Gabrielle Fairweather – Internal Sales Account Manager
Gabrielle has worked at our Birtley office for just over three years, helping customers to find the perfect products for their projects. We found out what a typically busy day involves:
First things first, we start bright and early with a ‘pod’ meeting. We’ve recently restructured so that sales, ordering and distribution sit together in multi-skilled teams rather than in different parts of the office – not peas in a pod, but Tarmac expertise in a pod!
This is much better for us and our customers. There’s no need to take details and call back after consulting a colleague. Instead, you can just turn around and ask while the customer is on hold for a moment. It’s a simple change, but one that’s making a big difference in helping customers to get everything they need in just one call.
Today we’re getting a quick training session from the technical team on Ulticolour, Tarmac’s range of coloured asphalts. It’s a cliché to say you learn something new every day, but if I didn’t I wouldn’t be able to give customers the right advice.
In fact, we also have a lot of samples in the office, so if someone asks for a nice creamy aggregate, I know they need stone from Whitwell. After a steelier grey? No problem – Swindon’s your source.
Back at my desk I get a call from a regular customer. Our new Service Cloud means I know who it is as soon as they ring, as well as their order history and other details, so I can pick up the phone and greet them by name: “Hello Steve…” It’s nice to be able to provide a personalised, more streamlined experience.
Most of the morning is taken up proactively checking on my clients, ensuring they’ve got enough stock and letting them know about our new products.
Lunchtime soon rolls round. I’m helping to organise a bake sale for a local women’s charity. Together with some of my Tarmac teammates, I’ve done several events including a 10km run for Sunderland’s Women Aid. Today’s fundraising is no less valuable, even if it is a little less healthy!
Our group met through the company’s Employee Development Plan. We did a study together on unconscious bias in recruitment and wanted to keep working on issues close to our hearts. I’ve just recently volunteered to be one of Tarmac’s new Inclusivity & Diversity champions, which I can’t wait to get started on.
With the cake crumbs brushed away, I’m off to meet a customer this afternoon to discuss a new project. It’s always good to see people face-to-face to help build a rapport, so I usually check in on jobs around the Yorkshire area a few times a week.
I’m able to take the customer through a number of different solutions for their project. They trust our advice and our products, so we have a good chat over a cup of tea.
If it sounds like a busy day that’s because it has been, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
