Business Development Manager- Video Conferencing & Collaboration

Our client is an IT distributor operating across Africa and the Middle East, providing technology products, solutions, and support to businesses and partners. They are currently seeking a Business Development Manager – Unified Collaboration & Video Conferencing to drive the growth of our Unified Communications, Collaboration and Video Conferencing portfolio.

Job Summary  

The ideal candidate must have a proven track record of selling Unified Communications, IP Telephony, Video Conferencing and Collaboration solutions, preferably with an existing customer and partner network around competitive technologies and brands.

This is a business development and revenue-generating role. The successful candidate will be expected to identify opportunities, develop relationships with enterprise and mid-market customers, recruit and enable channel partners, manage sales pipelines, and position our collaboration solutions against competing platforms.

We are particularly interested in candidates who can demonstrate: "I already sell UC, IP telephony and video conferencing solutions, I already know the customers and partners, and I can bring those relationships and opportunities into our portfolio."

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Sales & Business Development

·  Develop and execute a sales strategy for Unified Communications, Collaboration and Video Conferencing solutions.

·  Identify, qualify and pursue new business opportunities across enterprise, commercial, government and SMB markets.

·  Generate and manage a healthy pipeline of UC, IP telephony and video conferencing opportunities.

·  Drive the complete sales cycle from prospecting and discovery through proposal, negotiation and closing.

·  Achieve and exceed monthly, quarterly and annual sales targets.

·  Develop new accounts while expanding existing customer relationships.

·  Identify cross-selling and upselling opportunities.

·  Develop strategic accounts and maintain strong customer engagement.

2. Competitive Selling

Actively compete against established Unified Communications and collaboration vendors, including:

·  Avaya, Grandstream, Yealink, Cisco, Poly / Polycom, Logitech, Jabra, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Mitel, NEC, Fanvil, Snom, AudioCodes, Other relevant UC/VC brands

The successful candidate will:

·  Understand customers' existing communication and collaboration environments.

·  Identify opportunities to replace, upgrade or expand existing solutions.

·  Develop competitive positioning and objection-handling strategies.

·  Demonstrate the commercial and technical advantages of our solutions.

·  Convert customers from competing UC/VC solutions where appropriate.

·  Monitor competitor products, pricing, promotions and market positioning.

3. Unified Communications & Collaboration Sales

Develop opportunities around solutions including:

·  IP PBX / IP Telephony

·  Business Phones and IP Phones

·  SIP / VoIP Solutions

·  Unified Communications Platforms

·  Contact Centre Solutions

·  Audio Conferencing

·  Video Conferencing

·  Meeting Room Solutions

·  Interactive Collaboration Systems

·  Wireless Presentation

·  Headsets and Collaboration Devices

·  Microsoft Teams Integration

·  Zoom Integration

·  SIP Trunking

·  Cloud PBX

·  Hybrid Communication Solutions

·  UCaaS and collaboration platforms

The candidate should be able to understand customer requirements and translate them into appropriate UC and collaboration solutions.

4. Video Conferencing & Meeting Room Solutions

·  Identify and develop video conferencing opportunities across enterprise and mid-market customers.

·  Engage CIOs, IT Managers, Heads of Infrastructure, Facilities Managers and other relevant stakeholders.

·  Conduct customer discovery sessions and solution presentations.

·  Work with technical/pre-sales teams on demonstrations, proof-of-concepts and solution designs.

·  Develop meeting-room and collaboration solutions based on customer requirements.

·  Position video conferencing solutions against competing platforms.

·  Identify opportunities for room upgrades, expansion and standardization.

5. Customer Relationship Management

Build and maintain strong relationships with:

CIOs, CTOs, IT Directors, IT Managers, Heads of Infrastructure, Network Managers, Unified Communications Managers, Procurement Managers, Facilities Managers, Contact Centre Managers, Business Owners, System Integrators and IT Decision-Makers.

Maintain regular engagement with strategic accounts and develop long-term customer relationships.

6. Channel & Partner Development

·  Identify, recruit and develop UC/IT resellers, system integrators, MSPs and technology partners.

·  Build strong relationships with existing channel partners.

·  Enable partners on UC, collaboration and video conferencing solutions.

·  Drive partner-led opportunities.

·  Develop joint go-to-market activities with partners.

·  Develop partner sales plans and pipeline.

·  Organize partner training, workshops, seminars and customer events.

·  Identify new partners with existing relationships in the corporate and enterprise market.

7. Pipeline & Sales Management

·  Maintain accurate and up-to-date sales forecasts and pipeline reports.

·  Use CRM systems to track opportunities, activities, forecasts and customer engagements.

·  Provide regular sales performance reports to management.

·  Develop account plans for key customers and strategic opportunities.

·  Ensure opportunities progress through the sales cycle in a timely manner.

·  Maintain accurate sales forecasts and probability assessments.

8. Solution Selling

·  Develop a strong understanding of the company's UC, collaboration and video conferencing portfolio.

·  Work closely with technical/pre-sales teams to conduct product demonstrations and proof-of-concepts.

·  Understand customer communication and collaboration requirements.

·  Translate technical capabilities into clear business value and ROI.

·  Present solutions to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

·  Develop commercial proposals and solution presentations.

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE

· 5+ years of proven B2B sales experience in Unified Communications, IP Telephony, Video Conferencing, Networking or IT Infrastructure.

·  Demonstrable experience selling UC, IP telephony, collaboration or video conferencing solutions.

·  Existing experience selling Avaya, Grandstream, Yealink, Cisco, Poly/Polycom, Logitech, Jabra, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Mitel or similar solutions.

·  A proven track record of meeting or exceeding sales targets.

·  An established network of IT decisionmakers, enterprises, resellers, system integrators and/or managed service providers.

·  Experience managing the full sales cycle from lead generation to closing.

·  Experience with channel/distributor/reseller sales models.

·  Strong understanding of UC, VoIP, IP telephony and collaboration technologies.

·  Experience working with vendors, distributors and technology partners.

Existing relationships with organizations currently using competing UC/VC solutions will be a significant advantage.

KEY SKILLS

·  Excellent business development and prospecting skills

·  Strong consultative selling ability

·  Excellent negotiation and closing skills

·  Competitive selling and objection handling

·  Account management and relationship building

·  Channel/partner management

·  Pipeline development and forecasting

·  Strong presentation and communication skills

·  Commercial awareness

·  Understanding of UC and collaboration technologies

·  Ability to communicate technical solutions in business terms

·  Target-driven and self-motivated

·  Ability to work independently and as part of a team

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (KPIs)

Success in this role will be measured by:

·  Achievement of monthly, quarterly and annual sales targets

·  New customer acquisition

·  Revenue growth

·  New opportunities generated

·  Pipeline value and pipeline conversion

·  Number and quality of active channel partners

·  Competitive account conversions

·  Customer retention and account expansion

·  Gross margin/profitability

·  Forecast accuracy

·  Partner-generated revenue

·  Growth in strategic enterprise accounts