For the last two weeks, I have been under the wings of Katya Kalinina and Andreea Manaila in the Sales Department.

 

It was an intense time getting to grips with the systems they use and even trying my own hand at being a Sales Representative, but a lot of fun!

 

I started first with familiarizing myself with their sales working instructions to gain a better understanding of their responsibilities and remits within BeFlexi. This was followed by a crash course in the two sales systems they use: SAP and Zoho CRM. Of course, this training wouldn’t be complete without Incoterms (International Commercial Terms), which give the various options available to allocate costs for each party involved in the transportation of cargo.

 

Once I got the hang of using these systems by creating sales quotations and importing customer, partner and lead information, I was thrown in the deep end.

 

I was asked to do research on companies specializing in the production and export of olive oil – and subsequently, wine – in Cyprus and Greece. I then had to make cold calls to these companies, present BeFlexi and the flexitank solution, and discuss a possible cooperation. It was my first time doing cold calling so naturally, I felt a little nervous, but as time passed and as I spoke to more people, I became used to the phone calls.

 

I also had the chance to participate in the sales meeting where we talked about all the latest developments and analysed information they took from a business trip during the week.

 

Overall, it was another very insightful experience. My biggest learning was around the cold calling. Even though having to make lots of calls to strangers made me a bit nervous, I realized that, when you have a good understanding of your company, communication with others about it becomes much easier. Preparation is key!

 

This week, I’m with the Operations Department to discover more about what happens behind the scenes.