Mark Wallman, studying Marketing with Media & Design at Southampton Solent University, is believed to have generated Cash-Score approximately £240,000 over the next ten years. His 8 week placement, over the 2007 summer holidays, lead to him securing 20 ten year leases with customers. During the second part of his placement, he also generated £48,000 in personal sales. In addition to this, since developing and amending Cash-Score’s website, the number of visitors has increased by 450%, with the number of first time/unique visitors increasing by 303%.

“It appeared to offer exactly what I was looking for in a summer job”, said Mark when asked why he applied, “To have a real influence within a small business and not just work for a large company where you can’t see the day-to-day running of things. It also offered a basic weekly salary, which no other work experience schemes I came across did.” He added, “On a personal level, I wanted to see if a sales related job was actually for me and hoped it would help me make decisions about my future career after education.”

Cash-Score is a sales consultancy specializing in through-the-wall cash machines. Based in Chiswick, they have over 500 machines across the UK which generates both Cash-Score profit and the owners of the premises where they’re based. Established in 2004, the company’s target customer group are small independent shops which have a high number of people walking past them-creating a demand for cash withdrawals.

The company assigned the following projects to Mark: contracts manager, website developer and manager and distributor of new leads. He eagerly got started and even requested to participate in sales – which he excelled at. Pursuing these roles involved making web design alterations and search engine enhancement amendments. It saved other staff time to pursue new deals and, as well as the above outcomes, led to the company ranking higher than any direct competition in Google search rankings.

After Marks placement, Cash-Score’s Managing Director, Mark Scorer told us,

“Mark was clear on the tasks necessary to complete the projects. He has great social skills and has built up a good rapport with all members of our team and the customers. He has been an asset to the company, keeps good timing and is aware of all the necessary housekeeping.”

Upon completion of the project, Cash-Score asked if Mark wanted to continue his work with them for the remainder of the summer. In addition to this, they offered him part time employment as Sales Executive for the South of England. He excitedly accepted both offers and continues to work for them now.

“The Shell Step scheme has been extremely valuable in helping me develop myself as an individual and refine my future career choices” said Mark at the evening award ceremony. “It allowed me to focus on what I enjoy the most (business to business sales). I am pleased that Cash-Score have benefited from my project and I’m looking forward to working with them in my new role”

Due to being so committed and successful on placement, Mark went on to win “Most Enterprising Student” at the Shell Step award ceremony at the end of the summer.

“Winning this award is a very proud moment for me, especially because the competition was so strong. It’s brilliant to see my efforts rewarded by a highly regarded scheme. It has also had a big impact on my CV”

Cash-Score said that their overall impression of the Shell Step student and the scheme was excellent,

Mark understood the way a small company like Cash Score operates and adapted appropriately. We shall certainly be using his work in the future and hope to further improve some processes to generate even more revenue.”

Mark would like to thank Mark Scorer and Chris Coyle at Cash-Score for both giving him the opportunity and for supporting him throughout the project.

Ingrid Stafford
University Talent Business Advisor
WestFocus Knowledge Exchange
River House - Swan Wing
53-57 High Street
Kingston upon Thames
Surrey
KT1 1LQ
Tel: 020 85478617
Mbl: 07920 576402
http://www.university-talent.org.uk