Deborah Skelton - Regional Sales Manager

International Women's Week - Deborah Skelton

What is your current role and how long have you been with VPS?

Regional Sales Manager, it will be 2 years come March 2020.

What has been your career journey?

I left school at 17, joined British Gas working in the Public Sector, various roles, beginning with reception, onto PA, office manager, area office manager and account management. My career with British Gas lasted 20 years, I then joined VPS in an account management/sales role

What made you decide on a career in Sales ?

My manager in British Gas, Mark Hampson advised me to apply for the role, this was a new role which was introduced and he said I would be an ideal candidate, he was a mentor to me and guided me in my first few years in the role.

What advice would you give to someone aspiring to have a career in Sales?

Spend time building your contacts, use all available information ie Social Media and depending on the industry there are lots of useful websites out there to use, make calls, follow up with emails and don’t get disheartened, you will have bad days and you will have people who are not happy to hear from you. If asked a question in a meeting don’t be afraid to say you don’t know and can check it out, just make sure you get back to them. Always take notes in meetings and follow up with the client as soon as possible.

What has been the most memorable achievement in your career so far?

Travelling to Monaco to Prince Rainier’s car collection museum to collect an award for outstanding achievement from Rodger Moore - 007!

What would you like to achieve in the future?

As a passionate Scotswoman I love Scotland and believe it has amazing potential so I would like to grow our brand here and be recognized as an expert in terms of product knowledge also develop very close relationships with clients and be assigned some major national clients.

What do you think is the biggest issue faced by women in the workplace today?

Boys club! There is still a larger ratio of men to women in this industry it can be intimidating at times, not just in the workplace but in customer meetings or at conferences etc, luckily in the last few years I have not experienced any bad incidents, but I have when I was younger ie. inappropriate comments to bullying etc, I don’t know if it’s not there or I have gotten used to it or im just older!


What do you think is the biggest issue faced by women in the workplace today?

I had worked in the energy market all of my career and although I wanted to stay in Business Development/Sales role I wanted to try a new industry so I looked around and met with a few companies/agencies ranging from telecommunications companies to construction companies but the VPS brand really stood out to me, as part of the job was in the social market which was my comfort zone and I had an established client base. The other part was in site security solutions which I find very interesting it also keeps me really busy, it was and is a learning curve for me however I work with a great team who motivate me and support me. Most important of all I love my job.