I interviewed Patricia on a breezy November afternoon at the Mercure London Bridge. She intrigued me with decades of export experience that I knew little about. Yet, I discovered that proactiveness and personalisation could apply across industries.
Patricia started her professional journey with a Macroeconomics degree in France. Then she studied business with an Erasmus exchange to Germany. Her final year of studies was about international trade, with a placement in London.
For the past 16 years, she has worked at AG Barr. Cross-country experiences and speaking four languages have helped her with her current role. As an export manager, Patricia learned universal principles that she agreed to share.
Building Connections
AG Barr sells soft drinks around the globe. At the core of her job, Patricia has to build connections. These relationships with grocery retailers take years to develop. Afterwards, sellers have to maintain them by adjusting their offerings.
When creating a new connection, Patricia researches the buyer. Her goal is to solve problems potential customers experience. In this business-to-business relationship, customer wants are at the focus. A personal connection between the counterparties is also important. Thus, the initial interaction she makes must appeal to both the buyer and their customers.
Patricia combines online and offline tools when approaching a lead. For example, she could send a personalised product basket to the buyer. At the time of arrival, she could reach out to them via email or phone. A holistic approach can especially help businesses that sell physical goods.
Client Scarcity
In business-to-consumer markets, I often expect the lead supply to be vast. According to Patricia, that’s not the case for soft drinks exports. Lately, the number of grocery retailers per country has been getting close to four or five. Thus, the stakes of the first impression go up. And personalisation becomes even more important.
There are also factors that allow AG Barr to keep expanding its business. First, there are countries they have not yet saturated. Second, grocery retailers shuffle buyers. A new person could be more open to the offers that were not appealing earlier. So if the connection with a client was not strong, a new buyer can introduce a soft reset.
Personalising Offers
Patricia believes that any business deal should benefit both parties. The buyer can provide data about consumer spending. The supplier can bring a selection of products that address demand. The sale could prioritise products that are popular in a certain region. In other cases, the retailer might work with the supplier to develop their unique line.
Proactive steps can help maintain the buyer-seller relationship. Often, suppliers expect changes in consumer trends and develop products for the future. Sometimes, there are opportunities to reuse expertise from one country to another.
Learn more about Patricia at https://www.linkedin.com/in/patricia-brisard-1538664/