From adverts in The Wokingham Times (Berkshire) and your website, I have read there are a number of opportunities to join the Sykes team. I hope the following information will show my experience, skills and character coincides exactly with your requirements.
I have taken the text from your website page to answer the questions you pose for the position Your text / questions in italics, my answers in bold. (My CV is at the bottom of this page).
Are you passionate about properties and people? If so you could be the person we are looking for. Sykes Cottages is a Chester based (and award winning) Holiday Cottage Business specialising in holiday cottages throughout the UK and Ireland.
We are looking for a dynamic, self-motivated person to join our Property Owner Team. Due to overwhelming success we are looking to recruit two more people to be the first point of contact for potential new owners looking to place their holiday cottage with an Agency like Sykes Cottages. You will need to wow and excite these potential new owners by selling the fantastic benefits of working with Sykes Cottages. If you can answer yes to the following questions we would be delighted to hear from you.
Are you highly motivated and enthusiastic with a hunger to succeed?
Have always been a self-starter even working from age of 11. Set up 1st business aged 15, returned to school aged 17 and obtained university degree, starting, managing and growing multi million pound corporate accounts, remote operator for businesses in Clwyd, Leeds and Leicester, three own start-ups of which the final one was sold to a bank.
Do you have an eloquent, friendly and professional telephone manner?
I have recently appeared on BBC radio discussing local heritage projects, so would assume I have a good voice with a professional manner. My voice is also quite friendly for a southerner !
Are you able to quickly build rapport and develop long-standing relationships?
Probably the most powerful part of my personality, experience and skill-set. Have broken into accounts and grown them from zero to become the largest customer in the company. (it was an 80/20 customer base). Selling into large businesses always have multiple contacts and there is a need to have a rapport with them all.
Are you commercially minded with a passion for property?
As an Account Director I always took the lead in multi million pound negotiations. The best deals are where everyone wins something; this is a key issue in account retention and long-standing relationships.
Applying for this position is not about the earnings; it is about the passion. I own a number of properties at medium to high end value and I know they are not necessarily provide the best yield. However, my wife and I consider ourselves to be unashamed ‘house-huggers’.
Do you have excellent written communication skills?
I have developed and administrate a heritage website which in 3 years has received over 500,000 visits and millions of hits. I am the main writer: www.wokinghamremembers.com
The Role
To be first point of contact for potential new owners when they call or contact us to discuss letting their holiday cottage with Sykes. Our aim is to secure a visit with one of our Regional Managers for every property. The job of the Property Specialist, therefore, is to determine whether a potential New Owner has a property that we would like to take on whilst impressing the owner with our knowledge and professionalism. Each Potential New Owner must finish each introductory call wanting to work with Sykes and looking forward to meeting our Regional Manager. The Property Specialist will also speak to a Potential New Owner after a Regional Manager has visited to answer any further questions, keeping in contact until a contract has been signed.
Competencies
Outstanding verbal communication skills.
This is probably the key strength required for the position of Regional Manager. It is the ability to reflect the need of the property owner and inspiring them to take positive action. This requires some understanding of the unique identity and need of each individual owner. Verbal skills are very important and listening skills are essential.
Commercially minded and able to negotiate and influence.
I have sold to main board directors, members of the House of Lords, football clubs, farmers and even local Councils and Members of Parliament. A more disparate set of people you could ever hope to meet! Definitely a need to be flexible here.
A results driven and proven sales achiever.
Although as a graduate, I was destined for a role in systems development, I chose sales and marketing. A graduate had never entered this are before in the history of the company. It was such a successful transition, that in future all Account Executives were from the graduate pool. This change was down to one key issue. Results and the results came from successful sales.
Good standard of written work with accuracy and attention to detail.
My local heritage website has received over 500,000 visitors and I am the main contributor. My degree was in Politics and History; the ability to express oneself on paper was essential.
Knowledge and Experience
Not only do I have the knowledge and experience for this role, but having been at both the top and bottom of a fast growing business, I understand exactly what it is like to be part of a fast growing business. I have a great deal of empathy with young companies who want to build their position in a busy and competitive marketplace. A summary of my experience:
- I am a supplier of properties to the lettings market. I am a multiple owner of medium to high value properties. I am an experienced in the lettings market and use lettings companies, but manage my own properties.
- I am also an experienced user of long term property lets and have been a tenant on a number of occasions. This provides the experience of being on both sides of the business as both landlord and tenant.
- I am an experienced user of holiday lets. I have rented properties from a week to six months in a number of European destinations but also Toronto, Vancouver, San Francisco, Auckland, Hamilton (NZ), Sidney, Melbourne. It is fair to say I have experienced both the best and the worst of the holiday lettings market!
Have good geographical knowledge of the UK.
In my twenties, my account portfolio covered all of England; one year I covered nearly 50,000 miles on the road. I have worked in Scotland, England and Wales and holidayed in all these places including Ireland. In all these times I have always ensured I have developed an understanding of the local history and culture of the area. I can even picture the beautiful Tudor facades in the centre of Chester !
IT literacy of the following packages; Windows, Word and Excel.
I am probably working on these packages seven days a week. I haven’t had much need to use Excel, beyond basic database filtering, but over the years I brush up on it as and when required. I have made films, worked on geo-tagging photos and have received over 50,000 visits on a Google Map I developed for my website.
Proven ability within a sales environment.
It’s actually quite difficult to pick out the times which prove sales success. Is it the account which was opened up after a 100 years of trying? Or is it the opening of an account which grew so large as to completely turnaround the fortunes of a whole company? Or is the work which went into convincing a bank to invest £25 million into a new start up? Or is ability about being able to convince some of the best names in an industry to join you and share in your ambition?
Confident and able to work alone, as well as be part of a team.
‘Working alone’ is a different capability to being a ‘self-starter’ although they appear to require the similar qualities. I worked in a team environment for eight years, then as a remote operator for another eight years. These experiences enable me to build a business which required both environments. I always ensured that those working remotely felt as much a part of the team as those in my office.
Working alone also requires trust and a ‘safe pair of hands’. A business needs to be completely confident that the remote workers are acting in the best interests of their clients and the business which they represent.
A willingness to go the extra mile.
This is all about passion. Passion to bring a new client on board and passion to help build the business you are working for. It is also about passion for the central mission of the business; for customers to enjoy their holiday. If they enjoy their holiday then they will return and even act as an advocate. For the customer to enjoy their holiday they require first class start to end experience and this responsibility will weigh heavily on the team at Sykes. Which means going the extra mile.
We are looking to welcome two new members into the team mid/late February but are willing to wait for the right candidate. This is a full time role with a degree of flexibility required.
I do feel this position would be a highly rewarding challenge and one that is a perfect match for my experience, personality and attitude.
Mike Churcher
mrchurcher@gmail.com
Telephone numbers: Mob: 07775 902193 and 01344 536688
Address: 103 Pinehill Road, Crowthorne, Berkshire RG45 7JP
Please click to access my CV: Mike Churcher CV