Clearview National March 2019 - Issue 208 | Page 36

DIRECTOROFTHEMONTH
A DIRECTOR WITH DISTINCTION
Distinction Doors’ Chantel Roach explains how – from
Tankersley to Taiwan – while she always keeps up-to-
date with the ‘next big thing’ and Apple has her hook,
line, sinker; nothing beats an ‘old-fashioned’ telephone
call or mapping out her day on a whiteboard.
NAME/JOB TITLE:
Chantel Roach, Sales & Marketing Director
WHEN DID YOU JOIN (OR
START) THE COMPANY?
I first joined Distinction Doors in
September 2013, fulfilling the role of Marketing
Manager. The opportunity to become a
director presented itself in 2016, allowing
me to develop my existing skillset as well
as incorporate sales in to my day-to-day
responsibilities. I haven’t looked back since.
DESCRIBE YOUR WORKING
DAY (FROM THE TIME YOU
LEAVE THE HOUSE, ETC.)
A typical day involves various director and
team meetings, liaising with customers and, of
course, directly supporting both the sales and
marketing departments in their efforts.
From time to time I also travel to see
customers and, occasionally, venture further
afield to visit our suppliers in Taiwan.
Any time in the car is usually spent catching
up on telephone calls with customers or the
sales team. You can’t beat good old-fashioned
calls as opposed to emails, particularly when
communicating with customers. Distinction
takes pride in being people orientated
and I find the personal approach is always
appreciated.
WHAT IS YOUR WORKSPACE
LIKE? (TIDY/ORGANISED ETC.)
Some might call my office too tidy. I can’t
stand clutter; it makes me feel unwell.
One of my office essentials has to be a large
whiteboard. It allows me to be as creative and
messy as I like, and then still be able to easily
wipe everything away before the day is done.
Perfect.
FIRST THING YOU DO WHEN
YOU GET TO YOUR DESK?
In my opinion, too many people begin the
day by tackling what’s just landed in their inbox.
Instead, I find it helpful to start my day by
thinking and writing down my own priorities
- before everyone else’s. Getting those critical
items checked off the to do list early-on
enables me to be more flexible whenever the
unexpected arises.
WHICH WEBSITES HELP YOU?
My favourite website at the moment is
www.next-big-thing.net. Will Higham is the
founder of the site. I like to look at his blog on
future consumer trends and see if we can use
any of his specialist insight in our day to day
marketing work.
I also use the Institute of Directors website.
It’s an invaluable tool; they have a great and
resourceful section for business members to
log into to share thoughts and ideas.
MOST USEFUL BUSINESS
TOOL? (SAT NAV/APPS ETC.)
Google maps. It’s brilliant. So much more
reliable than my in-car sat nav.
36 » M AR 2019 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M
BEST BUSINESS DECISION IN
YOUR CURRENT ROLE?
The decision to create our own customer
friendly door builder. In 2018 we took the
plunge to move away from 3rd party providers
and instead utilise our in-house IT team
to build our own. We can now offer our
customers far greater flexibility, including their
own bespoke branded version free of charge.
This is just one of the initiatives Distinction
has been working on over recent months to
further develop the comprehensive support
we make readily available to all our customers.
An example of the new door builder will
also be coming with us to FIT Show where
customers will be able to receive a first-hand
demo from one of our IT experts.
FAVOURITE ROLE
MODELS AND WHY?
Usain Bolt is my all-time hero. To be the
fastest man on the planet and maintain the
level of charisma and personality that he has,
whilst performing at his peak, was really quite
something.
I also admire Apple and continue to be one
of its loyal customers. It really has reeled me in
hook, line, and sinker. I love how everything is
designed to be so easily accessible.
HOW DO YOU UNWIND?
I try and blow away the cobwebs by having
a run every day. However, I’m no wannabe
athlete and 30 minutes is enough to increase
the blood flow to my brain and keep me
energised.