29-year sales veteran looks back at her career & discusses opportunities for sellers & the future
29-year sales veteran looks back at her career & discusses opportunities for sellers & the future
In this week's post, I sat down for an interview with Bukky to talk about her career in industrial gases & some of the things that have worked for her post-retirement.
The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
B2BSG: Tell us a bit about yourself
My name is Bukky Popoola. In my mid-50s. Currently residing in Lagos, Nigeria.
I got my Bachelors in Languages in 1988. A diploma in marketing form the university of Lagos in '92 & an MBA with a marketing major in 1998.
I started my career as a marketing officer in BOC gases after my national youth service in 1990. In my first 10 years of service. I worked in several roles from marketing to cylinder and then sales manager. I managed the sales activities in Lagos (the biggest city in Nigeria), including a team of 8 sales reps and 4 agents.
In 2006, I moved on to a customer service manager role. managing customers in Lagos including all channel partners and major accounts
In 2007, I became a key account manager managing the businesses’ Top 40 accounts in the country. I was in charge managing my account base supply chain, accounting & negotiating multi-year supply agreements.
In 2011, I became the Business Development Manager for the company, becoming the only woman on the 9-person management team for over 12 years.
I was tasked with diversifying our product offerings, bundling industrial gases and allied products - regulators, PPE
In 2013, I became regional manager North & West Nigeria. This region controlled about 72% of total sales revenues while managing a 14-man sales team
Then in 2016, I became as the Marketing & Business Development manager for the company. .
I retired in 2019 after a 29 year career.
B2BSG: What do you do now
I'm a full-time industrial gas agent. Essentially I broker, sell and market industrial gas solutions & other allied products - regulators, welding machines, PPE for manufacturers and also medical gases for hospitals.
My experience running my own business has been quite an interesting one. Moving from the corporate world to having my own outfit has been an interesting transition The customers who I worked with in my corporate role, I now work with in my business
Overall the move to entrepreneurship has been a very fruitful experience. I've been able to leverage off the opportunity to expand my business into medical and healthcare. This has come very timely especially with the demand for oxygen during covid.
source: fortune.com
Referrals play a long way in sales. Customers have introduced me to other potential customers, sometimes even competitors - where there's a product fit. You have to understand that People move around, so the buyer who works in company x could be the purchasing head at company Y.
B2BSG: A lot of sellers have encountered sales fatigue during the pandemic . How do you recommend they get over this hump
Covid-19 has changed the landscape for a lot of jobs. Working from is not easy even for other roles within the organization.
Sales roles are a lot less interesting if you can't travel to customers. I think there’s where the fatigue is coming from. The fact that we are stuck at home and immobile can make the role boring and monotonous. I think you would find the same with other roles to be honest.
My advice to sellers is:
Take up the challenge for now. Understand this is temporary and won't last forever
Make sure you are educating yourself. double down on product knowledge, learn new skills in the marketplace
Keep attending to, and supporting customers even while at home. They won't forget!
B2BSG: What has been most effective for you in your sales career
Empathy for my customer. Putting myself in my customer shoes has allowed me build genuine connections with my buyers.
I've also been in this industry for 30 yrs, I know the product in and out and I'm very comfortable talking about it in detail. I also rate customer satisfaction high on that list too. That's the unspoken part of the job that keeps buyers buying
B2BSG: Possible career paths for sales reps
In my time, I've seen a lot of my colleagues do different things after moving on from sales. I am a broker/agent. Others have gone into entrepreneurship and own their own companies. Some have gone back to school for MBAs and others gone on to lecture in academia.
The possibilities are endless.
B2BSG: How have you been able to set yourself up for your next career moves
I’ve always been entrepreneurial inclined, so the moment I got into the company, I started thinking of my exit.
Great performance is a good place to start. I capitalized on all the training opportunities afforded me. Because I worked for a global company, I had to opportunity to participate in a lot of management exercises with staff from all over the world at our South Africa head office. This came in handy in retirement.
I doubled down on forming great relationships with my customers. my old customers advocated for me and were the first to patronize my business
Like mentioned earlier, exceptional customer service has my clients still asking for me after I've left my corporate job. Funny story, a customer actually recommended I start getting involved in the gas business. I was going to be doing something entirely different after retirement.
B2BSG: What's your outlook on sales & the future
Looking forward, sales roles are going to be lot more challenging that before. Remote selling & Digital marketing has really come to the forefront and I can see it minimizing the need for a physical selling presence.
The future seller should be technologically inclined. Part of your leverage would be your use of technology to market products & appeal to prospective buyers.
Double down on your product knowledge and make sure you can share all of the advantages and savings buyers can get from using your product. These are some of the ways to gain an advantage in a marketplace where buyers can't feel or see the product anymore
B2BSG: Any advice for sales reps out there
In a sales role, you're essentially working for yourself. The customers you deal with today are going to be your advocate in the future. They will follow you wherever you go and you can be sure they will patronize you in whatever endeavors you pursue.
My advice for sales reps:
Treat your customers well
Try your best to meet their needs and even if you don't find the best way to hand it off
Don't ignore calls or requests from your customers. Show empathy and be kind
Meet their expectations, often times, surpass it if you can
Connect with Bukky on LinkedIn
Did you find this blogpost helpful. For more content like this:
Connect with me on LinkedIn
Subscribe to receive more content like this in your inbox
Like, comment & share this post with a friend
