Page 31 - Print 21 magazine Jul-Aug 2021

Profile
As an agent of change, and a woman, it was always going to
be an interesting ride for Threlfo.
“I was in a team of guys. It was a blokey industry for sure. So, I took up golf. I couldn’t get them to come to the ballet with me but I could go to the printing industry golf days. I used to be the only woman at the golf days back in the late ‘90s. Consequently, I’ve fallen in love with golf,” she relates.
“I don’t recall it [being the only woman] as daunting. I don’t recall any particular discrimination, maybe because I just got on with it. Was it overt? No, no, I don’t think so. But I do think I can have blinkers on. I was just enjoying what I was doing.”
She was also making a name for herself as a sales person. Perhaps it was perseverance, perhaps even a gender advantage. Either way she was hitting her targets.
“Maybe I had a softer approach. You would never know. I did get into more detailed conversations because, you know, they weren’t throwing
me out as much as they may have thrown out my male colleagues.”
Digital colour
watershed
Around the turn of the century, introducing digital printing became more complex with the arrival of colour. Early machines were focused
on digital proofing, taking on the entrenched but very expensive Cromalin analogue. From the heady days of selling big production black and white machines – “we had a few really fantastic years” – the emphasis shifted to competing with colour. For Threlfo, it was a bit like going back to the future.
“In sales there’s always an expectation of a number that you’re going to hit and meet your target. I think we all feel high pressure at times.”
She had been seconded to Rochester, USA, with Xerox. When she returned it was not only back into a sales role but also into sales management, a move she was initially reluctant to accept.
“My first sales management role was a national one, specifically working in the commercial
print space. I’d built expertise
in commercial print that wasn’t necessarily available across the country. It involved working with outside production print salespeople.
“That was a great job. And I fell in love with sales management. It became not about me, but about having my team achieve. And yeah, I hadn’t really realised how much I would love that.”
Listening to Threlfo, it’s easy to forget that she has spent her career in one of the most high-pressure, cutthroat, sectors of the printing industry. As scandals have revealed, the drive for market share, the
imperative to move the boxes, and to make commission often encouraged a culture to go beyond the extra mile, no matter the cost. It’s an occupational challenge she takes seriously.
“In sales there’s always an expectation of a number that you’re going to hit and meet your target.
I think we all feel high pressure at times. So we deal with that pressure differently. I manage it well. I do my best to keep it in perspective. There
are times when it can get a little out of control, but you have to remind yourself you can only do the best you can.
“I do think you are either a sales person or you’re not. While there are definitely skills that you can learn
to be a better salesperson, through
my management roles I’ve seen a
lot of people in sales for who it isn’t intuitive, and it isn’t natural for them. They find the pressure much harder to deal with. If you love the process, and you believe you’ve got great products, and you’re working in a good company, then it’s a really fantastic job.”
Bringing it all...
A second secondment abroad, this time to Singapore from 2010 to 2013, came in recognition of Threlfo’s unique understanding, not only of digital technology, but also of how to market it to the wider industry and assemble appropriate sales teams. On frequent trips throughout Asia, she began a love affair with Japan, which has continued in her current corporate role. On her return to Australia mid-decade, Fuji Xerox was going
into its well-documented meltdown.
After more than twenty-five years Threlfo left the business,
something she now regards
as a blessing.
continued to page 32
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