Brett Cottle arrives at Earthworm
He may describe himself as “the new guy”, but there’s nothing new about the skills Brett Cottle brings to his role. Having cut his teeth in agricultural sales, he understands what it takes to earn the trust of customers who work hard for a living and expect quality service in return.
Between family commitments and renovation projects, Brett is used to packing a lot into his days away from work. Match that with his invaluable career experience, appreciation for straight-talking clients, and enduring focus on building his knowledge base and he’s got the perfect mindset for his work at Earthworm.
We sat down to chat with the latest arrival to our team…
What attracted you to the role at Earthworm?
When you’ve worked in sales for a while you get a feel for whether a business has something worth selling, and Earthworm does. The combination of quality gear and passionate people made the decision easy.
What does a typical day look like in your job? What’s it been like so far?
A big part of my role is speaking with clients and potential clients – understanding what they need and making sure we can match them with the right solution. The rest of the time I’m soaking up as much product knowledge as I can from the others in the team. There’s a lot to take in, but everyone’s been great about sharing what they know.
What are the highlights and challenges of the work?
The biggest highlight has also been the biggest challenge: the amount of technical knowledge involved. Getting across Earthworm’s extensive range of machinery and the hydraulic technical info is a big task, but I’m learning something new every day.
What skills are important in your role? What do you need to get right?
Product knowledge is the obvious one. Beyond that it’s really about getting a thorough understanding of what the customer is after. Anyone can fire off a quote – the real skill is in asking the right questions first.
How was Fieldays for you?
Fantastic. It was a good quick learning curve you. With customers coming thick and fast and questions flying, there’s no better way to get up to speed quickly.
It’s quick-fire Q&A time: Favourite food? Favourite place to holiday? Favourite attachment?
Beef short rib off the smoker is hard to beat. Opito Bay on the Coromandel. And the rotating pulveriser is an impressive machine.
What are you looking forward to?
Getting to know the demolition industry more and getting more attachments out there. There’s a lot of great opportunities ahead.
What do you enjoy outside of work?
Chasing my two boys around keeps busy — whether it’s biking, soccer, or rugby. I’m also a classic weekend warrior and enjoy getting stuck into some home reno work.
Anything else you’d like to add?
Up the Wahs!