Professional Experience

Castlemaine Bacon Company

May 1995–November 2003

Managing sales activities within a geographically defined area, from Caulfield south to Sorrento and east to Lakes Entrance in Victoria, Australia. My responsibilities included:

• Managing a group of merchandisers and van-salesmen within a geographic territory and achieving sales budgets by seeking orders from both existing customers and by sourcing new business,

• Promoting and selling smallgoods to both Independent Delicatessens and Supermarkets at the shop floor level. This means providing service and training, as well as selling product  to the Delicatessen, the Butcher, the Dairy Case and Dry Goods within one Supermarket, and

• From 1998 I was also made responsible for every stage in fulfilling Christmas Social Club orders. This involved sourcing the orders, requisitioning stock, picking, packing and distributing the orders. For these roles I had four people working under my supervision. Another project I undertook in early 1999 was the establishment of a HACCP plan for the Melbourne Depot. This involved predicting possible contamination sites and establishing procedures to avoid them in line with new government regulations.

Purple Pig

July 1994–May 1995

To promote and sell industrial rubber products to maintenance officers and purchasing officers in a wide range of industries. To achieve sales budgets by seeking orders from both existing customers and by sourcing new business from a geographically defined territory.

Wattyl Paints

May 1992–July 1994

My responsibilities included:

• Maintenance of major distributors via weekly service calls. Ensuring that the distributors are well stocked of both paint and merchandising materials. Liaison between distributors and senior management. Arranging credits and problem solving for the distributors. Creating a closer working relationship between Wattyl and the distributors,

• Cold calling on panel shops within a set territory in order to convert these shops to use Wattyl automotive paints. This involved introducing new products, providing training in their use and ongoing technical support to my customers, and

• Managing and developing a country territory in western Victoria among the panel shops there.

Wattyl Paints

December 1991–May 1992

Serving customers, recommending products, assisting with paint enquires and problems, putting away stock, cleaning shop, daily banking, ordering stock.

Wattyl Paints

July 1989–December 1991

Phone sales, distribution of Victorian marketing stocks in the Automotive division, assistant to General Sales Manager, Auto Sales Manager and the Sales Representatives, the set up and maintenance of customer listings, using Dbase III.

Nature Guide; Kingfisher Park Birdwatchers Lodge, Cairns, Australia

October 2003

Leading and organising guided tours for guests of the lodge, both on the lodge grounds and further afield.

Sales Assistant; Mind Games

December 1985–January 1989 (part time)

Displaying stock, pricing stock, sales and service of board games, balancing the till, opening and closing the shop