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CUSTOMERS AND INNOVATION
SALES ACCELERATOR
Jotun achieved significant growth in the decorative paints retail market in the Middle East, India and Africa
by focusing on shop sales staff.
Jotun distributes paints to about 2 000 shops in the Middle
East, India and Africa. To generate sales, the company relies on
dealers, or shop owners, and their staff to recommend Jotun
products. This business model has helped the company achieve
remarkable success; the retail sale of decorative paints represents
about 80 per cent of Jotun’s business in the region. Over the
past five years, Jotun has worked closely with dealers to improve
the condition of their shops to attract more business. At the end
of 2016, the company identified an opportunity to accelerate
growth, particularly for premium products, by focusing on shop
sales staff.
LISTEN, LEARN AND MOTIVATE
While shop owners remain critical partners for Jotun, it is the
shop sales staff, often minimum wage workers, who deal
directly with consumers. In 2017, the company launched a
change programme known as the ‘Jotun Way’ to train and
motivate shop sales staff. The project was divided into three
phases:
• Phase one of the project was to bring shop sales staff
together for workshops, where Jotun personnel could learn
more about their goals and ambitions
• Phase two was to develop a training programme and
motivational tools to engage them
• Phase three was implementation, a roll out of the training
programme to every Jotun branded shop in the region
The two-day training course has four components: Train,
Engage, Motivate and Reward. Shop sales personnel were
trained to “Start every day the Jotun Way” (Mind, Body, Store)
and learned sales methodology. At the end of the course,
shop sales staff received a Jotun Sales Specialist diploma, a
Jotun name badge, a carry bag containing training manuals
(translated into eight different languages), a Jotun branded
polo shirt and hygiene products. To keep Jotun Sales Specialist
graduates engaged, Jotun organises various activities to ensure
they remain motivated.
PROVEN SUCCESS
Since its launch, more than 1 700 shop sales people working
in about 900 shops across 15 markets in the Middle East, India
and Africa have graduated from the programme. To date,
around 300 sales specialists have been rewarded for their
achievements at work. Dealers with shop sales people who have
graduated from the course have achieved significant growth,
compared to shops that haven’t yet participated, making the
‘Jotun Way’ programme one of the most successful change
initiatives for the region.