Hannah takes to the field for Vanaways Business Development team

Fast-growing independent vehicle supply specialist Vanaways is stepping out, by appointing a new Business Development Manager to take its trade direct to customers’ doors.

Hannah Pearson has joined the Bristol-based company as its first sales specialist to be permanently ‘out of office’.

Reporting directly to Business Development Director Liam Nicholas, her role will be to visit prospective new clients across the UK – with the aim of winning them over to Vanaways’ combination of a simplified ordering process, quick turnaround and minimal hassle.

Hannah brings a strong track record to her new position. She previously spent four years in a similar role for one of Britain’s biggest commercial vehicle rental providers, and completed three years with a leading car and van hire operator before that.

“Moving to Vanaways is already such a refreshing change,” she said. “We’re a much smaller organisation, which means decisions are taken and put into action far quicker.

“But at the same time, the way the company works, with direct access to vehicles from a wide range of manufacturers, means I have virtually unlimited availability and can give my customers the vans they want to very tight timescales.”

Hannah’s brief is to focus mainly on companies with fleets of 10 vehicles or more – and although she covers the whole country, her initial plan is to target operators in the North of England.

“I’m originally from Durham, and now live in Liverpool, so it makes sense for me to spend more time visiting prospective customers closer to home,” she explained. “If you take Merseyside, Manchester, Leeds and all the towns and cities between, that’s a lot of potential new business!”

Liam Nicholas added: “We’re delighted to have added Hannah to our close-knit team – she brings a great deal of expertise and experience, as well as huge dose of enthusiasm, to Vanaways.

“We’re sure she’ll be a great success and our plan, as this side of the business takes off, is to add more new field-based Business Development Managers to our line-up. We’ll continue to stand by our pledge to provide the best possible customer service because – especially in the fleet market, where operators are replacing vehicles on a regular basis – that’s how we’ll prove to people that we’re worthy of winning and retaining their business.”

Hannah’s recruitment, and the ambition to add more people in similar roles, is just the latest stage in an ongoing, concerted drive by Vanaways to expand the size of its business.

Established in 2017, the company spent its first years concentrating mainly on retail sales. Last year’s recruitment of Liam Nicholas and creation of a Business Development Team marked a determination to also take aim at the fleet market.

Since then Vanaways has also signed a brace of partnership agreements. The First, with temperature-controlled body conversion specialist CoolKit, gives customers quick and easy ‘one-stop shop’ access to a wide range of top-quality refrigerated vans.

To create space for the growing company roster, Vanaways moved to a new, purpose-built office suite in January this year.

Meanwhile, Hannah is aiming to reach new heights outside work, as well as in her new job. A keen hill-walker, she recently completed a traverse of the Yorkshire Three Peaks – a 24-mile route crossing a trio of that county’s highest summits – and is working her way through the ‘Wainwrights’, 214 fells featured in author Alfred Wainwright’s celebrated hiking guidebooks to the Lake District.

Targeting sales growth: Vanaways’ Hannah Pearson and Liam Nicholas

Out and about: Hannah Pearson is Vanaways’ first field-based Business Development Manager