With a career shaped by agility, collaboration and straight-talking leadership, Sue plays a vital role in how the company connects with its customers. And in her eyes, those customers are more than just clients; they’ re partners in innovation, feedback, and success. |
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always dealing with straightforward requests, and that’ s okay. We’ re here to help find the right solution. |
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“ We’ re Not Just Selling Products Anymore” |
“ The Homeowner Has Changed – and So Have We” |
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I’ ve been in this industry for 30 years, and I’ ve seen just about everything. If there’ s one thing I’ ve learned, it’ s that you can’ t stand still. You have to stay agile. And to do that, communication with your customers has to be constant, and honest. |
There’ s no doubt the market is more complex now than it was 20 years ago. Back then, our customers didn’ t need the same level of support. They looked after themselves more, and frankly, demand for the product was so high, it almost sold itself. |
learn. And we take everything back to the business- product development, installation, logistics- it’ s all connected. None of these areas sit in isolation, and remembering that is key to staying successful. |
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In my role, I look after internal sales, while the external sales team reports directly to the CEO. But we’ re not separate, we’ re all working toward the same goal: supporting the customer. My team deals with everything from quote return times to product queries, and we’ re the first point of contact for many of our customers. That’ s why I say we’ re the bridge; and it has to be strong.
We work closely with the operations team, translating customer needs into real outcomes. That means listening carefully and knowing how to ask the right questions. We’ re
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Now, everything is different. Homeowners do more research. They care about style, colour, finishes, hardware, even integrated blinds. They want to be inspired. And our customers are feeling that shift. We have to help them stay one step ahead.
Today, it’ s not enough to just deliver a product. You have to deliver insight, options, and service. That’ s where my team comes in; helping our customers respond to trends and expectations, and making sure they feel confident in what they’ re offering.
It’ s more of a challenge now, absolutely. But we see that as a positive. It keeps us improving.
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“ Our Customers Are an Extension of Our Sales Team”
One of the best parts of my job is hearing feedback. We get a lot of positive comments, and it’ s always brilliant to pass those back to the team. But the constructive feedback is just as important. That’ s how we get better.
I always say, our customers are part of the company, and
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separate from it. They’ re out there every day, representing us. And when we equip them properly, with the tools and support they need, it makes a huge difference. They’ re an extension of our sales team, and we treat them that way.
Three times a year, we bring customers from across commercial, trade, and retail together to talk about real-life experiences. We listen. We
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“ Innovation Isn’ t Just About Product – It’ s About Process”
Let’ s be honest – windows have never been‘ thrilling’! But that’ s changing. People want more – more options, more personalisation, more control. That means innovation can’ t just be about the frame. It has to include how we sell, how we support, and how we communicate.
At Victorian Sliders, we’ re constantly evolving how we engage with our customers. Whether that’ s through new tools, updated literature, better response times, or smarter support, we’ re always working on it.
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