A Day In The Life Of A Packaging Salesman

Being new to the packaging industry, I was curious what packaging was and what it takes to sell packaging.

First things first, I went to Google to search for answers. Packaging is simply a system of preparing goods for transport, storage, or both. It has apparently been around since man’s beginning, whether it was the clay pots to transport wine or baskets made from reeds to move food from one place to another.

Packaging has evolved through the centuries to the sophisticated systems, machines and graphic arts we see today. These machines can wrap thousands of products in a day with a simple flip of the switch.

It has been fascinating to watch them work in our warehouse, the clear film rolling over the product and then moving on a conveyor belt through a heated chamber to shrink the wrap to fit.

Now that I have an elementary grasp on what packaging is, I was wondering how one goes about selling these machines and products. It seems like a bulky and complicated business.

For answers, I went to our packaging salesman extraordinaire, Matthew Newkirk. He’s been in the business for nearly eight years.

Q. How did you begin your career?

A. I began here as a full-time warehouse employee. I started doing sales part-time about four months after I came to work here and I’ve been going strong since then.

Q. What have you learned about selling packaging since that time?

A. First and foremost, the customer always takes priority and, secondly, product knowledge is a must. It took me about two years, working in the warehouse and studying the machines and products, to gain the knowledge that I have today. Product knowledge is VERY important. If you don’t know what you’re selling, then you can’t sell it. Period.

Q. What is the most important quality needed to be a packaging salesman?

A. Probably the most important quality of a packaging salesman is to be a people person. If you’re not a people person, you’re not going to be good at this job. You have to know how to talk to people and how to read people.

Q. When and how does your day begin?

A. It begins early in the morning. The first thing I do is fire up the computer and sample machines and check for phone messages. I then start answering emails. Urgent emails definitely take priority.

Q. Do you sit at your desk all day?

A. I definitely do not sit at my desk all day. I am anywhere and everywhere whether that is out in the warehouse or in the field doing service and training. About twice a month for two-to-three days at a time I travel to customer bases to train them on the newly purchased machines or service existing machines.

Q. How do you make the sale?

A. You have to first find out what the customer is looking for and how they want to improve or change their business. You have to get the size of the customer’s products so you can recommend the machine they need.  From there, you prepare a quote and then, hopefully, what follows is an invoice.

Q. What happens after the sale?

A. I make sure the product is shipped in the safest and quickest way possible. I track the shipment to the point of delivery and stay in contact with the customer to ensure the adjustment to the new machine or product is complete.

Q. What do you think it is that produces customer satisfaction?

A. Making sure the customers get what they want, when they want it.

Q. What do you feel are high priorities in your job?

A. Customer service and sales. It’s all about making sure the customers are taken care of. Anything customer related is the priority.

Q. What is considered a good day as a packaging salesman?

A. A good day is when you make a decent number of sales and there are no customer issues like when products go down.

Q. What sets U.S. Packaging and Wrapping and you, as a salesman, apart from others in the business?

A. We are here and we answer the phone when customers call. We’ve gained a lot of customers just for that one fact alone. To top that off, we help find solutions to problems. That’s what I do. I’m a one-stop shop. I can sell you the machine and the product and I can service the products.

Q. If someone is interested in purchasing a packaging machine or products, how do they get in touch with you?

A. By phone at 1-800-441-5090 or by email at Mattn@uspackagingandwrapping.com.

 

In the short time that I’ve been in packaging, I’ve come to respect Matt and the company’s customer service principles. It doesn’t just end at the point of sale.

Matt is stringent about the tried-and-true freight carriers we use to ensure the product and machines are in pristine condition once they arrive. He is there to make sure the customer is able to set up the machine and use it properly. He is also thorough in dealing with any issues that arise and, in the rare chance that the machine or product does get damaged in shipping, Matt gets straight to work replacing the items in a timely manner.

The company and Matt truly go above and beyond to ensure the customer has exactly what they need.

 

Written By: Jeanie Roberts, U.S. Packaging & Wrapping Office Administrator