I lead Energy as a Service sales project development
My name is Leo Toivonen, and I lead the sales project development function in Finland.
Our sales project development team’s goal is to establish new long-term partnerships with our customers. This involves fine-tuning tailored energy or processing solutions together with our excellent concept function and negotiating long-term service agreements with our talented legal team.
Sales work at Adven requires excellent problem-solving skills and an eager eye for spotting customer development opportunities. It’s important for salespeople to internalize the philosophy of solutions selling because Adven applies a partnership approach to selling tailored energy service solutions to customers’ identified needs. The partnership model is also called Energy as a Service®.
The solutions involve investments of up to tens of millions of euros, so they must be carefully planned, with a crystal-clear picture of the customer’s need in mind. Solutions selling requires patience, as the development of major projects can take several years.
I could describe Adven’s salespeople as investment directors, with the sales process being largely about how Adven implements and finances the investments.
Large investments require discipline and perseverance. Since we invest in our customer companies’ business, it is important for the overall concept to have the approval of all parties involved. If catching a big fish is what fires you up, this is the right place for you.
In long sales projects, every step forward is motivating!
From management consulting to sales leadership
Having studied energy technology and economics at the university, the sector, the market and Adven were all familiar to me.
I got to know the company better in my previous job as a business consultant in the energy sector. I enquired about open positions and ended up being hired by Adven, even though there were no vacancies at that time. My initiative was rewarded, and now I can look back on almost seven years at Adven.
I started as a project developer and in sales management support. I assisted sales managers in various computational, background and reporting tasks, while also actively participating in customer meetings. In less than a year, I was given more responsibility and was promoted to Sales Manager.
As a Sales Manager, I managed Adven’s various sales projects in Finland and abroad. During the half decade in that position, I successfully built new partnerships and finalized multiple new service agreements with different energy technologies from boilers to heat pumps.
Opportunity for career development
As an employer, Adven supports an individual’s professional growth and in autumn 2023, I was offered a fascinating opportunity to lead my own sales team. I had earlier expressed my desire to advance in my career toward leading other eager energy industry professionals to succeed.
In my current role as a Director, Sales Project Development I lead a team of skilled sales project developers. My team focuses on Adven’s Finnish sales strategy execution.
Our Sales Project Development team coordinates all stages of the sales process development. It means aligning concept development work with sales development work and being responsible for customer communications, sales presentations and subsequent service agreements negotiations together with legal function.
Even though I have new responsibilities as a team leader, I have not set aside my daily work. I still engage in sales work myself and I have assigned projects to manage and develop. At Adven, we work hands-on and it’s great.
What attracted me to Adven in the first place was the company’s boldness, aspiration to grow and confidence in the future enabling our customers to improve their environmental footprint and reach sustainability targets.
A salesperson is a solution seeker
I work together with several stakeholder groups. I discuss the big picture and the strategy with our customer companies’ managing directors and board chairmen.
My discussions with production and plant managers often revolve around improving the plants’ daily performance and achieving the environmental and financial targets set for production.
Within Adven, my team and I collaborate especially with concept development to find the best solution for each customer.
The best things about my job are continuous learning and continuous changing nature of the business: every day is different. My job also gives me the opportunity to step outside my comfort zone – just as I like it. I always say yes when I’m offered the chance to speak in public, because then I always learn something new.
Leading others involves also learning new things and finding the best solution for my team members to succeed. I’m constantly evolving as a leader. I would describe my leadership style as coaching with the aim of supporting and motivating my team members to grow professionally and achieve results.
Adven as a company has outstanding growth prospects. It feels important to get to witness, from an excellent vantage point, how climate change challenges and energy issues are addressed for real.
Our salespeople, together with our customers, are at the forefront of creating energy solutions of tomorrow and, with that, more sustainable industrial production.
Instagram
Youtube
Linkedin
Newsletter