Jaime Polo's Blog

In my job at Costa, after visiting different cities throughout Spain, like Zaragoza, Albacete, Bilbao, Santander, I have closed my first sale. It took place in Santander, a big independent supermarket has bought us 6 boxes of 10 briks*, it is a very nice supermarket with exclusive products. I have to point out that our products are positioned in the high quality segment.

Our sales strategy is divided in three steps:

Segmentation: We first segment our possible clients in large chains, small chains and independent supermarkets. In my job our target are independent supermarkets.

Offer: After identifying our target, I visit them and I present our products, as well, I give them a sample.  Since ours is a small company, we cannot afford a large promotion campaign, therefore, we know our products are really good and we usually get new customers by giving them samples.

Lead development and sales close: Afterwards, back in the office, I contact them asking for feedback. I have to say that I closed more sales but our sales conditions made them impossible. Otherwise, I managed to change our sales conditions and now we are able to sale less boxes at the first purchase.

* brik: a Tetra Pak packaging for liquids.

I have had the first meeting with our Advertising Agency. During the meeting I have learned that you must have a marketing plan and a brand strategy. If you don’t have them, you don’t know exactly which are the benefits of your product or brand and who is your target. It is important because, even if it’s on your mind, you must have guidelines and principles which drive you and make you more productive, and, in case of doubt, you can consult them and make a better decision.

Also, I have learned that you cannot exclude potential consumers by insinuating that your product is not for them. It is better to not limit your target and to promote the benefits of your product that may impact potential consumers.