Samer Safa, B2B Commercial Manager - GCC

Samer Safa

B2B Commercial Manager - GCC

Hoshan Pan Gulf

Location
United Arab Emirates
Education
Bachelor's degree, Marketing Management
Experience
19 years, 2 months

Share My Profile

Block User


Work Experience

Total years of experience :19 years, 2 months

B2B Commercial Manager - GCC at Hoshan Pan Gulf
  • United Arab Emirates - Dubai
  • My current job since October 2015

 Sales & Marketing Strategy & Planning:
- Provide inputs on the strategy & road-maps working closely with sales and marketing teams as well as third party suppliers
- Forecast needs based on given strategy
- Recommend new products' development to OEM department to map missing solutions based on costumers' insights and markets' feedback
- Develop marketing activation plans targeting major regional business customers
 Channel Development (Across GCC):
- Identify and recommend business opportunities and market trends
- Set channel targets across the gulf
- Manage all department's troubleshooting activities across all relevant departments
- Analyze sales figures to determine effectiveness of various promotions
- Select and execute promotional incentive to increase profitability
- Contribute and recommend improvements to creating new policies and procedures that fit the business requirements
 Relation-ship Management:
- Manage end-to-end sales process and act as focal point for all communication with B2B prospects and customers
- Establish a network with existing and potential key organizations to explore opportunities in increasing market share
- Develop and foster third party relationships to achieve company's goals and interests
 Reporting & Analysis:
- Develop regular market intelligence reports and stay abreast of ongoing market developments
- Monitor channel performance and benchmark against initial business plan
People Management:
- Manage guide and assist sales team across the region
- Set performance objectives, evaluate and provide regular feedback in an intention to increase performance
- Undergo and participate in on-the-job training
- Identify and participate in the recruitment of key talent for business development

Marketing Manager at Hoshan Pan Gulf
  • Qatar
  • July 2011 to October 2015

Hoshan Pan Gulf's manufacturing company engaged in the production of writing instruments and stationery accessories and files under license of Staedtler Mars GmbH Co., Mitsubishi Pencil Co. Ltd., Pentel Co. Ltd and Maped as well as various group of brands from different manufactures in Europe, Japan, China, India and other countries.

Highlights
• Part of the team that implements new product launch strategies based on demand study and customer preferences, monitor sales volumes for every product at predefined intervals and verify the effectiveness of strategies implemented.
• Well-acquainted with the Qatar market, responsible for the entire set of activities to capture this market, promote existing products, identify segment-wise customer needs and increase brand presence in different markets across the region
• Manage the marketing, branding and budgeting of an international product portfolio that includes 3M, Uniball, Staedtler, Pentel, Olfa and Maped with particular focus on sustainability in competitive markets.

Key Responsibilities
Sales Management
• Develop sales management techniques, provide training to the sales staff on characteristic features of products, convincing skills & persuasive communication, measure sales performance and plan variable pay policy to encourage and extract superior performances.
• Safeguard financial objectives through preparation of annual sales plan, forecast sales volumes, prepare departmental budgets, allocate financial and personnel resources, conduct spend analysis, calculate administration & distribution overheads and ensure adherence to budgets.
• Determine differential pricing based on market and customer segmentation, analyze profit margin requirement against cost of production, competitor prices and demand for company products in markets across the region.
• Monitor inventory levels at retail outlets across the region, fulfil replenishment orders, stock high-selling material, employ upselling techniques, track slow-moving stock and upgrade retailing procedures to ensure business expansion.
• Interact with whole-sellers; provide profitable credit limits, offer lucrative rewards and sales support at various points of distribution.
Advertising & PR and Trade Marketing
• Gain market traction through vigorous advertising and publicity, participation in trade meets and exhibitions, provide sponsorship for local & global causes and implement well-planned tactics to manage sales operations.
• Implement direct marketing initiatives, participate in the development of interactive videos, online display ads, emailing and advertising content designed especially for smart phones.
• Offer innovative merchandise to customers, execute promotion programs and conduct competitions and games in commercial centres and shopping malls to reach a large customer base targeting students, working professionals and corporates.
• Draft marketing communication material, campaigning designs, newsletters, leaflets & flyers for widespread distribution including high schools, universities and offices.
Social Media Marketing & Analytics
• Leverage the impact created by social media platforms, set up online company page to promote products & services and optimize search results to secure maximum inquiries and thus sales.
• Run independent analytics on data collected from online platforms, modify marketing mix strategies accordingly, apply predictive planning techniques and build accurate decision support systems.

Marketing Manager at Hoshan Pan Gulf
  • Qatar
  • July 2011 to October 2015

Continued from previous section

Channel Management
• Study the distribution network, research new channels available including online platforms, contact distributors to facilitate and support business growth plans.
• Design marketing programs that complement channel management strategies, increase saleability, assess customer needs, prepare performance dashboards and introduce merchandising & innovative packaging, cyclical promotion and advertising.
• Contribute to enhancement of product profitability through retention of key distributors, extensive promotion, introduce discount schemes and offers and create higher value for the product when compared to competitor offerings.
Administration
• Liaise with government authorities for trademark registration, complete patent formalities, manage legal communication and process payment of application fee.
• Assist the personnel administration department in calculation of leaves, administer HR policy, visa & employment status updates, promotion, employee benefits & perquisites, implement variable pay, design performance management system and systematically allot vacation breaks to the staff.

Senior Marketing Executive at Qatar Information & Marketing (QIM)
  • Qatar - Doha
  • May 2009 to June 2011

A reputable advertising agency in the region.

Highlights
• Worked in close collaboration with the senior team to develop a comprehensive marketing plan for the company, revisited the existing systems and procedures to incorporate new requirements and implemented the plan in a premeditated phase-wise manner.
• As company representative, attended various conferences, seminars, exhibitions and corporate events, promoted the services of the company and secured sponsorships for activities / events.
• Supervised an internal team of 5 that included designers, programmers and sales executives to meet project specifications and customer requirements.
• Designed robust sales processes to increase accountability and handled operations through effective sales management techniques.

Key Responsibilities
Marketing Management
• Studied market demands, conducted competitor analysis, evaluated historical data to understand past performance levels and provided crucial data to the senior management to enable modification in pricing strategies and future operational planning.
• Developed effective advertising solutions to increase profit margins per project, positioned the service in a lucrative manner offering wide-ranging, customized packages to attract maximum inquiries and sales leads.
• Increased online presence of the company; used social media to endorse products & services and created web forums to interact with existing and prospective clients.
• Assessed brand performance through comparative studies conducted in the industry, initiated branding building programs and implemented value creation plans for products and services of the company.
• Organized marketing campaigns, participated in exhibitions and developed marketing material including online promotional content to accelerate business development.
• Made detailed marketing presentations to widespread audiences that included MNCs, government offices, non-government organizations and regional distributors.
• In coordination with the accounting department, prepared quotations, processed invoices and communicated with clients to expedite receivables.
Client Relations
• Handled individual and institutional client accounts, provided information on services offered by the company, processed orders received ensuring prompt and efficient customer service.
• Corresponded with key decision-makers in large corporates, prepared suitable presentations and held detailed discussions with senior personnel offering customized advertising solutions.
• Responded to inquiries over the telephone, emails and during client visits to branch office, gathered relevant information of prospective clients, recorded service requests and initiated preliminary sales pitch meetings.
• Acquired new business through extensive business networking and contacts management and liaised with existing customers to generate new contacts.

Call Center Supervisor at Liban Call
  • Lebanon
  • November 2008 to May 2009

Liban Call is a company providing telecom services.

Highlights
• Responsible for the entire set of call center operations, productivity improvement and process efficiency.
• Interacted with call center agents and telephone operators regularly, mapped progress and designed professional development programs for the team.

Key Responsibilities
Telemarketing Supervision & Control
• Administered effective operational control, monitored the quality of communication with customers, verified procedural compliance and measured staff performance on the basis of 5 crucial parameters - Speed, Focus, Flexibility, Memory and Attention to Detail.
• Recorded calls and provided concrete information to the training department in order to ensure development of comprehensive training modules applicable to the changing requirements of the business.
• Prepared work allocation charts, planned shifts, monitored attendance of employees and assisted the HR department in the calculation of leaves and salary transfer.
Staff Training
• Prepared department-wise training calendar, monitored the adherence to specified training schedules, directed the assessment process for all trainings completed and examined improvement level accomplished while-on-the-job.
• Incentivized performance based on improvement realized through training programs and encouraged continuous learning.
Client Interaction
• Communicated with clients regularly, studied market demand situation, regional and global economic conditions and offered customized products and services to customers.
• Recorded customer details in the database, resolved customer complaints, developed new contacts and generated referral business.

Head of Marketing & PR at Al Fawares Group
  • Lebanon
  • January 2005 to January 2009

Highlights
• Directed the entire operations of the department, coordinated the work of internal teams and liaised with external business associates and service providers to streamline operations.
• Type of events handled include: corporate events, conference, seminars, weddings, festivals and concerts.
• Focused on executing every event as a separate project to meet specific objectives and safeguard financial goals of the department.

Key Responsibilities
Event Coordination
• Assigned event management contracts to particular teams, prepared budgets based on customer requirements and scale of events, monitored the implementation of projects and verified results achieved against contractual obligations.
• Designed creative themes and aesthetic settings and drafted relevant literature for various kinds of events
• Managed logistics, marketing, public relations, sales and event promotion activities along with management of media personnel.
• Handled equipment and facilities for events, liaised with technical support teams and ensured smooth execution of programs.
Client Relations
• Interacted with existing clients for finalization and signing of contracts, supervised activities throughout the completion of events and collected payments at various stages as stipulated and agreed to in the contract.
• Offered prompt solutions to meet various on-site requirements for events, resolved problems reported by clients and ensured complete customer satisfaction.
• Liaised with special guests, chief members and expert speakers and made arrangements for accommodation and transport.
• Developed business leads, secured recommendations and referral business, made presentations to prospective clients and contributed to business development in line with management guidelines and defined sales targets.

Education

Bachelor's degree, Marketing Management
  • at Hariri Canadian University (HCU)
  • September 2008

BBA in Marketing Management

High school or equivalent, Life Science
  • at Le Lycee National
  • September 2005

(High School) Baccalaureate Professional Development Trainings: • Customer Service, Fransa Bank, May 2008 – July 2008 (3 months) – Academic internship on Customer Service, part of coursework at HCU • Call Center - Customer Service, BLOM Bank, May 2007 – July 2007 (3 months) – Academic internship on Customer Service and Financial Products & Services, part of coursework at HCU Certifications: • Project Management, GPME October 2014 • Leadership & Communication, Oxford Qatar, November 2013 • Fundamentals of Marketing Management, Cambridge Training College, February 2013 • Customer Service, Cambridge Training College, May 2012 References: • Available on request

Specialties & Skills

Customer Service
Digital Marketing
Business Development
Marketing Management
Strategic Marketing, Social Media Leveraging, Data Analysis & Visualization Techniques
SEO, Digital Marketing, Online Promotion, Marketing Techniques
Value Creation, Market Needs Assessment, Brand Personalization
Business Policy Framing, Procedural Set-up, Compliance Monitoring
Strategic Decision-making, Business Planning, Goal Setting
MS Office Package, Internet & Business Applications
SAP – Material Management & Logistics Module, Content Management System (CMS)
Excellent Communication & Interpersonal Skills, Corporate Presentations
Branding, Brand Positioning, Brand Awareness Enhancement
Work Allocation Planning, Meticulous Task Management, Prioritizing Skills
Leadership, Team Building, Workforce Diversity Management

Languages

Arabic
Expert
English
Expert
French
Intermediate
Spanish
Intermediate

Training and Certifications

Customer Service (Certificate)
Date Attended:
May 2012
Fundamentals of Marketing Management (Certificate)
Date Attended:
February 2013
Leadership & Communication (Certificate)
Date Attended:
November 2013
Call Center - Customer Service (Training)
Training Institute:
BLOM Bank
Date Attended:
May 2007
Project Management (Certificate)
Date Attended:
October 2014
Customer Service (Training)
Training Institute:
Fransa Bank
Date Attended:
May 2008

Hobbies

  • Music
  • Sports
    School awards
  • History & Culture