Announcement — A successful move begins long before packing starts. It begins with understanding what a client needs, being clear about what can be delivered and bringing the right people together to make it happen.
That is the message from Joost Schramme, Santa Fe’s Global Client and Regional Business Development Director, in an interview with FIDI Focus. Drawing on almost four decades in the moving industry, Joost reflects on the lessons that have shaped his approach to clients and the responsibilities that come with earning their trust.
Joost began his career in internal sales, working closely with the people who organised and delivered moves. He learned how quotations, schedules and services came together, along with the practical limits that could affect a commitment to a client. That experience still guides his approach. As he tells FIDI Focus, “Never promise something you cannot achieve.”
For Joost, listening comes first. Understanding a client’s business, the pressures on its Global Mobility team and the needs of its employees helps us ask better questions and recommend the right support. It also means looking beyond a single assignment to the wider goals of a mobility programme.
That thinking reaches every part of the experience we deliver. A corporate client needs clear advice, dependable coordination and confidence that commitments will be met. An employee or family needs timely information, practical help and people who understand what the move means for them. Across Immigration, Relocation, Moving and Compensation, the quality of the experience depends on how well our teams work together and follow through.
Joost captures that shared responsibility in a simple line: “It is our client, not my client.” Sales may begin the relationship, but earning trust is the work of everyone involved in delivering the service.
Read Joost’s interview, “The art of the sale,” in FIDI Focus, issue 323.