Tell us a little more about yourself…

I am from Reading, lived in Devon for a while and now I have settled in Chester. I am a father of two and a proud granddad of one. When talking about character, I am an enthusiastic person and I take whatever life gives me with a smile on my face. Sometimes, you just have to have a laugh and carry on.

When I’m not selling IT, I’m a keen home chef. I don’t have a signature dish but I enjoy reading cook books and watching cookery programs to learn new recipes. Quite often, when we have a day off, my wife and I select a theme and then cook little dishes throughout the day, for example Greek meze or something like that.

I also love fishing, mainly in the river. I have a long-awaited holiday in Crete coming up soon and I may do some fishing while there.

How long have you worked at BrightCloud Group?

3 years.

Describe a typical day in your role as Business Development Manager

Typically, I start very early, around 6.30-7am. I like to get the admin tasks out of the way first thing in the morning so I can focus on business for the rest of the day. Us sales people are not big fans of admin work! The days vary but mostly they consist of meetings with partners and end users, preparing quotes and reports, and of course working closely with the presales team.

I have been working from my home office for a number of years now, but it’s always nice to see people face-to-face and have a laugh with them in person. Come September-October, I expect everyone will be more willing to meet face-to-face and I’m looking forward to that. Reading one’s body language is very important, especially in my role. It’s the kind of thing that you won’t pick up over a video call.

What were you doing before working at BrightCloud?

I have been in IT sales for 20 odd years now, selling UC, collaboration, contact centres, telephone, WAN, all the good stuff. I really enjoy what I do and I love the industry, especially the constant change and new innovation. I may be a bit old school in some aspects, but I am always open to new ideas.

What would you say is the most rewarding aspect of your role?

This may sound contrived but I like helping partners to expand their accounts and sell into new accounts. My role is about making sure we have a happy customer and partner base. I enjoy seeing them happy and helping them achieve their goals. I also enjoy establishing that trust with the customer, whether an end user or a partner, that makes them want to work with us year after year. The industry is very competitive and it’s my job to make sure everything is well orchestrated for our customers.

What is your biggest achievement since working at BrightCloud Group?

There have been a few, but if I had to pick one it would be selling the first Cisco Webex Contact Centre solution in the UK. I was the sales lead in that deal. Of course, it was a team effort. There is no I in the team and I am thankful to have such a great team to work with at BrightCloud Group.

What three words would your colleagues use to describe you?

Dependable, hardworking and a good laugh.

Tell us the most memorable moment that has happened at BrightCloud Group whilst you’ve been working there?

This is not one particular moment, but I have truly enjoyed seeing the company grow and expand like it has since I started. We have a fantastic team; everyone who works at BrightCloud Group is top of the class. And that is why we can offer the level of service we do. That, and the company culture the leadership has created that is about adapting to the market and always evolving. We are never sitting on our laurels.

The pandemic was a great example when things were changing on a day-to-day basis. The management team hosted daily standup calls for the entire team to share what’s happening and what we are doing next.

What’s the most recent piece of tech that you’ve bought and why?

I have bought a couple of pieces lately actually. First was a headset to make conference calls. And the second item was a mini electric whisk for cooking. It is a great device to whisk up lots of small things like breakfast eggs without using a fork!

What item could you not live without?

Living without the internet would probably be quite hard nowadays because the world runs on it. But, in real life, I couldn’t live without my medication.

What’s the most significant change you’ve witnessed in the industry since you started working in it?

I would say the only thing that is constant in the industry is change. In the past years, cloud and AI automation has really taken over and changed the way we work. We can now work from anywhere with a full suite of products and be completely independent geographically. As long as you have an internet connection, you can do your job even on the tiniest island. That shift has happened just recently as the pandemic focused people’s minds on geographical independence.

Who or what has most influenced your career and why?

This is a very interesting question I haven’t thought of before. When I first started my career as a 17-year-old, I was really inspired by a co-worker who taught me lots of little nuances about psychology and the industry in general. Throughout my career there have been people like that I have latched onto. They are the kind of people I have looked at and gone “wow”. They have opened my eyes to what is possible and showed me new ways of doing things that I never thought of. Of course, I can’t be just like them because I am me and they are them, but I can have the same ethos. And I can have the same way of doing things to be successful.

The most important thing I have learned is that if you sit still, you will fail. Instead, always continue changing with the times, adapt and grasp the new way of doing things and make it your own.