What really drives my passion is that the work we do matters. Helping my customers save water and energy makes an impact here in our communities and around the world, and I’m proud to be a part of that.

My name is Stephanie and I’m a Technical Sales Representative at Nalco Water.

My first job with Nalco was as an Intern after my junior year of college. My internship went really well, so as I was starting my career, Ecolab was the first place that I looked. I knew that I wanted something that was technical, hands on, and also people oriented, so the Technical Sales Representative job was the perfect fit for me.

There is a 6-month training program for this job that includes technical classes, exams and sales training – all which gave me a great foundation to start the role.

Most of my days start here in my home office, checking my emails and getting ready for the day. Then I go out to my car and pack up any PPE, tools, or water testing equipment that I’ll need for the plants I’m going to that day.

After that, I head to my first customer site for the day. I typically visit 1-2 customers and drive 2-3 hours during the day. My customers consist of food, beverage and manufacturing plants.

When I arrive at a plant, I start by checking in with my customer to see what their needs are that day, and find out what has changed since I was last on site. And then, my time with customer consists of two main things: Sales and account management.

Usually when you hear sales, you think of knocking door-to-door, but that’s not really all we do. We build and expand relationships by bringing the full power of Nalco and Ecolab offerings to each customer. I’m selling something that’s going to make the customer’s life easier and save them money.

The account management side of my job consists of running water tests, work on value added projects, and help troubleshoot any new issues that have come up since my last visit. The areas of my customer’s plants that I’m typically working in are the boiler rooms, refrigeration rooms and wastewater plants. These environments can be loud and sometimes challenging, but Ecolab ensures that we’re properly trained and have all the tools we need to work safely in these environments. I’m on my feet all day long and that keeps things interesting.

One perk about this job that really motivates me is that how hard you work and how effectively you build relationships with your customers can directly have an effect on your paycheck.

Another perk of this job that I love is that we get to use a company vehicle. We use it for work, but we can also use it for personal time – which is awesome.

When I’m not at work, I really enjoy getting outdoors, taking road trips to visit my friends and family and getting involved in my community.

I love that in this job, I get to see the actual impact I have on my customers business. They can show me their water bill, or their energy bill for the month, and I can see exactly how much I helped them save. All these things add up to create a big impact in our communities, our country and around the world.
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The knowledge and experience I’ve gained so far will help prepare me for many different roles within Nalco and Ecolab. I’m excited for the doors that will open and for the future opportunities it will create for me. And right now, I’m proud to be owning my future and making an impact that matters.