Schroders’ push to extend its footprint in the Nordic market has brought new faces to its team. One of the most recent hires has been that of Roope Relander, who was appointed as client executive for the asset manager’s new Helsinki office in May last year. He joined the firm after three years as a client executive at the Nordic banking group SEB. The gig at SEB was his first foray to the sell side as he started his career working an analyst at Nordea to later become a portfolio manager at Veritas, one of the largest pension companies in Finland. “My background and experience on the buy side has really helped me in creating my own brand, because as a sales person you need to be able to add value to the potential as well as existing clients and you have to be remembered by something,” says Roope Relander. “And, of course, it helps that you’re able to go to a specific level regarding the products. Also, to be able to establish a reputation where the clients know that this is a guy who doesn’t waste my time and he’s efficient, can explain the products he’s offering to a detail and understands what I want.”
However, despite personally benefitting from his experience on the buy side, Roope Relander believes this is by no means a prerequisite of being a good sales person. “There are two sides of every coin. I’ve seen people from the sales side who go to the buy side, and that can be though. I’ve also seen people from the buy side who become sales people and they’re not by definition good sales people. And I’ve seen sales people who have only done sales and they’re great sales people. So it’s more about the end result – not the path. There areIf you’re new to Tell Media Group, create an account.
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