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A business school graduate with over 15 years of experience in business development and team management—both in France and internationally—Alexandra Barthélémy has spent most of her career in B2B sales roles, spanning sectors from consumer goods to the medical industry and financial services. Now a trainer and coach, she helps salespeople and managers develop their skills for clients such as Wedia, FitForMe, and Heine Optotechnik, using an approach rooted in the real-world realities of sales.
I started my career at Catalina Marketing, a relationship marketing agency in the consumer goods sector, where I worked for seven years. That’s where I really learned the ropes of sales, and where I realized that sales was what truly inspired me.
My desire to work internationally then led me to the medical industry at Hutchinson Santé, where I served as Export Area Manager, overseeing a network of distributors across Europe, North Africa, and Asia. I then joined American Express as a Key Account Manager for four years, focusing on negotiations and partnerships with retailers, before returning to the medical sector at Cleanis to head up the Export Division.
It wasn’t until after I acquired Cleanis that I took the time to reflect on what truly motivated me. The conclusion was clear: what I loved about management was helping my teams grow their skills, but in a corporate setting, you don’t always have the time to do that as much as you’d like. So I started my own firm to help salespeople and managers develop their skills.
On the sales side, I cover the entire spectrum: sales, negotiation, customer relations, prospecting, networking, and interpersonal skills. My traditional area of expertise is B2B. That’s where I’ve spent my entire career, and that’s where I’m most effective. I work with field sales reps and Key Account Managers (KAMs) as well as what are known as “application engineers”—technical professionals in constant contact with clients who need to develop sales skills without having a formal sales background.
On the management side, I focus on leadership, feedback, and team development—topics I work on specifically with NUMA. And cutting across both areas is a topic that is particularly close to my heart: behavioral agility. I am certified in 4Color, the equivalent of DISC, and I use it extensively to help people realize that every client and every employee is different, and that this ability to adapt makes all the difference, whether in sales meetings or in management.
Actually, I’ve known about NUMA since 2017: I met Marie, one of the co-founders, during a business trip organized by Business France. I followed NUMA on social media for several years before our collaboration came to fruition. What convinced me was their hands-on approach: NUMA manages to condense the most actionable management tools into short sessions, and above all, to help participants apply them immediately in their daily work. I think that’s exactly what people need today: concrete steps they can put into practice right away.
I draw on my experiences in the field and what I continue to experience today as a business owner. I prospect for new business, negotiate deals, and manage my own clients: sales isn’t something I teach from a distance—it’s something I practice every day. My mantra: work hard without taking yourself too seriously. The two hours we spend together should be productive, but also enjoyable.
When, at the end, participants tell me two things: "I didn't even notice the time passing" and "I wish I'd taken this training earlier. " That means something has shifted: a few lightbulbs went off, and they leave thinking , “On that point, I can do things differently.” You shouldn’t expect a training session to change everything, but if it leads to these few concrete realizations, it’s a success.
My first instinct is to quickly assess the participants in front of me so I can tailor my facilitation style: giving time to those who need to observe, guiding those who dominate the discussion, and alternating between theory and practice based on the group’s needs. I use a highly participatory approach, with structured discussions and constructive debriefs to turn insights into practical skills.
At the start of each session, I always help participants become aware of what others expect from them in their roles. If you’re a manager: What do your employees specifically expect from you? If you’re a salesperson: What do your customers expect from you? This mirror effect helps establish a common foundation and anchors the rest of the training in something very concrete.
Plus , I’m a certified Funny Learning facilitator, so I always incorporate a fun element into my workshops: games and team challenges. This works especially well with salespeople, who quickly get into the spirit of things.
Selling with Colors (by Brigitte Boussuat, Juliette Boussuat, Benjamin Salles, Claire Trevisani-Laine) and Managing with Colors (by Brigitte Boussuat, Patrick David, Jean-Marie Lagache), two books that inform his approach to behavioral agility as applied to sales and management.
A business school graduate with over 15 years of experience in business development and team management—both in France and internationally—Alexandra Barthélémy has spent most of her career in B2B sales roles, spanning sectors from consumer goods to the medical industry and financial services. Now a trainer and coach, she helps salespeople and managers develop their skills for clients such as Wedia, FitForMe, and Heine Optotechnik, using an approach rooted in the real-world realities of sales.
I started my career at Catalina Marketing, a relationship marketing agency in the consumer goods sector, where I worked for seven years. That’s where I really learned the ropes of sales, and where I realized that sales was what truly inspired me.
My desire to work internationally then led me to the medical industry at Hutchinson Santé, where I served as Export Area Manager, overseeing a network of distributors across Europe, North Africa, and Asia. I then joined American Express as a Key Account Manager for four years, focusing on negotiations and partnerships with retailers, before returning to the medical sector at Cleanis to head up the Export Division.
It wasn’t until after I acquired Cleanis that I took the time to reflect on what truly motivated me. The conclusion was clear: what I loved about management was helping my teams grow their skills, but in a corporate setting, you don’t always have the time to do that as much as you’d like. So I started my own firm to help salespeople and managers develop their skills.
On the sales side, I cover the entire spectrum: sales, negotiation, customer relations, prospecting, networking, and interpersonal skills. My traditional area of expertise is B2B. That’s where I’ve spent my entire career, and that’s where I’m most effective. I work with field sales reps and Key Account Managers (KAMs) as well as what are known as “application engineers”—technical professionals in constant contact with clients who need to develop sales skills without having a formal sales background.
On the management side, I focus on leadership, feedback, and team development—topics I work on specifically with NUMA. And cutting across both areas is a topic that is particularly close to my heart: behavioral agility. I am certified in 4Color, the equivalent of DISC, and I use it extensively to help people realize that every client and every employee is different, and that this ability to adapt makes all the difference, whether in sales meetings or in management.
Actually, I’ve known about NUMA since 2017: I met Marie, one of the co-founders, during a business trip organized by Business France. I followed NUMA on social media for several years before our collaboration came to fruition. What convinced me was their hands-on approach: NUMA manages to condense the most actionable management tools into short sessions, and above all, to help participants apply them immediately in their daily work. I think that’s exactly what people need today: concrete steps they can put into practice right away.
I draw on my experiences in the field and what I continue to experience today as a business owner. I prospect for new business, negotiate deals, and manage my own clients: sales isn’t something I teach from a distance—it’s something I practice every day. My mantra: work hard without taking yourself too seriously. The two hours we spend together should be productive, but also enjoyable.
When, at the end, participants tell me two things: "I didn't even notice the time passing" and "I wish I'd taken this training earlier. " That means something has shifted: a few lightbulbs went off, and they leave thinking , “On that point, I can do things differently.” You shouldn’t expect a training session to change everything, but if it leads to these few concrete realizations, it’s a success.
My first instinct is to quickly assess the participants in front of me so I can tailor my facilitation style: giving time to those who need to observe, guiding those who dominate the discussion, and alternating between theory and practice based on the group’s needs. I use a highly participatory approach, with structured discussions and constructive debriefs to turn insights into practical skills.
At the start of each session, I always help participants become aware of what others expect from them in their roles. If you’re a manager: What do your employees specifically expect from you? If you’re a salesperson: What do your customers expect from you? This mirror effect helps establish a common foundation and anchors the rest of the training in something very concrete.
Plus , I’m a certified Funny Learning facilitator, so I always incorporate a fun element into my workshops: games and team challenges. This works especially well with salespeople, who quickly get into the spirit of things.
Selling with Colors (by Brigitte Boussuat, Juliette Boussuat, Benjamin Salles, Claire Trevisani-Laine) and Managing with Colors (by Brigitte Boussuat, Patrick David, Jean-Marie Lagache), two books that inform his approach to behavioral agility as applied to sales and management.
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