Sales Manager Heini Mäkelä came to the IT sector from early childhood education. Today, she leads Profium’s sales processes while helping to make the company’s expertise visible on LinkedIn.
“I’m responsible for new customer acquisition and for making sure our sales process is high quality. I keep in touch with existing customers, network, and represent Profium at various events,” Heini says. In practice, she takes the sales process from beginning to end in the role of project manager.
One step ahead of customer needs
Profium’s range of solutions is broad. Heini has worked mostly with Digital Archive and Collection Management, and knowing the products well takes both study and close collaboration with the product managers. “You should always be one step ahead of what customers need. When we anticipate those needs, it can also shape our product development. We don’t just sell something ready-made.”
A product manager always joins sales meetings, since they are best placed to answer technical questions. Together they also prepare materials for public tenders and brainstorm ideas around both existing customers’ needs and new customer acquisition.
In a small company, the customer’s voice is heard quickly. In the spring, Heini attended a museum sector event where customers expressed a clear wish. “Customers felt that the AI features in our system are really good, and they’d like to be able to buy them as a separate module as well. We now offer that, directly based on customer feedback.” For Heini, this is a core part of the sales role: listening closely to customers and carrying what she hears back to product development.
From early childhood education to IT
Before her career in sales, Heini worked as an early childhood education teacher and deputy director of a daycare centre. “I realised that I enjoy working with people, but I’m also very goal-oriented.” The idea of moving into IT came almost spontaneously, as the field was quite the opposite to social care. As a child, Heini had done some coding and been interested in the subject.
She began her studies in business information technology at LAB University of Applied Sciences but realised that coding was no longer her thing. Heini switched to business administration and graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration. “I’m happy that I get to work in this field, even though I’m not on the software development side.”
From early childhood education, Heini brought along skills that prove useful in sales every day: strong resilience under pressure, the habit of juggling many things at once, and the ability to connect with all kinds of people. “Every potential customer is different. It’s important to meet each one as an individual.”
For anyone considering a career change, Heini’s advice is to give it a bold try. “If you’re studying for a new degree, it’s worth building connections with working life during your studies and trying out different jobs. When you gain experience while you study, it’s much easier to find a job after you graduate.”
Train journeys are productive working time
Heini lives in Lahti. She works remotely from home three days a week and takes the train to the Espoo office on the other two. She has no fixed office days; instead, they fit around the rhythm of the rest of her life. Anything that can be done on a laptop works on the train, although phone meetings are not possible due to data privacy reasons.
“I’ve booked meetings, and I often manage to finish an entire piece of sales material. You really can get a lot done on the train.”
Making expertise visible on LinkedIn
Heini actively publishes sales-related content on LinkedIn. The spark came from her thesis: she examined the topic from a company perspective. Now she wants to build her own professional personal brand as well. “It has brought me lots of new contacts and conversations. I’ve been able to share my own thoughts and expertise and, at the same time, make Profium more visible. It’s great when that leads to enquiries from potential customers.”
Heini now also leads Profium’s internal LinkedIn project. “We have really strong skills and expertise, but so far it hasn’t been obvious who the key people behind it are. We want to bring that into view. Social media is an important marketing and sales channel these days, so it makes sense to use it.”
Putting strengths to use
For a salesperson, the most rewarding moment is naturally when Profium’s bid wins. Just as important, though, is the impression the customer is left with. “Even if a customer relationship doesn’t come about for some reason, it’s rewarding to hear that our communication has been smooth and that the customer has a good impression of us.”
In Profium’s work culture, Heini values the great atmosphere at the office and the diverse mix of people and expertise. “Here, everyone gets to use their own strengths, and you can have a real say in things.” As her expertise has grown, so have her responsibilities. “I’ve been able to shape what I get to work on based on my own interests.”
Her most memorable moment at work is Profium’s 30th anniversary celebration. “It was so much fun. In true salesperson fashion, I talked everyone into singing karaoke.”
Ringette and parallel parking
Heini’s days stay busy after work, too. In her free time, she drives her 10-year-old daughter to ringette practice and to games during the weekends. The rest of her time is spent with family and keeping active.
Outside of sales, Heini has one more surprising strength. “These days I’m really good at parallel parking. I never used to do it at all, but now I get it right on the first try almost every time.”
