Sales Maestro
When reflecting on his career, Norex Sales Director Kaj Koskinen starts by rewinding back in time. “My father was an entrepreneur in this industry. From there, in the 80s he moved to what was then the Haaga Institute as a teacher and built a long career there. Since I couldn’t come up with anywhere else to study back then, I was forced to apply there,” Kaj laughs. “I ended up studying hotel and restaurant management.”
The path led to internships and summer jobs in hotels. The travel agency Olympia, run by a family he knew, also employed him for several years. “After walking those roads, I ended up in this scene—at what was then Maxxium—as a sales rep, doing duty-free sales work for ships and the airport,” Kaj recalls.
Over the years there were plenty of mishaps that are funny now. “A colleague and I were on a Tallink ship, in port, training the ship’s staff. At some point I felt movement and asked the restaurant manager if the ship was already moving. And it was! There we were, standing there without tickets or passports. It did annoy us a bit, but then my colleague and I went to Tallinn,” Kaj chuckles. “The restaurant manager got a fair amount of flak when it turned out there were stowaways on board.”
After travelling around in sales on ships—from Tallink Silja all the way to Eckerö Line—it was time to look for a new sphere. “I ended up selling professional cleaning equipment for Vileda Professional. That also connects to the restaurant business in its own way, because there I took on the HoReCa sector for them as a new area of focus. On top of that, I also handled my own sales territory in Eastern Finland,” Kaj recalls.
After a few years, the salesman’s itch returned and the desire to move forward grew again. “It happened nicely that I saw on LinkedIn that Norex was looking for a Product Manager. I’d met Tumpi in these circles before. As we talked, it became clear that he had another role to offer—handling HoReCa accounts: restaurant chains and wholesalers needed to be taken over. On top of that, the duty-free business I already knew was part of the package. It was a great position for me. And that’s how it started.”
Solutions Seller
“In the end, I drifted into sales work almost by accident,” Kaj reflects. “But I’ve always felt that I’m good at it. It’s rewarding. It’s easy to measure, because if the numbers change and grow, you’ve probably succeeded.”
Kaj believes that in sales, things ultimately always tie strongly to customer relationships and the solutions delivered to them. “I don’t feel like I’m selling Norex products, but solutions,” he says. “From the same region you might get several red wines made from the same grape—very similar in style and just as good. The point is that instead of selling that one red wine, we sell a complete service and solution that means more to customers than that one specific individual product.”
Even though 10 years have already passed at Norex, Kaj isn’t thinking about greener grass on the other side of the fence. “This isn’t finished. We just clarified our strategy, strengthened our values and communicated them more strongly outward. There are lots of plans and work to do. There’s still more to offer and opportunities to grow. That motivates me too, when good things happen and sales and the sales team succeed.”
Kaj is happy with his employer, which he feels has enabled things through which he has gained freedom and responsibility. “Along the way there have been successes that have allowed me to show my value. My own job satisfaction is strongly tied to my manager. Of course, our company culture and the way we operate also suit me, and I believe in them. Naturally there are bad days too, and you don’t come into the office in a good mood every day. That’s why colleagues and the community matter enormously,” Kaj says appreciatively. “To put it bluntly, I could just as well be selling screws—it’s ultimately just sales. Everything around it… that’s the thing.”
