A Day in the Life of a Mangar Health Territory Account Manager

Last Friday our new Marketing Executive, Kirsty, went out with John Finister, the Territory Account Manager for Wales and Central England.

As it was her first week at Mangar Health the aim was for Kirsty to see what it’s like to spend a day in a Territory Account Manager’s life and experience the value of Mangar products first hand, so John took her to several of his appointments across Coventry and Leicester.

A day in the Life of a Mangar Health Territory Account Manager

08:20am – I arrived in the Birmingham area to meet Wales and Central England Territory Account Manger, John Finister.

John introduced himself and said he has been in the healthcare industry for just over 10 years, starting as Area Manager at mobility retailer Keep Able, in 2006. Six years later he moved on to work at Betterlife as a Trainer, finally joining Mangar to manage Wales, Central and Eastern England in April 2013.

He added that he loves working at Mangar and enjoys that he can provide practical and simple solutions that allow people to have a dignified and independent everyday lifestyle. His favourite aspect of his role is the rewarding feeling he gets knowing he has left his client in a better way than when he first met them, and that as a company Mangar meets their challenging targets by satisfying the increasing demand for solutions.

We talked through the plan for the day and John mentioned that as every day is unpredictable for a Territory Account Manager, it was all subject to change as we got on the road.

The plan for the day was to go to Coventry for an ELK demonstration with an Occupational Therapist, then onto Leicester to meet an OT for two separate appointments. The first appointment was to offer additional support to a client with a Mangar Leg Lifter, and the second was to demonstrate a Handy Pillow Lift.

While we chatted through the day’s itinerary John received a couple of calls asking for some of his appointments to be changed, something he said happens a lot.

09:30am – The first stop of the day was the Coventry Opal Centre.

John showed me round The Opal Assessment and Demonstration Centre, a place for people who need help to live at home. The demonstration centre had a fully fitted bathroom, bedroom, living room and kitchen that featured the different types of equipment people may need to assist them with everyday living. This included bathing equipment, chairs, beds and a range of small aids.

For me, looking at the Mobility Assistance and aids that are available was really helpful. John gave a great explanation as to why these centres are so useful to both OT’s and clients, as it allows them to physically look at all of the options available to them in ‘real-life’ situations. He showed me the Mangar equipment that was already in place and gave examples of different scenarios in which people may need to use it.

After our quick look around, we headed to our first OT appointment in Coventry.

11:00am – John’s first appointment of the day was a home visit with a local Occupational Therapist. We met the OT outside just before 11:00am to talk through her client’s case and discuss anything that the OT thought might be important. The first thing the OT highlighted was that the main aim of this meeting was to protect the carer, as she had been struggling to lift the client after he’d fallen.

We found out that the client was a wheelchair user who had been experiencing a lot of falls moving from both the car and bed back into his wheelchair. His fiancé had been finding it challenging lifting him from the floor, so John was there to look at how she is currently doing it and discuss the options that are available to her for a safer lift, in particular, the Mangar ELK Cushion.

John and the OT carried out a demonstration for the client, making sure his fiancé knew how to inflate and deflate each section of the ELK cushion. Once they had inflated the cushion with the Occupational Therapist demonstrating, John asked the client if he’d like to try the cushion out for himself.

As the cushion was already inflated, the Client moved from his wheelchair to the bed and then onto the Mangar ELK. Once he had let John and the OT know he was happy sitting on it, his fiancé deflated the sections one by one. John pointed out that they wouldn’t have to do this process again as there would never be a need to lower him to the ground. The important part was seeing if it was easier for his fiancé to raise him back up to a level where he could reach his wheelchair.

The demonstration and test went really well and after all questions had been answered John and I left the OT with the client to go through the next steps of the process.

12:30pm – We made a quick stop at ASDA to pick up some lunch and while eating, John explained that the next visit was to see a client he had been to before for aMangar Leg Lifter.

The client was suffering from both a heart condition and COPD and had been struggling to lift his legs into bed without help, so he had a Leg Lifter to help him get into bed without the assistance of a carer. The client felt he needed a little extra assistance using the Leg Lifter and had asked John for some additional support and guidance.

1:30pm – Once inside John and the Occupational Therapist showed the client the best way to use the Leg Lifter, which made me see the full value of the product. By the end of the appointment, the client’s confidence had lifted and he mentioned how much he felt the Leg Lifter was going to help his independence.

2:00pm – Our next appointment was scheduled for 3.00pm on the other side of Leicester and as soon as John had finished fixing the Leg Lifter we headed out. First, we met with the OT again for a quick catch up.

3.30pm – Our 3.30pm appointment was for a client that had been experiencing muscle spasms that made it very difficult for him to sit up or walk. It has not yet been diagnosed by doctors, however, the OT was visiting to see if one of ourMangar Handy Pillow Lifts would help him sit up in bed and get into a position where he can get out of bed without any assistance.

The client had previously been using a bed lift which meant that when he wanted to raise himself up he had to lift the whole mattress, which he found difficult to use.

When we arrived John demonstrated the Handy Pillow Lift, getting the client to test it as he went along. As the client struggled to lie on hard surfaces, he thought the fact the Pillow Lift was soft enough to mold to his shape was perfect for him and he was extremely grateful we were able to offer such a simple solution to a problem he has been experiencing for so long.

4:00pm – John’s 4:00pm appointment for a Mangar Bathing Cushion was cancelled by the OT, so it was time to head home.

5:30pm – After a long drive back home to Telford, my eventful and interesting day finished at 5.30pm.

Before I left John mentioned that a busy day on the road is not the end of his day-to-day job, as when he gets home he then has to reply to emails, organise his quotes from the day, respond to voicemails, make new appointments and fill out any necessary paperwork. I’ve definitely realised that the Territory Sales Team don’t have a standard 9-5 job, especially as sometimes work can overflow into the weekend.

It was great to experience a day on the road with John and it has really given me some insight into the positive impact our lifting products can have on people’s lives.

If you’re in the Wales and Central England area and would like to talk to John about Mangar and some of our products you can call him on 07909 536426 or email jfinister@mangar.co.uk. If you’re in other areas you can find your nearest representative here.