PEOPLE
10 MINUTES WITH: WENDY SHORE
Key Account Manager, Baxi Heating
What is your current role?
I have been a key account manager at Baxi Heating for three years.
What does your role entail? I look after a national merchant at all levels – from their HQ to local branches – on all matters, for example finance and marketing. By building relationships and working in partnership I can keep things running smoothly and profitably for both our businesses. I also liaise with our own area sales managers and give them the tools to build good relationships with their local branches.
How did you get started in this industry? I studied A level law at college with a view to becoming a legal secretary. However, I took a summer job at British Gas in Epsom – and I never left! When I first started I was looking after the diaries for the technical sales advisors, booking appointments with homeowners for them to quote for boiler installations. I had various roles during my 13 years at British Gas, finally studying to become a technical sales advisor myself. At one point, I was the only female technical sales advisor out of a team of almost 200! I was told I couldn’t do it because I was female and only in my 20s! I was determined to prove them wrong and worked harder than anyone else on my course. Although it was a male dominated arena, our sales director was female, and she was my absolute role model. She had 100% attention when she spoke to colleagues and was extremely well respected. These days, being a woman is not an issue – we are just part of the team!
What roles were you doing before and how did they prepare you for this one? I left British Gas to move to Baxi Heating as an area sales representative in the South East, visiting merchants and installers to demonstrate our boilers. I quickly became the business development manager for our British Gas account – working on the other side of the fence! My time as business development manager for British Gas was good preparation for this job. By looking after all the finer details of such a big account, it means you can make sure you keep all your plates spinning!
What would you like to achieve in your role? Simply put, I want to be the best key account manager I can be. I aspire to be well known, trusted to do a good job and well respected,
8
both in my own organisation and in the industry as a whole. If I do my job well, both my company and my customers benefit commercially.
What has been the highlight of your career so far?
As business development manager at Baxi Heating, I helped to develop a boiler specifically for British Gas; this became one of our most successful heat only products, and I am proud to have been part of the project team. I have also won a couple of internal awards: Area Sales Manager of the Year and an Outstanding Achievement Award.
What do you see as the main issues for builders’ merchants and construction? There is a lack of consumer confidence due to the uncertainty surrounding Brexit. This means that we need to focus on the added value that both our businesses can provide to both new and existing customers.
If you could go back to the start of your career, what piece of advice would you give yourself?
I am my own worst enemy! I would tell myself “You CAN do it! Believe in yourself!” I proved I can succeed when, all that time ago, I was told I couldn’t be a technical sales advisor, because I was a young woman. Recently, I bumped into the person who said that to me, and they had to admit they were wrong!
Football, rugby, cycling or gardening- What keeps you busy at weekends? Gardening definitely! A few years ago, I bought a barn to convert. I have now moved into the house, and am really enjoying building a garden completely from scratch.
If you’re at the bar – what are you drinking? Always red wine, especially a Rioja.
What’s your favourite film? I have two! Grease and the Holiday with Cameron Diaz and Jude Law. I could watch both over and over again. I just love their feel good worlds, where dreams come true!
If you were a superhero, what super- power would you choose?
I would love to be invisible, and creep up and listen to people, and nobody would know. I’m not sure how I would use my superpower, but it would be great fun!!
ON THE MOVE
• Stuart Hendry has recently taken on the role of General Manager at Norbord Inverness. With over 27 years’ experience, Hendry brings
his expertise and results driven attitude to his new position managing and coordinating all business operations within Norbord’s Inverness mill.
• Becky Scaife, formerly with Xstone and Dekton, has joined Bushboard as key account manager covering the South East, South West and Midlands regions. Scaife assumes responsibility for key distributor support as well as securing new partners
for the Bushboard worksurface and splashback collections.
• Orkla House Care UK, has appointed Jonathan Weaving as digital marketing manager. Weaving has worked within the digital
marketing arena for several years, incorporating web development, video editing and copy writing.
• National plumbers’ merchant, Plumbase, has reinforced its sales team with the appointment of Matthew Longford as head of sales and operations
for the 160 branch-strong supplier of plumbing and heating products, and will be focusing on driving sales and margin growth while being based nationwide.
• Jake Cintra has been named as the new national sales manager for W. Howard Group, focusing on the company’s Polyco veneer and foil-wrapped
product range. As part of his new role, Jake will also be responsible for the Western region of
W.Howard’s white primed MDF business. The role has been created to increase
W.Howard’s presence in the wrapped MDF sector.
• Aggregate Industries has appointed Max Colligan as the new managing director of Ready Mix Concrete and member of the company’s ExCo team. With more than 30
years of experience in the construction industry, Max brings with him a proven track record as a leader in concrete business.
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net September 2019
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
