Having spent her career moving between various sales positions — ranging from being a retail buyer in big department stores to converting B2B clients for software solutions –, Kirstin knows that sales are driven by finding the properly adapted way to get through the door.
“Sales is constantly evolving, you have to stay really agile. That was obviously true with the switch from brick-and-mortar to online, but it’s also true when you’re moving between e-commerce, D2C, B2B, etc.”
In some ways, it was her experiences with convincing suppliers to go D2C, using an adapted tech stack that would let them sell via Amazon, eBay and Walmart, that prepared her well for joining the OrderCast adventure.
“Lots of suppliers and warehouses, they were used to shipping pallets, not packages to individuals. We needed to give them a solution that wouldn’t disturb their usual bulk picking processes, that could include an easy-to-use shipping station, a complete offer that let them fulfill orders that otherwise they never would have taken on. But before we could install all that, we really had to convince them that this was a real opportunity to grow their business.”
Kirstin knows that having success in selling a process-oriented solution is about letting the customer focus on what they do best. Similar to what she saw with D2C, at OrderCast that means helping wholesalers focus on the products and fulfillment, rather than spending time processing orders.
“What I really like with OrderCast is the ability to help wholesalers retain and improve their personal relationships with buyers, who have changed in the past few years: they want to buy online, they want easier ways of getting the same great products they’re accustomed to.” She laughs, adding, “And really, who doesn’t want to cut down on their email inbox? Who doesn’t want to get rid of faxes?”
She also likes the idea of aiming at the large SMB wholesale market, providing a solution that is both robust and doesn’t break the bank. As she notes, that understanding of the industry springs from OrderCast’s birth as a solution designed directly within an existing wholesale company during the COVID-19 crisis.
“There are people who have built their own solutions, or there are people using Shopify Plus, but those both get really expensive. The people who haven’t jumped on that bandwagon, I think it’s because they don’t want to spend the time or capital that those solutions require. Since it’s designed by wholesalers, for wholesalers, OrderCast understands how to get the benefits and eliminate inefficiencies without all the costs.”
She closes by noting how fulfilling it is to work with a product that has a clear impact on not only a business’s bottom line, but also its long-term health.
“Today, even if a wholesaler has a long-term relationship with a buyer, the buyer can also go out and find new suppliers on their own. If they’re frustrated with the ordering process, or the wholesaler doesn’t have the product they want, or whatever else, they can get online and do that. It wasn’t necessarily easy to lose buyers thirty years ago, but today it is. So I like to be able to supply not just the product, but a real way for people to strengthen and maintain their business relationships.”
Welcome, Kirstin — your enthusiasm is catching, and we’re excited to see how it works to develop new relationships with OrderCast’s wholesalers! And reader, if you’re inspired and want to be part of the adventure, reach out — we’re currently hiring for multiple positions 🤗
