She's fashionable, female and knows forklifts. Although it's still a man's world when it comes to the materials handling industry, particularly in the sales arena, Juliet Elidemir is one of a growing number of women challenging the status quo.

Based in Melbourne where she was born and bred, Elidemir is at the start of her sales career with one of the country's foremost forklift dealerships, Toyota Material Handling.

She believes the company is one of the few progressive companies in the industry which recognises the need to actively promote female participation within their sales teams.

"There is some resistance by clients initially because they don't think women know anything about forklifts, but once they realise how much knowledge I have about the product, they're more than happy to speak to me about their requirements.

"I do more research than most salesmen on the products I offer so that I'm well prepared to recommend and provide solutions in line with my customers' needs."

Although the forklift industry is a new arena for her, Elidemir has been involved in sales for over 15 years, first in makeup, fashion and retail, before moving into property.

Forklifts are a lot more of a challenge to sell, she admits, but says she's excited about the opportunity to break into a man's world and prove she's just as good.

"You need a thick skin to get over the bad days, a fairly technical mind to understand the different components involved in a forklift and common sense - the rest is just a sales process," she tells Forkliftaction.com News.

When she's not making an impact on the sales scene, Elidemir confesses that she's somewhat of an exercise fanatic.