Profile
I have worked with technology and commercial development for more than 30 years.
First with products. Then markets. Customers. Sales. Commercial leadership. Organisations. And increasingly with the people who have to make it all work.
This means I do not see a company only through the sales organisation.
I have been there when new products had to find their market. When companies had to grow internationally. When sales had to be professionalised. When large enterprise customers had to be developed. When an organisation had to be turned around financially. And when founders and leadership teams had to work out what the next growth phase required.
I turn business ambition into direction, commercial action and organisational capacity.
See where I create value
“Some problems are solved at the boardroom table. Others are best solved together with the customer.”
— Trygve Nordly
Where I create value
The product or service is good, but it is unclear which customers to prioritise, why they buy, or how sales should be driven. I can create focus, sharpen the customer work and build a simple sales structure the organisation can work by.
That is often a strength at the start, but it can become a bottleneck. I can help turn the owner's knowledge and relationships into something more people can work with — and find the right sales profiles, roles and ways of working for the next phase.
A company does not always have to wait for the perfect permanent hire. I can step in for a period, create direction, work with the customers and get the organisation moving while the long-term solution is found.
When growth has stalled, finances are under pressure, or the organisation has lost focus, I help find the few things that actually need to change. That may be customers, offerings, costs, roles, collaboration or leadership's priorities.
An owner, CEO or board may need an outside perspective on growth, sales, customers and organisation. Here I can contribute as an advisor or on an advisory board/board of directors — with experience, questions and practical help, not just slides.
It does not have to be a specific title. The right assignment is a situation where my experience can move something.
I am particularly relevant in B2B, technology, consulting and service companies that need both experience and hands-on help.
Companies and growth phases
I have worked in and with companies at different stages of development. Each phase has given me new perspectives on what it takes to create and sustain commercial growth.
I started with product management, product marketing and international market development. The task was to understand the technology, define the product, find the market, set the price and get the first customers to buy.
EKS · i-data · Realtime — product definition and launches across Europe and the US.
At NeoConsult I helped build the commercial engine — first as Sales & Marketing Manager and later as Director, Sales & Marketing. Sales and marketing were built up as a more scalable function.
Around DKK 200 million in commercial responsibility during the period.
A large part of my career has been close to large companies and complex decision-making environments. I have sold Professional Services, technology and specialist expertise to large Danish and international organisations.
Long-term account development · complex tenders · C-level relationships.
As Managing Director of Convision I had full P&L responsibility. The task was to make business, organisation and market fit better together — not just to create more sales.
Improvement from DKK -6 million to break-even over 24 months.
In my current advisory work I work with founders and leadership teams on commercial strategy, go-to-market, sales leadership and organisational effectiveness.
Focus: the next growth phase, commercial direction and execution strength.
Roles
The titles only tell part of the story. Sometimes the task has been to set direction and lead a company. Other times to build a market, land an important customer, develop a sales organisation or step into a critical commercial situation myself.
Product Manager
Product Marketing Manager
Area Sales Manager
Sales & Marketing Manager
Director, Sales & Marketing
Executive Account Manager
Client Director
Sales Director
Managing Director
Commercial Advisor / Consultant
I do not see strategy and execution as opposites.
Education
I was originally trained in international trade and have since built on that with leadership, strategy, sales and analytical decision-making.
Executive MBA, 2007. Later MBA+ modules in Strategy, Value Creation and Leadership.
Strategic Negotiations, certified 2008. Aligning Strategy and Sales, 2018.
Business Analytics: Decision Making Using Data.
Export Technician, 1995.
My working life began at sea. It gave me early experience of responsibility, collaboration and how people depend on each other in practice.
Perspectives
After many years across product, technology, sales, leadership and advisory work, there are five perspectives in particular that I bring with me.
Product, market, positioning, sales, organisation and people influence each other.
Not with a framework or a new CRM system.
It is hard to understand a commercial problem from a distance.
More pipeline, more meetings and more initiatives are not automatically the same as better business.
Advice has limited value if the organisation cannot turn it into something that actually happens.
Sparring
I help find the real constraint, prioritise what matters most and make strategy, people and execution fit together.
Trygve Nordly