No half measures for our rising sales star, Demi

There's been plenty of discussion in the press recently about the lack of women in the traditionally male-dominated glazing and fenestration industry, so it's perhaps a timely coincidence that the star of our positive people story just happens to be a woman!

Window Ware's rising star is Demi Whitbread, who has recently been promoted to the position of Area Sales Manager (ASM) for the Home Counties and North London. And while she is currently the only female ASM in the company, her gender is really just an aside to the actual focus of our article - a success story to inspire any budding sales person and real-life proof that drive, determination and hard work WILL pay off!

Big break

Demi initially got her foot through Window Ware's door as a general filing assistant almost five and a half years ago, but it wasn't long before Head of Internal Sales and Marketing, Sarah Binns, recognised her potential and snapped her up to become an integral member of her office-based sales team. Sarah said, "It was obvious Demi was meant for more! She was eager to take on additional responsibility and always willing to go the extra mile - such natural talent and enthusiasm deserved to be recognised."

Unleash potential

Demi rose to the challenge of her new role by helping to increase sales and grow business in her area. Buoyed by brilliant customer feedback and healthy sales figures, Demi's confidence went from strength to strength. Even when she was assigned a larger sales area to look after, Demi's can-do attitude meant she took it all in her stride! After five years in internal sales, Demi was given the opportunity to break out from behind a desk and swap phone pitching for face-to-face relationship-building on the road.

True mettle

So, for the last three months, Demi has dedicated her time to providing first-class sales support and fenestration supplies to her newly-adopted community of customers in Herts, Beds, Bucks and northern outskirts of London. Even at this early stage, her efforts seem to have really hit their mark! Though you would normally expect to see a settling-in period, she has already managed to bring new customers on board and win back lost accounts.

That’s not to say it’s been easy! Demi explained, “I’ve had to build many relationships from the ground up. Trust must be earned and customers are understandably skeptical until I’ve proved to them I know my stuff and have their best interests at heart - no hard sell, just superb interpersonal skills. It’s been tough going at times, but I’ve loved every minute. I’m looking forward to growing my skills and experience as the role develops further!”

Sam Nuckey, Window Ware’s Managing Director, echoed Demi’s comment by saying, “Only by building close long-term relationships with our customers, are we able to fully understand their needs and improve what we do to become an integral component in their supply chain and product offering. This approach has enabled Window Ware to serve the industry extremely well over the past 30 years. We expect all our employees to always consider the customer first and deliver the best possible solution to suit their individual requirements. Demi has a natural ease with people, so is a pleasure to work with both in the office and out in the field. Her constantly expanding knowledge and her inexhaustible interest in our wide product range has surprised many, but justifies our decision that Demi should work more closely with our valued customers.”