When Chloe Wright was growing up all she ever wanted to do when she left school was join the Royal Navy and train as a nurse. However, when an injury put paid to that idea she found herself working as an admin assistant within the commercial department of Timothy Lea & Griffiths estate agency. In the six years since, her career has seen a meteoric rise to become residential sales manager in our Evesham office – and she has big plans for the future. When she’s not working she plays netball and loves spending time walking her dog in Bredon Hill with the odd gin afterwards at the pub.
What is your SBK job title and where are you based?
I am residential sales manager at SBK’s Evesham office.
What is your role and what does your job entail? Is there a typical day?
The only consistency in each day is that it is chaotic, challenging and I absolutely love it! The main part of my role is bringing properties to the market and supporting the sellers’ journeys throughout the process. I manage a team of three, so I also support them in their roles. No day is the same which is one of the things I love about it!
How did you get into the property industry and how long have you worked within it?
I came into the property industry by chance rather than design. Initially, my career plan was to join the Royal Navy and train to be a nurse. When I was 17 I worked incredibly hard to obtain a place but due to injury was unable to see it through. Frustrated at my career goals not going to plan, I set my mind to going travelling before deciding on a new career and I started working for Timothy Lea & Griffiths (TLG) as a surveyor’s assistant to save up to go to Thailand and Australia. I worked hard and built up a good relationship with the team who said I could come back if I wanted to after my travels, which I did. Once back, I realised I was better suited to sales and lettings. At about the same time, TLG was taken over by SBK so I took on a sales progression role, doing office based work for a while before working up to assistant sales manager and now manager, all within four years.
Following the acquisition of TLG, what attracted you to continue working for SBK?
I remember when TLG was acquired I knew immediately I would be given the support and resources necessary to enable me to have a fulfilling career with SBK. The company will invest in the right people and as there are so many departments and so much going on, the opportunities now for a great career at SBK are endless. You only have to look at my journey to see that is the case – admin role at 18 and now residential sales manager within six years. It’s a very exciting place to be.
What’s the best bit about your job?
I believe if you look forward to going to work each day you are in the right job. I feel very lucky as I love both my job and the people around me and I have a really good relationships with everyone here. It’s definitely the right type of environment for me as the office is thriving with positive energy, it’s busy and everyone works hard and wants to achieve. It’s also a varied marketplace here in Evesham with everything from flats to million pound houses. As well as the town itself there is beautiful countryside on the doorstep so it’s no wonder people choose to live and work here.
What qualifications or training do you need to do this job?
Ultimately, what you need to be is passionate, an effective communicator and well-organised to do this job. However, qualifications will certainly assist in expanding your knowledge of the industry and open doors for you in the future. I currently hold a Level 3 qualification in both sales and lettings for that reason.
What motivates you to work hard?
The honest answer is I am very impatient and I am constantly striving for the next milestone whether that be in my career or my personal life – you don’t get there without working extremely hard.
Who or what inspires you?
A real inspiration of mine has always been Karren Brady. She is an incredible businesswoman, demonstrated by her becoming managing director of Birmingham City Football Club at only 23. But her resilience, strength of character and ambitious nature is ultimately what got her to the position she is in, particularly during a time when it was tough for women in business and I love that she didn’t take no for an answer. I’m also inspired by the many women who work at SBK. Women head up our directors’ office, finance, HR and planning and architecture departments which are all traditionally male dominated environments. There are lots of strong female role models at SBK which is great to be a part of.
What are your career goals?
Having just began the next chapter of my career, I am excited to continue the legacy our successful office I have helped build. I want to consolidate that and continue to motivate my team. I would like to progress to regional manager and then eventually director level.
What is the best piece of career advice you have ever been given?
I once met Joe Wicks at a festival (his daughter wanted to meet my Staffy!) who said “focus on the little wins, all big journeys start with small steps. Build the platform brick by brick”. I have no idea what it was relevant to at the time but clearly it stuck with me! It makes sense and seems good advice in that all big journeys start with small steps. Joe came from nothing to being a huge success so it’s incredibly motivating.
The moral of the story is – if you wake up one morning and realise you have a job but really want a career, be like Chloe and call SBK.
