André Engels has supported some of the most recognisable brands both in direct selling and beyond. While at Vorwerk/Thermomix, he was part of the team that turned around the German market, transforming it into the largest country operation in the business.
After founding his own sales consulting company in 2012, one of his first projects was to work with Lindt, where he designed a B2B direct selling model that now generates €35 million in turnover with just 30 people and at a margin that outstrips its mass retail channel. Since 2014 after joining GENIC he has delivered more than 84 sales projects. He has also worked with AMC, KitchenAid, B/S/H (Bosch Cookit), Brita, Sofatutor, Vodafone, Bofrost, Allianz and even pioneered one of the first direct selling systems for e-bikes in Germany before most people had ever considered an e-bike a serious purchase.
Typically businesses want to have a conversation about what he calls a “sales challenge”. “Tell me about your sales challenge and together we will find a solution” says André.
A common problem is flawed sales compensation. Working with a waterpurifier company, André identified that the company’s highest-paid salesperson was actually their weakest performer – generating large revenue figures, but only by selling to existing customers at heavy discounts, with no new business development. Their best performer, the one bringing in genuinely new customers and building the future pipeline, was being underpaid. With Andre’s guidance the compensation model was restructured to reward the behaviours that actually drive sustainable growth.
Another recurring issue is channel conflict – when businesses launch direct selling alongside retail or online channels and the channels end up competing against each other rather than complementing one another. Andre and his Genic partner Peter solved this for B/S/H by designing a sales model incl. commission model that mapped value across the entire customer journey. Every touchpoint from the lead, the demonstration, the close, to the after-sales was assigned a value, and the channel that contributed to each step was rewarded accordingly. This resulted in a sales force motivated to collaborate and document their activity.
André has his own AI-assistants – he built his own AI-powered software to help clients with efficient sales reporting, a customized map showing territory coverage, identifying potential customers, and optimising sales force deployment. For the customer, this means knowing exactly how many sales people are needed, where they should be focused, and what the growth potential of each area looks like, all in real time.
It’s important however to be clear about where AI helps and where it gets in the way. AI is a powerful support tool for analysis, reporting, forecasting, and early identification of performance trends for example flagging when a sales advisor is heading for trouble before the numbers turn red, allowing proactive coaching ahead of a problem. He draws the line when it comes to replacing human connection. In a relationship-driven business such as direct selling, he says that “Generic AI-generated outreach simply doesn’t open doors whereas personalised, intelligent human engagement does, supported by smart tools and not replaced by them.”
Andre says, “Our strength is supporting direct selling businesses facing a growth plateau, channel friction, a compensation plan that’s hampering the business instead of driving it forward, or enhancing a sales team that needs better tools and processes.”
It is this hands-on mentality, the cross-industry depth, and the creative pragmatism to move the needle that clients appreciate, adding real value to their bottom line.
To find out more email info@meridianmmi.com or connect with Andre via LinkedIn.