Beth Swinburn and Katie Collins work in the exciting area of Field Sales within Diageo, a prime employer for women. Their work is fun, varied and team-orientated - and the support they receive is exceptional. Check out the exciting range of Diageo Field Sales jobs and see what great career opportunities might be available to you.
Beth has a fabulous job at Diageo
Beth is a Sales Executive in London and manages Diageo's relationship with outlets across the capital where products are sold in order to help them grow sales, try new products, ensure great quality, and train staff on how to pour the perfect pint of Guinness.
Beth tries to visit around then pubs each day, servicing the Guinness quality in each by checking things such as the head size and temperature of each pint. "When I first started the role I was surprised at the technicalities that go in to making the perfect pint of Guinness - it really is an art. During the induction you’re given in depth training on the product, understanding the background to its creation, the conditions it needs to be perfect, and what we can do to rectify any issues we find," explains Beth.
At the end of the day, Beth likes to allocate some time preparing for the next day - and she prefers not to work past 7:30pm and pops her laptop and iPad away to enjoy the evening with her housemates or playing netball with the Diageo team.
Diageo helps train in top sales skills
Beth's favourite part of her job is spending her day chatting to licensee’s - getting to know what motivates them in their business, how long they’ve been in the industry and how they plan on driving their business forward. Beth says that having an understanding of these aspects is critical for her job in selling in new products. "When we start the role we’re trained on all sorts of selling skills which makes this side of the role relatively straight forward and extremely effective. The targets that come with the role are stretching but are a great challenge and we’re constantly supported in finding new ways and strategies to meet them," explains Beth.
Flexibility is key in Beth's role at Diageo
The flexibility in Beth's job can't be underestimated . "You can start the day and end the day whenever you like, as long as you’ve got the necessary planning and organisation done to be productive and effective. The support that we get in the field from our managers is incredible, comments Beth. Skillls development and support play is a significant role for Diageo as a company. This is evidenced through the continuous support teams receive from their manager.
"In the nine months that I’ve been in role, not only have I learned so much about Diageo, our products and the commercial elements so integral to the business, but I’ve developed so much as an individual. I absolutely love my job and I couldn’t recommend the role, or Diageo highly enough," suggests Beth.
Katie has a very people-focused sales role at Diageo
Katie is a Diageo Sales Executive in London, UK. Her day entails a range of exciting tasks and she truly loves working with her colleagues at Diageo.
Katie joined Diageo as a Sales Executive before becoming a Key Account Executive for West London as part of the Route-To-Consumer hub. As a Key Account Executive, her job is to maintain an existing customer portfolio contracted across Diageo's spirits and beer portfolio, whilst also working to secure new business.
Each day is varied for Katie and can include discussing contractual proposals, working with her activation team to create bespoke events, meeting suppliers, holding Route-To-Consumer meetings, processing invoices or discussing her P&L with her Key Accounts team.
Katie's customer portfolio is vast as some can be part of a group exceeding 15 bars, others may be unexpectedly high volume independent outlets, or sometimes Beth even gets to meet the driving forces behind her favourite night time venues in London.
"A field based role in Diageo definitely fits all the criteria I was searching for in my career," comments Beth. "It's a fast paced environment, managing my own schedule, handling a P&L whilst exploring London’s best entertainment venues."
With a strong induction schedule, the role provides an impressive base to progress your career in a National Accounts role or to transition to other parts of the business.
Many impressive women work in sales at Diageo
Diageo prides itself on celebrating life, everyday, everywhere - and so there is no better place than Diageo when it comes to a career in sales. Hear from further talented women working in Sales at Diageo:
- Barbara Carrasco, Commercial Planning & Activation On Trade Executive - Diageo has the best people and the best brands so it's really easy to feel part of this company."
- Susana Natoli, Field Sales Manager - "The first thing that attracted me to Diageo was the contrast between the spirit of fun that was projected by the business and the impressive responsible strategies that are at the heart of the organisation."
- Sara de Pablos, Customer Marketing Director - "I quickly learnt that Diageo was a great place to work and I was really excited about the opportunity to work with such a fantastic portfolio of brands”
- Ana Alonso, Innovation Commercialization Executive - "Sales is where it really happens."
Join fabulous women like Beth at Diageo
Check out the range of Field Sales jobs on offer with Diageo. Search for ‘On Trade Sales Opportunities’ and apply now.
Find out more
Disclosure: Where Women Work researches and publishes insightful evidence about how its paid member organizations support women's equality.