OUR FOUNDER
Debbie Barrow
Creator of our courses and presenter of our online, video-based courses
Thirty years of experience, knowledge and research in developing sales and service teams, giving absolute credibility to all our programmes
Debbie’s avid drive to identify what makes top performers successful, keeps our courses relevant, up-to-date and workable for today’s teams.
Her observations of customer interactions and interviews with sales and service people, leaves nothing uncovered. Debbie has identified exactly what needs to be in place for someone to be a top sales and service performer.
All this insight gives a unique, yet vital component to the learning.
Get to know our founder
Get to know our founder on a deeper level. From humble beginnings to becoming an award-winning training provider for hundreds of organisations in the UK and overseas.
Humble beginnings with no inside bathroom (no, really!)
Debbie spent the first few years of her life in a tiny house, with no inside bathroom; the tin bath was in the back yard! But her parents told her “You can be anything you want to be.”
10 years of sales and service success - from market stall to Area Manager
Her work on a Hull market stall at the age of 13, kickstarted a career in sales and service: on the phone, in customers’ homes, at exhibitions and on the road. She became an Area Manager in Yorkshire and won awards for sales and service results.
Heavenly places in the hospitality industry - managing hellish service challenges
Working in Travel and Tourism, in charge of complaints about everything, including 22-hour flight delays, building works, hotel rooms, no water in the pool, the food, coaches and cockroaches; all whilst working a 60 to 90 hour week.
But she learned how to keep herself and others calm and again, won awards for the best service and sales out of hundreds. She became a Training Manager for a hotel group and used her service experience to create real-to-life courses.
How a two-year backpacking trip and ending up with only one dollar, led to her training career
After crewing in the Caribbean and backpacking around North, South and Central America, Debbie ended up in L.A. with only $1. She just HAD to get a job that day. She’d only been away for a year!
Debbie turned up at a hospitality and retail business and pitched the idea of a training programme. It paid off and she started the next day.
Nights in the Santa Monica library opened a world of learning about success
For three months, after training each day, Debbie spent evenings in the Santa Monica or San Francisco libraries, studying from hundreds of books, audio and videos about psychology, success, sales, service and leadership… AND writing courses she’d be delivering the next day!
From the Himalayas to (almost) TV presenter
After another year of journeying across the South Seas, Asia, the Himalayas; staying with families, teaching in schools and helping street children, she reached out to Yorkshire TV, to pitch the idea of selling her film of the 2 year trip.
But, they invited her to go back, carry out the trip again, to present a TV programme about travelling the world as a woman alone. She chose to stay home, but always wonders what could have happened if she’d said yes….
Developing ‘confidence’ training for disadvantaged people – leading to national success and press coverage
Debbie took on the task of transforming a failing ‘job club’ at risk of closure. By creating and delivering ‘confidence’ coaching, she helped people; many of whom had lost all hope, to find work. This led to the job club becoming the second most successful in the UK; resulting in national press coverage.
Studies into top sales and service performance
Committed to helping people evolve and with a curious mind, she continuously studied the qualities of successful sales and service performers.
This led to her reading 300 books on the topic, becoming a master NLP practitioner, spending years training thousands in the UK and overseas and setting up Virada in 2002.
Motherhood and a seven-year journey, taking her to a Russian orphanage
After becoming a Mum, Debbie couldn’t wait for her second child but that required patience and resilience.
Whilst being on an unpredictable, challenging seven-year journey and managing the business, she found her daughter Jasmine, in a Russian orphanage. A happy ending, which inspired her to help others even more.
And Virada today
Today, Debbie is committed to helping people and organisations to evolve. Now, Virada is a pioneer of audio-visual, on-demand training for sales, customer service, management and personal development. But there are still plans to explore…
What clients say
about Debbie
“There are no adjectives to describe how good she is. Perfect at designing, writing and explaining it. To score her writing capability – out of 100 – it’s 150.”
“Debbie is outstanding. So inspirational and someone you can learn great things from.”
“Her experience and authority on what works and what doesn’t, creates such credibility.”
Meet Debbie
Access Debbie's extensive knowledge
- Ask Debbie for advice
Call Debbie to tell her about your training challenge or project. By the end of your chat, you may have your question answered, or you may decide to ask for more help.
- Book Debbie for an event
If you’re thinking of arranging an event, let Debbie know and she can come up with some ideas.