Based in the Gloucestershire town of Lydney, Senior Sales Account Manager Heather Wood is responsible for managing the advertising accounts of businesses across the local community, overseeing their advertising in print and online.
She talks about the pleasure she takes from working with local companies and the strong relationships she has built in the community while representing Tindle Newspapers.
How would you summarise your role with Tindle Newspapers?
Working from the Tindle office in Lydney, I manage advertising accounts for a range of our titles including The Forester, Forest Review and Ross Gazette. As the Senior Sales Account Manager I am responsible for our team achieving their revenue targets while working with local advertisers to meet their goals for their marketing campaigns. I joined the company in 2014 as a sales representative and have worked my way up.
What did you do before you joined Tindle Newspapers?
I have had a number of jobs before I joined Tindle. I was a cook at a pub, I was a store detective for a while and I started my career in the police with Thames Valley. I also had a spell directing the breakdown patrols from the base of the AA.
Through all these roles, I have built up skills which I draw upon in my current role. I am used to having to meet targets with often fast deadlines. I always like to hit targets and I am a people person. I like to have fun in my work and encourage other people to be the best they can.
What are the main responsibilities in your role?
I am tasked with finding new business and keeping our advertising customers happy so they continue to advertise with us. Working with the staff to ensure they keep up with their sales targets, I work hard to make it fun and ensure everyone is happy.
If we need to change the schedule in the newspaper, I play my part in coming up with feature ideas which will then benefit advertisers.
What does a typical day in your role involve?
The job does not get boring. We used to be sales representatives but now we are all-rounders. We have had digital training which has given us new skills, along with learning advert booking. It means we can manage the process from the initial call to the customer through to the advert being placed.
The day involves using each of those skills as we complete each stage of the process. We also spend a lot of time on the phones, speaking to clients across the area to understand their needs and how we can meet them.
What do you enjoy about working for Tindle?
Tindle is a family-run newspaper business for the community. We work in the heart of the community and make sure we really get to know our clients. I have made a lot of friends through working for the company, both among my colleagues and through interacting with customers.
During the pandemic I made friends with customers who used to call up to book memorial adverts and other regular bookings. At a time when people could not talk to anyone in person they could call us and we were able to form a connection with the community. I have even had birthday cards from people I met during this time. I have built nice relationships with people and feel I know them well.
What is the view of the Tindle news brands in the community?
Our newspapers are based around personal relationships in a very close knit community. We regularly receive biscuits and chocolates from people as we have close connections. We go out for dinner together and work as a team together, competing with other teams in our business. Our team is like a family and that is reflected in our other relationships.
I have got to know the team at a local nursing home, who offer fantastic care for people with dementia, so I have been along to help with fundraising fetes, which gets the paper’s name out there and promotes the business. We all enjoy working as a team and being part of the community.
What advice would you give somebody joining Tindle?
If anyone is looking for a challenge and they like people and their community, they will enjoy working in our teams as everyone is supportive. Nobody is on their own with a problem, as we will sort it out together.
You have to be creative to solve problems and you often have to think fast to turn things around. For my birthday I had a wine glass from a colleague with an inscription which sums up how get on. It said: ‘We met as colleagues but fun, laughter and togetherness make us friends.’