Santeri Salminen makes sales with the positive energy of an athlete

Sales entrepreneur Santeri Salminen has worked for a long time in the downstream of brand marketing, such as trade fairs and outdoor advertising. A former professional athlete, he has systematically maintained his networks, which led him to WaveCrest to work with the creation and development of brands.

There are some professions that exude the type of energy that is unforgettable from the first meeting. Making a good first impression and being memorable is important to a salesperson, so these skills are honed. When you meet a professional athlete, they tend to exude a sense of purpose and a hard work ethic. Santeri Salminen combines these energies.

The goal was clear in his mind also when Santeri, who had aspirations to become a professional athlete, got into Mäkelänrinne Sports High School. He played ice hockey in Jokerit until his A-junior years, then in Finland's second highest league, the Mestis, in Kiekko-Vantaa and Hyvinkää. During those years, Santeri also studied: professional qualifications as a massage therapist, fitness instructor and high school with a vocational qualification in business. 

His hockey career took him to play in Austria and Florida, where Santeri began even to have dreams in English. The world of professional sports gave way, in Santeri's words, to "adult work" in Finland when he was offered a job as a store manager at Lidl. From the retail sector, Santeri was headhunted to Clear Channel, an outdoor advertising company, to become a development manager, and after six years there, to Messukeskus Trade Fair Center as head of a 13-person sales team. After four years at Messukeskus, it was time to fulfil a long-standing dream: Santeri set up his own one-man sales company.

Networks brought brands to the birthplace.

The new sales company's first customer was the former employer Messukeskus. Soon Santeri also started making sales for the outdoor advertising industry. This year he completed seven years as an entrepreneur. Santeri has always been a networker, systematically keeping in touch with former colleagues, for example. 

"Once a year I would call Päivi Salminen to catch up. This spring, I heard that WaveCrest needed reinforcements for sales, and that I had already been mentioned in that context. I then made the world's weirdest cold call to Päivi Lehtonen, saying hello, you've been talking about me. The world is built on networks."

Santeri has worked for a long time in marketing implementation, trade fairs and outdoor advertising. WaveCrest's clients also get to participate in trade fairs and implement out-of-home marketing, but often clients are helped at the very beginning of the marketing path: in the creation and development of the brand and in the planning of the strategy.

"It's not easy to find a marketing service that we can't provide for a client. We offer practically every kind of marketing you can think of, and we can provide it cost-effectively through a single point of contact and team, so that you don't have to deal with a different partner for each thing. Now is the time for WaveCrest to showcase its brand to everyone in Finland."

Sales go smoothly when life is in balance

Santeri was born in and bred in Helsinki, originally his parents' home district of the Lauttasaari island. Santeri spent his childhood years in northern Helsinki and has now settled with his wife and two children in Eastern Pakila, a great neighbourhood for walks with the dog and the family. Sport is still very much a part of his life. Santeri plays both padel and tennis every week and a little golf in the summer. Santeri has also taken up windsurfing, a sport he enjoyed watching as a child on the beaches of Lauttasaari.

But his favourite sport is still ice hockey. Santeri is already playing his 13th season with the charity team Pietarinkadun Oilers. The team skates twice a week, and over the course of the team's history, their events have raised more than two million euros for children's hospitals. It's a cause close to the heart of a family man whose greatest hopes are naturally for the health and well-being of his children, as well as overall well-being.

"The balance of the whole is the most important thing. I want to stay healthy and fit mentally and physically. It's a balance between having a challenging and enjoyable job, but still having time for family, wellbeing and leisure. The workplace should be one where you feel that what you do is valued, and that makes you feel that what you contribute matters. Sales requires a certain energy, a positive and good vibe."