Get to know the Brandworkz team a little better with our new interview series. This month we chat with Steve McGowan our Head of Business Development.
- How long have you worked at Brandworkz?
Almost 6 years – my longest single stint anywhere. Tells you something.
- What does a typical day look like for you?
I think the sales function is one of those that has been most changed in terms of daily structure by this year’s events. No client visits, no travel, no trade shows and no lunches! I do though put in an hours work at one of the local coffee houses a couple of times a week, to feel a touch of normality and see a bit of humanity.
There is no typical day in sales because whatever plan you make may be trumped by the need to help a prospect with an urgent enquiry. That said my days are a mix of prospecting, researching, brainstorming, planning or responding. I do try to make them as client-facing as possible, as that’s the best part of the job.
- What’s the best thing about your job?
Despite current circumstances, the best part of my day is still when I am talking directly to prospects and partners, and we are working together on how Brandworkz might play a part in solving their current issues. With a solution as flexible as Brandworkz we can get really creative with our clients and this is fun and satisfying.
- Is there anything you don’t like?
Working from my home office for 8 months straight has instilled a dislike of my neighbour’s cat who I regularly have to watch flouting the boundaries of both property and social etiquette in my garden, whilst I am helpless to intervene in a google meet etc.
- What is your favourite thing about working at Brandworkz?
Let’s take the people as read (it’s true but obvious). As with most salespeople, I love having a product that does what it says on the tin. Being able to combine that with the ability to configure the system per client, means that selling Brandworkz becomes an enjoyable mix of creativity rooted in a stable base.
- Best memory so far?
Jointly winning employee of the year a couple of years back, as voted for by peers, was very nice- although the bribes were a bit expensive.
- How has Brandworkz changed since the time you’ve been here?
We have worked hard to develop a very focussed understanding of what we are good at and where we make the most difference. Hence our total focus on being the best brand management system out there, rather than trying to compete across the broader world of Digital Asset Management. This has meant better conversations, a deeper understanding of the client’s brand challenges and a more focussed roadmap.
- If a new person was starting at Brandworkz, what would your one piece of advice to them be?
Get to know everyone. They can all help with something and they are all very happy to do so.
- What is your favourite brand right now, and why?
Interesting question. Things move so fast these days and great new brands pop up out of nowhere, but I am going to plump for a golden oldie that has resonated with me since childhood and continues to do so: Penguin Books. I used to work in Holborn and spent many a lunch hour scouring Skoobs second-hand bookshop, and it was always those with a flash of orange and the small black and white standing bird that attracted me. It still seems to me a mark of a certain quality. I could be wrong as I am sure they have published their share of rubbish, but I have so many great experiences with the brand over a lifetime, that my trust is undimmed.
- Tell us something about yourself that the rest of them might not know?
I dream of finding a scotch egg the size of my own head, but only when shopping on my own so that I don’t have to share it.
