Adviseur
Advisor
Works at the Vodafone and Ziggo shop in Almelo
Lives in Borne
At VodafoneZiggo since 2007
"Sales is more than a trick,'' says Martinah Krikke. ''I try above all to be myself: helpful, honest and upright.'' It gets better results than the standard sales techniques, she's notices in the 17 years that she's been an Advisor at Almelo's Vodafone and Ziggo shop. ''Especially in the long term. You gradually build up a relationship with customers and then they keep coming back.''
"So much has changed," exclaims Martinah when she looks back on when she started as an Advisor. "I was only 24 and very apprehensive about approaching customers. I was so nervous. At one metre forty-nine I'm quite small and I would sometimes feel even smaller." Although her height remains unchanged, she has grown tremendously in her role. "I have plenty of confidence now and really enjoy connecting with people." Customer contact, in fact, is what she finds the nicest part of her job.
Visitors to 'her' Vodafone and Ziggo shop like talking to Martinah. "They come out with all sorts. Personal things, too, like the details of an operation." Customers really enjoy their contact with her, as is confirmed by evaluations. "It's wonderful that they feel so at ease; that I instil confidence. A warm relationship with customers is essential to me. As a person and as an Advisor."
How she keeps the relationships warm? "Simply by being myself: genuinely interested, helpful and honest. I listen carefully to customers and try always to offer the best solution in any given situation – even if that means I don't make an immediate sale." If someone walks into the shop with a phone that refuses to switch on, Martinah first sees whether she can get it to work herself. "I would never send a phone straight to the repair shop, but always try to solve the problem for the customer myself first."
"Get-rich-quick types looking for short-term success often end up losing customers," she says, which is why her team focuses on the long term. "We make sure that people feel they've really benefited from their visit and go home so happy that they gladly return another day." The approach yields sales figures that always hit the mark. "Every year, VodafoneZiggo awards prizes to the eight best-performing Vodafone and Ziggo shops; city trips to skiing holidays. We've won prizes several times."
VodafoneZiggo encourages staff who want to get the best out of themselves and deliver sustained peak performance. The company provides full support to achieve those things, too. Martinah, for instance, did an NTI course Perfect Written and Oral Dutch through VodafoneZiggo's Progress for You platform. "I'm dyslectic, which means I tend to make spelling mistakes. That can come across as unprofessional. The course didn't cure my dyslexia, of course, but it worked as a great refresher and helped me a lot."
Besides a good relationship with customers, Martinah gets on really well with her colleagues, too. Within her team – "a handful of super-cool people" – and people outside her team. "We meet at events like training sessions and staff parties. I even got married to one of them! We've been together now for 13 years and have two beautiful daughters."
It's safe to say that VodafoneZiggo means a lot to Martinah. "Here, I've found enjoyment in my work, personal growth and a husband." And the fact that she gets to help people every day is invigorating. "Sure, there are other jobs that give you this kind of satisfaction. I considered studying Social Work or Applied Psychology for a while, but I've always found it far too nice here at the shop ever to leave. I'd rather be an Advisor."
Right now, Martinah is actually more enthusiastic than she normally is. "I've taken on a new challenge, which means I'm working six hours a week more." Together with a colleague, she has recently started coaching three novice staff members – on top of her work as an Advisor. "One of them was almost just as shy as I was when I started," she says. "It's wonderful to see how each of them is taking rapid strides forward. They're well on their way to becoming top Advisors themselves!"
