meet the experts – Andrew Walker de la Flor

‘ We’ve got your back ‘

Not that we have a Greatest Names In The Company competition, but he might just win it if we did. Andrew Walker de la Flor, just saying it makes you smile, right? Having said that, it was a case of pure coincidence that Andrew started working for Ynvolve. ‘ I was born and raised in Peru, but when I turned 25, I decided to start backpacking around the world. A year, maybe two. I went to Africa, Asia, Europe and ended up in Holland. ‘

It was a place he decided to stay in for some time. So now he needed a job. The first shot he took was at this Nijmegen-based company that was looking for a Spanish-speaking sales rep. ‘It was my first interview in Holland, but it worked out. And I’m still here, at Ynvolve, five years later. ‘

 Not bad for a guy with absolutely no interest in IT: ‘My professional background is actually business administration with a specialty in agribusiness. Plants basically, which are quite the opposite of IT. ‘

That changed quickly, Andrew says: ‘If you’re into sales, I think you need at least some interest in what you sell. Because part of what you do is convincing people. And how can you convince people of something if you don’t believe in it? How do you convince them if you’re not interested in it? That’s why I think you have to be passionate if you take on this job. Don’t get me wrong: You can be a good salesman without knowing about IT, but if you are knowledgeable about IT, you will reach a different level of what you can achieve with your clients and how you can truly help them. It allows you to have a different type of conversation with people. It’s no longer about getting them to buy some machines; it’s about explaining why that machine is the best for what they are trying to achieve. And maybe offering them an even better alternative. ‘

That kind of confidence doesn’t grow overnight. ‘It took me a year to really grasp the knowledge that opened different doors for me. Not that I was doing bad before, but I definitely was still learning and understanding; I had to check in with the tech team a lot. It took me three years to confidently offer alternative solutions to my clients, to be able to answer their questions on the spot. ‘

But building a trustworthy relationship with your clients is more than selling gear and answering questions. Andrew says: ‘We are truly interested in our clients. Of course, we try to get them the best for their buck, but finding out what they want to achieve with a machine is even more important. Tell me about your project so I can offer you equipment that works out just as well as the gear you were looking for – or even better. Probably even for a better price. ‘

So there it is The Price, the holy grail of salespeople worldwide. Right? Not always, explains Andrew: ‘There will always be companies around that can offer the client a better price than ours. And that’s fair enough. But what happens when those guys no longer have the equipment in stock? Or when the client needs support? What happens if the machine does not perform like they expected it to perform? That’s when our clients realize we actually know what we’re talking about. Our technical knowledge is a huge advantage compared to that of others. ‘

 Another advantage, Andrew says, is our perseverance. ‘If a client needs a product, we always try to get it. Even if other companies fail to do so, if we don’t have it in stock, we will look for it everywhere, no matter if it’s in the United States or Hong Kong. We’ll look and get it for you in a couple of days. How? We do not rely on our stock only, we’re not a webshop. And we are not just a supplier, we are a partner. So we just make it happen by leveraging our worldwide network. I think that’s something that many of our clients feel: they trust what we do and our service. That’s why clients stick with us. We are accountable. We’ve got your back. ‘