by Mark Bond, Sales Director, Vodafone

Vodafone has staged some memorable corporate events over the years but it will be difficult to top the one that took place at Goodwood in November.

We invited some 20 senior executives from client companies to be driven round the circuit by none other than Formula One superstar, Lewis Hamilton. The event was part of our title sponsorship deal with the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes F1 team.

As Sales Director, I too was lucky enough to have the exhilarating experience of lapping Goodwood in a McLaren SLR high performance sports car with the confident 22 year-old at the wheel.

What was it like? Surprisingly reassuring. Though the speedo hit 170 mph at times, I felt completely safe and relaxed. Lewis kept both hands on the wheel at all times but chatted quite naturally throughout, asking me about my job and what car I drove. He was so cool-headed, we could have been out for a quiet drive down a country lane.

Having spent much the day in his company, I can confirm what a charming, mature and sensible young man Lewis Hamilton is. He’s appreciative of what a fantastic life he has, doing what he loves doing, and very modest.

I asked him about missing out on winning the F1 driver’s championship by just one point. He confessed he was disappointed at coming so close but is focusing all his energies on fighting for the title again next year. I hope he makes it.

I’ve always been a fan of corporate events. They’re a valuable way of building stronger relationships with clients, which can stand you in good stead if you have to go through tough negotiations at a later stage. And in a different environment, outside the office, your customers tend to relax and talk to you more frankly. You find out what they really think about your company and your services. The better you know your clients, the better you can work with them.

To these benefits, I can now add a new one. Sometimes you get to meet your sporting heroes!

PAGE TOP

     What are these?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 20th, 2007 at 2:54 pm and is filed under Guest writers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.