Ep. 58: Corey Williams - 7 Exits and Counting
My guest today is Corey Williams, who is one of the most successful entrepreneurs in water. He has built and sold no less than seven companies, with his latest, SmartCover, selling to Badger Meter for $185 million at the start of 2025.
Corey is one of the most thoughtful people I know on the art of sales, not only to utilities, but recognizing that great selling is primarily a function of listening and the accurate diagnosis of a customer's reality. His adherence to this principle of really getting to know people, taking their interests seriously - not his own - is at the core of why he's one of the most respected members of our industry.
We get into dealing with the RFP process, building sales teams, the opportunity in the under-instrumentation of the collection network, and why sometimes the best management trick is to ask people to keep up - I'm not sure I could.
Please enjoy my conversation with Corey Williams.
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Full show notes and links to mentioned content below.
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Corey Williams leads corporate business development for Badger Meter, where he runs merger and acquisition strategy. He was previously President and CEO of SmartCover until its $185 million acquisition in 2025. A licensed Civil Engineer, Corey has built and sold seven companies, including Optimatics, and previously led technology departments for national engineering firms. He serves as Vice President of the Water Environment Federation (WEF) and is on its 2025-26 Board of Trustees. Corey believes in building sales teams on listening and education to solve the problems utilities actually face.
00:00 - Introduction
02:15 - How to Win Utility Buyers' Attention
06:56 - Master Customer Discovery Without Pitching
09:10 - Solving Workforce Challenges with Services
14:19 - Build Trust to Shorten Long Sales Cycles
17:06 - How to Sell Breakthrough Water Technology
20:18 - Why Water Utilities Are Great Customers
24:13 - How to Build High-Performing Water Teams
29:08 - Building Companies for a Successful Exit
35:07 - Exit Negotiation Tips Every Founder Needs
40:22 - How AI Will Transform Water Engineering
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