So what do BDMs really do all day?

Zara Hinds arrives to pick me up in her sparkling company car at exactly the time she said she would.

Precision and being where you are needed turn out to be two key elements of her job as a regional manager for Enterprise Inns.

With an East London patch that comprises 55 pubs, organisation and being able to deal with all manner of problems are also key factors.

Her portfolio includes pubs from the leafy suburbs of Dulwich and City watering holes through to tough community pubs in places such as Peckham. Some are fighting back against the problems facing the trade whereas others, she accepts, are finding the current climate too hot.

It becomes apparent from the start of our day together that she is greatly in demand. As we drive along her phone attachment stays firmly plugged into her ear and it rarely stops ringing. "There are all sorts of people calling," she says. "Internal calls, account managers, the property department, cellars, repairs and of course licensees. The list goes on.

"This job is all about people and relationships and that's what makes it so interesting."

The Porcupine, Mottingham

Our first port of call is to the Porcupine, which Enterprise classes as a suburban pub (the other categories in the 7,500 strong Enterprise estate are neighbourhood, rural and city centre).

Licensee Ted Hedges is keen to tell me about the offer but it's hard to hear a word he is saying because of all the building work going on. One half of the pub is going through a major refurb while the other remains open for business. The pub's main attraction, though, is its garden, with climbing frames, a petting zoo and lots of open space. It will soon have an outside bar to make the most of what everyone hopes will be a vastly superior summer to last year's.

With lots of cash being ploughed in, works going to plan and an enthusiastic licensee, I get the distinct impression I am deliberately being shown an Enterprise success story.

And Ted does nothing to dissuade me from this view. "I can't speak for all area managers but I can say that I have a good relationship with mine," he says. "If I need her she is at the end of the phone. I have got the confidence in Zara to approach her for anything."

It's high praise indeed, but of course not all licensees have the same relationship. The Publican regularly receives calls from those in the trade facing hardships, and pubcos and regional managers often figure high on the list of those to blame. Zara accepts that their reputation is not always as glowing as Ted's reference suggests.

"I have people who I work in complete partnership with and then there are some distressed pubs where they are not particularly willing to work with you," she says. "The ongoing job is to make them see what they could be doing."

From her 55 pubs there was a churn of 10 last year. "It is a challenging time and when the smoking ban came in some people thought 'I have done my time and this is an opportunity for me to retire from the pub game'," she says.

"It is a difficult marketplace. Some people rise to it and other people are really frightened by it."

She adds that her pubs split into three distinct categories - the 10 per cent at the bottom that she labels as in "distress", a top 40 per cent that continue to thrive and 50 per cent in the middle that need that extra bit of help to get them in the top category.

The Hobgoblin, New Cross

The Hobgoblin is one that would figure fairly high up in a chart of Zara's success stories. Mark Harris, who manages the pub for Pubs 'n' Bars, has seen barrelage go up and has capitalised on the big student population in the area.

Today's meeting looks at providing new beer lines, the possibility of using polycarbonates in the soon-to-be-opened garden bar and changing one of the lagers on tap.

Again Mark, who has 10 years' experience, is keen to work with his regional manager.

"When I first started in the trade there was a regional manager and everybody hated him, but when I spoke to him we got on well. I think it is down to how you deal with people. At the end of the day they are here to make the pub successful so it is in my interests to have a productive relationship."

With the phone calls, meetings and various schemes to put in place it is clear there are many elements in the regional manager's job, but how does Zara describe what she does?

"I only started doing this a year ago and it is everything and more than what I expected," she says. "I suppose the best way of putting it is that I deliver individual strategic plans for pubs. My job is to make sure that they are the best-performing pub in their area."

The Ladywell Tavern, Ladywell

To achieve that aim plenty of work needs to be done at the Ladywell Tavern. We meet three men - licensees Charles Michael, Ben Michael and David Montgomery - and a dog, in what is not much short of a building site. A previously unsuccessful pub has been gutted, the bar is currently a big wooden block in the garage, an old bath sits in the middle of the room, the carpenter has gone AWOL and the pub is supposed to be open at the end of the month.

This is where Zara has to start talking tough and putting pressure on the lads to make sure everything goes to plan. Meanwhile, the trio has concerns of their own about energy bills and how the pub will be marketed.

Normally Zara tries to see her pubs every three months but at the end of the meeting it is agreed she will pop round once a week until the grand opening. Co-leaseholder David says: "Whatever job you are doing you need somebody giving you guidance and leadership. Zara has the experience and we need that help."

There are lots of boxes that need to be ticked before the Ladywell Tavern becomes the ale and food pub the group envisage.

Zara says: "I'm not worried. There is plenty of work to be done but I have every confidence in them to deliver."

While the lads set about making the pub Ladywell's finest, Zara is back in the car checking messages and on to the next port of call.