Industrial Water Regional Sales Manager Zan Shafer, who recently earned 2020 Salesman of the Year, is set to retire at the end of March after six years of service to MPW. “He helped kick off the DI business in the Gulf Coast,” Industrial Water General Manager Tim Dondero said. During his tenure, Shafer hit and exceeded his sales goals. In 2017, Shafer was 107% to plan; 2018, 115% to plan; 2019, 107% to plan; and in 2020 Shafer hit 113% to plan.
“I will miss the great amount of satisfaction an MPW salesperson gets from helping customers solve their often dire water purification problems,” Shafer said.
Shafer has been responsible for the territory including Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and part of Louisiana. He has hit other goals as well, such as sending JPEs that receive plenty of positive feedback and performing customer reviews. “Zan has great customer knowledge and has established strong relationships over his career,” Dondero said. “He’s always had a great willingness to help operations manage high customer demand.”
“I started with MPW as an Area Sales Manager in 2016 and a couple of years later was promoted to Regional Sales Manager with the opportunity to mentor a couple of great sales guys, Mike Romano and Hank Hamberg,” Shafer said. He said their Gulf Coast Territory has more than doubled in revenue during the last five years. “It’s due largely in part to their efforts,” Shafer said. “With this growth has come many challenges and sometimes frustration, but in the end the MPW IW team continues to find solutions.”
“Zan has been an extremely valuable part of the IW sales team,” said Industrial Water Director of Sales Brad Tolbert. He said Shafer came to MPW with plenty of operational experience but very little sales experience. “Through hard work and his extensive network, he has been one of the best salespeople I’ve worked with in my fourteen-year career with MPW,” Tolbert said. “Zan continues to support our customers with quality service and helps operations be successful by offering support when needed.”
Prior to serving MPW, Shafer was general manager for Water & Power Technologies, Inc. of Pasadena, Texas. He looks forward to a little R&R following retirement from MPW. “I plan to definitely spend more time in the woods and on the lake. We also plan to travel around the US and catch up with old friends,” Shafer said. Shafer will remember his days with MPW fondly. “MPW has touched my life for the better,” he said. “I appreciate management for challenging me and making me a better person.”