool”

Edmund Bird, Regional Sales Director, F. C. Phillips Inc.

This week’s EASTEC blog comes to us from Edmund Bird, Regional Sales Director at F. C. Phillips Inc. Edmund has been attending EASTEC for a number of years and has embraced social media through LinkedIn. He even created his own group, Get It Made! that always has new content and discussions about manufacturing. We asked Edmund a few questions about his social media experiences and found out what he is looking forward to at EASTEC this year.

You started Get It Made! in January 2009. Why did you start using social media?

Purchasing agents at the companies I visit have been given more responsibilities (more hats to wear), this means they have less time for face to face meetings. It takes much less time to check an email, read a post, or see a tweet online, and it does not require a direct answer. It’s a much less intrusive method of sales.

What effect do you think social media is going to have on manufacturing?

It offers buyers information about resources that they would not otherwise be aware of, and in a timely fashion. I have already made connections and fielded RFQ’s from five companies, three of which have become customers. It’s an invaluable sales tool, and because most of the online networking is free, it’s very cost effective!