First of all, can you tell us a bit more about yourself and your role within Iberdeli? 

My name is Rene Karseboom. I am 34 years old and live in Gouda with my family. As a Sales Representative, I am responsible for acquisition and, of course, for selling our products all over Europe. Within my role, I primarily focus on customer management, trying to expand the range we offer to them as much as possible. 

In my spare time, I am engaged in physical sports every day, such as dancing, climbing and cycling. Additionally, I enjoy cooking and like to undertake fun activities with my family, preferably in nature. 

What do you like the most about your job at Iberdeli? 

I highly appreciate the freedom in my job, and it is nice to be part of an ever-growing company, where you get the opportunity to grow along with it. In addition, we have a very close-knit team that takes care of each other. I like that, and it suits me. Last but not least, the annual trade fairs are always fun to experience. 

How do you try to ensure personal contact and service towards customers? 

I always strive to build a personal connection with my customers by communicating with them in their mother tongue. For me, it’s an extra service and customers always appreciate it. I also believe it’s essential to have love, passion and knowledge for and about the products you sell. In addition, I try to be flexible, loyal and transparent; maximum information and interaction is a must for me when it comes to customer relations.

Can you share a fun anecdote with us from your time at Iberdeli? 

I will never forget my first customer visit to a large German company. I had no prior experience with such visits and sat in a very large waiting room for the first time, in my new suit. My host then brought me inside and grabbed the samples I had sent earlier. I was extremely nervous, so sweat was gushing out of my collar and sleeves. 

Fortunately, it all turned out well and it was a wonderful experience. It became even better when, after several visits and communication through various channels, the first major sale of Ibérico and Duroc meat resulted from that visit. It gave me an incredible feeling and motivated me to achieve more successes. Sometimes it works out better than other times, although this is often also influenced by the market.

My colleague Bas likes to draw comparisons to the world of football and always compares my sales pattern to Ruud van Nistelrooij’s ‘Ketchup Bottle Theory’: sometimes you can push and pull at that bottle and nothing comes out, while the next time, huge blobs of ketchup shoot over your plate without you even squeezing. I can relate to that, haha. 

Are you a carnivore yourself and which cut do you like the most? 

I certainly enjoy eating meat; it’s almost a given in our industry. When it comes to beef, my favorite is the ribeye and in terms of pork, I go for the secreto of the Ibérico pig. 

Finally, with which colleague would you like to swap roles for a week and why? 

I would choose Alex, Mike or Jelle. As a driver, you see the other side of the sales process and I would really enjoy seeing how customers react to the product I sold them. It’s quite different from what you experience in the office.