Paula
After a successful 20 year career as a sales manager in construction sales, Paula Callaway took the plunge and opened her very own Ripples showroom in Saffron Walden, the picturesque medieval town in North West Essex.
A change of career
After hearing about the Ripples franchise opportunity in a trade magazine, Paula was confident her experience and skills from 20 years selling to the top 50 construction companies in the UK would stand her in good stead as a Ripples franchisee.
Finding the right property
After deciding to progress with a franchise, Paula started the process of finding a suitable property for her new showroom, which in the beautiful town of Saffron Walden with its winding streets and listed properties, was no mean feat! Under the expert guidance of the Ripples franchise team, Paula found a beautiful home for her new showroom - a former fashion boutique complete with exposed stone, original beams and bags of character.
Initial training
Although extremely experienced in all aspect of sales, Paula hadn’t come from a bathroom background so training was key to develop her product knowledge and understanding of the industry. Working alongside key suppliers, Paula was expertly trained on every aspect of the Ripples product collection. In addition to this, Paula engaged in training with the Ripples franchise team, learning the ‘Ripples Way’ and introducing her to procedures in business management, the Ripples sales process and the customised CRM and business systems used by all the franchises.
“The Ripples franchise team are fully supportive from day dot. They also give you the chance to grow as an individual which I felt was also really important. Their phones were always on, day or night to eliminate any concerns or worries which was also reassuring.”
-Paula, owner of Ripples Saffron Walden
The finished showroom
Alongside all the training required to run a Ripples showroom and sell suppliers products, Paula was simultaneously project managing the shop-fit of her new showroom. After dealing with the challenges which come with fitting out a period property, the result is a truly stunning showroom which seamlessly blends the old with the new.
