Lindström Finland selected as the best sales organization in 2018
Lindström Finland is the winner of The Best Finnish Sales Organization competition organized by Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences (a well-established sales educator and trainer in Finland). The award was published on Thursday 14 March and was collected by Sales Director Merja Ilvonen and Demand Generation Manager Helena Kujanpää.
“The selection was based on, among other things, investing in customer-focused and innovative sales, sustainability and digitalization. Lindström has also successfully built sales models for different customer segments and different services. The company’s business has been profitable for years.
The best sales organization in Finland 2018 Lindström Oy operates responsibly, doing long-term business. The company does not seek for quick profits but is managed in a responsible manner from the customer’s point of view. Customer focus and customer success are always at the heart of the company’s sales. Lindström has also invested heavily in environmental responsibility. The company has a broad social impact and engages other companies in the debate about the future of business and sales, by participating in various events. Lindström is at the forefront of developing digital solutions such as IoT, digital sales channel and augmented reality.
The winner organization is successful in many ways, and the success can be seen also diversity of people and a variety of salespersons.
As sales educator and trainer, we want to highlight the fact that sales work is demanding task and it is suitable for different kinds of people,” says Timo Kaski, Head of R&D at Haaga-Helia.
Lindström emphasizes its operating culture and values, and collaborative way of working is strong, including between sales and marketing for example through marketing automation.
“We are really proud of this recognition. It is important for us to be responsible player. We have a long history, but still a modern company. We also want to increase the success of our staff. They do not have to close million-euro deals, but they can also make our current customers happy. We want to make both customers and our staff happy every day. We have even launched a new role as a customer lover in Finland. It reflects our set of values and how valuable we see human encounter, both staff and customers,” says Lindström Finland’s Sales Director Merja Ilvonen.
“We are the customer’s everyday facilitator and we are constantly developing various digital solutions, such as smart-technology toilet facilities or a mat web store, where customers can easily buy mats as a service. We are pioneers in the circular economy, and the long lifecycle of our products is what we are proud of. We are constantly developing ideas for giving a second life to the out of use textiles, and most of the textiles go to reuse and even to charity,” says Helena Kujanpää, Demand Generation Manager of Finland.
The Best Finnish Sales Organization competition
The Best Finnish Sales Organization competition aims to promote Finnish sales culture and help companies to develop their sales activities. The competition is open to all companies and requires online registration and refilling a questionnaire. In the renewed competition, the capability of organizations is assessed through seven areas of sales. The winner is selected based on self-evaluation, sales interviews, and customer interviews.
The winners in previous years has been Vainu (2017), Asiakastieto (2016), 3 Step IT (2015), Elisa Corporate Customers (2014), Canon (2013), SKF (2012), DHL Express (2011) and Martela Finland (2010). The competition is organized by Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences.