Amanda gets inside the minds of the most successful sales leaders so you can apply their secrets to your business and inspire your team to grow sales. Strive to...
Ep 11: Unfreezing Potential with Shaun Smith - General Manager UK & Ireland at Birds Eye Foods
Unlock the secrets to becoming an extraordinary sales leader with insights from Shaun Smith, General Manager at Birds Eye UK and Ireland. Hosted by Amanda Downs, we're getting into the essence of mastering sales and leadership basics, the necessity of relentless improvement, and the unrivalled value of passion and authenticity in your professional journey. Shaun shares his 20+ years of expertise, stories of significant career milestones, and his heartfelt advice on leadership, customer relations, and creating a lasting positive legacy. Here are the Highlights:05:53 Understanding business end-to-end on tight margins.11:57 Competitors and change drive innovation and adaptability.14:46 Coaches and mentors significantly influenced Shaun's leadership.18:29 Authenticity improves success in larger organisations.22:32 How Shaun's grandfather's advice influenced him.24:56 Master the basics and take true accountability.27:12 Sell passionately, work hard, lead purposefully, and inspire growth.Join us each month between September and January for the Uspire webinar series “Build Your Commercial Leadership” and get valuable leadership frameworks and techniques to help you lead your team to sustainable revenue growth. Register here https://theuspiregroup.com/uspire-events/uspire-discover-build-your-commercial-leadership/About Amanda DownsAmanda Downs is Uspire's Director of Commercial Leadership and a commercial training and coaching expert. She has worked extensively in Europe, EMEA, the US, and Asia and is an accredited Insights Discovery practitioner. She also leads Uspire's commercial leadership proposition.She produces the popular Sales Growth Expert blog and is currently writing her first sales leadership book.Connect with Amanda:Website: theuspiregroup.comLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandadowns2/About The Uspire PartnershipUspire challenge, energise and upskill leaders to set the stage for business transformation and commercial success. Members of the Uspire team are all industry professionals and have first-hand experience of the commercial challenges you face. We develop leadership skills and commercial capabilities; delivering profitable growth and a sustainable legacy of change.Connect with Uspire:Website: theuspiregroup.comLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/uspire-ltd/About Shaun Smith:Shaun has over 20 years of FMCG experience having worked in numerous commercial roles on some of the UK & Ire’s most loved and recognisable brands including Waburtons, Lurpak, Cravendale, Aunt Bessies and more recently Birdseye and Goodfella’s Pizzas. Today he leads the Birdseye UK & Ire commercial business as their General Manager. He is a people-centric leader who relishes leading teams to realise their potential by working collaboratively and cross-functionally with customers to grow both for categories and brands.Produced by
How can a leadership philosophy centred around kindness, integrity, and genuine care make you a pioneer? Amanda Downs sits down with Charly Andrews, a revolutionary leader who turned a stadium into a hub of community resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. From transforming locations to orchestrating unforgettable events and concerts, Charly shares her unique insights on building meaningful relationships, leading with kindness, and thriving through challenges. Tune in to discover how mastering the art of empathy and authenticity can skyrocket your success in sales and leadership.Here are the Highlights:06:26 How Charly managed sales during the pandemic.11:20 Choosing artists based on audience spending habits.15:21 Establishing permanent showgrounds for annual events.17:51 Charly's passion for making a difference through smiles.21:53 Trust and empower your team for success.23:25 Unkind leadership teaches the importance of kindness and support.27:24 Authenticity builds trust in sales and leadership.Join us each month between September and January for the Uspire webinar series “Build Your Commercial Leadership” and get valuable leadership frameworks and techniques to help you lead your team to sustainable revenue growth. Register here https://theuspiregroup.com/uspire-events/uspire-discover-build-your-commercial-leadership/About Amanda DownsAmanda Downs is Uspire's Director of Commercial Leadership and a commercial training and coaching expert. She has worked extensively in Europe, EMEA, the US, and Asia and is an accredited Insights Discovery practitioner. She also leads Uspire's commercial leadership proposition.She produces the popular Sales Growth Expert blog and is currently writing her first sales leadership book.Connect with Amanda:Website: theuspiregroup.comLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandadowns2/About The Uspire PartnershipUspire challenge, energise and upskill leaders to set the stage for business transformation and commercial success. Members of the Uspire team are all industry professionals and have first-hand experience of the commercial challenges you face. We develop leadership skills and commercial capabilities; delivering profitable growth and a sustainable legacy of change.Connect with Uspire:Website: theuspiregroup.comLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/uspire-ltd/About Charly Andrews: Head of Commercial Sales at the Bath and West Showground, Charly Andrews is a passionate leader, with a strong desire to not only excel, but also inspire others to do so. Winner of the miaList Individual of the Year 2023, Charly focuses on excellent revenue results paired with the wellbeing of others, where a real passion for breaking the mental health stigma really shines through. From being called ‘too emotional’ to battling her own mental health struggles, Charly is proving that there is strength in vulnerability.Connect with Charly: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlyandrews/Produced by
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Ep 09: Harvesting New Heights with Jon Cummings
Join us as we explore the business of vertical farming. Amanda sits down with Jon Cummings - a seasoned leader who has seamlessly navigated between retail buying and supply chain management. He brings a wealth of experience to the ever-evolving world of vertical farming. Sharing stories from his time in the meat industry, his strategic moves across major players like Kerry Foods and Morrisons, and his latest venture as the Commercial Director of Fisher Farms. Tune in to discover the secrets behind his success, as he reveals the art of cross-functional collaboration, the nuances of leading diverse teams, and the revolutionary potential of vertical farming. Here are the Highlights:05:35 How working at Asda shaped my business perspective.09:19 Kerry Foods excels in cross-functional collaboration.11:19 Managing brands vs. own label contracts differ.19:40 New job, same pattern. 20:26 Working at an innovative agri tech startup.24:11 Impostor syndrome when changing jobs.27:43 Understanding diverse skills and building complementary teams.Join us each month between September and January for the Uspire webinar series “Build Your Commercial Leadership” and get valuable leadership frameworks and techniques to help you lead your team to sustainable revenue growth. Register here https://theuspiregroup.com/uspire-events/uspire-discover-build-your-commercial-leadership/About Amanda DownsAmanda Downs is Uspire's Director of Commercial Leadership and a commercial training and coaching expert. She has worked extensively in Europe, EMEA, the US, and Asia and is an accredited Insights Discovery practitioner. She also leads Uspire's commercial leadership proposition.She produces the popular Sales Growth Expert blog and is currently writing her first sales leadership book.Connect with Amanda:Website: theuspiregroup.comLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandadowns2/About The Uspire PartnershipUspire challenge, energise and upskill leaders to set the stage for business transformation and commercial success. Members of the Uspire team are all industry professionals and have first-hand experience of the commercial challenges you face. We develop leadership skills and commercial capabilities; delivering profitable growth and a sustainable legacy of change.Connect with Uspire:Website: theuspiregroup.comLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/uspire-ltd/About Jon Cummings:James joined NESI in 2022, bringing over 17 years of extensive experience in FMCG. With a background in commercial and marketing roles across retail, online, food service, and horeca channels, he has a profound understanding of consumer dynamics.Focused on consumer-centric strategies, James is dedicated to leading and developing high-performing teams. He is passionate about fostering engagement throughout the organisation to drive optimal outcomes for NESI, our customer partners, and our teams.He holds an MBA from Alliance Business School, further...
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Ep 08: Leading the Brand Story with Sue McVie
Uncover the secrets behind successful commercial strategies and powerful storytelling to boost your sales. Amanda chats to Sue McVie about her extensive career - from her initial field sales role at McVitie's to becoming a visionary trade marketing director at Walkers and beyond. Tune in to learn how Sue blends extroverted energy with introverted reflection, combats imposter syndrome with data, and emphasises the transformative power of storytelling in sales.Here are the Highlights:04:07 Transitioning to leadership: understanding diverse leadership styles.09:37 Learning leadership on the job through authenticity.13:19 Coping with self-doubt through data and reflection.23:52 Engaging consumers with aspirational branding.28:15 Lead with vision and provide a clear strategic framework.31:49 Empowerment and confidence stem from supportive leadership.34:46 Trained, diverse teams in effective storytelling techniques.Join us each month between September and January for the Uspire webinar series “Build Your Commercial Leadership” and get valuable leadership frameworks and techniques to help you lead your team to sustainable revenue growth. Register here https://theuspiregroup.com/uspire-events/uspire-discover-build-your-commercial-leadership/About Amanda DownsAmanda Downs is Uspire's Director of Commercial Leadership and a commercial training and coaching expert. She has worked extensively in Europe, EMEA, the US, and Asia and is an accredited Insights Discovery practitioner. She also leads Uspire's commercial leadership proposition.She produces the popular Sales Growth Expert blog and is currently writing her first sales leadership book.Connect with Amanda:Website: theuspiregroup.comLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandadowns2/About The Uspire PartnershipUspire challenge, energise and upskill leaders to set the stage for business transformation and commercial success. Members of the Uspire team are all industry professionals and have first-hand experience of the commercial challenges you face. We develop leadership skills and commercial capabilities; delivering profitable growth and a sustainable legacy of change.Connect with Uspire:Website: theuspiregroup.comLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/uspire-ltd/About Sue McVie:Sue is a purpose-led growth leader with a passion for unlocking the potential in both people and ideas. She has worked in a range of commercial, marketing and general management leadership roles for leading UK businesses including United Biscuits, Coca Cola, Pepsico, Vodafone & Kerry Foods. Latterly Sue was the MD for Pilgrim’s UK branded business, leading a £250m portfolio of well-known brands including Richmond and Fridge Raiders in addition to a portfolio of SME businesses - Rollover and Oakhouse Foods. Most recently Sue has taken up the role of Group MD for The Ignite Group, a portfolio of performance marketing agencies that help clients expand their customer base to drive sales.
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Ep 06: Building Brilliant Sales Teams with Clare Bocking
Unlock the secrets of sales success with powerhouse Clare Bocking. From her early days selling household names like Uncle Ben’s, Dolmio, Pepsi, and Robinsons, to leading a commercial team of over 80 people, Clare has navigated the intricate world of sales with expertise and charisma. In this episode, Amanda sits down with Clare to learn about her journey, insights, and the transformative power of authentic leadership and building a great sales team.Here are the Highlights:00:45 Performing arts laid the foundation for sales success.05:26 Managing stock and influencing depot managers was essential.06:57 Leadership requires explanation and adaptation.10:10 Align roles to individuals' strengths for success.15:07 Confidence is crucial for working mothers' success.17:00 Flexible working increases job opportunities for women.20:08 Basic foundational skills are increasingly undervalued.23:00 Human connection balances productivity and creativity.26:20 Inspire, support, enable brilliance, collective success.Join us each month between September and January for the Uspire webinar series "Build Your Commercial Leadership” and get valuable leadership frameworks and techniques to help you lead your team to sustainable revenue growth. Register here https://theuspiregroup.com/uspire-events/uspire-discover-build-your-commercial-leadership/About Amanda DownsAmanda Downs is Uspire's Director of Commercial Leadership and a commercial training and coaching expert. She has worked extensively in Europe, EMEA, the US, and Asia and is an accredited Insights Discovery practitioner. She also leads Uspire's commercial leadership proposition.She produces the popular Sales Growth Expert blog and is currently writing her first sales leadership book.Connect with Amanda:Website: theuspiregroup.comLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandadowns2/About The Uspire PartnershipUspire challenge, energise and upskill leaders to set the stage for business transformation and commercial success. Members of the Uspire team are all industry professionals and have first-hand experience of the commercial challenges you face. We develop leadership skills and commercial capabilities; delivering profitable growth and a sustainable legacy of change.Connect with Uspire:Website: theuspiregroup.comLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/uspire-ltd/About Clare Bocking:Clare is a high-impact leadership consultant, passionate about accelerating performance, organisational productivity, growth and profit through people, culture and talent development.Having worked as a senior executive in the Grocery FMCG industry all her corporate career, Clare is now a commercial capability expert, executive coach and NED. She supports Aston University Business School, is a fractional CCO for small enterprises and as Chair of Women in Wholesale, is a champion for industry diversity.Connect with Clare:
Amanda gets inside the minds of the most successful sales leaders so you can apply their secrets to your business and inspire your team to grow sales. Strive to become the best version of yourself with words of wisdom from some of the best in the business.
About Your Host:
Amanda Downs is Uspire's Director of Commercial Leadership and a commercial training and coaching expert. She has worked extensively in Europe, EMEA, the US, and Asia and is an accredited Insights Discovery practitioner. She also leads Uspire's commercial leadership proposition.
She produces the popular Sales Growth Expert blog and is currently writing her first sales leadership book.
About The Uspire Partnership
Uspire challenge, energise and upskill leaders to set the stage for business transformation and commercial success. Members of the Uspire team are all industry professionals and have first-hand experience of the commercial challenges you face. We develop leadership skills and commercial capabilities; delivering profitable growth and a sustainable legacy of change.
Connect with Amanda:
Website: theuspiregroup.com
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandadowns2/
Connect with Uspire:
Website: www.theuspiregroup.com
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/uspire-ltd/
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