Ben Dietz is the overall supervisor of Mintel, a number one information and analytics firm. The corporate operates throughout North and South America, Europe, Africa, the Center East, and Asia-Pacific.
On this episode of Gross sales Hacker, Ben recapitulates his first days within the firm, the corporate’s core providers, the challenges they confronted in the course of the pandemic and are dealing with now, given the recession and different world occasions. Ben and host Sam Jacobs speak concerning the significance of belief and help in a disaster, each internally and externally. Ben discusses how one can be a practical but motivational chief and the way giving and asking for suggestions is crucial for a supervisor to maneuver his group and operations ahead.
Visitor-at-a-Look
💡 Identify: Ben Dietz
💡 What he does: Ben is the overall supervisor of Mintel.
💡 Firm: Mintel
💡 Noteworthy: Ben started his profession in logistics and provide chain with ConAgra Meals, then moved into provide chain consulting, and finally pivoted to gross sales when he joined Mintel. He has held seven totally different roles throughout two continents via his 14 years at Mintel, throughout which Mintel has tripled in measurement.
💡 The place to seek out Ben: LinkedIn
Key Insights
⚡Enterprise improvement at its core is listening to prospects and giving them what they want.
And the wonderful thing about enterprise, as Ben explains, is its common nature. Whenever you work in an organization corresponding to Mintel that operates throughout numerous continents, you come throughout totally different nationalities and languages, however that variety is an influence, not a barrier. ”For me, being in Europe gave me a heavy increase of confidence as a result of even should you’re talking a unique language with them, you probably have an answer serving to construct their enterprise and serving to construct their private model, you’re onto one thing.”
⚡Transferring up the profession ladder requires openness to taking dangers.
Though Ben attributes his skilled success to luck, his dedication confirms that luck occurs when preparation meets alternatives. ”I’ve at all times been vocal to the board and our homeowners that no matter essentially the most troublesome problem we as a company have at that second, I would like it.” However, he additionally says that his expertise and abilities have been typically not sufficient. Subsequently, he believes enterprise development is determined by the willingness to hunt assist and recommendation. ”Have a way examine, ‘Okay. What I’m doing, is it working?’ Share that willingly with others, but additionally be searching for recommendation from what different organizations are doing. That has been immensely helpful.”
⚡Availability and proactivity result in long-term enterprise partnerships.
Shopper/buyer preferences might change, however one factor stays the identical, and that’s that they wish to know you’re there at any time when they want you. ”We’ve seen when you may have quick response occasions to prospects which have questions or if you don’t, and also you’re being proactive, the outcomes from a retention standpoint, after which the expansion on high, they arrive.”
Episode Highlights
Mintel’s Scope of Companies
”Take into consideration any model that you simply work together with any day — meals, drink, magnificence, or some type of expertise. Any of these consumer-facing manufacturers companion with us to know the tendencies driving shopper habits, which finally drive shopper demand in order that they will be taught and perceive what services and products they wish to innovate.
After which, on the again of these improvements, how do they wish to message these merchandise on the opposite aspect? […] So we assist manufacturers perceive the place’s the market at this time and what they need to be doing about it from their innovation standpoint.”
Belief Is Essential in Occasions of Uncertainty
”I deal with it each day to verify I’ve that belief amongst at the least my administration group, which in fact, can then cascade. In order that they’re proper now protecting me trustworthy on what the temperature of the group is. And proper now, it’s heavy adversity.
I’m making an attempt to take away another distraction or potential undertaking we had that we have been going to have a look at launching or pushing the groups, going via totally different coaching; it’s all arms on deck for the time being.
We have now weathered these storms a number of occasions previously. So, for the time being, what I’m making an attempt to do from a motivation standpoint isn’t essentially engaged on the enterprise as a lot as it is vitally a lot within the enterprise and with the groups; so there’s a way of camaraderie, and we’re all working via it.”
By no means Cease On the lookout for Methods to Help Your Clients
”We’ve obtained 1000’s and 1000’s of folks that we might be supporting. We all know the place we finest win. We are able to simply see which accounts are doubtlessly extra in danger than others. So if the rest, starting out and serving to our prospects as a result of they’re apprehensive [is always going on].
Two days in the past, I joined a name the place it was going to be a constructive dialog. The evening earlier than, that firm laid off 1200 of us. So the dialog, in fact, adjusted fairly a bit. However we nonetheless approached the decision, ‘Okay. How are you doing?’ After which, ’How can we be supporting you and your private model for the time being, but additionally then supporting the broader enterprise?’”
