We are pleased to welcome Sarah Dyer to Ultramap as our new Sales Operations Coordinator.
With a background spanning customer service, administration and operational coordination, Sarah brings strong organisational skills and a people-focused approach to the team. In her new role, she will help strengthen the processes, information and communication that support our sales team and customers.
We caught up with Sarah to learn more about her experience, her first impressions of the subsea industry and what she hopes to achieve at Ultramap.
Background and experience
Can you introduce yourself and tell us a little about your professional background?
I have worked in a variety of customer-focused and operational roles throughout my career, so although the industries have changed, the common theme has always been working with people, maintaining organisation and ensuring promises are delivered on time. I love being in a centralised coordination role, dealing with various departments and keeping things ticking along.
What experience have you gained in sales operations, coordination or customer support?
Most of my prior experience has involved customer service, administration and coordination, bridging the gap between clients and internal teams.
What first interested you in this area of work?
I think it’s suited to the way I operate. I enjoy learning how all the different areas of a business fit together, and I get a lot of satisfaction from bringing order to quite complicated ways of working. I also really love the people side of a role, meeting new faces and building long-lasting relationships.
Joining Ultramap
What attracted you to Ultramap and the Sales Operations Coordinator role?
One of the biggest attractions was the opportunity to work in an industry that was completely new to me! I knew very little about the subsea industry beforehand, but the more I learned about Ultramap and the work involved, the more interested I became. The role also seemed like the perfect opportunity to utilise my existing skills and apply them within a much more specialised, international environment.
What does your role involve day to day?
Right now, it’s all about gathering information and familiarising myself with the work that we do. I’m getting to know our customer base and the variations in contracts, while ensuring the data we have is accurate and widely accessible to our team.
How have your first few weeks with the team been?
Really welcoming! With so much to get to grips with, it’s important to have a good relationship with those around you, and everyone has been so generous with their knowledge and time. I’m getting a good feel for how our departments connect and work together, and I feel I’m settling in quite well.
What have you found most interesting about Ultramap’s work so far?
It has to be the sheer scale of the industry and just how much work goes into ensuring the world stays connected to vital resources. I had very limited knowledge of just how much of our infrastructure exists beneath our oceans, and it’s been fascinating to learn about it and play a part in ensuring it remains protected.
Role and contribution
How will your role support the sales team and Ultramap’s customers?
The way I view it, my role is to make things a lot easier for everyone around me. If the customer data, processes and communication behind the scenes are all in good order, it becomes easier for everyone to focus more freely on their role. I hope to become someone the team knows they can come to for information and support, and someone they can rely on to ensure requests are followed through.
What are your main priorities as you settle into the position?
My biggest priority is to learn! I’ll be working to understand our customers and their needs, our various contracts, and how they are presented and maintained. I need to familiarise myself with internal processes and potentially identify where they can be made clearer and more efficient for everyone to use.
What does effective sales operations look like to you?
It’s all about organisation and ensuring the right people within the business can quickly access information from one centralised location whenever they need it.
Are there any processes or areas you are particularly looking forward to developing?
I’m looking forward to developing the way we maintain and update our sales and contract information. I’ve already started getting into the details of that, and although there’s still a lot for me to learn, I’m enjoying the process and can already see how valuable it will be to enhance our current way of working.
What would you like to have achieved by the end of your first year?
I really want to look back and appreciate just how much I have learned, not only about Ultramap but about the industry as a whole and what our customers need most. I hope to have made our internal processes and CRM more streamlined and easier to navigate. Most importantly, I hope to be an integral and trusted member of our team.
A little more about Sarah
How would you describe the way you like to work?
I pride myself on my organisational skills and my genuine interest in “the bigger picture”. I also like to think I’m very much a people person. I enjoy asking questions, brainstorming ideas together and building great relationships while we work.
What do you enjoy doing outside work?
I’m at my happiest when I’m outdoors, surrounded by nature and taking in a pretty view. I love walking and hiking with my black Labrador, Keith, and visiting the Lake District whenever I get the opportunity.
Is there anything colleagues or customers might be surprised to learn about you?
I love heading for the hills most weekends in our motorhome, seeing places we haven’t visited before and trying out new campsites. I even have a dedicated spreadsheet on the go with a full itinerary for a potential trip to North Wales next year. My dream, however, is a road trip to Switzerland and Austria in the van, but that will need an entirely new spreadsheet!
