If you are in sales, then you have probably had a story similar to this; You make that one last sales call or phone call, attend that "optional" industry or community meeting, only to have the person or contact say to you, "I’m glad you called" or "What a coincidence, we were just discussing this issue, so we are glad you are here". This happens every day to sales people across the country in every industry. NRMCA Senior Director, National Resources, Doug O’Neill reports of a recent experience of being in the right place at the right time.

"In so many of NRMCA’s training sessions, whether it’s a Webinar or in-person seminar, the topic of getting involved, participating in your community, in your marketplace, in your industry, is an ongoing theme," O’Neill said. "We talk about attending town Planning Board meetings and getting involved in local chapters of the USGBC, (US Green Building Council), APWA (American Public Works Association), and the American Concrete Institute (ACI)."

Recently, O’Neill was in the Buffalo area to meet with a member and partner and was invited to attend a Western New York Chapter of an ACI meet and greet; a last minute decision since this event was taking place that evening. During the event, which was well attended by personnel from ready mix, cement and members of the engineering community, he was introduced to a representative of a local municipality with whom the industry had been trying to discuss the municipality's local streets and roads program. Due to the heavier than normal snow fall this winter, this town had been consumed with snow removal and keeping the streets clear, thus the lack of response to his repeated requests for a meeting. This informal setting provided the opportunity to bend this person’s ear on what the concrete industry has to offer municipalities regarding the design and construction of concrete streets. The lines of communication just opened up, simply because we were in the right place at the right time.