Hat-trick of awards for George – and it’s just like scoring a goal for Celtic

George McGregor, one of two area sales managers for the Lanes depot in Glasgow, scored a hat-trick of Lanes Group sales awards in 2014 – and says the buzz he gets from his job is just like scoring a goal for Celtic.

He was top sales person for Scotland, had the second best sales performance for the whole of the UK, and the best individual Quarter 4 performance for the UK.

George says the pleasure he gets from closing a deal is just as great now as when he started in sales in the drainage industry 10 years ago.

He says: “The buzz you get is tremendous. Especially if you’ve been up against a competitor. It’s the equivalent of scoring a goal for Celtic.

“What’s also really enjoyable is then getting repeat business. The initial sale is one thing, but delivering excellent service and building a good long-term relationship with the client is our ultimate aim.”

The two most important things in sales in the drainage industry, he says, is knowing the right people to talk to, and knowing what you are talking about yourself.

He explains: “I spent 19 years on the tools, working in drainage on the ground, so I know what to offer a customer to get their job done right. People like to know they’re getting the best advice.

“We get a lot of support from the Lanes marketing team, which is a real advantage for us. But I still do a lot of door knocking and cold calling.

“So it’s important to find the right person who can make the decisions. Then when you find them, you don’t usually have much time to get their attention. Showing you can solve their problems, is the best way.”

George says his most pleasing sale of the year was a £160,000 deal to install two large interceptors at University Hospital Crosshouse, in Kilmarnock.  It was the Lanes Glasgow depot’s biggest ever excavation, creating a hole large enough to take a three storey house.

“That was a very big job, right next to a new maternity unit. It went so well that we didn’t get a single complaint from a member of staff or expectant mum. Maybe the babies crying drowned out any noise we were making! The client was very happy, which makes our whole team proud.”