I had a phone call last week from our loveable Sales Manager, Chris Grailey. It went something like this:
“Hi mate. I know you keep asking me if you can feature me on the company blog, well seeing as we are in lockdown now would be a good time!”
So, here we are! How could I have been so remiss as to have left out Chris for this long? Let me elaborate, Chris relocated from Manchester to Watford to open up our Southern branch in 2020 (little did he know what was just around the corner), so he’s a great subject for this latest installment of A Day in the Life Of…
So, strap yourselves in as Chris takes to the wheel, with myself as question master!
So, Chris tell us a bit about yourself and how long have you worked in the vertical transportation industry?
I started at Sheridan’s back in 2014 coming from a Sales background in call centres doing sales over the phone for car accidents and PPI.. Wolf of Wall Street stuff, but it was never something I could see myself staying in. The progression of what I could achieve brought me to Sheridan’s seeing the likes of Nick and Chris already so far in their career at the same age as me, and I haven’t looked back since. I started off doing lead generation in our new lift department, within 12 months I was promoted to Area Sales Manager for the Southern Regions. Two years later, I fancied a change of scenery heading up our Service Sales Department within the Service Department. The knowledge I’ve gathered from engineers, technicians, directors is valuable to my success across the 2 departments over the last 7 years.
Tell us a bit about the day to days of your job?
My role within Sheridan’s is Service Sales Manager, so I am in charge of bringing on any new lift service contracts and attracting new business. I source my own leads by means of face to face meetings with prospective clients or via Zoom/Teams which as you can imagine is now a more preferred option in this day and age! I carry out site surveys on existing lift conditions to determine the lifts performance prior to offering any service level agreement to suit each client. I’m also working closely with our Service Director Chris Chadwick on public tenders for housing associations and local councils enhancing our portfolio via online portals etc. I am basically a one-stop-shop from the first point of contact with potential clients right through to attending our first service visit under contract.
So… Watford! How is it going down there?
Ahh lovely sunny Watford!! I moved down in February last year in line with the opening of our Southern Office. It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster 12 months with the pandemic, not being able to meet new people or go to the local pub etc… My best friend at the minute seems to be the delivery driver from the local Indian takeaway!! Jokes aside everyone in work has been making sure I’m OK down here. Business has still been extremely busy with us working closely in Key Sectors like care homes and hospitals etc so its keeping us all busy and taking our minds off the pandemic. Check this out below, as Chris Chadwick spent a whole day with me during the pandemic..
Who is the biggest joker at Sheridan Lifts? Tell us a funny story
Everyone would probably say me but Chris Chadwick is a funny character! (Funny looking as well) He has had me over a good few times in the office, the worst one was an email I received when I used to work in our New Lift Department. Chris knew I had a job in the pipeline for around £200k and I was hoping it would drop. The email explained the clients work emails were down and he would like to place the order for the 4 lifts. As you can imagine I was buzzing, telling the directors about this big project, but I was quickly brought back down to earth like a tonne of bricks when Chris told me it was a prank! I never did get that order… Thanks Chris! Hahaha
Who is going to win the Premier League?!
Its got be City I’d hope! I can torment the Directors once we lift the crown for the third time in four years! (Sorry Tony & Dan!)
What would Daniel say was your biggest strength / biggest weakness?
My biggest strength I’d like to say would be my likeability factor. I’m quite easy to talk to with everyone including any potential clients. I’ve learnt from the best when it comes to transparency. My weakness would definitely be that I am very easy to wind up! Time bomb can spring to mind when it comes to banter but its all in good spirits. I can give as good as I get haha!
What’s the best thing about your job and about working for Sheridans?
My job is something I never thought I would be doing as a career back in 2014 when I first joined, but knowing the role as well as I do now, the industry, learning from my peers across the business and understanding what is expected of me representing the company makes me believe I will be here for a long, long time. The company is very family orientated and the ethos they have from the top down makes it a very easy place to work. I’d say Sheridan Lifts is very niche when it comes to workplaces, you would never find a place like it! Were all a big happy family and I couldn’t wish for a better time around me!
Where do you see yourself and the Watford office in 5 years?
Our main aim when opening this office was to expand the portfolio enough to warrant the requirement for 2 extra engineers on top of what we had as a starting point. We succeeded in doing that already within 9 months, so within the next 5 years, I would like to think we will have a big team around us in the office as well as on the field, challenging the turnover of our Manchester office across all aspects of the services we provide. And I can guarantee, we wont stop until we get there!
Exciting times ahead and I’ll be popping down to Watford soon to meet up with Chris once we are allowed!