Management Motivations: Building a strong and skilled team results in satisfied long-term customers

Management Motivations is a new series of articles by Quectel's senior executives that explores their management styles, approaches to the challenges of further developing the company and what drives them to lead and succeed.

Dominikus Hierl, SVP Sales EMEA, Quectel

4. Building a strong and skilled team results in satisfied long-term customers

I see myself as coach and leader of a strong team. I'm very hands-on and want to be involved in the sales process at major opportunities. The challenge is to find people who are able to share that vision of Quectel's offering and financial growth. It's a very challenging and dynamic environment and we have a mentality to succeed and achieve and that is a very Chinese attitude.

The EMEA sales teams typically have a technical degree in Electronics and understand the portfolio inside-out. Having less technically skilled sales people would restrict the ability to discuss with the customers the latest trends in IoT communications. This enables them to focus on their specific vertical IoT solution and let Quectel deal with the challenges of the permanently changing communication technology.

Having people that understand both the module and the app level creates a value-added sales situation. If you don't understand the technology the conversation is limited to 'Hi' and 'What's your best price?' That means the conversation is over quickly but, if you can consult on the latest technological trends and roadmap, the customer appreciates the discussion and spends more time with you. This enables you to really understand what they want and how Quectel can help them. For this reason, we only work with experienced people.

Experience is vital but it never stands still. Quectel's portfolio is always being added to so my teams have to engage with the complexities of selling sophisticated products with multiple applications for different types of customers. Quectel has established a sequence of product training activities and resources to update the international staff on new products and solutions but they need the right level of aggression and confidence in themselves to succeed here and that's what I'm always looking to see in team members.

We certainly have no problem attracting the best talent because Quectel has become the a market leader and therefore is the most attractive employer in our segment. I see it as my responsibility as one of the sales leaders outside China to be the bridge between our local partners and customers and headquarters in China so we can communicate their needs effectively and supply them with the solutions they need.