Keeping our Buyers happy is core to us LibDibbers and no one does a better job than Helene Venegas, LibDib’s VP of Innovation Sales and Customer Service. Helene spends her days looking for new opportunities in e-premise and e-commerce, as well as managing our awesome customer service team. And she’s also A LOT of fun!
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This week we let you into the world of all things Helene.
What do you do for LibDib?
My current role is VP of Innovation Sales and Customer Service. I basically oversee Innovation Revenue, which is our main sales channel. We help Partners and Buyers on product curation, so I search for new opportunities in the rapidly growing e-premise and e-commerce channels. Since both of these areas are taking off, I have opportunities coming in from all directions, which is exciting. Buyers who haven’t been working in the online space have this urgency to catch up, and I love helping them get set up and gain access to the products they need. We help them add unique offerings to their online stores which is rewarding for us and our brands .
On the customer service side, we had a growing need to provide information to Buyers, to get them online and provide access to products. I challenge my team to always keep Buyers happy by getting to know what they need, highlighting new products they might be interested in, etc. I also alert them of new opportunities like the LibDib Barrel Market. Really it’s about helping Buyers modernize the way they procure for their customer base.
What is your background?
I hold a degree in Business Management. I have always gravitated to small companies because of the direct impact it allows me to make on processes and success. My passions are building connections that spur creativity and relationship building. I love seeing how relationships that I’ve built affect the bottom line. Trust is critical in any deal, especially when change is involved. At LibDib I work with our customers to build that trust together as we modernize the three-tier system.
What brought you to LibDib?
I knew LibDib’s CEO, Cheryl Durzy, from another company I sold for and I mentioned I was looking for something new. I was inspired by her excitement around modernizing something that hadn’t been working for her. It was intriguing to be part of a big change in such a small arena. Also, I live in Silicon Valley, so to be a wholesale alcohol distributor and a technology platform was super interesting. Not something that I had heard of before. It made sense and I thought she could be on to something. She saw my sales abilities, I saw her excitement and we decided to work together.
What’s your favorite part about working at LibDib?
Affecting processes and making our mark on modernizing alcohol distribution. I also love the speakeasy bar in our office. I’ve never heard of a speakeasy that I didn’t want to visit and well now I don’t have to go far, we happen to have one!
I also love the opportunities for people to grow at LibDib. It’s risk-driven and we have a lot of go-getters. You can watch the evolution of a person’s career by allowing them to be creative and affect the process.
If you could have a drink with one person in all of history who would it be and what would be your libation of choice?
Brene Brown. I love her guidance that if your life feels really hard, look at how you love yourself and everything will start to fall into place. Also her approach to self compassion. I love her quote, “Yes, I am imperfect and vulnerable and sometimes afraid, but that doesn’t change the truth that I am also brave and worthy of love and belonging.”
Some people think sales is hard, but in reality I’m super lucky as I get to choose the words that affect a process. I think Brene would love that and we could share a fancy drink together. I feel like she’d be a lavender gin and lemonade kind of gal.
What do you do for fun?
I love sports! I’m originally from Philly so it’s in my blood and the excitement of competition and giving your all for your cause has always been something I’ve loved. I played D1 lacrosse in college and coached at our local high school for the love of the game . I think part of me will always give back to sports organizations in some way.
Locally, LibDib’s relationship with the San Jose Sharks makes me proud when we go to games, hear the crowd and at the same time know that our small brands can get some exposure because we have that distributor relationship with the venue. Sports are the best, they bring people together. Being in sales, I always stress out about the number I need to meet my goals for myself, but hard work and a ‘never give up’ attitude always leads to the huge milestone successes that we’ve had at LibDib. That drive in me comes from sports.