If you can’t find it on the website, our Direct team are the ones to talk to! From bespoke quantities to a dedicated account manager, our Direct team work with customers to make sure they get the perfect print journey for their business.
We shone the spotlight on Will, one of our Business Development Executives, to find out more about what his day-to-day work looks like, his favourite project so far and what he gets up to in his spare time.
1. When did you start working at instantprint?
I started my instantprint journey back in March 2018. It’s been a whirlwind of a time and I’ve seen the business grow so much despite only being here a short amount of time!
I’d attended a recruitment day in February and was blown away with how far the company had come. It was such an interesting day: there was roleplay, presentations, as well as the standard interview.
At the end of the interview, one of the Directors, Bryan, took me on a tour of the office, introducing me to each department. He announced to everyone, “This is Will. He’s a Michael Bublé tribute act and will sing you a song now.” Then he looked at me with this fatherly ‘don’t let me down, kid’ look!
Not quite the conventional day at the interview, but I loved it all the same. I’m still convinced that if I’d have had a sore throat that day, I wouldn’t be sat in the position I am now!
2. What does your role involve? (Be specific and detailed)
As a Business Development Manager, my role looks to introduce medium and large businesses into the world of instantprint. I undertake research to find the best possible person to speak to within these companies, and then begin to attempt to understand how we can help each customer I speak to. I also have the pleasure of liaising with my existing clients, and assisting them with other printing requirements they may have.
My role is to be an expert, not only to my customers and my prospective customers, but also the team surrounding me. I’m a firm believer that knowledge is power, so it’s important to get to know as much about the industry as I can and stay informed where possible.
3. How does your role fit into the journey of an instantprint customer’s print?
instantprint Direct is key to the customer journey in the sense that we offer a service that the customer can’t find on the website. We offer a solution for companies with more complex situations, such as looking to place an order to multiple addresses, varied payment options, different pagination within booklets, and the use of a variety of stocks unavailable on the website just to name a few.
As soon as the customer starts their journey with the IP Direct team, they are directed to a central point of contact, their own personal Account Manager. From here they’d contact their Account Manager for a quote, who would then be assisted in securing this by our fantastic Customer Service Executives to provide a competitive quote whilst compiling research on what our competitors are offering this for.
Once this is agreed, we drop the artwork in with our dedicated Artwork team who’ll check the artwork for any anomalies and to ensure it’s print ready. As soon as you’ve approved your artwork proof, we’ll go to print for you.
4. What makes you proud about working at instantprint?
I’ve seen both the business and its people grow so much in such a short space of time. The business empowers confidence in us as individuals to flourish within our roles, which allows us to deliver what I consider to be a world-class service.
I’m proud to be a part of a business that continues to go from strength to strength, whilst trying to go the extra mile to cover the ground for our customers. I am always looking to be the best version of myself at work and constantly strive to improve all areas of my skills, and I’m lucky to work somewhere that shares this attitude.
5. What’s your favourite project that you’ve worked on so far?
I love working with all of my clients but I’d say building a relationship with Domino’s Pizza was a real milestone for me. It was one of the first big clients I’d worked with when I first started at instantprint. I was buzzing because I knew we could form a strong partnership, as their print provider, and work with them to create print products that really build on their already huge brand awareness.
Now, we do quite a lot of work for Domino’s, who help us out every now and again by swapping pizza for print, to show appreciation to my team for the work they do. It’s amazing to work with such a talented team; in fact, I’d say working with my colleagues make every project a great one.
6. Tell us about your downtime hobbies or a random fact about yourself?
I suppose it’s all about what sort of time you catch me! I’m a big fan of my bed; sleeping is almost a hobby in itself for me! However, once I venture out of bed, you’ll find me following my local football team, Rotherham United. I try to get to both home and away games where financially feasible. If it’s more of a stay at home kind of day, I’ll be catching up on crime docs on Netflix.
You may have also been part of a select crew who’ve seen me as a Michael Bublé tribute act, and singing is a passion that I’ve carried with me throughout my life. It’s seen me make a Yorkshire’s Got Talent final, and sing the national anthem in front of 7,000 live on Sky TV.
I also do a bit of charitable work. In particular, I support Tomfest, which was founded in the memory of Thomas Bothamley, a life taken too young due to Sudden Adult Death Syndrome. For her charity work, Thomas’ mother has gone on to win the region’s version of the Pride of Britain, which demonstrates how great a charity it is. We have a party at his local pub, in which we book local music acts, bouncy castles etc. It’s packed year on year and this year we managed to raise £7,500, which is incredible.
7. Tell us about a standard day in the instantprint office for you?
First and foremost, I try and blag someone to make me a tea… that’s how every day should start right? I then check my emails and write a to-do list of things I have to do within that day.
From there on in, it’s very much about reacting to the customer demand. I could be on the phone with existing clients making sure they're happy and have everything they need or I could be calling other businesses, introducing instantprint to individuals that haven’t heard of us before.
8. What do you enjoy most about working at instantprint?
I love the day-to-day hustle and bustle of dealing with customers. You get to speak to some real characters and every day is unique in itself.
As mentioned previously, the team are unbelievable and I’ve never worked with a more understanding, ambitious, talented and enthusiastic team in my career. I have no doubt that the sky is the limit for instantprint and we will have another astounding year in 2019.
