B2B Sales Apprentice Review

As part of the Business to Business Sales Degree Apprenticeship role, I had various projects throughout the 3 years. Within the projects, I priced Internet products for large corporations, migrated customers to new contracts, built customer insights presentations and tracked new opportunities. As a result, some of my daily tasks included communicating with my team and other stakeholders.

Yes, I have developed my presentation skills as well as my confidence. This was useful for building proposals and customer sales pitches which I now know how to do. In addition to this, I have learnt new skills such as how to use Excel more efficiently, how to price different products, build profit and loss accounts. Also, I completed numerous training courses to learn about different products for example.

I really enjoyed the programme because I was able to develop new skills as well as study and work simultaneously. This was interesting because I applied my university knowledge to my day to day job. Furthermore, what I liked the most about the programme was working with different people as they were very helpful and friendly. This really met the company culture and succeeded my expectations as everyone was so supportive.

Both the university and my employer were flexible when it came to the programme. This is to ensure that they better aligned to each other. I also received the training and support required to do my day to day job. I had one day a week to do my university work which worked well.

My manager was very supportive and whenever I asked for any support he provided me with that. For example, if I required resources to help me with my university assignments he would direct me towards the appropriate people to contact. Also, when there was something I did not know how to do, I asked for help and training was provided.

Throughout the 3 years, the university organised various in-person and online sessions for each new module where I learnt about relevant theories and models. This was useful for completing each assignment as well as for my day to day job. For example, something useful I learned was how to build customer relationships based on trust which is essential for sales.

I feel that the qualification through my learning provider has helped me perform better in my role because I was able to apply my knowledge to my day to day job. For example, I learnt how to qualify customer opportunities. This can be done by asking open questions for instance.

Throughout the apprenticeship, there was a lot of professional networking events I had the opportunity to get involved in and attend which I really enjoyed. Also, my manager organised gatherings and social activities with my team for Christmas which was nice as I got to get to know my team better. Additionally, I like taking part in voluntary initiatives such as helping with the internal launch of the new logo.

Yes

I would recommend BT as a place to work because I really like the work ethic and culture. Everyone is understanding, helpful and welcoming which makes the experience much better. Also, you have the opportunity to attend different events as well as take part in exciting projects and initiatives. Hence, it never gets boring.

My advice would be to find out as much information as you can about your preferred role or career path before applying. One way to do this is to speak to former and current employees on LinkedIn. Also, when applying I would suggest having your CV reviewed by a friend and practice questions/tests for the interview and assessment centre.