“Meet The Team” – Issue 5
IN A NEW SERIES OF ARTICLES, WE WILL LOOK AT THE INDIVIDUAL ROLES OF A CROSS-SECTION OF DIFFERENT FTI EMPLOYEES. FOR OUR FIFTH ISSUE OF “MEET THE TEAM” WE SPEAK TO MR. FRED PEREZ
WHAT IS YOUR NAME?
My name is Fred Perez and I am based in San Francisco, California.
WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT POSITION IN FTI?
I am FTI’s Sales Director for North America, and I passed the ten-year mark in this position in November last year.
WHAT DOES YOUR ROLE INVOLVE?
I am responsible for building the reseller network for FTI products in North America, which is a wide-ranging and varied role encompassing the entire product sales and customer service function for FTI in the North American market. As you might imagine, my role is one which involves a huge amount of contact with our customers so the ability to build and develop great relations with our prospects and existing customers is crucial.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR TYPICAL DAY AT FTI?
Typically, my day revolves around communicating with both existing customers and prospects. In the case of existing customers, much of my efforts are focussed on trying to come up with marketing programs, providing product information, gathering information on sales forecasting and discussing new opportunities. As for new prospects, my focus is on effectively promoting FTI as a company, highlighting the quality of our products and outlining the benefits of doing business with FTI.
Other daily tasks include reviewing our order schedule, answering questions from the channel, product planning and following up with questions from our central manufacturing facility in Ras Al Khaimah.
WHAT ARE THE MAIN CHALLENGES YOU FACE IN YOUR ROLE?
The main challenge I face is in the signing up of new customers. The sales cycle can take anything between 2 months and 5 years, so needless to say that maintaining good relationships with prospective customers is of paramount importance and I need to remain in continual contact with the prospect over the course of the sales cycles via calling, providing product information and communicating new announcements.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE TEAM THAT YOU WORK WITH?
I work most closely with the product management team, who I have consistently found excellent in terms of providing the support I need, plus there is great teamwork throughout the entire team – the people are great to work and have a positive outlook to all aspects of our work, which is key to our overall success. I also think that representing a company who manufactures such a high quality products is a strong source of motivation and morale for both me and my colleagues.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO OUTSIDE FTI?
I have many interests outside work including travelling, walking, tennis, and spending time around friends and family. I am a big fan of Japanese food and especially love sushi! When is comes to sports, I enjoy watching baseball and the San Francisco Giants are the team that I support. I also enjoy films and music and my favourite films to watch are the Star Wars series, and as for music my favourite songs are “Just The Way You Are” by Billy Joel and “Moondance” by Van Morrison.