Join us this week as we speak with the wonderful Katie Lindop about her role at Swan, her fav music and much more!
1) What are your daily duties and responsibilities?
‘Well, I’d say turning up to work is usually a good start! As a Sales Manager, I mostly take part in selling our fabulous products to various customers across the UK and internationally. I manage a brilliant team of seven people, and I take care of promotions across our department. I’d say making brews for the directors is an essential part of my job!’
‘I work with other departments to ensure stock is in the business and that we can distribute it efficiently while looking for unique ways to boost products in the market. I make sure all products are set up online where they need to be to ensure maximum potential of product visibility.
I generally try to generate, boost, and maintain more sales profitability for the business. This entails working with some of the highest valued accounts within Swan to guarantee we’re gaining maximum consumer reach. I pretty much dip my fingers into lots of different honey pots.’
It’s safe to say that Swan’s Katie Lindop is a jack of all trades!
2) Describe your role in three words.
‘Exciting, spontaneous and chaotic. Or, something I live by is: Eat, sleep, breathe Swan!’
3) What do you find most challenging?
‘I could give you a list.’ (get comfy, people!)
‘The thing I find most challenging would be keeping up with the market trends and changes, and constantly keeping on top of directing our stock towards the right places. Another challenging concept is keeping up with new products coming into the business, making sure that we are guiding it to core areas and guaranteeing maximum stock visibility overall. We carry a wide variation of products so we have a lot of areas to investigate and cover!’
4) What do you love most about the job?
‘I love the company ethos, values, and general environment of Swan. It’s a brilliant workplace, and the Swan team are a group of people I can comfortably be myself around. The staff members across all departments of Swan are what makes me thrive most with their constant support, attitude and energy.’
Has anyone else just wiped a tear away?
5) What is your favourite Swan product?
‘The Orange Espresso Machine, because I love the colour, I love the product, and most importantly, I love coffee.’
6) What do you listen to on your way to work?
‘With music, it mostly depends on what mood I find myself in. If I’m a bit tired, I love a bit of Motown or Smooth Radio to mellow myself out. If I’m ready to tackle the day, I do like a little bit of dance music because it gets me all fired up.
I also like a bit of Beyoncé if I’m feeling a bit sassy; she makes me feel like I’m going to go and kick some ass! And if I’m feeling very stressed, the radio is turned off. Immediately.’
If anyone happens to see Katie driving into the office, maybe listen to what music she is blaring, if any, before waving hello. No morning is a good morning to get your ass kicked by a sassy/stressed Sales Manager!
7) What song is your guilty pleasure?
‘Paradise by The Dashboard Light by Meat Loaf.’
8) Name one thing you’re grateful for…
‘While I am entirely grateful for my friends and family when it comes to my personal life – when it comes to my work life, I really am grateful for having the opportunity to be able to work in a company that’s moving forward and going somewhere, while gaining the experience of working with a variety of people who I get along with really well.
Also, I love working under a team of supportive directors that push you to allow you to grow as an individual. You get to test your own strengths when you’re forced out of your comfort zone. You spend so much of your life at work, I think it’s imperative (as well as lucky) to have the good qualities at work, as well as at home.’
9) Could you confirm one thing you want to achieve this week?
‘I want to have a clean house, but that goes for every week. And perhaps to make it through the week without throttling someone.’
For those of you a bit worried after reading this, we’re now keeping a close eye on Katie inside of work. Outside of work? You’re on your own.
10) What’s the one colour you would fill your house with?
‘If I was an independent woman with no kiddos, it’d be a Retro pink, quite light, or anything pink really, as pink is my favourite colour. I’d go for anything girly and pink but in a creatively subtle way, not like an in your face Barbie kind of pink.
It wouldn’t be tame, but it wouldn’t be over the top, like a gentle touch of pink that flows well. It’d be unique, as I’m very particular about symmetry and how colours match with one another so, it wouldn’t be everything pink by all means. I’d choose a base pink as my favourite and then put different accessories around it in different colours that matched each other. It would be interior design meets summer and stylish.’
We’re not sure what to make of this answer, but the end result sounds like it would be fabulous and reek with positivity!
11) What’s your favourite national day?
‘International Women’s Day or Mother’s Day, because they are centred around special women and amazing role models. In my life, those two days have always been heavily supported from a female perspective. I think because of where I am in my family, there are four generations of women still alive, and as each generation moves on from daughter to mother and so on, we’ve always passed down the same values that we were all brought up with.
And obviously, Mother’s Day is a favourite because you’re celebrating the people in those generations of your family and saying thank you for everything they’ve done for you. If I had to pick I’d have to go for International Women’s Day because I’m all about girl power either way!’
12) What’s your favourite weird food combo?
‘Dipping toast in tea, buttered toast, dipped into a nice hot, sugary cup of tea. White crusty toast for best results!’
13) What’s your favourite film?
‘Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.’ (answered in seconds)
‘I can give you a few quotes from it if you like. It’s just so ridiculous, and you know what, if you can’t have a good belly laugh, then what’s the point in living!’
14) What is your favourite meme of 2021?
‘My favourite meme at the minute has to be this one because this depicts my life at the moment from a friend’s point of view. It’s me and my friend saying we’re going to meet up week after week until we die. It perfectly describes adult life! I sent it to her as soon as I saw it. If it isn’t work or children taking up your time, it’s something else.’
