Every month, we speak to one of Aaron Engineering Group’s team members to profile them and share their story- what they do in their role for us and how they spend their time outside of work.

This month we speak to Mark Talbot, Aaron Access’s new Sales Director.

Hi Mark. Could you start by telling us a bit about your background in sales and what you were doing before joining Aaron Access?

I’ve worked in the door manufacturing industry for 22 years, selling gates, roller shutters, automatic doors, steel doors, fire doors etc.

I started out working for a company called KONE initially, then Emmerson Doors as a service manager. My last role was group business development manager for ADC based in the Wirral, focusing on bringing in new business and pushing existing business to bigger revenues.

What do enjoy most about your role?

What I enjoy most in my job is going out and visiting clients, meeting people and building a rapport with them. I also like working in a team and bouncing ideas off each other.

Who are your target customers and who are you aiming to do business with at Aaron Access?

The main ones at the moment are FM businesses such as Equines (formerly Engie), CBRE, Mitie, Apleona, FES Group and Kudos.

I also aim to target existing customers for repeat business, for example we’ve recently started working with Kwik Fit again, supporting them with repairs at their facilities.

What are you hoping to achieve in your new role?

I want to help the whole Aaron Engineering Group grow, working on projects to cross sell our access services across our different businesses.

I’m currently working with Aaron Rail and Aaron Electrical on some big projects and will be doing more with Aaron FM as well. I want to use my role to push the whole group further forward.

I cross sell our door products to clients we already work with and also push our other services for the other group companies.

What are the key skills and experience you think are needed to succeed in a sales role in the industry?

Communication is key and your customer service needs to be spot on. It’s also essential to know your products and what you’re talking about and who you’re targeting.

You need to help your customer understand what they offer and what you can do for them to help them.

Finally, could you tell me what you like to do outside of work (hobbies, interests)?

Football is my main passion. I’m a season ticket holder at Leeds (unfortunately!) It’s been a rollercoaster season for us.

I like to play golf when I can as well and socialise with friends and family.