Meet Ciaran O'Neill, Account Manager at Brew Digital

What’s your name and role at Brew Digital?

Ciaran O’Neill and I am the Account Manager for Brew Digital, although my role encompasses so much, I’m not sure Account Manager sums it up in its entirety! 

What does a typical day look like for you? 

Tea, always a cup of tea first! After a review of our pipeline in Hubspot, data dashboards, emails and any other business, I usually have meetings with the team to sync up and discuss the to-do list of today. But that tends to be it for ‘typical’. Things constantly move and scopes change, so it’s about making sure you’re flexible with your bandwidth and communicating effectively with clients and internal teams. 

What’s your favourite part of the job?

I love seeing something that was once just a conversation about what could be done actually come to life for our partners, and seeing their reaction. I get such a buzz from creating solutions for them, no matter how big or small. I also enjoy the autonomy I have in my role and how dynamic it can be; one day I will be analytical and strategic, another will be purely creative. 

What are the bits that are most challenging? 

Being honest, it’s the odd time we don’t get the green light to begin a project, and having to report this back to the team who spent hours building a bespoke proposal for the project. The key for us is to take the feedback and learnings, turning a problem into a positive.

What is the sales pipeline?

The term 'sales pipeline' is frequently used in sales discussions and you'll commonly encounter phrases like "bringing prospects into the pipeline”. Put simply, a sales pipeline serves as a structured and visual method for monitoring potential buyers as they advance through distinct phases in both the purchasing process and the buyer's journey.

In conversations we’ve had, you’ve frequently described clients as partners. Could you talk more about the idea of partnerships, and why that’s important?

I believe it’s about being a genuine ally for your clients. The idea behind ‘partnerships’ is that it sets the scene for cultivating relationships based on mutual respect and shared benefits with them. It also fundamentally changes how you interact with them. It encourages consistent ongoing communication, collaborating in mind mapping solutions for related challenges, and embracing honesty without fear. It opens new doors because the relationship is multidimensional instead of project by project based, or being wholly transactional. For example, looking at them as individuals and maintaining efforts to understand them personally. We’re all about long term partnerships at Brew Digital, and this is a great way of fostering them. 

Ignoring the fact that it’s your job, do you think that reporting is valuable? 

It’s always valuable, and future ‘you’ will be thankful when they have a reliable and informative data source to make better decisions for future plans and strategies. It’s also a source of truth that other team members have access to, which reduces the demands on providing updates.

Do you have a secret skill or talent your work colleagues don’t know about?

I’m trained to commercially operate drones, I play the drums and I can get a car round a corner faster than most. 

Is there a project you’re particularly proud of?

I won’t be able to name names, but working with a fair few clients across multiple industries, there have been a few stand out projects. The one that I’m proud of is the first project I helped bring into the company, which revolved around building a hub for large companies to assess how green they are, and how much greener they could be. Not only was it a great moment for the whole team to win this project, working with partners on projects which actively benefit the world gives me a great sense of pride.

How do you spend your ‘off-time’? 

Working on my track car. I love how much it challenges me and how it’s something I can do with friends, plus the feeling you get racing a car you built around a circuit is the biggest dopamine hit you can get. I also ride my motorbike and occasionally tour on it, it’s such a life-affirming experience and a great way to explore. For relaxation, wiling away an afternoon getting lost in a game is chefs kiss.

Do you have any book, film or TV recommendations? 

I can absolutely recommend the latest season of Fargo. It’s an epic story and the direction is beautiful. 

Is there an upcoming or emerging technology that has you really excited? 

Edge Computing! Ha - you thought I was going to say AI! Edge computing represents a real transformative approach to computing; processing power and data storage can now be closer to the point of data creation, instead of relying solely on centralised cloud computing. This will enable quicker data processing and minimise time delays, plus it will address privacy and security concerns by allowing sensitive data to be processed locally instead. Faster. Safer. Winner.

Why do you love working at Brew Digital?

The collaborative culture allows everyone to be themselves. They offer an autonomy that’s rare, having a company that trusts the decisions you’re making allows you to simply get on with the task. It’s a place you can grow, it’s a place where you can have fun, it’s a place where you will learn.