Tomas Franzén’s first day as CEO of Bonnier AB will be March 7. Until then, CFO Göran Öhrn will continue as acting CEO.

Supporting young entrepreneurs and business people is part of the mission of Polish business daily Puls Biznesu. And what better way to show support than putting your money where your mouth is: with a competition for small and medium companies for funding called Impuls.

“It’s not just for entrepreneurs with a good business idea, you can also nominate products, services, technology, sales processes, business models, means of accessing clients or distribution processes,” says Karolina Kowalska, marketing director for the paper and the person organizing the project at Puls Biznesu.

The contest is being co-sponsored by private equity firm VRP, in cooperation with the Polish agency for Enterprise Development and the Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, which is controlled by the Polish government.

The contest opened for nominations earlier in February and the deadline is April 7. After that, an investment committee will pick a dozen of the best ideas, and those chosen will present them to a jury made up of editorial and market experts representing the partners. The jury will decide on who will go further, and a maximum of three projects will then share a total of 2 million PLN.

“Along with financial support, the winners will get advice from VPN and help in implementing their ideas. The final stage will be signing a contract, with the usual conditions for these types of investment agreements,” says Kowalska.

Puls Biznesu has already received some really interesting project ideas, according to Kowalska.

“We especially want to support young business people in the start-up phase. Through this contest, we also want to educate young entrepreneurs and show them different ways of financing. We consider this the mission of the paper!”

Bonnier Growth Media is investing in Refunder.se, a leading Swedish "cashback" site that launched in October 2013. Under the deal, Bonnier Growth Media will become a co-owner together with the site’s founders, Fredrik Ohlsson, Victor Dahlborg, Joakim Kempff and Andreas Adler.

Refunder.se gives online consumers cash back on all digital purchases at over 200 participating web stores. Unlike regular coupon services, cashback consumers aren’t limited to special offers but get money back on the entire selection of the participating stores.

“We have followed the development of the cashback phenomenon with growing interest and see big potential in the concept and our investment in Refunder.se,” says Ulrika Saxon, CEO for Bonnier Growth Media. “Fredrik, Victor and their team have set the stage and we’re now ready to push the button for extensive growth.”

Following the signing of the deal, Bonnier Growth Media will own more than a third of the company, and Ulrika Saxon will be chairman of the board for Refunder.

A standing-room-only crowd gathered at Bonnier headquarters in Stockholm this morning to hear about Bonnier Accelerator, the program from Bonnier that helps entrepreneurs turn digital media ideas into businesses. The event was held in conjunction with the opening of the application period, which starts today.

“We’re looking for people with commitment, skills and drive, with clear goals and globally scalable business ideas with a clear roadmap to profitability,” said Ulrika Saxon of Bonnier Growth Media, who heads the Bonnier Accelerator jury. “But it’s very much about the individual – we need people who are truly passionate about their ideas and have the patience to carry them out.”

Under the program, those chosen to participate will participate in training and workshops on issues such as business models, market and customers, value proposition, leadership and idea pitching. They will also receive office space, a mentor and a lot of networking opportunities.

 “You’ll get the most out of the program if you put in as much as you get,” said Adrian Swartz of Cruitway, alumni from Bonnier Accelerator 2013, who talked about his time in the program. “You need to be a vacuum and a filter at the same time. Bonnier gives you a lot of advice that you need to process – for example we changed our business plan – but in the end it’s up to you. You’ll get a lot of help and contacts but you need to be the driver of your own growth and development.”

And for those looking for tips on how to pitch their ideas, Tyler Crowley of STHLM TECH Meetup provided his advice: tell a story that poses a problem for a hypothetical person that is solved by your business idea. “Whoever is listening to your pitch is going to remember only one thing really, so decide what that one thing is you want to get across,” he said. (You can read more tips from him here).

The application period is open until May 2 – you can read more and apply with a 400-word pitch and a two-minute video at Bonnieraccelerator.com.

On Tuesday, Swedish content agency Spoon announced that it has opened an office in Finland. Earlier this year, the company also established an office in Norway. We talked with Spoon CEO Anders Ribba about the new offices.

Why has Spoon started up bureaus in Oslo and now Helsinki?
Several reasons. We’ve been working with content marketing for a long time at Spoon, we have excellent processes and competence for what it takes to manage these kinds of projects. We want to capitalize on this knowledge and experience in new markets, and our neighboring countries are a good start.

A number of our global customers see the Nordic region as one market, so it’s important to be able to deliver to all the countries of the region. We have many Sweden-based customers that we help in both Finland and Norway, and we even have Finnish and Norwegian companies who are customers, which makes for a good foundation for expansion in each country.

What can we expect to see in the future for Spoon in Finland and Norway?
The idea is to have local bureau directors who will focus on the local market as well as global players who have headquarters in Finland or Norway. We’ve found staff with good track records, strong entrepreneurs who we believe will be able to build up Spoon with a local flavor in the respective countries. We plan to expand locally with bureaus that can quickly run independently, but still take advantage of the contacts, competence and existing customer relations we have, providing even better service for our current customers.

As a rookie sales representative, building up a customer base is one of the hardest parts of the job. “It’s really tough in the beginning, but you get a payback over time,” says Jim Jansson of TV4. “You’ll end up working with customers you believe in, who you develop a strong relationship with.”

It has certainly been a successful strategy for Jansson: He has been nominated as Rookie of the Year in the Bonnier Sales Awards for 2013. “I’m proud that I managed to build my customer base in such a short time, with a strong focus on new sales.”

But while it’s important to work hard, don’t forget to have fun as well, says Jansson. “Be happy with all the sales you make, whether big or small. And don’t forget to take advantage of the experience of your colleagues who’ve already been working for awhile.”

He credits his colleagues and bosses for the support he’s gotten and their belief in him. “Working for a strong brand with incredibly talented colleagues is the best thing about working at TV4,” he says.

As for being nominated, it’s a real confirmation – and a reminder – that Jansson is succeeding at what he’s doing. “It feels great to be nominated, it’s so easy to just keep on going without reflecting about what you’ve done, just to keep setting new goals to meet. Being a finalist make me realize that I’ve done well during the year!”

It isn’t easy to earn a spot as a finalist in the Bonnier Sales Awards. For Rookie of the Year nominee Kirk-Marius Kukumägi, that meant giving 110 percent. “But no pain, no gain!” says Kukumägi, who works at business daily Äripäev in Estonia. “I am proud that I sold to more than 150 new clients last year and that the growth of my portfolio almost doubled.”

Pretty impressive for a guy who started in December 2012. And being named finalist isn’t his only honor – he also won a “Starter of the Year” award, one of the great moments of the year for him.

“I love my job because it involves working with great people and I get a chance to improve myself with every sale,” says Kukumägi. “Remember, every ‘no’ gets you closer to a ‘yes.’”

His advice to other sales people who aim to be finalists in the awards is to never give up. And always be good to others because what goes around, comes around, he says.

As for his own achievement at being named a finalist: “It feels great to be nominated because it reflects all the hard work I’ve done,” he says.

For sales manager Päivi Sipola of MTV, one of the biggest challenges of 2013 was dealing with the extremely difficult financial situation in Finland. “The best moment of the year was when we realized that every member of our team would reach his or her sales targets despite the tough year,” says Sipola, who has had such a good year that she’s been named a finalist for Sales Manager of the Year in the Bonnier Sales Awards.

Though she’s been working at MTV for nearly 16 years, she’s new to her job. “It was my first year as sales team manager, so I had - and still - have a lot to learn,” she says.  “But one of the biggest things I learned was that if people are cooperative and ambitious, everything is possible! And one should never give up.”

Sipola says that MTV, in its constant work at developing media, is a great place to work and credits her customers, partners and most of all her team with making her job a real pleasure. “I’m so proud of my team, they are the most talented, motivated, hard-working and co-operative people I’ve ever worked with.”

And how does it feel to be named a finalist in the Bonnier Sales Awards? “I’m very surprised, grateful and humble!”

Having worked on the other side of the desk – in marketing – sales director Paula Iwanski knows how it feels to be a customer. “I made a pledge to myself and my clients when I started working in this position that I would be the sales rep I always wanted,” says Iwanski, who works in the U.S. with the venerable titles Field & Stream, Popular Science and Outdoor Life, among others.

What does that mean? For Iwanski, who is a second-time finalist in the Bonnier Sales Awards, this time for Multi-Channel Sales of the Year, it means follow up and being an extension of the client’s staff. “If you can help your clients in any aspect of their business, and this goes beyond the ad sale, it truly goes a long way,” she says. “I have clients who call me just to complain about their boss or ask me my opinion on a new ad campaign they are working on.  If you establish that trust and are a resource for them, it forms a bond and they come back and renew each year.  You also make some great friends along the way.”

Which isn’t to say it’s easy. With some very traditional businesses as customers, Iwanski works hard to help them understand the big advantages of digital – including mobile and social – marketing along with print. “It takes time, patience and a lot of talking and education.”

Iwanski is looking forward to coming to Stockholm yet again, but with mixed emotions. “I am eternally grateful for the recognition but at the same time, it's bittersweet because I want everyone to be nominated,” she says. “At the end of the day, it's not about winning for me, it's about doing the very best job I can, and I know there are others out there who do the same.”

For anyone interested in the business world in Sweden, Dagens industri provides information and insights you can’t get anywhere else, whether it’s breaking news on di.se, investigative reports in the printed paper or the in-depth articles of monthly magazine Di Dimension. Now, the brand has come up with a new subscription service, Di Agenda, which provides key information for executives working in three specific industries.

“Di Agenda is the collective name for several sites niched to specific industries or business areas,” says Gunnar Wrede, the editor in charge of Di Agenda. “We’ve launched sites for energy, foreign trade and healthcare that will be essential for decision-makers in these industries. There they will get analysis and business intelligence to support the decisions they make. We’ll be monitoring business, political decisions, research and other events that affect the industry on a strategic level.”

Dagens industri has chosen to start with these three particular industries for several reasons. First, it was important to have a large enough target audience. Second was whether it was an industry that the paper could provide value added with its journalism. “Foreign trade is a bit different from the other two, since it’s not an industry in and of itself,” says Wrede. “But we think it’s an area that doesn’t get enough attention, while at the same time many in the business community are increasingly working with issues that extend beyond geographic boundaries. We hope to start new sections with other industries and business areas once we feel the business model is working well for the first three areas.”

Find out more at www.di.se/agenda - just now you can get  one-month trial subscription for free.

Success in sales is about taking responsibility for your customers, according to Linus Jönsson, who works with concept ad sales at Sweden's TV4. "Your relationship and engagement with the customer and agency are fundamental," says Jönsson, who as a Multi-Channel Sales finalist in this year's Bonnier Sales Awards, is someone worth listening to when it comes to sales. "We are talking about such huge sums being spent based on one's recommendations and products. So show your commitment by being honest and taking responsibility for a customer's campaign, it builds trust over the long term and hopefully a satisfied customer who returns again and again."

It also helps having a strong brand with a wide range of platforms, channels and programs that can be included in solutions, Jönsson says. "There's a strong commercial mindset at TV4 to find the best solutions for the customer," says Jönsson. "Getting to work with all these platforms together with so many incredibly talented colleagues is truly inspiring."

The job provides plenty of variation as well as challenges - one day it could be finding a solution for a company providing a security alarm service, the next discussing something for a company selling food or cosmetics. "You need to continually question yourself and be creative," says Jönsson. "It's easy to stick to the same proven solutions, so you need to be alert all the time and keep track of new consumer behavior and products."

Jönsson gives his co-workers credit as being an important part of his success. "I feel very honored and humble at being nominated. And I feel that many of my colleagues who've helped during the year deserve a part of the honor."

Contrary to popular opinion, print is doing just fine, thank you. The fact that some people may not realize the truth is one of the biggest obstacles facing Joakim Lind, key account manager at Bonnier Tidskrifter, with responsibility for parenting magazine mama. And while convincing people otherwise may sometimes pose a challenge, it hasn’t stopped Lind from being a top salesman: His recent nomination as sales representative of the year in the Bonnier Sales Awards is proof.

“Being named a finalist is one of the best things that’s happened to me since I started at Bonnier in 2010,” says Lind.

The year 2013 has been good for Lind, with one of his biggest clients growing significantly – an effort he’s rightfully proud of. His advice to others who want to match his success is to believe in yourself, and push even harder if need be.

“One of my biggest lessons from 2013 is that my gut feeling is always right!” he says.

Forget economic forecasts and the latest trade press columnist’s take on the state of the industry. “If we decide ourselves how we want the market to think about our product, that’s when we see results,” says Mats Lagus, sales manager at Dagens industri and finalist for Sales Manager of the Year in the Bonnier Sales Awards. Listening to what customers want instead and knowing what you’re good at are key success factors, Lagus says, something that really hit home last year when Dagens industri managed to buck the tide and hold onto its print ad sales while many other papers lost out.

“I’m proud to represent such a strong brand as Dagens industri, to be part of a winning concept,” says Lagus. “It’s exciting to work at a place where you never rest on your laurels. We constantly question what we do and always try to be even better and more profitable. I think that’s awesome!”

Lagus praises the entire sales force at Dagens industri for doing a fantastic job. “But I want to highlight our team in job placement and real estate ads, who in an incredibly tough market managed to retain and take market share,” he says. “And I can’t forget our support team who, despite a leaner organization, day in and day out give our customers world-class service and make a fantastic-looking paper.”

As for being a finalist in the awards, Lagus says it hasn’t quite sunk in: “It’s amazing that I’ve been nominated, with competition from so many other smart people within Bonnier who work in sales.” 

When you ask Armi Tapper-Slotte what she likes best about her job as an account manager at Finland’s MTV, her answer is wide open: “I just honestly love my work and it comes from the heart. It makes me feel happy to help my clients succeed. The feeling after every deal made is priceless!”

It’s the kind of winning attitude that has helped her earn a place as finalist for Sales Representative of the Year in the Bonnier Sales Awards. “The right attitude is the key thing,” she says. “Listen humbly and carefully to what your clients really want and need. Be professional, keep your promises and timetables and remember to take care of your customers all year round. Happy and content customers are pleased to buy solutions with the MTV portfolio in the future.”

Tapper-Slotte is obviously good at keeping her customers happy: despite the difficult financial situation in Finland, she still managed to make quite big deals in sponsorships and program cooperation as well as in new-business sales. “Never give up,” she says. “Even though times are rough, you should continue to offer new ideas to your customers. I have learned that, when the idea is good enough, the budget to make it will be found.”

She gives a lot of credit to her product – and her team. “I’m proud to have the opportunity to work with the most emotion-provoking and strong brands in Finland and the collaboration gives me power,” she says. “And my team of course. Working together with all my highly professional MTV colleagues is extremely rewarding.”

Account manager Sakari Palsola of MTV is a real problem solver. And it shows in his work – he’s been named a finalist in the Multi-Channel Sales category of the Bonnier Sales Awards. “I’m proud of the way we solve customers’ challenges,” he says. “My best sales are my regular customers who’ve found way to improve their businesses by using our different media channels.”

Of course it helps to gain your customer’s confidence if your philosophy, like Palsola’s, is never to sell something that you don’t think is best for the customer. “You should be honest with everybody,” he says. “Tell them straight what you think, regardless of whether it’s positive or negative – stand by your own values.”

Palsola also works hard on getting customers a complete solution that uses not just the TV channels, but also MTV’s websites and mobile marketing. “One of my biggest challenges is putting together a whole package and making sure the customer gets the most out of the solution that they’ve decided to buy.”

As for being named a finalist in the Bonnier Sales Awards, Palsola says it’s a great honor. “It makes me feel humble and proud, and also confirms to me that I’m doing something right!”

Natalia Novysotskaya is not someone who rests on her laurels. She has been working as a sales manager at Russian business daily Delovoy Peterburg for 15 years, but she still managed to outdo herself in 2013, increasing her sales by 21 percent over 2012. Which is one of the reasons she has been named a finalist for Sales Representative of the Year in the Bonnier Sales Awards.

“I’m very proud of the recognition of my professional abilities because of the years of hard work behind it,” says Novysotskaya. “At the same time, being a finalist is a big responsibility, and you shouldn’t stop but keep moving forward, setting yourself more complicated tasks and challenges so can achieve even more success.”

She believes in head-on approach, and arms herself with data and information for and about the advertisers so that she can make a proposal that will best meet their needs. “I always try to confront whatever tasks I’m facing, no matter how difficult they are, try to predict possible problems and find the most effective solutions.” A strategy that definitely has given her results: After a lot of hard work over a long period of time, she managed to secure a much sought after long-term cooperation with one of the region’s biggest real estate development companies.

She credits her success in part to her structured way of working with a lot of information and setting priorities, and in part to her relationships with her customers. “Every salesman should keep in mind that it’s impossible to look at customers just as a source of income,” she says. “That kind of attitude is understood intuitively and will be rejected. It’s important to keep the balance of benefits between you and the customer.  

Anna Smidemark is an expert at balancing the work of coaching a team to success while meeting customer needs with smart solutions that also happen to be profitable for Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter, where she works as sales manager.

“It’s a huge challenge to develop, coach and improve the expertise of the sales organization in a rapidly changing media market that is in both print and digital,” says Smidemark. “But it’s hugely stimulating. And I’m proud that with a lot of engagement, I earned such a high level of confidence from my team, which set up the foundation for our success during 2013. Month after month, we exceeded our budget – my team had the highest advertising budget at Dagens Nyheter in 2013 – and we managed to deliver great results in a very competitive 2013.”

She has plenty of advice to other sales managers who want to achieve the same kind of success: For the team, it’s important to set clear goals, win their confidence and be clear in what you expect – and don’t forget to be present and take the time to listen and motivate your staff personally. “One of the biggest things I learned in 2013 is that if you give a lot of yourself, your engagement and your knowledge, internally as well as externally, you’ll get twice as much back.”

On the sales side, Smidemark advice is to always make sure to set focus on the customer’s needs side by side equally with the profitability of your own company.

And how does it feel to be a finalist?

“Fantastic, I’m incredibly happy and it’s a huge honor!”

When Christine Pedersen’s boss called her into her office several weeks ago and asked her to shut the door, Pederson admits she was a bit nervous. A finalist in the Bonnier Sales Awards last year for Sales Representative of the Year, she wasn’t expecting to hear that she had been named a finalist again. “All my boss wanted was to congratulate me with the nomination and to keep it a secret for a little while,” she says. “What a great surprise!”

So how does one get nominated a finalist two years in a row, what is her secret to success?

Teamwork, says Pedersen, who works at Bonnier Media in Norway.

“It’s great that we all have different ways of reaching our goals and different things we are good at so that we can help each other filling in the gaps,” says Pedersen. “It is hard to be just as good at everything. So I try my best to collaborate and get help from those who are better than me in their fields so that I can present the best ideas and cases possible for my customers.”

One of her biggest – and most talked-about – successes of the year was an elaborate campaign for a customer that involved advertorial spreads and a creative contest with a gingerbread twist for two of Bonnier Media’s magazines. The campaign, which included pop-up gingerbread stations in Oslo and lots of social media, won two big advertising awards for the customer.

“I am proud when we manage to come up with ideas that really make a difference for the client,” she says. “And I am proud to be working in an organization that appreciates the different individual’s initiative and inspires and teaches us to do our best.”

It’s all about give and take. “Watching and learning from your co-workers is the smartest thing you can do,” says Maria Wiss, sales executive at TV4 in Sweden. “I’ve absorbed everything I can from my very skillful colleagues and I’ve shared with them the things that I’ve found successful. There’s incredible potential to be a better sales person by being observant and willing to learn from your environment.”

Wiss has certainly learned a lot in the year and a half she’s been at TV4 – and she’s taken what she’s learned and turned it into success that’s gotten her nominated as finalist for Sales Representative of the Year in the Bonnier Sales Awards. Reaching her goals is not just about learning from her colleagues either. “Always have a clear and concrete plan on how you’ll succeed,” she says. “And always have a Plan B for the unexpected – which of course always happens!”

Working with moving images – not just scheduled broadcasts but also on-demand viewing on various devices – is one of the great things about the job Wiss says, but also one of the biggest challenges. “We have a complex product to sell and in the end it’s very much about trust, and that means being allowed into the customers’ world and getting a unique picture of their business.”

As for being named a finalist, Wiss says the feeling is fantastic. “I’m overjoyed and honored,” she says. “With all the smart sales staff in Bonnier, it feels almost unreal!”