Country
From local F2F sales to digital business anywhere
Milla Kosonen believes in long-term partnerships. And she practices what she preaches; in fact, she has worked at AXA Partners in Finland for 13 years. Let’s go back to when AXA Partners first arrived in Finland – and examine how the market and insurance business has changed over the years.
Milla Kosonen
Account Manager, AXA Partners Finland
AXA Partners established its presence in Finland in 2015, when AXA acquired Genworth Lifestyle Protection Insurance and began operating under the AXA Partners brand in the Nordics. Milla Kosonen joined Genworth in April 2008 and witnessed already then the business expansion to, for example, China and Latin America. “When I joined the company in 2008, we had approximately 30 people working in Finland. Today, we employ 111 people. In Helsinki, we have the Nordic Service Centre and the travel business launched with the creation of a brand-new team”, says Kosonen. “The AXA brand itself is not that visible here in Finland, since we work in the B2B2C space, which means developing products under a partner’s brand. But across Europe, the AXA brand is very well known”, notes Kosonen.
“When I joined the company, I started as a trainer, travelling around Finland to meet clients face to face in order to train our partners about our products and to help them succeed in meeting sales targets. Today, however, many of our partners operate across the Nordics. My work as an Account Manager has also broadened to include pan-Nordic co-operations and I work closely with our other Nordic and European colleagues. I am based in Finland, but we really have an international atmosphere here”, says Kosonen. “When working with banks, digitalisation is the biggest change. We need to examine how we position ourselves and how to create customer journeys online for our value propositions. We always aim to tailor our products to suit client and end-customer needs. We have to make it as easy as possible to sign up for a product – and to understand them”, comments Kosonen.
“Some of our clients have been with us for decades, and over time we’ve really gotten to know their organisations and challenges. A client relationship is like a marriage. It requires hard work and commitment to make it great. To me, delivering on promises and achieving consensus with partners are the foundational building blocks of this relationship”, says Kosonen. “The people at AXA Partners are really great. I’ve also had the opportunity to work with many different clients and partners and to be a part of their business transformation. I get inspired when our partners succeed and the insurance products we’ve created together truly help their customers in difficult times. I would say that AXA Partners is a unique insurance company with a fantastic international atmosphere. This is one of the reasons I’ve been here for such a long time. There are also opportunities to learn and explore other roles within the company. If you’re curious and open-minded, the sky is the limit”, concludes Kosonen.