Five Shocking Facts About Kevin McKay! Part 1

Kevin McKay

Sales Manager - Cremation Division

It may come as a surprise but …

Sales 101 class could start out with this; to be a success in sales you have to build relationships. I believe this and consider the relationships that i have built in the cremation space the best part of my job. So, because someone on our marketing team is constantly nagging me to write blog posts, I thought it would be kind of cool to talk about some of the things about me that wouldn’t necessarily come up in a conversation about cremation metal recycling and Mid-States. It may surprise you to know that I used to work as an environmental activist! In my mid-20’s (late 90’s … Whaaat?!?) I worked as a field manager for the canvassers of a non-profit group called Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) I know, it’s a terrible acronym but PIRG is a very productive organization. This was so long ago Rod Blagojevich was still an up-and-coming congressman who still seemed legitimate!

We would set out at 4 pm knocking on people’s doors and wrap it up at about 9pm every weekday. We had specific campaigns that the group was focused on; bringing change or attention to through lobbying our congressman and senators to make the right decisions with regard to the environment. Whether it was cutting polluter’s subsidies or a call to action to help clean up Superfund sites, we were always focused on profound change. It was also the best experience I could have asked for to train me for sales. Selling a product is one thing, but selling someone on a concept and asking them to financially support that is another. I never had a fear of asking for the sale, so I always asked for more than what I thought someone might give. This proved to be so successful that the group created a high donor program nationally. Aside from the people I met, this was the best part of that job.

It was a great two years of my life. I met some of the most genuinely cool and interesting people working there, some of whom I stay connected with here and there.

Stay tuned for more fun facts about me coming up in the near future! If you can’t wait for the next post, drop me a line! kevin@midstatesrecycling.com