Grower Martin on Sales Management: ‘We have a real relationship based on trust’

For as long as Martin van der Velden can remember, the family nursery Freek van der Velden has been working with Sales Management at Royal FloraHolland. His current sales manager, Dolf van Heijningen, provides him with important sales information, gives insight into the market and works with him to identify opportunities for growing the business. "Dolf has been with our company for about 15 years now, and we have a real relationship based on trust."

Martin recently took over the pot plant nursery in Delfgauw from his father Freek. Freek van der Velden Nursery, which is increasingly bearing Martin's name, is best known for its potted gerberas. They also supply poinsettias, outdoor gerberas, hellebores and agapanthus.

"We are a medium-sized nursery and have been active in pot plants for over 35 years,’ says Martin. "My father started out in Den Hoorn, growing roses. He then took over the cultivation of pot gerberas from another nursery; pot gerberas are now our main product."

The nursery has been using Salesmanagement for many years. "We chose it because we were relatively new to pot plant cultivation. It was unfamiliar territory and Salesmanagement provided us with the support we needed. That support has always remained; Salesmanagement helps with everything in the commercial field that you have less control over as a grower."

Support in day-to-day trading

The nursery now has its own sales representative. Dolf is no longer involved in sales, but provides support and advice in day-to-day trading. In addition to providing important product information, Dolf conducts market research when Martin has a new product in mind to expand the range. This enables a well-informed decision to be made about whether to introduce this product to the market ourselves.

"Dolf regularly does background checks on customers I don't know yet to see if we can do business with them. Together with our own sales representative, he also takes care of the entire process, from registration and staffing to setting up and dismantling the stand at various trade fairs", Martin continues. "In short, as sales manager, he takes a lot off our hands."

A wealth of experience

Martin finds working with Dolf very pleasant. "What we really like is that Dolf brings a wealth of experience to the table", he says. "He ran his own nursery for 25 years, 23 of which he spent growing pot plants. This gives him an understanding of the business side of things and means he often comes up with useful solutions for our company. He is also well informed about all the latest innovations and changes in the market."

What does Martin hope to achieve with Sales Management? "We are primarily looking for stable business operations and want to create growth through improvement. Dolf helps us with this thanks to his broad market knowledge and the information he provides."

Dolf also regularly visits other growers who use Royal FloraHolland's Sales Management service. This contributes to his broad knowledge and experience of current market developments and the challenges and developments faced by fellow growers. "Hearing the story from the other side is very inspiring. You get different information, which sometimes leads to rethinking."

Relationship of trust

Martin and Dolf have known each other for so long that a real relationship of trust has developed. "Dolf knows the company inside out and really takes on an advisory role. He helps me make good decisions for my business."

Personalised support

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