Emma joined us in 2021 as one of the original members of our lovely Sales Admin team – and played a crucial role in building many of the processes still in place today.
With a background in hospitality and customer service, Emma places high importance on identifying and meeting the needs of her customers.
Last summer she made the successful transition from Sales Administrator to Leasing Consultant (and now Account Manager in the Online SME Team), and has been smashing out a high conversion rate ever since. The phrase 'like a duck to water' certainly comes to mind!
We asked Emma to fill us in on the challenges she’s faced so far – and what inspired her to make the leap.
How did you get started at Carparison?
This was in the middle of the pandemic, so I was still furloughed at the time, and it seemed like a good opportunity to rethink my career and make a change.
I actually applied for a job with Mercedes-Benz initially and though I was one of the final applicants, I wasn’t successful following the final interview. I was disappointed, but it was obviously not meant to be!
I must have done something right though, because they asked to keep my details on file and ended up contacting me about an opportunity at Carparison.
I had a call with Kate (Carparison's Sales Admin Manager) and she asked me to interview for a job in her growing administration team.
Needless to say, I got the job and the rest is history!
What made you take the leap from Admin to Sales?
The Sales and Admin teams sit near each other and work together very closely. And what I saw, looking over at the Sales team, was strong and independent ladies making a name for themselves.
Seeing that every day inspired me to take the leap.
I was about a year into my job, and I wanted to progress. I could see that other women had started their careers in the same role I was in and made it into management. I thought to myself that if they can do it, then I can too!
I think selling is a role that can seem daunting from the outside, but once you get stuck in it’s really not as scary as it seems – it can actually be a lot of fun and I’ve learned a lot about myself in the process.
What was it like moving to a traditionally male-dominated role?
At first, it was a bit intimidating. It’s a role that is still quite male-dominated, and there are some strong characters in Sales at the best of times.
When I first transitioned over, I just kept looking at the women in the department and how well they were doing, instead of focusing on how many men I was in friendly competition with.
I just remind myself that gender has nothing to do with how good you are at something, and being female doesn’t mean I am any less capable in this sort of role. I think when you take on a new role, especially one where you’re perhaps in the minority, you just have to have trust in yourself and your ability.
I really pushed myself and continue to push myself now.
At the end of the day, I wanted to take the leap, so it’s on me to make a success of it. No one else can do it for me.
What are the different challenges you’ve faced?
I’ve picked up a lot of skills in previous roles – especially working in admin – that I’ve found can actually be transferred over and are really helpful in a consultative role like this.
It’s all about building good relationships with your customers.
What I’ve learned is that most people want to talk to people – and be spoken to like they’re people. They don’t want to feel like they are talking to a salesperson.
The challenge is when customers might feel unsure, or not very knowledgeable. They don’t always have that confidence in the leasing process, or the product.
I try and take the human approach and build a level of trust with them so they know they’re getting the best possible deal and have the confidence to proceed. It’s really rewarding to convert a lead to a live enquiry, knowing you’ve helped someone get what they want.
Where do you see yourself in the future?
The thing about sales is that as a department we’re constantly evolving.
I think that’s true of Carparison in general, but Sales especially is changing and restructuring as the business grows. Roles could open up in the future that haven’t been created, or even thought of yet.
In five years, I think I’d want to still be in a sales-based position, but more of a management role. I really like the process itself at the moment and I don’t want to get too far away from that.
I think working as a Transaction Manager, or something like it would be a good fit for me.
However there’s a lot of opportunity in the business, so who knows what doors will open as time goes on!
What changes would you like to see to encourage more women into sales roles?
I think the visibility of women in management can’t be understated honestly.
This goes not just for the motor industry, but all sectors. We need more women breaking that glass ceiling, because it really does make a difference and I think it does have a ripple effect, especially on young women just starting their careers.
For me, I saw that we had strong female leadership and women doing well in what’s typically a male-dominated sphere.
I don’t know if I’d have taken that step if I didn’t have that visibility to encourage me.
