Meet Ellie, Graduate Sales Associate

What made you consider this career path following your studies?

As much as I enjoyed my degree, I realised quite early on that I didn’t want to move into a career in politics. I’d always been aware of graduate schemes, so I began to look around university fairs / online forums at what options were available to me. As a driven individual, I was keen to start earning a competitive salary and begin climbing the career ladder. Although I had no background in business throughout my studies, I was keen on the idea of working for a big company and sales stood out to me. I began selling fruit and vegetables at local markets when I was fifteen and I absolutely loved the buzz of it. Therefore, years later looking at graduate schemes, the sales roles caught my attention.

What does your day-to-day role involve?

The sales graduate role sits within Midmarket which in essence sells to businesses with a minimum turnover. My first role has been based within the Telemarketing team which is responsible for generating new business leads and once converted pass on to a sales specialist. The role really exposes you to all areas of the business, covering a variety of products and selling to multiple industries. Day to day, we work on campaigns set to generate new business. For example, selling background checks to HR teams, B2B data for marketing teams to better understand their customers, or fraud checks to financial services. My role is to find contacts to sell these services to, to gain initial interest and give an overview of Experian’s services. I’m responsible for finding out any challenges that my clients are facing, and show them how Experian’s data solutions can help. Every day I am speaking to new people and businesses via phone calls, LinkedIn and email. I then organise a second meeting with an internal sales specialist, who will go into more detail on the product / pricing etc. It’s great to join these calls for my own development. The role also entails attending events, so face to face selling. The events are great and definitely one highlight of the job, representing Experian and promoting our data services across the country.

What stood out about Experian/Why did you apply?

I was really intrigued by Experian – I’d seen the adverts on TV and understood it to be a credit agency. However, when researching more into the company, I realised this was the tip of the iceberg. I was particularly interested in our ID & Fraud solutions and marketing data. I soon realised there was huge learning potential in the role, because it was completely different to anything I’d ever studied. I could see that Experian performed well in surveys for treating their staff well, and since working here for a year I certainly agree. It's a FTSE 100 company, so you're working with / selling to huge companies every day and learn so much from this. The role is also based in Nottingham which really appealed to me - I had friends studying in Nottingham and I loved visiting, it really is a great city for young professionals and I would definitely recommend!

How do you feel the EC Development Programme has helped with your learning journey so far?

The Early Careers Development Programme is a great enrichment alongside your day to day role. The intro week is a brilliant insight into Experian as a business - it's great to meet all of the grads and begin to network from different areas of the company. After the intro week, there's regular sessions with the grads and apprentices, covering anything from presentation skills to teambuilding. It's great to spend time with the Graduate cohort throughout the year, and we've even had some external days out. The CSR challenge was the highlight of the EC Development Programme for me. This is a 6 week challenge, where each team has to raise £500 for a charity of their choice. My team chose Medical Detention Dogs, so put on a bake sale / sponsored hike. It was great to spend time closely working with people from different areas of the business, and it's a really rewarding project.

What has been a key achievement/stand out moment so far? Soft Skill or Technical or Project you have been involved in.

I've thoroughly enjoyed my first year as a Graduate Sales Associate. I've gained a lot of confidence when speaking to clients, both over the phone and face to face. My biggest achievement is hitting over 100% of my appointment target in my first year. Overall, I’d recommend the role to anyone interested in a target driven sales role – it’s been a fantastic experience and I look forward to continuing my career within the Experian sales team.