Qualifying

When I meet with a prospect and they have the list to quote in hand, most of the time they view corrugated as a commodity.  When in fact it isn't: different paper, better quality, faster delivery, better printing, innovative changes to save on labor or costs or a myriad of other things make it a niche item.  The companies that will earn that prospects business will usually be the ones with the most open capacity, since that's who is going to be the cheapest.
Then you have to ask yourself; why do they have so much capacity?

Better By Design

Sometimes when I have an appointment and I see A LOT of stock boxes I wonder if anyone has ever explained the benefits of a box that actually fits?

Legislators gone mad!

I recently came across an article about how local municipalities wanted to charge the makers of a product pay for its disposal.  Good article the link is below
http://www.packagingdigest.com/article/518592-Extended_producer_responsibility_resolution_rejected_in_Massachusetts.php?rssid=20535
Corrugated is recycled at close to 70% already and is worth $140 a ton.  Maybe the cities should buy balers and sell it back to the mills.

Sustainable packaging market matures, gets down to business

Sustainable packaging market matures, gets down to business: "Bio-based is big, renewable is rad, sugar is sweet and the geek squad has..."

Searching

So when I'm suffering from sales block(similar to writers block) I find I can turn to twitter to get my brain working again.  I can say that I have almost learned more about packaging in the last3 months I have been using twitter than the previous 3 years I've spent in the packaging industry.

follow me on twitter

@ryantheboxguy

Objections

How do you overcome the objection:  Our ownership actually owns a packaging house or a box plant?  Had that happen to me now twice.  I usually exit gracefully but I wonder if I could spin it to my favor???

A new year ...of surprises?

Everyone wants to know; what are the prices going to do in 2011.  After an eye popping 20% of increases in 2010 seems people are a little gun shy about boxes.  (for good reason)

So any guesses on what 2011 will bring?