Senior Business Development Manager at Giesecke+Devrient

PURPOSE OF THE JOB: The main purpose of this position is to manage turnover, sales and account management activities within assigned accounts or regions throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. Accurate reporting of sales, sales forecasts, customer focus and identifying new opportunities or enhancements and ensuring that customer satisfaction is at a level that provides a competitive advantage for G+D

KEY PERFORMANCE AREAS (DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES):

The key responsibilities of the position are as follows, but not limited to:

• Define and ensure the fulfilment of sales targets by monitor short-term sales demand activities through internal meetings and with customer; promptly initiate and drive execution of corrective action where needed.
• Conduct regular customer meetings at all levels, defining actions with personal follow up.
• Promptly communicate customer related issues to the right interfaces inside G+D; escalating effectively when necessary.
• Prepare and present proposals, presentations, contracts etc as required by the customer.
• Develop and prepare client presentations, Requests for Proposal (RFP) and Requests For Information (RFI).
• Maintain a well-stocked sales funnel and report funnel status on a regular basis.
• Understand and explain customer’s business models and key economic drivers and know about buying influences as well as buying processes for each Single Sales Opportunity.
• Gather comprehensive information about G+D competitors through customer contacts, trade shows, conferences and develop a thorough understanding of competitor’s USPs.
• Take responsibility for detailed revenue forecasting and budgeting in a timely and accurate manner on a regular (monthly) basis.
• Identify product and services gap (G+D offering vs. customer requirements) and deliver concise input for new product requests.
• Accurately and comprehensively prepare a variety of status reports including, but not limited to activity, customer, monthly and budget reports.
• Actively co-operate with and co-ordinate customer interface functions to ensure smooth implementation of new product/customer launches or major changes, driving successful completion within deadline.
• Ensure thorough customer consulting, bringing the right G+D subject matter experts to the table to define the best solution together with the customer.
• Maintain a close working relationship with the technical and order management teams to ensure smooth management of accounts.
• Head the negotiation of customer contracts and Service Level Agreements (SLAs), renegotiate contract renewals and extensions as require.
• Identify projects with high sales growth potential and contribute to business case.
• Monitor accounts receivables and inventory for assigned customers, actively drive resolution in case of any issues.
• Contribute to proposals for cost saving potentials within area of responsibility.
• Develop and implement a sales plan and be responsible for the overall account management of existing customer.
• All of the above objectives are to be completed striving at all times for Quality, Trust and Security – Creating Confidence.

MINIMUM ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• University Degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Sales (or Equivalent).

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

• Minimum of years professional market related experience in sales, including preparation of proposals, presentations, quotations etc., preferably in the financial sector.
• Minimum of 2 years technical and business experience with chip technology, security and software solutions.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILL & ABILITIES:

• Ability to develop and maintain long-term strategic and business relationships with Visa and MasterCard and issuing banks in Sub-Saharan Africa.
• A sound understanding of principles and concepts relating to the credit/debit card business, electronic funds transfer, account processing and related financial services.
• Proven involvement in relationship building with customers at senior management level and experience in development of service offerings in the banking industry would be a definite.
• High degree of business acumen in regards to negotiation skills, sales skills, pricing strategies and financial management.
• Ability to grasp and implement specific sales methodology adopted by the company (e.g. Miller/Heiman strategic selling).
• Provide meaningful input to superiors in order to facilitate decisions- must show leadership qualities.
• Must have the ability to grow and/or develop new markets and meet stringent sales targets in a difficult environment, develop and maintain relationships with existing and potential customers within the financial services industry.
• Ability to produce high quality proposals, presentations, tenders, quotations and related documentation.
• Must be able to work well within a team - liaison with the project team and technical team to ensure all solutions are implemented to the customer’s satisfaction.