Julie Rush is a Business Development Representative for Region Americas Service
Julie Rush didn’t find Konecranes… the company found her. 
After graduating from Auburn University in Auburn, Ala., with a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education, Julie taught elementary school for a few years.
That career path wasn’t quite the perfect fit, so when Julie’s fiancé, Tim, got a job offer that would take the couple back to Pittsburgh from Alabama, she knew she needed to find a job she could make a career of.
“I still didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, but I wanted to work somewhere that made me happy,” Julie said. After posting her resume on Indeed, it wasn’t long before the administrator of the Great Lakes District contacted Julie. She asked Julie to come in for an interview as a branch administrator at the Konecranes Pittsburgh location.
“The funny thing is, I almost cancelled because I knew nothing about cranes and I’d never done administrative work before,” Julie said. “I didn’t know if this was going to be what I was looking for, but since I agreed to the interview, I wasn’t going to cancel.”
Plus, after teaching first grade for two years and third grade for two years, Julie figured there wasn’t anything the company could throw at her that she couldn’t handle. “I started working at Konecranes in June 2018. The rest is kind of history,” she said.
A quick move upward
Julie’s time as an admin was short-lived, and she’s since transitioned into a Business Development Representative for the Pittsburgh and Rochester branches. She serves as a primary contact for current customers, helps execute Business Reviews and supports the branches by renewing service agreements – all an important part of Konecranes customer consultation process and business success strategy.
During weekly branch calls, Julie and her team discuss critical customer information, the status of each service agreement renewal, customers they haven’t been able to reach and customers who are taking bids.
“I’m a team leader and have four people on my team, so I also have weekly coaching calls where we go over their data and make a game plan for the week,” she said. “Additionally, I have a coaching call with my supervisor every Friday to go over my team and my data.”
When she’s not in meetings, Julie stays busy conducting Business Reviews; quoting agreements; communicating with customers by phone, email and video about their agreements and service products; and interpreting data to identify anomalies, patterns and trends.
Serving up personal customer service experiences
One trait that helps Julie retain customers is her commitment to building authentic relationships with them – not just one-dimensional ones that don’t go much deeper than discussing the weather.
“When I was an admin, I called a customer to ask about an invoice and we ended up relaying messages for days on behalf of the service manager and controller,” she said. “We started talking about our lives and grew to be friends. It was a good mental break for both of us and every time we talked; we’d learn something new about each other.”
After Julie moved into the Business Development Representative position, she was waiting for that customer’s service agreement to come due for renewal. When it did, the two got on the phone and caught up before they delved into business.
“I asked about her family and she asked about my wedding in November,” she said. “It probably had been seven months since we last talked, but we picked back up right where we left off.”
A travel-loving beach bum
Outside of work, Julie gets “lifted” by travel and admits she’s “so excited to sit on an airplane to go somewhere.” She’s loved all the places she’s visited for different reasons – the sea lions and seals in San Diego; the shows, food and lights of New York City; the easygoing and stop-and-smell-the-roses way of life in Savannah and Charleston; and the “magical” snow skiing offered in Colorado and Utah. Later this year, she and her partner Tim plan to visit Key West and Barbados.
Julie has never met a beach she didn’t love. Be it the familiar beaches of her childhood, the compacted sand of Miami Beach, the abundant marine life of San Diego or the tourist-free vibe of Tybee Island and Foley Beach, she says “bring on the sand, sunscreen and water!”
But her favorite place to visit is Delta, a small town in Alabama that doesn’t even have a traffic light. “There’s a small farm there where my grandmother is. She’s my best good buddy, my secret keeper and my best friend,” she said, adding, “The farm and the beach warm my heart and soul.”
Konecranes family
What gives Julie a glow at work, however, is knowing her customers can count on her to take care of whatever they need. “I like knowing my hard work is helping others and it will help me reach my professional goals,” she said. “Konecranes is a company I believe in and it believes in me.”
The same holds true for her co-workers. “I care about being able to help those around me. I have many ‘favorite days’ here because of the comradery between my coworkers. Everyone is like family.”
