Hello everyone, my name is Saskia. I work in the back office at VILLIGER. I’ve had the pleasure of accompanying my colleague Jan for a day in the field. This involved traveling to eastern Switzerland. From rearranging a tobacco-product shelf to visiting major clients, I’ve learned that the work involves numerous different tasks, and every day presents new challenges and experiences.

VILLIGER’s sales department
VILLIGER employs 13 sales representatives in Switzerland to best serve its 7,200 customers. Many of them have been with us for many years and thus know our clientele very well, which is invaluable. On average, our sales representatives visit 12 customers a day in their assigned regions. Their typical tasks include checking the stock, taking orders, presenting products, and reviewing advertising activities.

Unscheduled customer visits are the exception. Our field team plans every trip meticulously, making sure to take the best routes to save time and kilometers. Standard equipment includes cell phones and iPads, and thanks to the new CRM tool we introduced last spring (an interactive database of our customer data), we can keep up-to-date records of all orders and contacts.

Even the purpose of a visit is clearly defined: Our team clarifies questions such as “Which products will be presented?”, “ Does the customer want product training?” or “Can we provide the customer with specific material, such as a humidor, ashtrays, or lighters?” before each visit.

VILLIGER’s sales team performs stock checks and reviews advertising activities
For our customer visit, Jan and I met at a gas station store in Gossau at 9 a.m. and got straight to work. We started by taking a “before” photo of the layout to document the original layout of the products (a stock check is carried out after the layout has been changed).

Jan then explained all the steps involved. Our task in the store was to revamp the entire shelf (cigarillos, tobacco, filters, paper) as the layout needed to be changed. This included changing the height of the shelves, a method that was new to me. I was surprised to see how easy it is to adjust the shelves.

Jan follows the clear guidelines of the new layout, which specifies the position of VILLIGER products on the shelf.

We finished stocking the shelf at around 11 a.m. We also assisted the store assistant in creating the order list, which she didn’t have in the store. While this additional service is not necessary, our customers appreciate it as a little bonus. Once we were done, we took “after” photos to document the results, performed a stock check to confirm which products were on the shelf and in the humidor, and said goodbye.

Our second customer visit involved a major client, during which we performed one of the sales team's critical tasks: checks. We reviewed the implementation of booked advertising campaigns such as TV ads, shelf placements, retail and pop-up displays. Such checks are essential to ensure the agreed advertising activities are implemented correctly. Jan also performed a stock check to ensure all products were presented correctly.

We repeated this procedure with two more customers before we wrapped up the day, and it was time for me to say goodbye to Jan.

"Gaining an insight into the work of a sales representative has helped me as an office employee to get a better understanding of how our advertising materials and products are placed at the POS (point of sale). One thing that made me particularly happy was that all our customers made us – the VILLIGER team – feel very welcome."

Curious to discover the latest VILLIGER cigar range? Or are you looking for a chance to meet in person? Why not visit us at the Big Smoke 2024 or drop by our Celebration 2024 to sample our range of cigars and keep up to date with the latest industry trends? We look forward to seeing you!