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LEARNINGS AND PROJECTS AT NEIGHBORHOOD BODEGAS

The things we learned during our time with bodega owners and workers have helped us in even the biggest industrial projects relating to sustainability or community relations.

 

Not just in sales and marketing.

Street smarts

As part of our wide-ranging work, we have spent long periods of visiting salespeople on their daily rounds.

From dairy salespeople to vendors of fresh produce, pasta, dog food, and luxury car salesmen. We've also built relationships with bank clerks working on loan agreements.

As always, our little Leica M was there to help us get to know people, to observe and, at the same time, to allow us to give photographs to the salespeople and their clients.

To this day, many of these photos

still hang in the bodegas we visited.

We sometimes took a microphone to record the stories of these bodega vendors or their customers, and we later broadcast them on the radio...

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Salespeople, brand ambassadors.

Just having the product, packaging, and a good price isn't enough. A salesman in the role of an ambassador can help create a lasting relationship with the brand. They can deliver a real brand experience.

 

This is what we saw at one cooperative where the customers came to see the vendors as a part of the mystique that a cooperative system can give to an organization.

Cooperativism in sales

At one cooperative, we met a sales team where the spirit was literally one of cooperation. They had breakfast together every day..

Each one worked hard, but at the same time they supported each other, just like in a healthy cooperative.

 

Together they contributed their maximum for the good of the company.

We also saw how a “new” trade policy and a poorly used performance evaluation program can destroy that magic in a matter of months. These are learnings you never forget..

Honest Offers (2+2=4)

Some good news and some bad news. Today, people believe less than what they used to. Sometimes, they don't believe in anything. The good news is that we are all very sensitive to genuine offers, ones that don't contain marketing “tricks” or fine print. We once organized a modest but genuine offer and sales were as good as they are at Christmas.

Being behind the counter

It's a powerful experience to spend the day behind the counter of a bodega. Not only because you learn about sales, but also because you see how people perceive different products. You learn things about human relationships that can help you overcome any challenge.

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SHARED

VALUE

There's a long-held belief that says for one person to win, another must lose. We disagree. Our experience has shown us that you can create projects where both parties win well, and sustainably. There's no need for hidden aces or getting one over on one another.

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We even created this illustration to reflect something that really happens to bodega owners. All salespeople and trade marketing teams offer similar things at the same time.

We learned that far from these techniques being vital, healthy relationships can be established that create true shared value.

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Sales as a job that adds value to society

Once you are able to see sales as something that's important for a society, everything changes. With that understanding, the salespeople are motivated to study their products in more depth and be better at their jobs. They make more sustainable offers. The relationships they establish change, as do their results.

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