Konica Minolta wins European Sales Company Award

Every year Konica Minolta elects the company in the group with the best sales results. In 2009 Denmark was the winner led by Sales and Marketing Manager René E. Rolandsen.

We have asked René E. Rolandsen to reveal how he has achieved the impressive results. He says:

In my opinion it is essential that sales and marketing work very closely together. In our company marketing asks the salespeople what they want. That creates a good atmosphere; it makes the whole team work together in a better way and creates the necessary commitment to campaigns. This produces much better results.

René E. Rolandsen has been Sales and Marketing Manager at Konica Minolta since 2006, and he has implemented quite a few changes during his time. Among other things he has created a more positive environment in his team. It's easy to see where that comes from. René E. Rolandsen glows with enthusiasm, and it is a well-known fact that enthusiasm is contagious.

René E. Rolandsen says:

Success doesn't come by coincidence. It takes a determined effort and the attitude that we are working together to reach the goal. We have created a culture where customers are "ours" - they do not belong to the individual salesperson. That is why our position as no. 1 is first and foremost the result of a team effort in a constructive atmosphere. It is all about turning positive attitudes into actions.

The Key to Successful Selling

René E. Rolandsen has supported the constructive team culture of his salespeople with training in 'The Key to Successful Selling" from LADEGAARD. Konica Minolta chose The LADEGAARD System after an invitation to tender to several suppliers of sales training.

René E. Rolandsen found that LADEGAARD and The LADEGAARD System were different. He did not want more of the same, which they had tried so many times before. At LADEGAARD he found values that corresponded to his own, so the fundamental philosophy was in alignment with his own view on how best to motivate his team to achieve outstanding results. He says:

At LADEGAARD we found a system where we really get our money's worth. All the salespeople use ‘The Key to Successful Selling' every day. They remind each other about what they have learned and give each other good advice, so they can get out of the rut if things aren't going as they had expected. The LADEGAARD System supports a positive team culture and is instrumental in turning attitudes into daily actions. That has strengthened the work of all our salespeople.

Learning Manager

Konica Minolta is very pleased that they can follow the development of their salespeople through the Learning Manager which is part of the LADEGAARD system:

I can see for myself where the salespeople's strengths and weaknesses are. For instance we have trained in dealing with objections at www.successfulselling.info We have also trained in using travelling time to prepare for meetings by visualizing the meeting or maybe have the dialog with yourself before you get to the meeting with the customer. In that way your work becomes more targeted and focused.

René E. Rolandsen is happy that training with 'The Key to Successful Selling' is a daily process which along with the strengthened cooperation between sales and marketing gives significant results. When asked what Konica Minolta's next goal is, he is quick to answer: To stay no. 1!