Susie Hill

A day in the life of a Business Development Manager working for Agria in Northern Ireland.

Starting the day

I am a habitually early riser so logging on to emails and our systems before 8am is normal for me. It allows me to make sure I have done my preparations for the day in front of what I have planned. For example any materials preparation, printing of figures or reports needed for customer meetings booked or planned.

Working Vets and Rehoming/Rescues allow flexibility of approach. Vet meetings are more likely to be formal but we are trying to educate and engage with whole practice teams, from Customer Care Managers to Directors. 

In Northern Ireland, a rescue meeting can be difficult to arrange as often they are volunteers and have second jobs. The aim is the same as with vet education and engagement.

Building trust

Building up trust and knowledge is a critical part of my role, I am lucky in that I have previous experience in my area but trust can sometimes take a while to build up. We are very lucky at Agria to have gold-standard products and a gold-standard team behind those products. As the company grows and changes happen it can be a challenge, but we have great support from our peers and line managers.

I am empowered to run my territory, recruit prospects, keep existing partners working for us, and keep my nose to the rumour mill about industry changes, issues, problems and local events. Industry intelligence is so important for us to keep growing and leading the way.

Working in the field

Some days I might only drive 25 miles but other days require driving to the further reaches of my patch. One of the benefits of being field-based is my knowledge of the area and the privilege of seeing so much of a glorious and varied geography in NI. With the head office in Aylesbury, I do need to travel there regularly but luckily we embrace teams and digital communication which allows flexibility as needed.

Peer support

The support of my peers and regular contact is important to me, a bad day in the field can be lonely but the energy is busting to get out when it’s a good one. It is great to offer support and feel supported . No day is the same with driving and parking challenges, vets caught up in emergencies, a whelping or an RTA meaning the day must be rescheduled and made meaningful. A good conversation is often had over the consult table or while amusing a puppy waiting to be rehomed.

I enjoy attending and working at our events which range from National CPD to a rehoming networking day which I like to organise. I am passionate about my job, I love the people and the pets of Northern Ireland but also appreciate the substance and caring of the company. I was very sick during covid and the team could not have been more supportive in my recovery and return to work. I would recommend working for Agria In Northern Ireland but no job is available for the foreseeable future I hope.