Fresh Perspective

Cameron Keefe

Regional Sales Manager at Sierra International Machinery

Cameron Keefe may have grown up in the recycling industry, but it wasn’t until his teenage years he realized he had a passion for it.

“I did grow up in the industry, [but] not necessarily in the way that some kids grew up, where they’re in the yard, boots on the ground, sweeping floors,” he says.

At around 15 years old, Keefe’s father, publisher of the Recycling Today Media Group, took him to attend his first Paper & Plastics Recycling Conference (PPRC).

“I think that’s what sold it for me, that this industry is pretty cool,” he says. “I just absolutely fell in love with what [my father] was doing and meeting everybody and being able to see that there’s so much upside to this industry.”

Keefe entered college a few years later, and though he knew what industry he wanted to pursue a career in, a summer internship with Middletown, Ohio-based Cohen Recycling helped him realize his interest in the scrap metal side of the industry.

Today, he is a regional sales manager at Bakersfield, California-based Sierra International Machinery, where he sells equipment to recyclers in Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi.

For Keefe, a typical day means being out on the road and meeting customers face to face.

“I go to, primarily, different metal yards to start the morning, I feel like that’s where the bread and butter is for Sierra,” he says. “Then, I’ll go into a MRF or a transfer station later in the day.

“Being in front of people is the best way to make a sale in the recycling industry. [The industry] is really just a family-run business, when you look at it. … A majority of the guys out there are mom-and-pop shops that have done business with the same people for 30-plus years.”

In the following interview, Keefe discusses what it takes to be a successful salesperson in the recycling industry and ways to recruit young professionals.

"I never knew the magnitude of opportunities in this industry.”

Recycling Today (RT): What does it take to be a successful salesperson in the recycling industry?

Cameron Keefe (CK): Being able to take a “no.” A “no” doesn’t mean there’s not an opportunity, unless it’s a firm no, but even then, I think there’s always an opportunity, the timing is just off. So, I’d say don’t get discouraged by any stretch of the imagination. If they say no, there’s going to be another yes down the road.

Having a passion for it helps. Being able to speak about the industry or speak about your products passionately and trusting them goes a long way. The people who are on the buying side can pick up on that. If you don’t fully trust your product, or you don’t know how your service team is going to do, they pick up on that.

RT: How can the recycling industry recruit more young professionals?

CK: As a young person myself, I never knew the magnitude of opportunities in this industry. You go work for a bank [and] there are so many positions within the bank, but that’s just the bank. You look at the recycling industry, [and] you have metals. Break it down even more from there [and] you have nonferrous and ferrous metals, you have equipment operators, yard managers, the list goes on and on, and what that looks like for me is going to universities or going to high schools specifically and saying, “There is a great opportunity for you.” … But it takes [those of] us who are in the business to be the first [salesperson] for the industry.