Meet Olga, Sales Evangelist at Visual Components

Olga has been working as a Sales Coordinator at Visual Components (VC) since June 2018. When she is not busy following up on leads or helping the customers with licensing issues, Olga keeps herself busy with various hobbies. She enjoys going to the gym with her colleagues, and also likes to try different sports such as tennis, volleyball, swimming, and ballet. Currently, she is heavily investing her time in learning Finnish, and has enrolled in courses with frequent weekly classes.

Like other staff at Visual Components, Olga seeks every opportunity to go and explore the world. During this year she has been to Thailand and India, and just a couple of months ago, she had a 10-day road trip to Iceland with her friends.

Olga is also responsible for VC staff’s special occasions and celebrations. She keeps track of everyone’s birthday, sends warmest wishes and prepares cakes on behalf of the company.

How did you end up in Visual Components?

I have been studying in Finland for several years, with my Bachelor’s degree in International Business and Master’s degree in Finance and Banking. I wanted to stay in Finland after graduation, so I started looking for jobs. It was a warm June afternoon when I was scrolling LinkedIn, then a job advertisement caught my eye from a company I had never heard of before.

I found it quite interesting, so I started to research what VC was doing. Thanks to all the videos and images on the website, I grasped the concept of what VC was offering, however, it seemed like a complex product at first. Though I’m not directly from the automation field, still I thought industry 4.0 was an important topic, and the job description matched what I have done before, so I decided to give it a try and confidently applied.

What has made you stay at Visual Components?

I think it’s a great company. People are treated fairly, plus the company takes good care of its employees and their wellbeing. Even if I have concerns, I know that the company will always listen to me and take needed actions to resolve my problems. Working at VC also provides me with great flexibility if I want to work from home or attend some events.

I like that our office is always fun, and I always look forward to coming to work every day. Even if I have a boring day with routine tasks, my colleagues would always make my day better. From time to time, the company also organizes a lot of different celebrations, parties, activities and events, which help bring everyone closer.

(Fun fact: we had the interview with Olga on the day she turned 25!)

Career-wise, working at VC greatly encourages my professional self-development. I receive various tasks from time to time, and there is a lot to learn, especially when the industry was unfamiliar to me. I like learning new things so that I can understand the industry better and assist our customers.

What do you do as a Sales Coordinator at Visual Components?

When I first started, I was mainly responsible for maintenance renewal – subscription fee that our customers pay for on a yearly basis for technical support and software upgrades.

Slowly, I started to handle other tasks in the sales process, such as leads overview, leads follow-up, contacting customers, organizing demos, closing the deals, and assisting customers in post-sale support. There are also various tasks that cannot be grouped into any category, for example checking our support channel and assisting other teams, or attending tradeshows.

Towards the end of the year, I will be taking care of our educational market, to research how we can further expand to universities and institutes. I believe that it is beneficial to learn about great tools while you are still in university, plus our software is very intuitive and comprehensible, which could be easy to use even for students who might have limited technical knowledge.

What does your regular day look like?

I usually start my day checking emails and sorting out customer requests. Later during the day, I continue to follow up with leads. In the afternoon I usually spend some time checking our support system or help schedule product demonstrations with customers. Recently, I have started to research some educational institutions, and draft plans to increase our competitiveness in the educational market.

What is the best part of your work?

I enjoy every part of my work, especially when I receive new tasks and responsibilities. For me, it’s always interesting to have challenges so that you can master new skills. I greatly enjoy going to tradeshows, when I can meet my colleagues from different offices, and speak to customers directly.

VC also has an international working environment, which I enjoy a lot. This is not very common compared to other SMEs in Finland. As both of my degrees were related to international business and I have always wanted to work with people from different cultures, I’m thrilled that I ended up working here.

Do you have a fun fact or favourite anecdote from working at VC?

It’s quite difficult to come up with only one fun-fact or anecdote because I enjoy every little thing about working at VC. For example, I love our lunch breaks, when people just gather in the lounge, have lunch together and talk about random stuff. This is the place where all my strangest ideas could be blossomed and then evolved by other people. Not to mention that it helps me discover new cultures, and get to know my colleagues on a personal level.

In VC, there are many internal events and parties, and my favourite is our annual pool tournament. This is the time when we all spend Friday night together, playing billiard and having fun with our colleagues.

What advice would you give someone who’d like to work with us?

Be yourself, be open and be curious. It’d be great if you have a good sense of humour, as we crack jokes on a daily basis, and I strongly believe that’s how people get along here 🙂

Can you describe in one sentence what it’s like to work here?

It feels like home, and we are a big family!