Senior Manager SME Segment at Airtel

Job description
JOB PURPOSE -  To plan and develop strategies that drive the sales and revenue growth of GSM and Non GSM products and services across the regions for the SME segment.

The successful candidate will have full responsibility for -

• The sales and marketing initiatives for the SME Business within the Enterprise function
• Ownership of the sales (New Business), development of acquisition initiatives, pricing andbusiness case development, segment growth through usage and retention intervention
• Segment revenue & profitability and market and customer insights

Duties and Responsibilities:
Effective development of SME sales strategy  -

• Design and drive the implementation of acquisition & retention strategies for prospective and existing SME accounts across the zone
• Liaise with the Regional enterprise sales teams in driving sales initiatives targeted at enhancing profitability
• Work with marketing teams to develop appropriate sales collaterals for enterprise products

Managing 3rd party sales/ alternate partners  -

• Develop the frame work for the recruitment and management of alternate sales partners and channels
• Provide SOP procedure to guide region and channel managers in the management of third party sales partners
• Develop a mechanism for managing recruitment of sales agents, ensuring constant availability of field sales resources
• Develop training and capability development programs for 3rd party sales partners and agents

Product Management, Proposition Development, Revenue and Margin Management -

• Lead all tariffs and pricing approvals
• Work with Airtel stakeholder community to develop competitively priced value proposition and packages which generates agreed margins for products and services
• Ensure high level of customer and network experience for the segment
• End-to-end management of existing SME products (GSM and Non GSM) and value propositions to meet targets for profitability and revenues, as agreed with the GM Commercial

Business Analysis, Data analysis, Usage and Retention Analysis and Intervention -

Manage each in-life products and services on a profit and loss account basis, using financial performance data to make individual product investment and withdrawal decisions, proposing and implementing changes required to optimize performance through:

• Customer incentives plans
• Sales incentives plans
• Upgrade
• Cross Sells

Analyze the daily, weekly and monthly reports, region wise and at pan OPCO level to understand the trend of customer demands and acceptability inclination

Market and Customer Insight - 
Leverage market research to get insights into consumer behavior and preferences and drive future programs and promotions

Performance Management -

• Provide strategic support to enhance the delivery on regional SME sales targets.
• Develop procedures for setting and communicating sales targets and monitoring performance.
• Deploy relevant metrics to routinely monitor progress against targets and recommend appropriate remedial actions to ensure targets are met or exceeded.
• Develop and manage a sales pay plan which provides incentives and rewards to meet/exceed sales targets.
• Provide sales performance data to support management decision making
• Perform regular review of the Sales Incentive Plan – Measurement Criteria, Monthly/Quarterly targets etc. to ensure alignment with business focus and strategy

Cross Functional Engagement and Support -
Act as the Single Point of Contact for all SME Segment related engagement across stakeholder departments in head office
Work to ensure that all the departments/verticals are fully aligned to deliver on meeting customer requirements

Trade and sales team information dissemination and training -

• Carry out regular SME sales training needs analysis
• Coordinate content development and delivery of skill enhancement programs to enhance professionalism of the SME sales team
• Effective interpretation and cascade of all new product and value propositions to the regional SME sales team

Effective SME sales processes -

• Establish and continuously review SME sales management process to support the sale of enterprise products and services. Such processes include:
• Bid Management
• Contract Management
• Effective Competitor Analysis and Intelligence -
• Effectively liaise with Marketing in analyzing competitor’s activities as well as relevant market development and proposing pre-emptive counter measures

1Team Management -

• Provide clarity of purpose to team members
• Ensure effective prioritization of product development activities and alignment of such to the overall SBU and company wide objective
• Coach, mentor and guide team members, ensuring high motivation and engagement
• Put in place training and development plan for members of the team

Relevant Skill and Experience

• A first degree or its equivalent in Computer science, Business Administration, Sales and Marketing or Business related discipline
• Product Management, Business Analysis and Planning, Product Development, Strategic Sales Management, Channel management, Key account management, Presentation, Business Case Development
• Ability to use market research gap analysis to develop profitable products and services
• Ability to manage product life cycle
• Knowledge of the Nigerian enterprise solutions market
• Ability to exercise "thought leadership" throughout Airtel and customer organizations
• Ability to lead and manage a virtual Sales and product management team, motivating others to achieve targets
• Analytical thinker who can plan/execute action to exploit business opportunities
• Ability to present compelling business cases for investment in in-life products and services development
• Utmost professional integrity
• 8+ years of varied experience in Sales & Marketing with at least 4 years at middle management level handling independent businesses
• An in-depth knowledge of enterprise systems is highly desirable
• Relevant experience in Telecom industry is desirable
• Innovative
• High drive for results
• Analytical & strategic
• Team Player, Confident and Objective
• Attention to detail
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Good presentation skills
• Ready to achieve beyond set target