Kelly DeMille's first sales job was in a record store when she was
a teenager. Now, she sells high-tech equipment that can be worth the equivalent
of thousands of CDs.
"What I do now is just so different from a typical [sales] job. For a lot
of jobs, like selling records, all you need to know is how to work a cash
register. This is a whole different area," she says.
DeMille is a sales and customer representative for a forest products company.
She does a lot more than stand behind a counter and answer questions.
"I have to know as much as possible about the equipment I'm selling,
and I have to know if newer pieces can work with older ones. I have to be
very familiar with what kind of operation a client is running," she says.
DeMille has a diploma in computer-aided design and drafting. She uses those
skills not only working in front of a computer, but also to learn the technical
details of the products she sells.
"I deal a lot with buyers in sawmill maintenance. They call looking for
parts or inquiring about upgrades. Some of our stuff goes back to 1972, which
is when I was born, so I have to keep track of it all in my head."
Someday, when she gets tired of sales, DeMille would like to go into management,
possibly as the head of a sales department.
Peter Kuniholm managed a technical sales department for a manufacturing
company before going to work at Cornell University. Now he conducts research.
"I have a degree in engineering and kind of broke into sales when I was
younger," he explains.
His degree helped him as a salesperson, and now helps him conduct technical
research for both universities and companies working in forest industries.
"In both cases, the depth of knowledge you have to have covers everything
from finding rust-proof screws to matching very intricate parts. Some of the
machines you work with are as intricate as a sports car."
Both jobs afforded Kuniholm lots of travel, and lots of different experiences.
"I've been all over the U.S.A., not just to places you'd think
were big on forestry, like the Pacific Northwest. I've done research
on better ways to protect oranges in Florida from the frost," he explains.
While in sales, Kuniholm spent much of his time helping his company's
research department develop new products for his clients.
"It's not a job that is simple. You have to know a lot, and keep learning."
Technical salespeople in the wood products industry must understand material
sciences. Buildings collapse more often than you might think, and no one wants
to be the person who sold the contractor inadequate materials.
Certainly, neither Russ Radcliffe nor Bill Billups, both technical salesmen
with extensive backgrounds in architecture and design, are interested in facing
that kind of a disaster, though they acknowledge it does happen.
These types of problems are the very reason why technical salespeople need
to be highly knowledgeable about wood science and design criteria. You need
to be certain you are selling the right product for the project at hand.
Billups, a technologist, works for a laminating firm. He recently received
his designation as a "limited license engineer." A limited license engineer
is a technologist with many years of experience.
Radcliffe was an architect until a slump in the market forced him to seek
work in another field. That's when Radcliffe joined a company that manufactures
glue-laminated beams, plywood-I joists and open-web joists.
When it comes to sales in the wood products industry, Radcliffe and Billups
believe a person needs a minimum of a two-year technology degree. Without
it, they say, you simply don't have the necessary knowledge base.
Think selling wood products would be about as interesting as watching paint
dry? Think again! Consider one of Billups's latest projects, which saw
him providing building materials for a 2,000-square-meter residential home.
The house has seven bedrooms and 19 bathrooms, not to mention every conceivable
luxury.
"Our company is the Cadillac," says Billups. "We do the top-end stuff.
You don't take something like this house and give it to the building
supply store to do. These people want someone who understands their needs
inside out."
Radcliffe's company sells engineered wood products. They also put
up industrial roofs. One of the more exciting projects Radcliffe has been
involved with was the Tacoma Dome. It is one of the largest wood-domed structures
in the world, seating 23,000 people.
The rewards in this industry come from doing a job well and receiving the
recognition of your peers.
Radcliffe likes being able to make use of the technical skills he learned
as an architect. He also gets out of the office a lot, visiting the construction
sites of existing and potential clients.
"People like to see you have an expertise. They like the fact that you
are interested in their project, and that you understand it. I wouldn't
be able to do that if I didn't have the technical training."