Growing our business and my career
By Lisa Walker
Field Sales Representative, Kellogg U.K./Ireland
My kids think it’s great that I work at Kellogg. When we go to the market, they head to the cereal aisle and start tidying up the shelves. It’s obvious they share my passion for our brands. I grew up with Kellogg and now they are doing the same.
Lisa on the road to meet with customers.
As a Kellogg U.K. field sales representative, I meet regularly with customers within the retail environment to help them drive sales, by highlighting our products with unique in-store displays and special promotions. Driving food innovations and in-store events are key for the growth of our brands, for example, our recent launch of Kellogg Strawberry & White Choc flavour Coco Pops® was a huge success.
I’ve always worked in retail and I really like it. But it can be very time consuming and isn’t always family friendly. As a single mom of two daughters, ages 9 and 14, field sales is the perfect fit for me. I’m encouraged to have an owner’s mindset and be empowered to manage my portfolio of clients in a way that makes the most sense for them and me. The company trusts how I represent the brand and sell to our customers. The fact that everything I do can come from my heart makes me love my job even more.
Navigating school and work during the pandemic.
I’ve been with Kellogg for three years and I appreciate that we have a strong team and a company that is always supportive. I am inspired everyday by our great leadership team. This proved especially important in early 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic changed everything, almost overnight. No longer was I going into stores and meeting with customers. It would have been easy to feel disconnected from the company and my colleagues, but the exact opposite happened.
Lisa with her FSE Gaby Lilly on a coaching day in trade.
Kellogg showed us every day that our wellbeing was their main priority. They sent fun things like packages of our foods and masks with our characters on to our homes. We were offered opportunities to work on new projects and enhanced learning opportunities. For example, right now I have the opportunity to develop both personally and professionally by taking on responsibilities that stretch me out of my comfort zone, and I know that by doing this this will help me progress my career when the time is right. Kellogg even hosted our twice-yearly national sales meetings virtually so we could remain connected.
A highlight for me during this time was being asked to share a personal story about my wellbeing journey and how Kellogg supported me and my family when we needed it most. I spoke virtually to 400 people across Europe; many I’ve never met. I can’t even count the number of people who reached out to me afterward to offer their encouragement and support. Many people felt inspired by my honesty. While we’re a global company, Kellogg is like a family. I’m excited to continue to grow my career with the company.
