Team IB - Meet Gary West

Team Ickle Bubba is all about getting?#behindthescenes?of our?#brand, offering a glimpse into the everyday lives of?#ourpeople?and getting a flavour of how their roles contribute?to our shared mission. It's all about championing the people who keep us going and make us stronger. Ickle Bubba is made up of truly brilliant people and we?want to share this to celebrate the great?#work?everyone is doing.

This month, we had a chat with our Sales Director, Gary West. Read on to find out how Gary spends his working day and to find out how he got to where he is today…

How did you get to where you are now?

This year marks 30 years of being in the nursery industry for me. Looking back, I guess I took quite a non-conventional route into my career as I actually joined the military straight from school. This then lead me into logistics and warehousing, specialising in stock management. It turns out that this skillset landed me my first Sales job at Cosatto. They were looking for an Account Manager but one with inventory experience too - this is where I added many strings to my bow. At the time, I knew nothing about Sales or the Nursery industry (except for having two children myself). It was pure coincidence that I was matched to the role via an agency who head hunted me and I loved it! From there, I moved to Graco to work on launching their product range into Europe. I spent 6 years there, leaving as Sales Director and actually re-joining Cosatto as their Sales Director for 8 years. I went onto work for smaller brands and contacted Ickle Bubba’s founder, Fran Vaughan, on LinkedIn one day 5 years ago and the rest is history.

How would you describe your role?

It’s very rewarding. As Sales Director for the wholesale side of the business, I love the interaction I have with retailers – many of which I’ve known for years. My job is to create and drive a strategy for our sales and then it’s the execution of it. Working as part of the broader Senior Leadership Team, I am in tune with what the company and brand want which then allows me to factor this into the sales strategy. My job is to decide how my team then goes out and executes that then ultimately, as Sales Director, I have to accept the responsibility that the buck stops with me.

What’s the most challenging part of your role?

In my role it’s about balancing the needs of two sides of the business – wholesale and direct. I need to keep everyone happy and ensure I retain strong working relationships with my retailers and customers. There have been many external factors upsetting this balance over the last few years so this part has been particularly challenging recently.

What would you say are the main skills needed to be successful in your role?

Vision. You need to be able to see where the company wants to get to or where you want to get to. Honesty – you have to be honest about your ability. Adaptability - you have to tackle some difficult challenges and potentially look at changing decisions. You have to accept that sometimes you got things wrong and then reassess. Being a team player is also key. Acknowledging and realising, it’s not about you – you and your colleagues are dependent upon each other. One of the skills you need to have also is to be able to stop and think – how is this decision going to impact on someone else? You must think broadly to be able to create a strategy then be able to carefully consider, what do I need to deliver that? As a Sales Director, you do adapt an attitude which is you can’t always accept no. You have to be persistent with what you do.

What’s your favourite part of your job?

I love the industry and the fact that it’s a close-knit community.

Recently, times have seemed atrocious, and we’ve faced multiple difficulties as an industry and as a wider society but you have to remember, it’s the same for everybody.

I’d also say I just enjoy the product I sell. I love it and always have done. I always push for a level of product involvement within the company as I believe if you work for a business, you need to know the product as well as you can. I love the engineering process of product. In previous roles I’ve been very involved in product development, which helps develop your knowledge as a sales person.

What would you say is the best part of working at Ickle Bubba?

People do make the company but what I like (and I’ve worked for a few big corporations) is that the company isn’t corporate and the fact that I’m trusted with the responsibility to do my job without intrusion.

What did you want to be growing up?

A fighter pilot in the Royal Air Force which is why I went into the RAF. I knew from 13 years old what I wanted to do as a career. My dad had a massive interest in military aviation so my love affair with military aircraft started at a young age. I would’ve loved to have been a military pilot but unfortunately, I didn’t have the intelligence!

In another life, what would you be?

I’d make up for my deficiencies in this life and finally become that fighter pilot…as long as I was happy!

Thanks Gary! Look out for more Team Ickle Bubba profiles, coming soon...