How do you spend your time at work?
Sending emails and making calls out to existing and prospective customers. For larger deals that require a site visit and a more technical approach I secure appointments for my colleague Alan, but smaller sales and hires I handle myself.
As summer is a busy time for you, how do you prepare for it and manage your workload?
Summer hires fill the gap left when schools break up, and with many of them being recurring events, I’ll arrange with the organisers to make sure I know when to contact them at the right stage in their planning the following year.
Describe your most unforgettable project.
Soon after I started we did the 2015 Rugby World Cup, an IP linked hire across Exeter including a microwave link. Talk about jumping in at the deep end!
What’s the most unusual thing you’ve seen while working in the radio sector?
I think it’s probably providing high-end wireless Bluetooth earpieces to a small tyre workshop. It goes to show that you need to leave your expectations at the door and deal with each case individually.
What advice would you give to anyone joining the two-way industry in a sales and/or administrative capacity?
Learn how to be an intermediary between your engineers and your customer.Customers don’t want to be blinded by a storm of ‘enginese’, but they do want to believe you know what you’re talking about. If you don’t? Don’t blag it, tell them you’ll find out and ask your engineers to explain it to you so that you can go back to your customer with full confidence.
What do you do in your free time to relax?
As captain of Devon County Shinty Club, a fencer and a live action roleplayer, I don’t really use free time to relax, but judge how good my weekends are by how much I’m aching come Monday morning. Reading a book, listening to music or playing the lyre are my peaceful hobbies.
After pursuing music during his early twenties, Drustan fell into sales after applying for customer service roles, recognising his affability and strong relationship-building skills. This customer-service-based approach still steers his sales style.
