Straight from the heart – stories from direct sales

Family ties in direct sales

Enthusiasm for Vorwerk, for direct sales and for our special community sometimes encompasses a whole family. Nicole Mandin has been a Thermomix® advisor at Vorwerk France since 2009, initially working freelance, and then as a salaried employee since 2010. She spent a long time suggesting that her husband, François Viguie, follow her lead; however he initially preferred to continue running his crêperie in his home town, the French Atlantic island of Noirmoutier in the Pays de la Loire region.

Inspiring technology

“When Vorwerk introduced its first cordless vacuum cleaner in 2018, the Kobold VB100, I knew this technical innovation was another opportunity to inspire my husband,” Nicole recounts. In 2021 François finally joined Kobold sales as a customer advisor. He has since qualified for his pension, but continues to be passionately committed. “The additional income while being able to manage my time freely made up my mind,” says François. “I like being able to organise my leisure and work exactly how I want to.”

He remarks that it was easy for him to get started: “My wife supported me from the outset and helped me with my first steps; writing emails and dealing with our digital advisor platform.” Even now the couple discuss work intensely, share practices and motivate one another. “We have a bit of family rivalry over who achieves the most sales,” says Nicole, laughing. Of course they’re not really in competition. On the contrary, their shared passion for Vorwerk binds the couple even closer together.

A heartfelt gesture

Christian Hofmann is a big-hearted guy. The Saarbrücken man is always ready to help when he can. He is a skilled concrete and steel builder who was working as a landscape gardener, “when I met a few old acquaintances by chance at a concert,” Christian remembers. One of them was working as an advisor at Vorwerk and invited him to spend a week as a tester with her. “Then I quit my job and have not regretted it for a single day since.” He has been leading a nine-strong Kobold team in the Saarbrücken district since 2015.

Motivated by care

Christian’s fiancée Daniela Nagel works as a nurse at the Haus Magdalena hospice in Pirmasens, where she supports people in their final phase of life. One day she was telling Christian about a guest with oesophageal cancer. This man could only eat a small amount of food, but what he could manage just didn’t taste good to him. It made Daniela sad to see.

Christian immediately wanted to help. He realised that with a Thermomix®, the nursing staff would be able to prepare delicious meals with minimal effort – for this hospice guest and for others. When the end of life is drawing near, little things really count: human kindness, caring conversations, and also a favourite dish.

Welcome donation

At Christmas the couple donated the TM6 which Christian had received as a bonus, to the delight and gratitude of the hospice staff. It has since been used to create sweet dishes such as semolina pudding and ice cream, which are a favoured pleasure for guests, and Christian is delighted that “the staff save a lot of lot of time.” “The hospice employees would rather be spending their time listening, holding people’s hands and simply being there.”

The recipe for deep friendship

Martina “Tina” Fell and Marika van den Bos got to know each other in 2014. Tina, who has been at Vorwerk since 1995 and was already a Thermomix® District Manager in Bonn at that time, met Marika at an entry-level training session. The Thermomix® was what they first connected over. In 2017, Marika got her first dog; after that it was the animals that deepened their bond. “The dogs brought us together; they were always making us more closely connected,” says Tina.

From a love of dogs and the Thermomix®

She had three rescue dogs and Marika had a Yorkshire terrier. Before long Tina was regularly looking after the smaller dog when Marika was on the road for Thermomix® , and vice versa of course. Tina went on get a fourth dog: a Dalmatian crossbreed. On shared walks, travel and hours of conversations about Thermomix® the two women formed a close bond. In the past year, their friendship reached a whole new level.

Always at your side

Marika noticed a lump on her neck while the friends were on holiday together in Holland; this turned out to be a malignant carcinoma of the base of the tongue – a very distressing diagnosis. Tina was at Marika’s side day and night during this difficult time. “It was hard, but I knew I wasn’t alone,” says Marika. Her best friend Tina is herself a breast cancer survivor, and knew exactly how best to support her friend. She accompanied her to doctor’s appointments and visited her multiple times a day when she was in hospital. She would always bring “the best chicken broth and apple sauce from the Thermomix® to make Marika strong.” Marika remembers these months with gratitude: “Tina’s confidence, her smile, her love and her patience gave me strength to get through this difficult time. She looks at me and understands how I’m doing better than I do myself.”

Trust and understanding without words

What makes their friendship so unique? “We understand each other without words. We just always know what the other one needs,” says Tina. They can also count on each other professionally. “Mixing up work and private life was never a problem,” comments Marika. “It actually feels like a family that works together.” Each has a copy of the other’s house key, and when Tina goes away with her husband, Marika even moves in to her flat to take care of the dogs. Just as she did when she came out of hospital. She has since got back to working as a Group Leader in Tina’s district.

The time they spend together is of inestimable value for both of them. The recipe for their deep friendship? Trust, honesty, humour and unwavering support. “Always being able to rely on each other,” says Marika. In May they are travelling together again, to spend a week in Holland.