In this podcast episode, Alexander interviews Josephine Wichmann about her career transition from chef to corporate roles, now leading sales at Fuji, a food startup in Munich. Josephine discusses Fuji's mission to offer fresh, nutritious food via advanced vending machines, particularly for SMEs. She highlights the challenges of selling a physical product and the importance of building client trust. The discussion also covers the sales process, expectation management, and using machine learning for food customization. Josephine stresses the importance of aligning with operational teams to ensure customer satisfaction and reduce churn during trials.

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Questions?

Alexander Kohler:

alexander@sellabl.co

Alex´s LinkedIn

Josephine Wichmann:

Josie´s LinkedIn

00:00 - 00:28 Introduction and weather chat

00:28 - 02:30 Josephine's background in the food industry, her transition to Fuji, and leading a sales team

02:30 - 03:36 Challenges of being the first sales hire at a startup and Josephine's learning curve

03:36 - 05:32 Hiring insights and the founders' decision to bring Josephine on board

05:32 - 07:10 Introduction to Fuji, its mission, and product offering

07:10 - 09:51 Discussion on Fuji's typical customers, sales process, and demo methods

09:51 - 12:34 Target market focus on SMBs, handling objections, and the significance of subsidizing food costs

12:34 - 15:38 Challenges of selling a physical product and educating customers about Fuji's vending machines

15:38 - 17:16 Managing expectations within the sales process and alignment with operations and food teams

17:16 - 19:35 The importance of B2C satisfaction for B2B sales success and handling food subsidies

19:35 - 22:16 Selecting cuisines and using algorithms for optimal food assortment

22:16 - 23:21 Overview of contract terms and managing customer trials

23:21 - 24:01 Handling issues during trials, customer success involvement, and churn rate

24:01 - 25:00 Proactive communication to mitigate operational hiccups

30:12 - 31:57 Discussion on the main revenue drivers for the business, focusing on selling food over leasing contracts.

31:57 - 32:33 Exploring the importance of qualifying customers to ensure profitability, especially in terms of employee numbers and company subsidies.

32:33 - 34:54 Detailing the process of qualifying potential customers and the impact of employee subsidies on profitability, along with regional expansion plans.

34:54 - 36:00 Addressing the go-to-market strategy and the need for alignment between customer support, marketing, and sales teams.

36:00 - 38:23 Describing the alignment processes within the company, including weekly meetings and monthly business reviews, and discussing the transition to a new CRM system to better scale the business.

38:23 - 38:48 Emphasizing the importance of understanding and meeting customer expectations through feedback and tailored solutions.

38:48 - 39:18 Closing remarks and invitation to the audience to connect with Josie on LinkedIn and learn more about Fuji.