Manufacturing was once the pinnacle of the American industrial machine. The term “Made In America” had a certain luster to it that has dissipated through the years.

And although that prestige is starting to return for the “Made In America” brand there is still the pressing matter of unemployment and the need for more plastics manufacturing employees.

During my time at PolyPak America there were quite a few new hires, and considering the size of the company, it was a marked increase, especially in the sales team.

During my year and a half, we hired two sales reps, two customer service reps, and an estimator.

This growth, which was foreshadowed during my initial interviews was one of the reasons I was excited to start in the plastics industry.

Not only was that a sign of a growing market, but it also spoke to the need for qualified candidates. Which to me meant that if anything were to ever happen to PolyPak or my employment there, I would have strong experience that I could take to another plastics industry company.

So knowing that there is growth in the industry, both now and in the expected future, where would one go to find available jobs within the plastics industry?

Luckily there are a few options to consider.

Company Websites

This is one of your better options for finding an open position.

If you are interested in joining the industry you are likely to have done at least a little research and discovered a large amount of established companies that fit your needs.

By going to individual company sites you are able to see exactly what jobs they have available and define what kind of company you want to work for.

Perhaps you are interested in working for a small company. Then you are likely to avoid companies that are international or have manufacturing facilities all over the country.

Instead you would only be looking at companies such as PolyPak America.

I have worked at both small and large companies. Each has their pros and cons, all of which should be considered when lookingat a future employer.

 Networking

This is perhaps the best option for joining a company. Meaning this has the best chance of you landing a job you are interested in.

If you already know someone in the industry, or even better, someone at the actual company you are interested in, you have a much better chance of getting your resume in front of a hiring manager or recruiter.

Networking can be done in a few ways. Perhaps, through your normal networking you have met someone within the plastics industry. Reach out to them and let them know of your interest. Don’t be afraid to ask for any recommendations on getting into the industry. Or if they know of any companies are hiring.

One point, I’d recommend that you don’t specifically ask if they can help you get a job at their company. Unless they are a very good friend this puts them in a precarious situation.

You are essentially asking them to put their name on the linefor you. I personally have only ever recommended a small number of people for jobs. And I have never asked someone to help me get a job at their company.

Unless they volunteer to help, I would leave their role as an informational one. Who is the hiring manager, what are they looking for. What is an interview likely to be like? Etc.

Linkedin

LinkedIn is a great tool for finding jobs in any industry. Especially when you purchase one of the premium subscriptions.

For as little as $20 (Job Seeker Basic) you can have a much more robust search feature that will help narrow down the kind of plastics company you are interested working for.

With this search function you can also take a look at a much more defined idea of the kind of companies out there, who’s hiring, and if there is anyone you know within the industry.

I am a very strong user of LinkedIn. Both for my sales prospecting, and when appropriate, finding a job.

I highly recommend you completely fill out your profile and ALWAYS include a picture.

Then connect with as many people as you can within the plastics industry.  Be sure to check out my previous post if you need help building your LinkedIn network.

Recruiters

Recruiters are another great way to get into the plastics industry.

Although not every recruiter is working with a plastics company. I personally got my sales job at PolyPak through a recruiter.

One thing to keep in mind is that the recruiter works for the company. They do not work for you.

Their job is to find qualified people to fill positions that a company has available. They get paid by the company, not you.

It is not their job to find you a job. Just keep that in mind.

I do recommend using recruiters though. I have always had a pleasant experience working with them.

Industry Specific Job Boards/Websites

Although I do not have much experience with using plastic industry job boards, a quick Google Search helped me find some information on them.

The SPI Plastics Job Network for example is a possible avenue to join the ranks. There didn’t seem to be many available positions through the site but there are other sites out there such as The Plastic Job Source.

Job & Career Websites

The well known sites such as Careerbuilder.com, Monster.com, Indeed.com, and Glassdoor.com are all great avenues to find jobs in the plastics industry.

They provide a broader look at available jobs within a specific industry, even though they are not industry specific sites.

A simple search for “plastics” and “sales” or “engineer” will bring up available jobs in your area.

One thing to be mindful of. If you simply search for “plastics” you may get plastic surgery jobs. So try to be as specific as possible.

Other Factors To Consider

There are a few other things you need to keep in mind when looking for jobs in the plastic industry.

And these actually apply when you are interested in a new job in any industry. They include:

• Be sure you have an updated resume.
• “Google” yourself before you start looking to see what comes up.
• Arrive to interviews 10-15 minutes early.
• Be well groomed.
• Dress appropriately to interviews.
• Follow up with an email or letter after every interview.
• Do as much company research as you can before going to the interview.

These are just a few standard suggestions for finding a new job.

Good luck!

~The Poly Bag Pro

Image courtesy of Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Often times the person buying polybags for their company is not a polybag expert. About 98% of the time I would say that is the case.

They are usually purchasers, sourcers, owners, or operation managers.

They may know a bit about polybags from buying them in the past, but again that is more often the exception than the rule.

So when someone calls in interesting in buying polybags there are a few questions they almost always have.

One of the most common is “How thick should my polybag be?” If you haven’t already seen the video I did a while back, check it out when you have a chance by following the link.

And although an experience polybag supplier can provide then with the ideal, or industry standard, there is still a little variance that is involved with determining the gauge of the poly film to use.

But which way should that variance take you?

Is it better to go too thick or too thin with your polybags? Well today we’re going to discuss that to help you make the right choice based on your circumstances.

Go Thick!

There are a few reasons you may want to adjust the gauge of your polybags to go a little thicker than the industry standard.

For example, if you will be holding product that has sharp edges such as decorative rocks or any rocks for that matter.

You’ll want to caution on the side of a thicker bag so that there is no chance of your product cutting through the poly film.

Or maybe your product is a little more dense or heavier than what is normally put into a certain size bag.

Asphalt, sand, and some mulches are quite a bit heavier than what is considered the norm. You’ll again want a thicker gauge polybag to avoid breakage or stretching.

But maybe you’re not worried about your product damaging the bags. Maybe you simply don’t have a need for a polybag manufacturers minimum order quantity (MOQ).

Maybe their min is 5,000 bags and you only need 3,000.

Well instead of paying for bags you won’t need, can’t store, or don’t want…you can increase the guage in order to reduce the MOQ.

How does this work? Well most MOQs are based on the poundage of resin needed to make the bags.

The thicker the bag, the more resin needed to make each out, the less the MOQ will be.

But there is one caveat to having a thicker bag. A higher cost per bag.

As mentioned a moment ago, the thicker the bag, the more material needed to make each bag, and therefore the higher cost per bag.

Go Thin!

Just as there are reasons to go thicker on your polybags, there are just as many reasons to go thinner on your bags.

Cost will always be a factor in purchasing a business expense like polybags. And one way that customers have increased the value of their bags is by reducing the gauge of their polybags.

This is very common with retail clothing establishments. T-shirts for example are a very lightweight item that is shipped using polybags very often.

A common gauge for a plastic shipping envelope is 2-3 mil thick. Sometimes a customer would request to go even thinner.

As a minimum though I would suggest keeping it above 1.75 mil.

But this idea holds true for any bags that are likely to hold lighter than normal products. Clothes or some powders for example will be fine in thinner gauge bags.

And of course opposite to going thicker, if you go thinner on your poly film gauge you are going to come across a higher MOQ because each bag requires less of the minimum resin amount.

So be sure to weigh the pros and cons of deviating from the norm is you are deciding on changing the thickness of your polybag.

And of course be sure to ask your polybag sales rep.

Good luck!

~The Poly Bag Pro

Post consumer recycled plastic is a hot topic I’ve touched on a few times in the past. Usually how it relates or differs from biodegradable plastics.

As I’ve mentioned, both have their merits, but as of late new research is suggesting a marked increase in the demand for post consumer recycled plastic over biodegradable plastics.

According to research conducted by Cleveland based Freedonia Group Inc., this increase is speculated to increase by as much as 6.5% to an estimated 3.5 billion lbs by the year 2016.

Clearly there is a shift happening in the plastics industry. Both on the consumer and producers side.

And because I am only summarizing what I have heard about this research, this will be a short post.

Why The Increase?

This impressive growth can be attributed to a few factors.

First of all, over the past few years there has been a marked increase and improvement in the plastic collection infrastructure.

Meaning that states, counties, and cities have become much better at collecting and recycling post consumer plastic.

The actual rate of plastic recycling has clearly increased as a result of it. More and more people are noticing that recycling is EASY to do.

Compared to a few years ago when recycling was a process and quite honestly viewed as something that less than fortunate people did to earn a little extra cash.

The stigma has clearly changed for the better. But that’s a good thing. Especially since is has now, supposedly, become a cultural shift instead of a fad.

And what’s great is that at every step of the process has seen improvements.

For example, once this increased amount of recycled plastic reaches processing facilities they are being processed and sorted with more advanced technologies that simply weren’t around a few years ago.

These advances allow for a wider variety of plastic to be recycled and for the quality of the post consumer recycled plastic to be higher.

Whats great is that as these advances get better and better there will be more and more improvements. Making the recycling process better than anything we can imagine right now.

Lastly, on the back end there is growing consumer demand for more sustainable packaging options and producers.

Though there is still the “war” between recycled versus biodegradable, consumers and business are still looking for the “greenest option”. Which is still up for debate.

But not matter what I am happy for the way the world is changing. I have a jaded view towards recycling, but I will not turn blindly away from biodegradable plastics.

Either way, a world with more recycling and green options is a wonderful world in my mind.

~The Poly Bag Pro

Image courtesy of jscreationzs / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Since I’ve left PolyPak America it is obviously a little more difficult for me to keep in touch and “in the know” of the plastics industry.

Instead of hearing about what is going on every day, I’ve had to be a bit more proactive in finding out the latest news and trends for plastics, polyethylene, polybags, etc.

Luckily, I have a few tricks up my sleeve that have helped me stay in touch. And even better all of these resources are free and easier than you might think.

Online Resources

- The Poly Bag Pro Blog – duh!

- Plastics News – One of my favorite resources online for plastic news information.

- Plastics Today – Another great blog that covers a wide variety of topics in the plastics industry.

- In The Hopper - The Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI) blog

- PolyPak America – Monthly resin updates.

- Plastic News Daily – A general industry news site

- The Society of the Plastics Industry - SPI is the plastics industry trade association representing the third largest manufacturing industry in the United States.

Google Alerts

If you didn’t already know, there is this nifty tool called Google Alerts where you can set up emails to be sent to you based on specific keywords.

Simply visit google.com/alerts to set up your very own alerts.

So what I’ve done to stay in touch with the plastics industry is set up Google Alerts for various keyword(s).

Below are just a few I recommend. Of course you can do this for any subject, and depending on the type of plastic you specialize in, you’d want to cater your alerts to your industry.

• Plastic Industry
• Polyethylene
• Polybags
• PolyPak
• PolyPak America
• Poly Bag Pro
• Fertilizer bags
• Plastic Shipping Envelopes

LinkedIn

And of course there are LinkedIn Groups which are an excellent source for industry news. Because I’ve switched industries and need to build a new network of connections and groups, I am not in as many plastic groups as I use to be.

But I’ve listed some of the ones I was a part of previously and that I would highly recommend for keeping in touch with the plastics industry.

• Community of Plastics Professionals
• Plastics Professionals
• Plastics Professionals Group
• Marketing In Plastics
• SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association Network

There are an almost unlimited number of groups (more than any one person can join) so it’s important to pick the ones that you’ll get the most bang for your buck.

~The Poly Bag Pro

Die cut handle bags are the kind of product you see everyday, but usually don’t know the name to.  And this type of feature on a polybag is extremely useful. Let me illustrate…

I had the chance to attend a few trade shows during my time at PolyPak America.

And like most trade shows I was inundated with branded pens, mugs, headphones, and any number of items that you’re likely to see at an industry show like that.

But whenever I go to a trade show, especially for the plastics industry, I always look for one thing before I start collecting all those goodies.

….something to carry them in.

I rarely bring a bag of my own so it’s important for me to find something to carry the multitude of items before I start collecting.

It’s usually a very easy process. I do a quick run through of all the booths and begin my conversations with the first one I find that offers die cut handle bags.

And of course, having worked for a plastics manufacturer like PolyPak America I am a little more discriminating when I do come across one.

But no matter when I understand the value that these types of bags, specifically with a die cut handle, provide.

What Is A Die Cut Handle?

A die cut handle is a term used for not only the handle it’s self but the process of producing it as well.

There are different types of die cut handles such as reinforced die cut handle and a patch die cut handle.

Each with it’s own pros and cons.

Standard Die Cut Handle

The standard die cut handle is generally used for bags that will only be required to carry a small amount of weight. Anything under 15lbs – 20lbs will have no problem for a standard die cut.

It will be the same thickness as the rest of the bag so is the easiest of the handles to produce.

Re-Enforced Die Cut Handle

The re-enforced die cut handle goes a little further to increase the strength of the handle. This is commonly seen for bags that will require a heavier load then the standard.

This type of handle requires the conversion process in order to be made. It consist of two layers of poly film, with an additional piece of plastic in the middle.

This three layer approach greatly increases the strength and weight ability for the bags.

Patch Die Cut Handle

The patch die cut handle is a nice feature that PolyPak added within the last couple of years.

Again, this type of handle requires going through the conversion process where an actual embossed patch is added on top of the hand hold to increase it’s strength.

This is probably the strongest of the handle options. Unlike the standard and re-enforced die cut handle, a patch handle will not stretch.

The added patch is strong enough to hold substantially more weight. 50+lbs in most cases.

Where Are You Likely To See A Die Cut Handle?

Believe it or not they are much more common than you would think.

Most retailers offer die cut handle bags for their patrons after a purchase. They come in various sizes and shapes because like all polybags, die cut handle bags can be fully customized.

Re-Enforced and Patch Handle bags are much more common with lawn and garden bags because you are much more likely to be carrying heavy objects in them.

e.g. decorative rocks, dense fertilizer, ice melt, sand, etc.

Know What You Need

Each type of die cut handle has it’s own strengths and weaknesses.

Whether it’s price, strength, weight ability, or any number of attributes, be sure to talk about your options with your sales representative.

If you are ordering for a retail clothing store, it’s unlikely that you will need a handle that can hold more than 15lbs. Likewise, if you are starting your sand and deco rock company, a standard die cut handle will not work very well.

~The Poly Bag Pro

Ice melt is something I’ve never seen used before, but it seems it’s that time of the year again.

Shopping malls are chaos. Days are starting off cold and only getting colder.

And in many parts of the country snow is beginning to fall. For those of you who enjoy warming up next to the fire with a cup of hot tea, you’re in luck.

But of course there are those of us who like a little warmer weather. The kind of weather were shorts and a sweater will get you by just fine.

Where an unknown word is “ice melt“.

As a born and raised resident of Southern California I’ve never experienced what it is like to actually need ice melt.

And although while at PolyPak I often worked with clients producing it, I now have a strong appreciation and understanding of how it’s used. Being in Ohio, and experiencing the beginning of a “real” winter, I’ve notice the local community has begun preparing for the expected snow levels.

It seems it is especially important for property managers, hotels, and whole community where streets and sidewalks can pose a hazard.

Icy walkways can be a real danger to pedestrians and automobiles if the proper precautions aren’t made.

This is were ice melt and ice melt bags come in to play.

And although there are many ice melt products each has their own special blend of the common ingredients used.

But first it’s important to understand how ice melt works.

Ice Be Gone With Ice Melt!

Surprisingly enough all ice melt works in a similar fashion. They attract moisture to form a liquid brine which generates heat and melts the surrounding ice.

To be effective ice melt must make contact with the pavement. Then the liquid brine can spread out and break the ice’s bond with the pavement. This loosens it and makes it easier to be cleared away.

Ice melt works best when applied BEFORE snow or ice appears.

As you can see to the left my hotel has already started applying ice melt to the parking lot. Any week now we should be seeing snow

When choosing ice melt it’s important to look at the temperature(s) that your specific product works best at.

Last post I discussed many of the differences between manufacturing and software companies.

The main differences I focused on were product, industry, and culture. Within culture I further defined dress, experience, and age as major differences I’ve noticed since leaving PolyPak America.

Now I’d like to address some of the similarities that cross boundaries.

Product Development

Manufacturing companies are always working to create better faster cheaper ways to product goods.

Going further to a plastics manufacturer they do research and development to create new additives,  products, or processes to create better and better products. Polybags in the case of PolyPak America.

Software companies live off of product development as well since a software program is never done.

Updates, patches, and tech support are a constant. Not because the original product was released too soon, or was a bad egg. But because of the nature of software and how it interacts with other programs.

And although nothing had changed with the original software, adding some other software may disrupt or harm the original program.

The “Small World Effect”

An interesting similarity, which I think is present in almost every industry is the “small world effect” as I call it.

Essentially employees move from one company to another within the same industry. And because of this a person can become very well known within that industry.

I saw this in the corporate housing industry, in the copier and managed print service industry, in the plastics manufacturing industry and now the software industry.

I attribute this to two things.

First is the skill set developed while working in any of these industries.

A company is often more likely to hire someone who already has industry experience over someone who does not. Doing so requires less basic training and a faster on-boarding process.

Second is the interaction and network of the industries. Software engineers likely went to school and know other software engineers at other companies. Who when the time is right will lend a helping hand in getting their friend hired.

Manufacturers also network with other manufacturers and vendors in similar business which drives them to change employment within the same industry.

Fun fact about the “small world effect”. One of the other sales executives in my training group is from my home town, went to the same high school, and likely born in the same hospital as me. How crazy is that?

Geography Is Irrelevant

When I was at Oakwood Worldwide selling corporate housing there were many cities that we did not have apartment inventory in. There simply wasn’t a market for it there or when there were available communities they were deemed undesirable.

While at DocuSource selling copiers and managed print service agreements we were geographically limited based on the size of our support team. A copier or printer is generally not something that can be fixed remotely. Someone has to physically come out to assess the mechanical problem.

This is not the case with manufacturing polybags or software.

With polybags, the products can be produced and shipped to any part of the world. Obviously shipping them out to less accessible areas came with a premium delivery charge but it could still easily be done.

I had clients in every state of the USA. And a large majority of deals were made through email or over the phone.

Software is also a product that can be sold remotely. Set up, training, service, tech support can all be down over the phone or internet. The products themselves can be maintained remotely 99% of the time.

Of course phone and email will never be a replacement for an in-person meeting. But it can be done.

The More Things Change The More They Stay The Same

I won’t pretend to like one industry over the other. Both had their strengths and weaknesses and both helped and will help me hone my skills.

I am excited for both the things that are different at the new company and those that are the same as PolyPak.

~The Poly Bag Pro

As I mentioned in my last post I have since left PolyPak America and joined another organization as an Account Executive.  And as my days from PolyPak fade I’ve come to recognize many differences between my old and new employer.

There are of course the obvious differences with a plastics manufacturer and software company. And each has an established identity which differs from the other.

Both have their strengths and weaknesses and below I’ve listed two of the most apparent differences I’ve noticed.

Differences In Product

This is the most readily apparent difference between the two. PolyPak America being a polybag manufacturer and MRI Software being a property management software company.

One makes tangible objects, the other not so much.

Polybags are a product that can be touched, felt, held, etc. You can use all five senses with the products from a polybag manufacturer.

They are a combination of other products that when combined create an item greater than the sum of it’s parts.

A software company on the other hand creates intangible objects that are not created with other products, instead it is created by them. A computer is not made into software, it makes it. You simply can not touch or feel software.

You can only see the results of the software in use.

Differences In Culture

Understandably these two industries are as far apart as one can imagine. Manufacturing being older than America itself, and software younger than most baby boomers.

And although culture generally has more to do with a singular company, it’s roots can often be associated with their respective industry.

This has become apparent even with my short time at the new company.

While at PolyPak visiting clients and other sales reps and observing their experience, dress, and other factors that I would define as an industry culture I’ve seen stark differences between the two.

Workforce Experience

Even though plastics manufacturing is a bit newer than other manufacturing industries it still has many of the cultural characteristics of its older siblings.

In many respects its culture reflects its age. Manufacturing having a more established workforce age and software having a younger one.

From my observations the manufacturing industry tends to expect, respect, and have longer term employee retention.

At PolyPak I was happy to see that many of the employees there had been so for 5, 10, even 20+ years.

Something I thought was pretty unique and said a lot about the industry as a whole being able to retain talent for so long.

There seems to be a drastic change when it comes to the software industry though.

It is not uncommon, or looked down upon for employees to have stays of only one or two years. This is considered pretty normal and an acceptable time to be with any one company.

“Jumping around” it seems is a common occurrence for a gain in title or income.

Workforce Dress

As a polybag sales executive I felt right at home with a business causal dress code. Slacks and a dress shirt were the go to clothes for meeting with customers and other sales reps.

Often a polo shirt was just as acceptable and often more in line when meeting certain clients.

A farmer who needs heavy duty polybags for example would probably not expect me to show up in a full business suit. Especially if I am going out to his fields to look at his product.

At PolyPak I never wore a suit, nor felt out of place without one.

And at software companies for coders, engineers, software writers, or what ever you choose to call them, you’ll find something similar. Jeans, t-shirts, and tennis shoes are perfectly acceptable.

Which makes sense since they are rarely client facing and have no need to be “business presentable” every day.

For other departments such as Sales or Customer Support, full business dress is required.

As a sales executive I will now be meeting with CFOs, CEOs, CIOs, and other high level executives selling enterprise level software.

To look the professional part, I will need to match their attire.

Workforce Age

I absolutely believe there is a difference in employee age between the two industries.

Manufacturing seems to have older workers (I can say that because they are older than I) of around 40+ years.

This was apparent at PolyPak and other polybag and manufacturing companies I had the pleasure to work with during my time there.

This likely has something to do with the workforce experience I mentioned previously. They have been in the industry longer therefore they have likely been alive longer.

And software is the opposite, with employees being much younger. Straight out of college to early thirties for a vast majority of companies.

Which in many ways makes sense since software is an advanced industry. One which has only been taught in universities for the couple of decades.

But it has progressed exponentially since it’s early beginnings of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.

Often those fresh out of college are truly the most knowledgeable about a new software or language.

In addition, many of these new grads grew up with computers. They are an extension of life. Always have been and always will be.

I remember I was about 9 or 10 when we got our first computer. I was in love with it and have been ever since.

Looking back at the world now I wish I had studied computer science in college.

Software, computers, smartphones, apps, those are the future and the skills associated with them are likely to be highly developed in newer college grads.

Similarities?

After looking at these differences you might be wondering if there are any similarities between the two industries.

There absolutely are but I thought that would be appropriate for it’s own post.

Check back soon to find out how these two are in many ways similar.

~The Poly Bag Pro

It may or not be a surprise but I am no longer with PolyPak America.

This change was my decision and although I enjoyed my time with PolyPak I was contacted by another company with, and have since accepted, an offer I simply couldn’t refuse.

This past week was actually my first with the new company. I have 16 weeks (yes WEEKS) of training. So for the next few months I will be at their corporate office learning about the company, product, and industry as a whole.

But the good news is that I still plan to keep The Poly Bag Pro Blog alive and kicking. This of course will require a slight change to the format and posts of the site though.

I will continue to write about polybags and PolyPak America as my main subjects but will also broadening my reach with more topics analogous to the plastics industry.

This is mainly because I will not be as privy to the inner workings and going-ons at PolyPak anymore.

But as mentioned in my About page I will continue to build this site into a helpful resource for polybag sales.

What I’ll Miss About PolyPak America

When I started at PolyPak America I was thrust into an industry that I had no familiarity with. Actually I was thrust into two, plastics and manufacturing.

At first the combination was overwhelming but once I got my head around it, I started loving it. Especially with a company like PolyPak which had a strong brand which had been around for as long as the polybag industry had been.

Manufacturing was unique in that I had never been in an industry where something was produced. At my previous positions I was either selling a service or an already produced item.

Learning about the manufacturing industry gave me a new perspective on processes and workflows. One which I believe will serve me well in my new position.

The Next Chapter For The Poly Bag Pro Blog

Although posts may be a bit sporadic for the next couple of months as I find the time between training and spending time away from my family, I do have a basic road map for continuing the blog and staying on topic.

I will continue to cover many of the same subjects I always have. I feel for example that my experience still lends to selling and designing polybags.

However talking about specific examples selling polybags will no longer be as strong of a post type. I can relate to past experiences, but when it comes to selling polybags, I will no longer have any new samples to draw from.

Although as I continue in my new sales role I’m sure I will run into situations that can apply to polybag sales and will remind me of instances from my time at PolyPak.

~The Poly Bag Pro

Democrat or Republican, no matter what your party, there is something to be learned from the most recent Presidential campaign.

Although I was not part of a swing state which seemed to get massive amounts of campaign calls, I still can recognized the lessons that can be learned from President Obama’s campaign.

Whether you believe in his policy’s or not, President Obama deserves a great amount of respect. He not only won a second term, but did so with some very unfavorable conditions.

Most notably the economic crisis the United States is still suffering.

But as we’ll discuss below, there are many characteristics of his re-election campaign that can be applied to every day sales and more specifically cold calling.

Whether you are a polybag salesperson or selling any other kind of product or service. These principles should be put to use in your sales process.

Use Your Time & Money Wisely

Although the official numbers have yet to be completely tabulated, it is estimated that the 2012 Presidential campaigns cost BILLIONS of dollars. An unprecedented amount.

That is a lot of money, especially I’m sure for Mitt Romney who doesn’t have a new office to show for it.

And perhaps one of the reasons for Romney’s defeat is that he was not as concentrated in his campaign efforts as was President Obama.

Obama spent much of his time in the densely populated cities of swing states. This is where he knew he had to have a strong game in order to win the election.

Cities like Cleveland, and Miami are two such areas that he spent considerable time and money campaigning in.

Cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco, which he were all but guaranteed for him, did not get nearly as much attention. Except for fundraising.

When connecting this to your sales activity, it’s important to not only do cold calling, but to do it properly.

I am of the belief that cold calling is not simply a numbers game. I wouldn’t recommend simply picking up a phone book and start calling down the list.

Although it is likely to work eventually, you will definitely get more bang for your buck if you prep a little before any cold calling session.

Activities such as narrowing down your target market, doing research on the companies and appropriate persons, and spending your time, energy, and money focusing on that smaller list are likely to yield much better results.

Start Early!

President Obama began his campaign for re-election almost two years ago. And as far as campaigning went, we was without competition for a large majority of that time.

Gov. Romney on the other hand wasn’t’ able to begin as early because he was first focused on getting the Republican party nomination.

His efforts were split between overcoming his competition. Until he official received the nomination, his energy was not as focused as the President’s was.

This is something to be avoided in sales and cold calling as well.

You shouldn’t wait to start prospecting when your sales start to dip. It’s already too late…clearly.

You should always be prospecting and cold calling. That way you can get a head start for when it really matters, like slow months and bad economies.

This also relates to networking for business or even a new job. Don’t wait until it’s vital and you have no other choice.

You never know how long you’ll have that big account or that comfy job. Start building connections immediately with others in your industry (or industry of choice) as well as recruiters, buyers, or whom ever would be the right person for when the time is right.

Do Your Job First

When Hurricane Sandy was on course to hit the East Cost President Obama wasted no time preparing the country for the impact.

During the worse of it he took a break from campaigning to do his job as President and direct the nation through the crisis.

Looking back at former President George W. Bush’s reaction to Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath of an unprepared FEMA and goverment, it is clear Obama was prepared to lead us through this disaster.

He did his job and did what a President is suppose to do .

You may have heard of a famous sales saying. Always Be Closing!

Below is a famous sales scene from the movie Glengarry Glen Ross (WARNING: Graphic language) which I think sums up the idea nicely.

Yes you should ALWAYS be selling.

Paperwork is important, and has it’s place, but your job is to sell. Either sell more products to your customers or get more customers to buy your products.

Activities like organizing your contacts, cleaning your desk, and talking at the water cooler should all be done on no pay time. You’re paid to sell so do it.

A Presidential Lesson

Obviously both men did a fine job campaigning, and only hindsight will tell what they could have done better…or at least what Romney could have done better to win.

But lessons can be learned from both of them.

~The Poly Bag Pro