Have you missed face-to-face meetings that were such an essential part of a salesperson’s daily life before COVID-19? I have, and that’s why I decided to start a new tradition: once a month, I head to Helsinki to meet new and old contacts!
I took action one Wednesday during February. I immediately got to have both lunch and coffee meeting to discuss the recent challenges and opportunities in sales work. It was really nice and rewarding to have conversations and get to know people in person, whom I had previously only talked to through a screen. Many thanks to Timo Tuomi from Management Events for the lunch company and Lauri Virkkunen from Finest Talent for the coffee talk!
In the afternoon, it was a pleasure and an honor to represent KOUD at the Sales Director’s Afternoon event organized by MyyntiKollektiivi. There were interesting speakers for sales directors on current topics such as the challenges of prospecting, leadership development, pipeline management, and coaching sales skills. Finally, there was the crown jewel of such events, the sparring circles, where we got to discuss and exchange thoughts on given themes in small groups. I chose the workshop focused on prospecting, where we, along with other sales directors interested in the topic, discussed the challenges of prospecting and the most useful tools to best facilitate and manage the identification of potential customers.
Perhaps the most interesting single highlight was from Ted Bragfeldt of Lime, about how B2B buyers spend their time during the purchasing process. And how too little or too much information can both be obstacles to realizing sales.
It was definitely worth attending, and let’s see what I come up with for my trip to Helsinki next month! If you want to meet and exchange thoughts, send me a message by email, LinkedIn, or even give me a call, and we’ll find a suitable time. I look forward to new encounters!
Olli Ikonen
Head of Sales
