Women Who Sell With Louise Addenbrooke
‘Women Who Sell’ is all about showcasing women in sales who are thriving and challenging stereotypes. We feature real perspectives of what it’s like, the barriers and the breakthroughs.
Here, Louise Addenbrooke, Resourcing Consultant at Suez shares her take.
What is your job title?
Resourcing Consultant.
How did you get into sales and what makes it the career of your choice?
I owned my business for 14 years in the Hotel sector, which is a people-focused industry. My family have always been involved with hospitality, so it has always felt natural for me to follow in this pathway.
After closing my business, I am now working for Suez, in the waste management industry, as a Resourcing Consultant. Within this role I look after stakeholders across the UK, resources for HGV Drivers, screen candidates, write job specs, adverts, and contracts, deal with compliance, and even travel across the UK to conduct on-site visits and career fairs. I fell into sales naturally as I have always been a people-orientated person.
Are there any barriers you have faced as a woman working in sales, and how have you overcome them?
When I first started working, women were only seen as “help”. We were hired to do the admin, filing, get the coffee, and look good. We didn't get many chances for promotion and there was definitely a sense of sexism which could be very demoralising if you wanted to progress in a business. As a woman, in most scenarios, you learn to survive and believe in yourself. I overcame these barriers through hard work and perseverance and created my own opportunities that may not have existed otherwise.
I had a great role model, my Mother, who has never been scared to challenge herself and dive into work. This has shown me that the harder you try, you will succeed in both work and personal life. I am my own worst critic, but extremely competitive, this helps me to pass my skills on to other women to ensure they also do well.
What do you like the most about being a woman in sales?
Being a woman in sales makes me feel very empowered within myself. I have always had a passion for helping individuals to thrive and develop which recruitment lets me do. Supporting a large company to grow their talent gives me great job satisfaction.
At Suez, The Head of HR conducts seminars every year where we celebrate women in our workforce. Over the years, women have finally been taken more seriously, the prejudice is becoming less, and women can look to each other for support. In a male-dominated industry, both Sales and the Waste Management industry, I love being able to say I am a part of this. I thoroughly enjoy being around other confident females and I hope to see more of this in the future.
What advice do you have for a woman wanting to get into sales and those wanting to advance?
As a woman, it may feel daunting going into a male-dominated environment, but if I can do it, so can you! Sales will open a variety of new opportunities and a newfound confidence for your personal growth, you will also surprise yourself with how confident you actually are. Don’t let yourself get bullied into following the crowd and keep your integrity.
Let's show our male colleagues what we are made of and let's inspire other women to take the jump into sales. Stand up for yourself, show off your skills, and go for it. Remember never assume people can see your greatness, instead, show them!
If you would like to get involved with the blog series and share your story as a woman in the sales industry, we’d LOVE to hear from you. And head over to Women Who Sell’s LinkedIn for more content.
