Name: Laura Rutter
Job title: Regional Residential Specification Manager
Tell us a bit about yourself:
I’m mum to two beautiful girls Poppy 13 and Annabel nearly 12 (she will be cross if I don’t say that). I’m married to Luke, we have a dog called Maggie (my third child) and four horses, Josh, Fudge, Betty and Gem. We live in a South Wales town surrounded by the beautiful Brecon Beacons which we love to walk in and explore when we aren’t busy with the horses. We all love being outdoors so try and spend as much time as we possibly can out and about. Our weekends mainly consist of competing the horses, socialising with friends and trips to the South Wales coast. Before sales I was a Head Girl (groom) and spent my time travelling the UK and Europe competing horses. I am lucky my girls are following in my footsteps and also love horses so I get to still be involved with them.
Describe your job to a five-year-old:
I help people decide what bathrooms will look nice and fit in new houses.
What do you like most about your job?
I love being able to meet lots of different people from all walks of life and building relationships with people, but I also really enjoy the design side of my role. I love working with my customers to decide on the ranges to complete the look they want.
How did you get here?
I left school and went straight into working with horses, which I loved but as I got older and met my future husband I decided I wanted a family and a job with more normal working hours. My first sales job was selling underground cable locators and camera systems to go down drains. I was clueless and completely out of my depth, but I really enjoyed the challenge and it was a great first step into the world of sales! I’ve gradually grown from there, gaining more confidence and working out what makes a good sales person. I’ve been lucky and worked for some great companies and sold some great products.
I took some time out to have my children and when I returned to work I got a job selling ventilation into merchants and contractors. After that I worked for a manufacturer of toilet seats, cisterns, wastes and all the fixtures and fittings, so it’s nice to now be selling the complete product.
What motivates you?
I’m massively competitive so for me sales is perfect. You have to compete to win the business, so for me the main drive is winning the business. I also want to set a good example to my children and hopefully make them realise working hard is really important and you can do anything if you really decide you want to.
If you could swap jobs with anyone, who would it be?
I would love my own stud farm.
Your favourite song lyric or line from a film?
My saddest admission ever but “it’s only forever, not long at all”. Not sure if it’s my favourite but one I always remember form Labyrinth.
Your favourite app?
I’ve become a little bit obsessed with Instagram recently and following people who post their home interior design ideas.
Biggest facepalm moment at work?
Anyone that knows me knows I have these most days! There is a huge list but not sure most can be repeated! I am the Queen at speaking without thinking and have blurted out some really silly things that I didn’t actually mean the way it came out. I’ve just been reminded of when I told Tom Burdon he couldn’t sit at our table at a sales meeting night out. I honestly didn’t mean what I said it came out totally wrong! I was quite new at the company then too so it was a great first impression!