Nick McQue is our Commercial Director here at Shoptimised. Since joining us in 2018, Nick has been working with the Sales team as well as supporting other departments to help Shoptimised grow.

In this article, we asked Nick about his experience here and how he’s worked his way up to his current position as a Director.

When did your journey at start Shoptimised begin?

I started with Shoptimised on the 3rd of April 2018. Back then, Managing Directors John Cave and John Oram were running the PPC agency Biddible Media. Shoptimised only had a few subscriptions and was founded 2 months before I started. I started part-time, working twice a week reaching out to digital agencies to book demonstrations for John Cave.

What was your role?

My initial role was to smile and dial, book at least 1 demo each day. Coming from a strong target-focused background, I certainly put more pressure on myself than John did. I learned quite quickly that John cares more about his people than his numbers. On my first day, I managed to book a hat-trick of demos, and that’s still a record for a newbie.

What’s your current role and how did you progress within the business?

I’m currently the Commercial Director and I oversee the Business Development team and Service Team. I also support the Accounts Team with financials. As expected, progressing into my role came with challenges, but I don’t mind a challenge (I’m currently 3-2 up on FIFA against John Cave! #Winning). Progressing into my role was part of my 2-year progression plan, which also aligned with the Shoptimised growth objectives. My daily work consists in understanding the industry, hitting Month on Month revenue targets, hiring, coaching and developing new BDM’s so that together we can achieve the long-term goal. I’m proud of my team, we work hard to never miss a monthly target. These days I take more motivation from their achievements than mine. I absolutely love to see them win!

What brought you into the industry?

I never planned a move to the digital world. It was totally alien to me. It must have been the blue 3-piece suit that got me the job because I didn’t have much industry knowledge.

All I’ve ever known is sales. From my first job at 14 years old selling school uniforms then phones, carpets, gas and electric, then going into the motor trade selling BMW’s and Volkswagens, I’ve spent over 15 years in target-driven environments. In such a digital world, old-school people skills and picking up the phone work amazingly well for us.

When John Cave interviewed me, I could see his passion for Shoptimised and how highly he spoke about what John Oram had created. I remember going home thinking “that’s it, that’s the opportunity I need!”.

What made you stick around?

At the beginning, it was the ambition to be successful but also to be part of something special. I’ve always believed success is achievable here and the Shoptimised platform speaks for itself. As I grew into my role, John Cave became more of a mentor and a friend than my boss. He has helped me achieve everything I hoped for and more. Plus, the commission isn’t too bad either!

What were your career goals?

I think most hungry Sales people want progression and reward for their work. Coming into Shoptimised and working with John Cave and John Oram, I knew I could progress but never thought I’d become a Director. Becoming eCommerce Manager and supervising the Sales team had more than met my expectations for progression. You can imagine my delight when I found out my progression plan included becoming a Director. This was yet another example of how our Co-Founders reward their team.

What do you think of such rapid growth?

When I look back at how far we’ve come in such a short time, I get even more excited for the future. The Shoptimised family just keeps getting bigger. The Service and Account Management team do an amazing job to meet customer expectations and deliver the standards we set as a company. That being said, with the Sales team we try not to get too comfortable with our rapid growth. We start every day from zero. At the end of the month when targets are achieved, we take a deep breath and then we go again. We move!

What makes Shoptimised different as a company?

I absolutely love working for Shoptimised. Coming from a cutthroat Sales background, it’s a breath of fresh air to work for such a forward-thinking company. Since the beginning, our priority has always been our people. Revenue targets or Service expectations can only be achieved by people that are willing to give you the best version of themselves. And although everyone works together as a team, achieving targets is the result of individual commitment. We cannot be successful without everyone playing their part therefore our priority has to be the well-being of individuals. This is our core value.

What’s your typical day at work?

The alarm goes off at 6:30 am, I’ll snooze that until about 7/7:15 am. When my son Jake’s here the mornings are always a battle but in truth, I miss them when he’s not around. Jake is 12 and obsessed with anything superhero or Star Wars. Love to hate it but discussing the Jedi order before breakfast gets the cogs spinning, that’s for sure.

I like to get on Ring Central before 8 am to compete with the morning GIFS in the team chat. Sipping on a cuppa made by the better half Abbey, I then check through emails, organise my meetings, update sales figures, deal with customer enquiries, support the Sales and Service team with any challenges and help the accounts with any invoicing issues.

Every morning we have our daily Sales meeting where we discuss challenges and opportunities. In addition to being amazing BDM’s, they’re all also extremely talented. We have Strava champions, Michelin Chefs, Call of Duty SAS team and Netflix ambassadors all joining the Sales morning call. Like most businesses, we are all working from home and looking forward to returning to the office. My fiancé is also working from home and claimed the spare room as her office and demoted me to the dining room. Great for her, she finds me extremely irritating during working hours due to the whistling, finger clicking and the random outburst of singing. On days when Jake’s at home, he works with me at the naughty table. Unfortunately for Abbey, the spare room is not soundproof. The plus side is the dining room table is used more than ever now.