Role: Sales Director
Company: Digitone
Track Record: Digitone is a newly- established print company, which is delivering all the benefits of digital printing to a wide range of clients in Northern Ireland and beyond.
What does your job involve?
As sales director of a newly-established print company, I spend most of my day speaking to existing clients and potential new clients about their digital print requirements.
My client base is quite diverse as many businesses both large and small are now seeing the cost savings and turnaround time benefits of digital printing.
Back at the office I work with the team on pricing quotations, production planning, and sales targeting.
Is it 9-5pm?
Very rarely – I usually start at 7.30am checking emails and meetings which have been set up for that day. I don’t often finish at 5pm either as it suits some clients to meet in the early evening. Also as I am in the role of sales director, networking is very important and I would quite often be at evening functions.
How did you get into this line of work?
Probably more by accident than design. I had originally planned to follow a career in social work but my family has a history of working in the printing industry and my father persuaded me to take this route instead. He encouraged me to do a three-year diploma in printing administration at Watford College in London when I was 18 and I haven’t looked back since.
Outline your career to date?
After leaving Watford College I worked for a couple of years in London as a production manager in a couple of book binding companies, one of which was Alard & Son in Letchworth.
I then returned home and joined W & G Baird in Antrim where I stayed for 24 years, learning all aspects of the printing trade but finding my niche in sales. This role prepared me well for helping to set up Digitone earlier this year.
The print market has changed a lot since I started. Tighter marketing budgets have resulted in a need for smaller print runs with faster turnaround times but with no compromise on quality. Huge advances in digital printing technology over the past few years now allow companies like Digitone to meet the changing needs of its customers at very competitive prices.
Tell us about your qualifications/training?
After leaving school I went to Watford College for three years and gained my
British Printing Industry Federation Diploma. Throughout my career I have also completed numerous sales courses to help me in my role as sales director.
What qualities are required for your job – personal and professional?
My job involves dealing with both large and small businesses, sports organisations, community groups and the public sector so it is vital to have good people skills and the ability to communicate well on many levels.
I am the main client-facing person in Digitone so I need to be flexible to meet the needs of all my clients.
In the print industry my 30 years experience has taught me that attention to detail is extremely important to ensure that the client receives a quality, reliable service.
What are the biggest challenges and rewards of your work?
Digitone is a new business and one of the main challenges is establishing it in a highly competitive market place with customers who need things produced quickly and who are working to very tight budgets.
But this is the very reason why Digitone has been set up – to meet the changing print needs of customers using state-of-the-art technology and best customer service practice, and it is very rewarding when we see more and more new customers placing orders with us and recommending us to their colleagues and friends.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I’m a big sports fan and enjoy watching all sports coverage on TV. But I don’t just watch it, I also coach an U16 boys’ football team and I play a bit of golf. My favourite holiday destination is the USA, particularly the east coast.
Tell us an interesting fact about yourself?
During one of my student years I was president of the Student’s Union in Watford College.
I also had both arms put in plaster for three days to raise money for the local hospital. All I could do was sit in a wheelchair! It was a very strange three days but I managed to raise lots of money for a very good cause.
Who has inspired you most in your life?
Probably my parents – my dad for passing on his love of and insight into the print industry and my mum for being at home and helping my sister and me through all our school days and beyond.