Following the last issue’s review of the IT Application Support Team, this month we look further North to our office in Leeds to gain insight into the Direct SME Sales Team that reside there.
The team is run by the inimitable Paul Sidebotham and deal with all direct sales for gas and power customers from a number of sources. These include returning customers, COO (Change of Occupancy), cross sell opportunities, deemed customers moving to a formal contract and new business customers.
The main challenge for the team is that they rely heavily on other areas of the business for leads and data. Inbound calls and leads generated from marketing campaigns are vital sources, alongside other sets of external data.
Another key sales input is from COOs (the process we all love to hate!). This gives TGP two opportunities for a sale; the customer moving into the address we supply and our existing customer moving to a new address. This is challenging as different areas are involved with the source of the COO, through WNS, Major Business, Credit and SME Direct. Further sales leads come from the trade shows we attend, online advertising initiatives and PPC (pay-per-click) campaigns.
So, who is the team?
Vikki Lowe runs the team in Leeds. She joined in March 2016 as Direct Acquisitions Manager, having come from both a Collections and Sales management background. Her job is to lead these guys to greatness by developing their existing skills and helping them recognise their full potential! Vikki manages three different data sets, alongside data sourced from attending various shows with Kevin, Matt (introductions below) and our marketing team. Vikki also feeds back results to the business whilst giving recommendations for future strategies.
Matt Barrick (who has a love for foreign languages) and Natalie Ather (who recently got married) both share a mutual appreciation for cats and work on the COO sales. They both started in October 2016, initially working on the cross-sell file, contacting existing customers and establishing and securing the sale for their additional fuels. In January last year they took on the mighty challenge of COO – Change of Occupancy. They have the biggest margin target associated with new business in the team so the pressure is on!
Monia Tempesta and Tara Walsh work on the deemed sales. Tara has worked here for 7 years in various sales roles including COO and New Business while Monia started with us just over 2 years ago. Affectionately known as a yummy mummy duo, they are tasked with chasing down our customers that have fallen out of contract and are being billed at our higher deemed rates. They then use their skills to overcome complaints about the high charges to secure forward contracts so we can retain our customer base.
Kevin Thimm and Matt Roberts work on new business. Kev started in August 2016 working in the renewals team. However, it soon became clear his skills were made for new business, so he moved to the dark side and has since earned the title of “top seller”! He smashes his target month on month... not that he would ever let that go to his head! He has a calm, unique way of selling that is not at all typical, leading some to think he may be using Jedi mind tricks. Matt started with Matt B and Natalie in October 2016. After a short stint working the cross sell file, Vikki brought him into the new business team where he uses his charm and cheek to win over our customers... and it works a treat for him as he consistently hits target! The pair of them are like a comedy act with their classic one liners and “married couple” banter (with Matt playing the role of the moody partner) all adding to a buoyant atmosphere in the Leeds office.
