Howarth Timber sales graduate named Rising Star of the Year

A sales graduate working for Howarth Timber & Building Supplies has recently been named Rising Star of the Year at the 2018 British Excellence in Sales Management Awards (BESMA), hosted by the Institute of Sales Management (ISM).

Joshua Chaplin, who works for Howarth Timber’s Rochdale branch, was awarded the BESMA, which celebrates high achieving sales professionals, at the October ceremony in London’s Grosvenor House Hotel.

The 23-year-old was nominated by Howarth Timber’s Rochdale branch manager as a result of his dedication and success, and subsequently made the top eight in the category. It was Joshua’s presentation to the panel of judges on why he should win that proved he was deserving of being named Rising Star of the Year.

Joshua presented to a panel of judges put together by the ISM. The presentation emphasised Joshua’s understanding of customer service and the sales cycle, as well as what he’s learnt and achieved throughout his fledgling career with Howarth Timber – including evidence of his impressive profit margin figures.

Throughout the 18 months that Joshua has been working for Howarth Timber, he’s been proactive in his own development – taking part in the company’s ISM accredited Essential Foundations of Sales Management programme. This 12-month programme was created to develop skills in-house by providing participants with hands-on experience of Howarth Timber’s operational structure, with the aim of supporting talented individuals in achieving a sales account management role in the future.

Although he has now completed the programme, Joshua continues to take part in Howarth Timber’s e-learning courses to ensure he maintains a high level of product knowledge.

Following his BESMA Rising Star of the Year win, Joshua’s career with Howarth Timber & Building Supplies has gone from strength to strength, with him recently being nominated for the Builders Merchants Federation (BMF) Diploma in Merchant Management. He has also completed dedicated BMF training, including the organisation’s How a House is Built Course.

Joshua said: “I’ve taken every opportunity I can to expand my knowledge of both sales and the merchant industry, through both training courses and building strong networks of customers as well as internal and external colleagues.

“I’m thrilled to have won the BESMA Rising Star of the Year Award, and it feels great that all my hard work since starting my career at Howarth Timber has paid off and has been recognised within the industry.”

Anadi Dey from Howarth Timber added: “We’re incredibly proud of Joshua and all of his hard work throughout his career with us. He has taken a number of steps during this time to expand his knowledge and develop both professionally and personally, which has culminated in winning this prestigious award.

“The award is very well deserved and we look forward to watching Joshua’s career continue to grow.”