Back where? Back to 2013!
Ok so it’s not going to be an adventurous story taking us back to 1955 on a mission of self discovery to save my existence, but it’s a terrific story nonetheless. I remember it like it was yesterday, June 2013, I received a call from Matt Ellems (the manager of Telstra Store Burleigh at the time) who was absolutely begging me to to join his team.
Matt: “Shane please, I need you more than ever, I can’t do this without you”
Shane: “Matt, you really have to stop calling me, your desperation is showing”
If you ask him the conversation may be a little different, but I know the truth.
One month after the distress calls I started as a Sales Consultant in the Telstra Store Burleigh Heads, just one of the business units under the HTG umbrella. It was one of the best decisions of my life, to be quite frank, and a lot has happened since then.
I was at the Burleigh Telstra Store for about one and a half years, and during that time I managed to grow my skills as a sales professional with the help of HTG’s continued commitment to help develop their staff. They placed me in Crown Retail Training, which helped me understand how to sell in a retail environment. They also placed me through a Business Acumen course, which helped me to greatly extend my customer base from both consumer and business customers.
I made a little name for myself at the Burleigh Store winning several awards, breaking and setting many records, I don’t like to boast – can you tell? My time at Burleigh came to an end when I was approached to join the Business Development Team within HTG, again a massive opportunity in which I was able to further increase my customer base and improve my negotiating skills.
My time as a BDM came to a stand still when I decided to go back to University and finish my studies. I was concerned by how HTG would react to this but that’s the great thing about this company, they love to help develop their staff and assist with tough decisions. They even allowed me to obtain a position in the Telstra Store Helensvale whilst I saw through the end of my degree.
I was at the Helensvale store for almost two years and during this time I managed to work my way up to a position in the Retail Leadership Team, where I helped manage and train staff along with assisting the store manager at the time. HTG also provided me with further training, not just in sales, but growing my leadership skills with an Aspire course provided by Lead CI. They also placed all current and new staff in Ignite courses, which helped the team better understand and live the company’s values.
I finally finished university with a Bachelor Degree in Management and Marketing, so fondly enough I wanted to pursue a career in this field, and you guessed it, HTG helped me pursue this. After a couple of meetings I was offered a role as a Marketing Assistant within HTG and couldn’t be happier. I now help conduct marketing campaigns for many of HTG’s business units and every day a new and exciting challenge presents itself, a bit of a cliche statement but it’s true. In all seriousness, I wouldn’t be where I am today without all the help and guidance HTG has provided, and I urge you to simply have a look at the amazing positions that are currently on offer to join this family and start your story with us.
Shane Deragopian
Marketing Coordinator – HTG