This week’s Industry Person of the Week is Regina Higgins. Regina Regional Sales Manager – Water Utility, Eastern US & Canada at GRUNDFOS. Regina is also the Empowering Women 2021 Saleswoman of the Year.
Q: How did you get started working in your field?
Regina: Always as a little girl I enjoyed watching my dad fix things—he’s quite the handyman and even built 1 to 2 homes a year in addition to his full-time job. As I began searching degrees aligned with my interests my dad strongly encouraged me to consider male-dominated professions, stating “you’ll be in demand if you know your stuff and do a good job because you offer something different than others.” Being a teenage girl, I didn’t often listen to my dad’s advice then, but this time I did and chose a degree in Engineering Technology & Mechanical Product Design. I interviewed my last semester of college with Boeing and received/accepted an offer as the only female team member. After about a dozen years working in engineering roles (Boeing & beyond), I transitioned to technical product marketing & sales roles—my true calling.
Q: What do you love the most about your job? What are you most proud of?
Regina: I love the challenge of constantly learning and problem-solving. Meeting with customers gives me the opportunity to listen to their needs and learn their objectives, then determine solution(s) to make their lives easier, function more efficiently, and save dollars.
I’m most proud of being part of an industry & organization that feels like family and focuses on making the world a better place–high values on sustainability and providing safe drinking water for all.
Q: What advice would you give to someone considering this line of work or new to the field?
Regina:
- We were born with two ears and one mouth, so listen twice as much as you speak when meeting with customers to fully understand their needs.
- Have a thirst for learning, as this is a dynamic industry where you will never know it all or get bored.
- Always deliver on your word.
- Be a solid communicator.
- Be Friendly, Strong & Determined.
Q: Can you talk about a project you recently worked on?
Regina: After working diligently with a manufacturer’s representative calling on a particular engineering firm for several years to educate on features and benefits of multiple products in our portfolio, we were successful with receiving the opportunity to be a named manufacturer for all new projects moving forward. Recently, we were successful in securing our first multi pump station order resulting from our ongoing efforts.
Q: Anything Else you would like to add?
Regina: Start each day with a Growth Mindset.
Connect with Regina on Linkedin.
THANK YOU, REGINA! WE LOOK FORWARD TO KEEPING UP WITH YOU THROUGH THE #PUMPTALK COMMUNITY!
KNOW AN AMAZING PERSON WHO IS MAKING VALUABLE CONTRIBUTIONS WITHIN INDUSTRY? NOMINATE THEM TO BE AN “INDUSTRY PERSON OF THE WEEK”!
