Day in the Life profile: Senior Account Manager Nigel Morrel
Working for the Monmouthshire Beacon & Abergavenny Chronicle, Senior Account Manager Nigel Morrell plays a key role in the commercial team, working with advertising clients to promote their products and services. He talks about the satisfaction he gets from his role, the importance of working with local customers and the pride he gets from being part of the Tindle Newspapers team.
What are the main responsibilities in your role?
I am responsible for driving advertising revenues for the company so I my main role is to persuade local businesses to advertise with us. I used to be in businesses where we bought advertising in newspapers and local media to promote ourselves so I have effectively switched sides to sell advertising. I have been with the company since 2018. I have to make sure we hit the weekly and monthly budgets and I am involved in planning the newspapers, working with the editor and senior production colleagues to sell the space set for clients to buy. I work with our team to ensure they are supported in achieving their goals.
What does a typical day in your role involve?
I do not have set days which are exactly the same but the main goal is the same. I spend 80 per cent of my time selling space for advertising in our print and digital titles, supporting the team so they are motivated and helped to sell as much as they can. We spend time quoting prices for advertising, followed up with emails and calls to help clients and then take their bookings.
Our working week starts each Wednesday as we do the majority of selling between Wednesday and Friday. We work thoroughly, working office hours and do not do weekends, so staff understand to make these days count. We spend time dealing with account queries, speaking to regular customers and finding out about the needs of new customers. Some of this time is spent on the phone and some is spent in person.
Tindle Newspapers has been known in this area for years and our papers date back to the 19th Century. We explain to people how we deliver hyper local news which gives them an opportunity to share messages about their products and services with the local community who trust their newspaper and news website to give them information about the area where they live.
How does your work fit in to the wider business?
Monetising the audience we have is very important. Without revenue from advertising we would not have a local newspaper. People joining the business realise we are a trusted service for information in the communities where we operate. Talking to local businesses is vital as it gives us the chance to build revenues. We have readers who have bought our newspapers for decades, 60 years or more, so they expect to see adverts for businesses and services near where they live, which helps them make decisions about spending their money.
What do you enjoy about working for Tindle?
I like building relationships, going to see people and understanding their businesses. We aim to help them so it gives me a good feeling to communicate how we are part of the local community, here to help them succeed in business.
What has been the most memorable occasion where you have helped a client?
I have worked hard to nurture a strong relationship with our local authority. We used to get revenue from just one department but I have opened up the relationship so we get a far greater amount and from across the organisation. I worked throughout the pandemic so it was pleasing to get the newspaper out each week despite the lockdowns.
How did you join Tindle?
I was originally in the military and went on to work in finance, as well as sales. My background has given me a close attention to detail and the ability to work in sequence. I am proud to say I have never missed a target for sales and continue to want to develop in my career.
What is the best bit of advice you would give somebody looking to join Tindle?
Working for Tindle has benefitted me as I have been able to meet my aim of staying local for my employment. I used to travel the length of Wales every day. If you want to try sales or would like to build on your sales experience that working for Tindle is rewarding. We have a great life-work balance and everyone is supported from day one. The senior team are here to help and nurture new people. We allow people to build their confidence and we want them to enjoy their job, growing into it as they go.