Who are you?
I'm Charlie Dawson, and I’m the business development manager, I have worked for the organisation for over four years, seeing the organisation through our recent rebrand from Bell Transport and Logistics to Customs Support Ireland.
What does a business development manager do?
I am responsible for maintaining relationships with customers, seeing where there are opportunities for us to do more for them, and for onboarding new clients.
What does your typical working day look like?
I spend a lot of time talking to existing customers, getting and incorporating their feedback, and developing our relationships. Other than that, I use Sales Navigator and Salesforce to build and review pipelines so that we can keep the leads coming in. I also like to cold call a couple of times a week as it’s a good way of getting information and potential customers.
What do you like most about your job?
It’s challenging, especially that initial contact with a new client. They already have an agent that they are using, and they could be happy with them, so you need to work hard to achieve the results. Thankfully, Customs Support are a Europe-wide network and (in Ireland) we are operational 24/7 which is a big selling point for us. There are a lot of ferry services that need out-of-hours support and expertise in Irish customs, and we have that.
What’s the best thing about being in Waterford?
No traffic on the way to work. I like that our office isn’t in a big business park with lots of offices; it’s in a quiet industrial estate.
What excites you the most about joining this network of customs agents?
It's expanding rapidly and there's so much ambition to keep growing; that's probably the most exciting thing. There’re new acquisitions every month and each one is developed so well after it has joined Customs Support. There is so much happening and there are very exciting times ahead.
What's the next stage of development for Waterford?
Our main objective is to continue growing by working with other Customs Support offices across Europe. End-to-end customs clearance is more efficient for our customers and reduces risks of error, so we want to continue looking after their interests by promoting this. We are also implementing Customs Support’s Lobster EDI system to digitalize the process even further.
What do you do when you are not at work?
I like to play golf at the weekend, off a handicap of three. I also play a bit of hurling, which is the most popular national sport in Ireland.
What’s the most important thing a client should look for in a customs broker?
A quality service, and the ability to be able to meet their needs. So they should be looking at the resources/expertise they have, systems, and their opening hours.
You now work with a Europe-wide network. If you were to visit an office location of Customs Support, which city would you want to see first and why?
Probably Italy because the weather is good. It's a beautiful country and the food is good.
