The construction industry has experienced a number of highs and lows in recent years. From the housing boom at the start of the last decade to the euphoria of London being proclaimed the host city for the 2012 Olympic Games, the sector has witnessed a sustained period of growth that has enabled it to weather even the harshest of economic storms.
Working for a distributor of specialist construction materials and equipment, it is likely that your first sales role within the industry will be as an internal sales executive, a position that will see you working alongside an external sales executive.
Working primarily on the telephone, you will be responsible for proactive selling to new and existing customers, converting enquiries received into the business, negotiating prices, processing orders, and making appointments for the external sales executive to meet with client on site. You will also be expected to identify potential areas of growth for the business.
This is a position that combines technical knowledge with sales skills. It is a challenging and rewarding role that can see you involved in supplying goods that will be used in some of the country’s most exciting construction projects, such as those earmarked for the 2012 Olympics.
And like all sales opportunities, the potential to develop your career is down to resilence, your willingness to work hard and perform to the best of your ability.
Hours and environment
Most internal sales executives will work the traditional 9 to 5, Monday to Friday. However, there may be occasions when you will be expected to work late, especially at times of deadline or if you accompany the external sales executive on a client appointment.
Once you take your next step up as an external representative, you will be expected to be out in the field most of the day visiting new and existing clients at their place of work. And being in a more senior position, you may be expected to attend industry conferences or trade fairs which may involve the occasional overnight stay away from home.
The industry as a whole moves at a fast pace. New methods, techniques and technology are being introduced all the time and feedback from people working within the sector reveals a high degree of job satisfaction in terms of variation, challenge, responsibility and financial reward.
Skills and interests
The construction sales industry is a lively and energetic environment, not to mention increasingly competitive. To be successful in your first role as an internal sales executive, you must show that you have the potential to be successful and posses a number of key skills and attributes, including:
- An energetic and confident personality
- Good organisational skills and administration qualities
- Ability to prioritorise tasks
- Confident communication skills, both verbally and written
- Commercially aware and an active interest in the sector you will be working
- Ability to cope well under pressure
- Team player and able to work in own initiative
- IT skills
- Leadership skills
- Target driven and strong determination to be successful and earn commission
- Flexible approach to your work
Industry
The construction industry is essentially made up of a number of key sub-sectors:
- Infrastructure, repair and maintenance (eg, roads and railways)
- Public and private housing
- Non-residential public property (eg, hospitals and schools)
- Industrial (eg, factories and processing plant) and commercial construction (eg, retail developments)
The industry has experienced mixed fortunes in recent years. Throughout the noughties, the industry embarked upon a wave of new build projects not seen on a scale since the end of the Second World War.
And although the recession brought about a slowdown in the number of residential developments being built and demand for labour, the green shoots of recovery are already beginning to show, with the industry once again showing positive signs of growth, albeit slightly sluggish.
Indeed, the industry has been committed to a series of ambitions construction projects earmarked for the London Olympics in 2012 and Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014 that have sustained it through the economic downturn. Elsewhere, around £14 billion of public investment has been allocated to various construction projects in Northern Ireland.
The sector employs around 7% (2.1 million people) of the UK’s total workforce with the number of workers expected to increase to 2.8 million by 2011. However, the number of vacancies within this sector will continue to remain relatively low during 2010 but, for those who seize the opportunity to start their career in construction, the long term prospects remain positive.
Entry
Given the nature of the industry in which you will work, many employers will require a university degree in a technical-related discipline, while many others will require a good standard of education such as A levels of a relevant HND/HNC.
In addition to academic requirements, recruiters will look for candidates who can demonstrate a genuine hunger for sales and a commitment to progress their career in an increasingly competitive industry.
Training, other qualifications and advancement
Like their engineering sales colleagues, construction sales people will typically go through an initial training course that will arm you with the core skills and industry knowledge to help you start your new career in the right way.
This is an industry where experience is a valuable commodity combined with proven track record of hitting your sales targets on a consistent basis. But being a good salesperson may not be enough on its own to ensure that you are in the frame for the next promotion that comes along. Competition for places is at a 15-year high, which means that employers quite literally have the pick of the bunch. So what will make you stand out from the crowd?
Employers are looking for people who have gone beyond their job description and have made a real difference to the way things are done. Celebrate your achievements and sell yourself when the next round of promotions comes.
This is a results-orientated industry, so you need to highlight your achievements in your current role and use them to help you climb the proverbial career ladder from internal to external sales executive to sales manager, before eventually talking your place at the top of the tree as a director. And with each new role you take, you will need to equip yourself with a new set of skills needed for that position you move into.
Top employers
The UK construction industry is a leading player on a global stage, with British firms working on major projects throughout the world. With the sector expected to grow over the next few years, employment opportunities will increase, with many of the following organisations likely to be on your list of places you’d most like to work:
- Atkins
- ARUP
- Faber Maunsell/AECOM
- Redrow
- Edmund Nuttall Ltd
- May Gurney
- Taylor Woodrow
- Carillion
- Laing O’Rourke
- WSP Group
- Bechtel
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Professional organisations
There are a number of professional bodies and associations that can provide a more in-depth insight into engineering and manufacturing sectors, including: