DIII Padley Is general manager of national accounts for the
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Serd Marston and Woodhead RSR branch networks within components suppler Partco.
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PHOTOGRAPHY by MARTIN SPINKS
MONDAY
I never seem to start a Monday behind my desk. Today is the monthly team meeting when my four account managers, who spend most of their time on the road, and our two sales coordinators have a chance to meet as a team. We arrange for one of our suppliers to host these meetings and today we are at Duran, our principal braking lining supplier. This morning's session is spent as a team, bringing one another up to speed on our various projects, assessing performance for the previous month and planning our forthcoming strategies and targets. In the afternoon our host supplier joins us, providing an opportunity to discuss business issues, offer solutions to specific problems and learn more about their product portfolio. Being informed about issues and products is essential and these meetings provide us with the expertise to secure a competitive edge in the market-place.
TUESDAY
5am. Planning the week's diary is never an easy matter in this job as meetings are constantly being shifted as priorities change. This makes the job more fun, I tell myself as I leave my bemused wife in the early hours to head up to Glasgow. A customer has given me one slot in his diary. it's a meeting I can't afford to miss and my ever-resourceful assistant somehow finds a way to accommodate my schedule. Customer contact is key to success, developing business relations and forming firm partnerships. Even the most demanding customers respond better to negotiations face to face, and I enjoy the challenges of bringing people on side. it turns out to be a very successful meeting and well worth the trek!
WEDNESDAY
Getting to know the customer is essential in my business, which is why this evening I am racing around Bradford's Kart track! My team knows how to mix business with pleasure and we have arranged for 30 of our customers and suppliers to join us in an evening of friendly go-cart competitions. It certainly looks like we have a few Nigel Mansells in our midst! It's good to get out of the boardroom and meet with people on a more personal level, and I find these sort of events are an excellent way of establishing better links with our customers, and also demonstrating that we are interested in their issues.
THURSDAY
I have a brief spell in the office this morning to catch up on paperwork before heading off to London. One of our customers is a major bus company and I am meeting to discuss the implications of the government's integrated transport initiative. Knowing the issues our customers face following the introduction of new legislation means we can be ahead of the game when it comes to offering solutions. With more people being encouraged to use public transport, we are keen to reassure our customer that we can meet the expected increase in demand for parts.
FRIDAY
Like any salesman, one of the most satisfying aspects of the job is closing a deal. it's particularly pleasing when negotiations have taken a long time to come to fruition, and today I have reason to celebrate. I'm back in London putting the finishing touches to a .£2m project that will make us sole parts supplier to a large fleet operator. It's nice to end the week on a high and it may even keep the MD happy (briefly)! Now there is just enough time for me to head back to the office and pick up my papers for Monday's board meeting.