Shiny sales

Todd Komanetsky heads a sales department for a specialized product with clients on six continents and a price tag that can hit $10 million — per item.

Yet Komanetsky, director of business development for Sarasota-based Mustang Vacuum Systems, says no matter where he goes across the globe, he always practices consultative sales. That's a focus on customer's needs, not only what the firm wants to sell.

“Customers share more when it's a consultative process,” Komanetsky says, “opposed to me just going in and asking, 'do you want this?'”

Mustang is in the vacuum depository industry, a scientific process of depositing layers of materials on solid surfaces to form an optical coating. Layers are deposited at vacuum pressure and coat everything from car headlights and taillights to solar film and panels to cosmetics packaging, such as lipstick tubes. Mustang Vacuum designs, builds and sells the machines that do the vacuum depository work. Says Komanetsky: “We make the stuff that makes the stuff shiny.”

Mustang Vacuum's machines that do that cost from $600,000 up to $10 million, depending on how big and the machine's use, among other factors. A majority of the machines Mustang Vacuum makes sell for between $2 million and $3 million. The firm, which declines to release specific annual sales figures, ships one to five products a month from its 50,000-square-foot facility near the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport. It was founded in 1994 in Ohio, initially under the name CompuVac Systems, and now has about 75 employees.

Komanetsky and his team sell the machines to a client list that includes locations in the United States, China, Europe and Latin America. Between 40% and 60% of the firm's clients are outside the U.S. Komanetsky lives in Austin, Texas, and spends at least a week every month in Sarasota, where he oversees a sales force of about 10 people. He also coordinates lead-generation activity with around 30 worldwide sales reps.

A key factor that helps sales, says Komanetsky, is Mustang Vacuum remains focused on its niche. “We only do things that are vacuum depository specific,” says Komanetsky. “That gives us a profile in the industry.”

One of Komanetsky's biggest challenges is managing the sales cycle, which ranges from a few months to more than a year. “There is a constant battle between work you can do on projects that will close this quarter or this year,” says Komanetsky, “versus a longer-term project that requires a lot more work.”

Komanetsky says he usually picks right, but he's been on both sides of picking wrong. He recently spent an inordinate amount of time, for example, wooing a client who ultimately balked at a purchase. And he also recently passed on an opportunity to persuade a client he thought would be more of a “tire kicker.” That client, however, ultimately spent $5 million with a competitor, says Komanetsky.

A Connecticut native, Komanetsky lived in Boston and worked for Oxford Instruments, a British manufacturer that builds tools for research and technology, before he joined Mustang in 2009. He held several sales positions with Oxford, including business development manager in Latin America and head of global sales and marketing with Austin Scientific, an Oxford subsidiary.

The machine technology background, Komanetsky says, has been an asset at Mustang Vacuum, especially with the consultative sales approach. “Our job,” says Komanetsky, “is to convince (clients) of our understanding of the technology and how they can scale up quickly using it.”

Sales Tips
Do homework: Todd Komanetsky says it's important to recognize clients who are a fit and aren't a fit before spending too much time on either. At Mustang Vacuum Systems Komanetsky studies the industries and markets the firm doesn't want to do business in. That helps him avoid wasted time.

Mutual benefits: Komanetsky practices consultative sales, which requires a focus on the customer's needs. He says the key is to always ask the client what drives the purchase, from seeking the lowest cost to looking for an industry-leading machine. “It has to be mutually beneficial,” he says. “We tell you what your options are and we guide you through the decision.”