Hired as a Business Developer intern for 6 months at Ifectus: was a newly created company in Bruxelles. The startup specialized in Digital User Experiences and innovative payment methods. The founders were working in the banking industry at the same time. Us, 6 interns, were in charge of the daily operations. We were working in an incubator alongside many others. The company no longer exists since 2017.

My main responsibilities were Prospecting, Telemarketing and Face-To-Face Sales meeting. While still being “Green” in the sales world, I became more confident over the phone and improve my sales techniques. As I pitched in from of Entrepreneurs, I figured adopting a “salesman” position was maybe not the most efficient. Instead, I aimed at becoming the “listener/advisor”. There, the collaboration grew more transparent, honest and based on trust. These core values being my own, I was able to improve my social skills and emotional intelligence. I believe that because of it, I went further on my sales-call.

Since 2016 (and even before I gather), selling websites is a particularly difficult endeavor. The competition is very strong and most SME are already equipped with service-providers. As the company’s value proposition was not set in stone, we fine-tuned our services to become more “niche”. Subsequently, this approach granted us better meeting/call ratio. With no listing or leads, I began looking for SME with “weak” digital presence. This audience would have less experience with digital marketing, out-of-date websites and looking for someone to guide them through their digital transformation. My primary concern was to convinced my prospects we were such guides.

From this point onwards, I trained and specialized technically so I could assert my “expertise” more easily to gain trust faster in from of any stakeholder.