Royal Wolf News - What is the key to driving customer success?

Expertise, resolve, and a love of meeting people

A degree in social psychology comes in useful when Daniela Herrero is working with customers.

“Don’t worry. I don’t analyse them, I'm not a practicing psychologist,” laughs the Sydney-based Business Development Manager for United Rentals Australia/New Zealand.

However, she uses her psychology skills to understand her customers, the environment they operate in, and what their needs are.

“Understanding their intricacies and how they think is all part of understanding what they want in a containerised solution.

“I use those insights to help me understand their requirements which then feeds into the solution that suits the client best. So, I use my degree every single day,” she smiles.

While at university she worked in sales to support her study, and instead of moving into psychology, her love of meeting and working with different people meant she took the sales career route instead. 

Starting out in retail, she moved to a mentoring role working with apprentices and then landed a sales rep position in the hire industry.

“That was 20 years ago, and to be honest, I kind of fell into hire, but I immediately loved the variety and dynamic of the industry.”  

Contributing to the community

Daniela is instrumental in the planning, design and installation of some of United Rental’s largest, and most high-profile, worksite performance solutions in Australia.

She is proud of projects like the multi-container set up at Darling Harbour which provided worksite amenity during the development of the Imax Theatre and hotel.

“That project, and our containers, were very visible from the city and it’s exciting being part of helping to grow the city’s infrastructure and make a meaningful and positive impact in the community.”

Most recently, Daniela and her team installed a large-scale worksite solution for the redevelopment of Sydney’s iconic Fish Markets.   

“I'm not intimidated by the quantity of containers,” she says. “Probably the most challenging aspect of what I do is ensuring we have the gear available to make it happen. It's about creative problem solving, managing a customer’s expectations, and being resourceful.”

Juggling projects, people, and containers

“I’m juggling multiple projects on a daily basis – some take just a few months from start to installation, and others can take a year to get over the line,” says Daniela of her role.  

While the fast-paced, hands-on nature of the job is a drawcard (“I love seeing projects through from start to end.”), it’s the wide range of people she works with that she enjoys most.

Daniela is good at building relationships which is why she manages many of United Rentals largest customers.

“I'm going out there meeting people, clients, understanding their needs, then planning the solution which involves working with them to design and install something that meets their needs.

“You're dealing with different types of people every single day and that's a big part of why I love my job.”

Evolution of the industry

Both the hire and the building and construction industries are still dominated by males. But, says Daniela, it has “changed and continues to change” since she entered the industry.  

“When I started the reaction to me was often dismissive. But that didn't affect me in any way. I liked the challenge. As a person I'm really calm and relaxed, but I can stand up for myself if I need to and I don't get intimidated by much.

“I had the attitude that, ‘You know what? I know what I’m talking about, I have the expertise, and I’m confident with that’.”

The evolution of the industry is highlighted best by Daniela working with clients to develop container solutions for the increasingly diverse workforce on sites.   

“These days female specific containers are essential to ensure they have their own changing rooms and bathrooms on work sites. That’s just one example of how the industry continues to change and grow – that’s another reason I love what I do.”