Meet Vice President Sales Jim Butler
Share this article
In September of 2018, Payworks Vice President Sales Central Canada Jim Butler will have been with the company for 17 years.
He started here in 2001 as the company’s first Sales Representative, which quickly evolved into being appointed Sales Manager as the company grew and began hiring more reps in the Winnipeg area. Jim was made Vice President of Sales seven years later in 2008.
Before coming to Payworks, Jim was working in sales for a competing payroll company but was in the process of seeking new career opportunities. When Jim first started at Payworks, the staff consisted of CEO Barb Gamey, Corinne Burleigh, and one programmer.
“I sold our product to a number of Credit Unions who were some of Payworks’ first clients,” explained Jim. “Once I started making sales in March of 2001, Arlee Snitowski, now our Client Service Manager in Franchise, was hired to service the accounts. At that time, there weren’t any employees outside of Winnipeg.”
Starting the Payworks sales team in the early stages was not an easy feat. While Jim said he always believed Payworks would be successful, he had to sell the idea of this start-up company not only to clients, but also to reps.
“I really had to convey how I knew this company was going to grow and how well we were positioned to compete in the marketplace,” said Jim. “What stands out the most for me now is that today, quality sales people within the industry approach us and want to work for Payworks.”
For Jim, a lot of milestones have been met since he's been with the company from the beginning. Being in sales, some of those moments include the onboarding of namely partnerships that have helped Payworks grow. And, if there's anything he misses from the days when Payworks was a smaller business, it would be the get-togethers outside of work when the entire company would be in attendance; including holiday parties and colleague's weddings. That also speaks to what has kept Jim around for more than a decade: the people.
“I wanted to help make this company a success out of respect for the ownership group and all of the people I have come to admire for their hard work and brilliance,” said Jim. “I have also been fortunate to work with some of the top Sales Representatives across Canada which makes for a bright future.”
