IB Woman
Issue No. 24 - August/September 2005
Deconstructing Angela
Angela Gianakis
by Penelope Herbert
Angela Gianakis quickly gives the impression that she was born for a sales career. Her warm smile, sparkling eyes and friendly handshake quickly put people at ease. But her people skills are only one element of the formula.
Now sales and marketing manager for Scott Salisbury Homes, Angela joined the building sector from retail footwear, as a sales consultant with Pioneer and Champion Homes.
Angela “did a deal” with the managing director of Champion; she promised to sell eight houses in one month. With the phone and Yellow Pages her constant companions, in three months she was running Champion’s sales department.
Then, despite personally selling more than 200 houses, Angela found herself out of a job when Champion folded. Her willingness to take positives from every situation saw her offer her untapped skills to a small residential builder, Scott Salisbury.
“Our direction was to custom build homes with the WOW factor,” Angela says, recalling the early days. “I felt I had cut my teeth with other builders because I had a great willingness to learn about the product and the needs of the client. And I love a challenge.
“I admired Scott and I was very interested when he explained where he wanted to take his business. I was confident that I could create sales and deliver to the company the results they required even though my first child was only 11 months old at the time.”
Angela’s career with Scott Salisbury almost ended before it started. Within weeks Angela was surprised to find she was nearly six months pregnant with her second child.
“Scott was amazing,” she says. “He didn’t see it as an impediment and encouraged me to create some work-life balance both before and after my second child’s birth. In fact, everyone in the office was very supportive and happy to take care of the baby while I had meetings with clients.”
A mother of two, aged seven and six, Angela credits her hu...
