Government Accounts Manager at United Rentals
Road warrior Cara Mezzetti finds success renting out construction equipment for United Rentals.
by Warren Duffie

Army transportation officer Cara Mezzetti spent her career in the field – commanding troops and supply lines; interacting with civilian contractors; and overseeing the purchase and delivery of huge construction equipment. Her days were often spent amidst the grinding purr of large diesel engines.

This Boston native has blazed a sales career allowing her mobility, freedom, and the time outdoors she enjoyed in the service. As a government accounts manager for United Rentals – the world’s largest construction equipment rental company – Mezzetti navigates the Washington, D.C., “beltway” area for business.

“I really don’t have an office per se,” said Mezzetti, who still serves in the Army Reserve and works mostly from her SUV. “I spend most of my days onsite with clients. Later, when I’m processing sales orders or responding to e-mails, I do it [on a laptop] in my vehicle or at home. One thing I love about my job is that I’m not locked in a cubicle under fluorescent lighting.”

Selling to the Military
Mezzetti’s job is two-fold: attend to current accounts and generate new business and mentor a team of eight sales reps by traveling with them to various sales calls.

So how does she and her team solicit potential business? First, there are traditional methods – cold-calling and going online to view bids and requests for proposals from various military and government agencies. The second method involves old-fashioned initiative.

“Many times, I’ll drive around a military base to see what kind of equipment is being used and if we can provide the same service,” Mezzetti said. “Then I’ll go to the motor pool or public works office and talk to the person in charge there.”

Mezzetti has two additional weapons in her sales arsenal: her veteran status and the fact that she once worked as an acquisitions officer dealing with civilian contractors and sales reps.

“A lot of people in the military assume that civilians don’t know a lot about the armed forces,” she said. “However, once they know I’m a vet, their guard drops and they warm up. We even talk about past duty stations sometimes. They know that I can speak the lingo.”

This understanding has translated into great results. Mezzetti has 120 clients, representing millions of dollars in revenue, including the Smithsonian, Postal Service, and the Marine Corps Marathon.

“The leadership I learned in the Army has helped me tremendously,” Mezzetti said. “I went from being an 18-year-old shy kid to someone in charge of soldiers and addressing generals. The military really develops your confidence.”

Great Opportunities in the Construction Business
United Rentals is the largest equipment rental company in the world – with more than 690 rental locations in 48 states, 10 Canadian provinces, and Mexico. United Rentals’ more than 12,000 employees serve construction and industrial customers, utilities, municipalities, homeowners, and others. The company offers over 20,000 classes of rental equipment with a total original cost of $4.3 billion.

United Rentals offers competitive pay and benefits – including health, disability, educational incentives, 401(k), bonus-sharing, and profit-sharing. In addition, the company values military veterans and wants to hire them for jobs such as drivers, sales, corporate administration, and service and maintenance.

Bringing Supplies to Combat Troops
After high school, Mezzetti enlisted in the Massachusetts National Guard and participated in the ROTC program at the University of Massachusetts. Upon graduating with an economics degree in 2000, she attended the Transportation Officer Basic Course at Fort Eustis, Va., before being sent to Seoul, Korea, as an acquisitions officer.

Mezzetti was then assigned to Mannheim, Germany, as part of the 109th Transportation Company. In March 2003, shortly before the invasion of Iraq, Mezzetti’s unit was sent to Kuwait. She helped run supply chains transferring food, medical supplies, and ammunition to various American installations throughout Iraq.

In 2005 she was sent to Kuwait and Iraq again, doing the same job, only this time transporting heavy equipment such as tanks and bulldozers.

Upon returning to Germany, Mezzetti decided it was time to leave the military. She had accomplished an impressive range of goals – attending Airborne school, living in Europe and Asia, and being deployed in combat. It was time to test herself in the civilian world.

The Transition
After attending transition classes, Mezzetti partnered with a headhunting firm that quickly connected her with United Rentals. The company appealed to her for several reasons. It dealt with transportation and heavy construction equipment, the sales aspect of the job tied in nicely with her economics and acquisitions background, and United Rentals was big enough to offer a variety of opportunities. So she came on board in January 2007.

“I took a pretty big pay raise, but I was shocked at the cost of living in the D.C. area,” Mezzetti said. “If you’re getting out of the military, you need to plan a budget and realize you’ll be paying for food, housing, and medical, to name a few.

“I have to say, however, that the opportunities for promotion with a civilian company are great,” she continued. “In the military, people are sometimes promoted because there’s a need for people in a rank or pay grade. As a civilian, you’re rewarded for your performance and can chart your own path of success.”