From Sales to Product Management: My Vodafone Journey of Growth and Mentorship

Before Vodafone I was a sales manager at Phones4u and worked there until it abruptly stopped trading. I used my redundancy as an opportunity to try something new, which didn't work out, so I came to Vodafone for a fresh go at a career in sales, knowing part of the mobile market from my previous experience. 

After my experience of being made redundant by Phones4u, I felt more comfortable with Vodafone - they have been going longer than I've been alive and have a fantastic brand, the only one in mobile that hasn't changed. They’re also a huge employer in Stoke and come with a good reputation to earn decent money - every salesperson’s dream! 

I had no idea how massive the company is until I joined and saw all the available options to grow and areas of the business that could open doors for me, so it’s a decision I am very glad I made. Nine years on, I’m a Product Manager for IT Hubs, an exciting new venture for Vodafone creating a network of 315 franchised IT managed service providers. I’m based in Stoke on Trent and work from the office most days, but I visit the other sites regularly. 

Nine years, lots of roles

I started in sales on the phones, selling mobiles, sims and broadband briefly to our consumer customers, and then to Soho customers. Sales can be up and down, and performance-based wages meant my income was never consistent. At the time that was fine, however when my wife became pregnant some of the stress of sales was getting to me, and the opportunity for a secondment came up to be a trainer for my sales peers. 

I opted to apply, purely to give me a regular income and remove sales stress during my wife’s maternity leave. But I loved the job! I learned so much about wider Vodafone and how the business works, and it really opened my eyes to a world of opportunity. 

That role, not only opened my eyes to the wider opportunities within Vodafone, but started to get my name out within the world of Small Business in Vodafone. I was very enthusiastic in getting high quality work out and quick, and then found myself supporting in new device launches which is a fantastic project to be part of where you get to network with many areas of the business, understand how calls are generated for sales, and the deals are defined.

I then moved to a coaching role. I was supporting the sales teams as they transitioned to selling our EVO Product, which I had played a big role in readying sales for. Then I moved into an Implementation Specialist role, getting the sales teams ready for any new launch (product, campaign, device etc). By then, the time had come for me to say goodbye to sales, and I learned more about what I wanted my next role to be. I settled on Product Management, as I found the wider team I had worked with to be people I aspire to work like - delivering fantastic results for their product rather than trying to be a mini expert on so much.

The role I got in product management was for a whole new area of the business. I could lean on my experience in launching projects and then learn on the role about managing in life what was launched. This was something that I knew from self-development that I needed in my career to see a program or product through rather than launching it and moving onto the next one.

The benefits of growth leadership.

I have had some really amazing managers who have not just managed but supported my growth. There are formal mentoring schemes at Vodafone, where a leader in another area of the business can help you to grow and learn more about their role which will benefit anyone looking to take their career to the next level. I have never taken up this opportunity as the managers I have had, have done similar. I know of people who have thrived in mentorship, and also others who have had great support from their manager to grow. As soon as you know you want to grow there is plenty of support to achieve what you want within Vodafone.

My managers were supportive of my career and encouraged me to achieve my goals, weren’t shy to give feedback on my work or how I am speaking to people, and generally became people to bounce ideas from in any aspect of what I am doing. Some really fantastic pieces of advice came from these managers - the most profound is one telling me that “my career is mine, I am in control of it, if I want a new role I need to go for it, and that's down to me, opportunities do not always come on a plate.”

With the role I am currently in my management has been fantastic in supporting me in what I don’t know, and ensuring I am set up for success as well as pointing areas to develop. Having twice a year personal development meetings and gathering feedback for these is really a great touchpoint to stop, reflect and reset for the rest of the year.

I think being mentored is something that many of the Stoke teams can really make use of. A lot of the staff are big into sales and working in the sales teams, but when someone does choose to look at moving into another role within the business, I am first to support. There is a big wide Vodafone that sometimes people don't see, so I enjoy helping them gain some confidence and understand some of the wider roles available.  

In the sales world you gain an incredible amount of transferable skills that other areas of the business will utilise and they will support you so you can thrive. I highly recommend mentorship to anyone looking to take the plunge into having a career in Vodafone instead of simply a career in sales, because it all starts with a few conversations and from there opportunities start arising. 

The future looks good

Right now, I want to demonstrate success in the role I am in, and that is my core focus. I am excited to see the growth of IT Hubs, and I’m also really excited to pivot in my current role from launch to in-life product management, and really get under the bonnet of ensuring our managed services through IT Hubs are the best in the market and we have a quality suite of complementing products to really disrupt the market. As this is a new venture for Vodafone, learning more about this area is something I have really enjoyed.

Longer term, there is a wealth of options, both within the team I am in, as well as in wider teams, to explore how my skill set can be maximised. I can say for sure that I am really looking forward to seeing how my career continues on at Vodafone! In my personal development, I paid to complete a neurolinguistic practitioner course (highly recommend) and would consider a master course in this to help with my communication skills as they are critical in my current role, and any potential career moves.