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Don’t be fooled if crisp-loving Craig Davidson, director of sales for Belleair Holidays, visits – he’s not really doing an audit!
Describe your typical week
A typical week will have me on the road for three-to-four days and I will normally work either from my home office, our Peterborough call centre or the London head office on a Monday. Tuesday morning usually starts in a lay-by or motorway services car park for a Belleair marketing and trading call with the sales team and business managers going over the previous week’s performance and also our marketing activities with the offices in London and Peterborough. It’s an important call as it keeps our communication lines clear and keeps everyone on point for the week ahead.
How does the week pan out?
On Wednesdays I have five store visits and either an agent roadshow, Abta regional or Tipto event in the evening. Thursdays normally involve a couple of meetings with key partners and the head office to discuss performance, support and any opportunities to grow our mutual businesses. Fridays include store visits to Ladbrokes, William Hill and Paddy Power to place bets and I have to make sure I’ve got a comfortable seat in the pub by midday (I put it down to my Club 18-30 training). I also have a conference call with the sales team at 5pm for a catch-up on the week and then home for a chippy tea with my pinderella [Craig’s girlfriend, Gemma Pinder from Travel 2].
Briefly outline the size of your company’s on-the-road sales team
We currently have three sales reps on the road; Sarah Hillier (south), Emma Hilton (central) and myself (north and Northern Ireland). We also call on a couple of our colleagues from our marketing team or call centre from time to time to help us out on the road for events.
What’s in your car?
In my glovebox I have mints, a spare mobile phone and a bottle of aftershave. In my backseat I have a box of brochures, flyers and boxes of Maltateasers.
What music do you listen to?
A mix of Radio 1 and 2 and old-school hip hop on the iPod.
What snack keeps you going on the road?
Bottles of Irn-Bru, salt ‘n’ vinegar disco crisps and KFC.
What’s the silliest thing you’ve ever done as part of a sales visit?
I once pretended to be from the audit team and watched everyone scarper and fix uniforms, windows and fill drawers full of things that shouldn’t have been on show.
What’s the best part of being on the road?
Meeting different people and all walks of life in very different parts of the country.
What’s the worst part of being on the road?
Traffic jams and horrible hotels.
How do you think agents would describe you?
Great ideas, sharply dressed, passionate about Belleair Holidays, hungry to help them grow their business and smelling good.
Which agency gives you the warmest welcome?
I love to visit John Stewart and his team at Thomas Cook Dundee. They always give the warmest of welcomes and they’re an amazing group of fabulous travel agents.
What key messages do you try to convey in an agent visit?
Regional offers, new products and agent incentives.
What’s your advice for agents who don’t sell Belleair but are keen?
Put your trust in Belleair worldwide holidays; a tour operator with more than 40 years’ experience to UK agents and their customers. Belleair has excellent savings on Mediterranean holidays and soon destinations worldwide with a hand-picked range of hotels and fly-cruise and stay holidays. For any agents who would like training on Belleair worldwide holidays, we are always happy to visit and do in-store training.
If you didn’t work in travel, what would you like to do instead?
Be a manager for a band.
