Introducing a product or service of a company that has not yet positioned itself in The Netherlands; how to do that? That was the question the third year students that did the minor Sales last semester had to find a solution to. The three teams with the best sales plans did their best to convince the professional jury of their ideas with the use of strong sales pitches.
“I think that ladies are better at sales”
Naomi Groenendijk and Esther van Deursen from Tio Rotterdam, Isabella Eldering and Julia van der Hoeven from Tio Utrecht and Donna Tancev, Anouk Takkenkamp and Pascale Barmentloo from Amsterdam competed with each other online for a cheque of €500. “Remarkable”, said jury member Willem Dresselhuys, “that the battlefield only consists of ladies. This reflects my personal credo, which is that ladies are better at sales.” This was proven by the girls during their strong presentations, in which each one of them explained why the Dutch market has the potential to realise the high objectives, in particular for their chosen product.
The modern police officer chooses the e-step
The students were free to decide for themselves which company they would like to commit themselves to throughout their minor. Team Utrecht presented the green, lightweight e-step of Xiaomi, ideal for police units wanting to be fast, viable and environmentally conscious. With the possibility to print the well-known police stripes on the steps, the picture of the futuristic police officer was quickly painted.
Mail-terminals and package-towers
Also the team of the Amsterdam campus was focused on the community of the future. Donna, Anouk and Pascale enthusiastically explained how they planned to introduce the automated package pick-up lockers of Cleveron in The Netherlands. An ambitious but also educational trajectory. Donna: “It is so important to think of literally everything, of how to implement your plans or how to convince your client.”
Natural energy drinks are hot
Last but not least were the ladies from Tio Rotterdam, trying to get the natural energy drink Tenzing on the shelves of supermarkets and Kruidvat. Esther and Naomi presented their elaborate sales plan, consisting of the participation in the FaitFair expo and a collaboration with Kruidvat. “The minor Sales learned me a lot as you have to write a sales plan completely from A to Z” says Esther. “Besides all the knowledge you gain, you also learn about sales techniques that can be applied in daily life.”
And the best sales tigers are…
With their enthusiastic story and ambitious but realistic objectives, team Amsterdam won the first prize with their plan for Cleveron. “We are very happy to have won! We were confident about ourselves but of course you can never be completely sure of winning.” And then, what to do with the coveted cheque? “Together we will enjoy our prize during a lovely dinner – as soon as the restaurants are open again!”