Communicating with enthusiasm: the journey of Valentina Neri, sales manager at Kiwitron

We interviewed Kiwitron Sales Manager Valentina Neri to explore the business side of the company and better understand the link between technologies, promotion and sales.

Mastery of technical information, transparency of communication and sharing of positive energies emerge as the professional figure of the Sales department of the Sasso Marconi, Italy-based company – as well as from the path of its manager.

Valentina, could you tell us about your career path? Starting from an early period that you think is important.

My goal has always been to communicate with as many people as possible, which is also reflected in my education. That’s why I majored in languages, starting from my high school language path to my degree in languages at the University of Modena. I also complemented my university study with multiple part-time public contact jobs.

Later, language proficiency was decisive in finding my first job. I joined a few months after graduation in the shipping department of OMG – a forklift manufacturing business.

I began to learn about the forklift as a package, learning all about the needs and timing of deliveries. At the same time, the shipping department was also the first reference at the outside for after-sales operations. In that context, I matured a personal line of communication, based on maximum transparency and reliability. It is the same approach that I maintained later when I joined the sales department.

When did it happen?

After almost five years. The experience in the sales department then continued for 6 1/2 years, during which I was able to extend my reach in the market and deepen my knowledge of the technical aspects of the product.

Moreover, at the time of my joining Sales, OMG’s catalog and image were undergoing a real revolution. From standardized production they were moving to a highly customized proposal for the customer. The new sales proposal was meeting my communication style: I could base the relationship with customers on trust in my knowledge and attention to their needs.

Offering customized solutions is an inherent feature of Kiwitron.

What other aspects have impressed you in the new company?

Although Kiwitron was already a supplier to OMG, I met part of its team not until October 2021, during GIS in Piacenza. I was immediately overwhelmed, and pleasantly impressed, by the enthusiasm of the team. During my first visit to the company, I remember immediately sensing a positive atmosphere in the hallways – and this feeling accompanied my decision to join the new position, as Export Manager.

Moreover, once I accepted the offer in Kiwitron, it was a matter of testing additional professional skills: resourcefulness, first of all, to be able to open new markets and pursue business development activities.

In the previous period, I had already become accustomed to completing projects on my own. In any case, I was aware that the context so different from my previous experience, in an electronics and IT company, extremely young and with a recent history, would be an additional challenge and, at the same time, a unique opportunity.

The freshness, cooperative spirit, and speed of transformation at Kiwitron are valuable qualities, which I immediately found adhered to my goals. After almost a year, despite the company’s growth, I can still see decisive changes involving the entire business and teams. Even my role, in one year, has already changed. At the same time, it is still possible to observe step by step the consequences of one’s decisions and commitment, a constant confirmation of the great personal involvement involved in working at Kiwitron.