“Meet The Team” – Issue 6
IN A NEW SERIES OF ARTICLES, WE WILL LOOK AT THE INDIVIDUAL ROLES OF A CROSS-SECTION OF DIFFERENT FTI EMPLOYEES. FOR OUR SIXTH ISSUE OF “MEET THE TEAM” WE SPEAK TO MS. RAJWA MAHDI
WHAT IS YOUR NAME?
My name Rajwa Mahdi and I am from Shouf in Lebanon.
WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT POSITION IN FTI?
I am FTI Sales Manager for the Middle East region and I have been with FTI for almost 2 years.
WHAT DOES YOUR ROLE INVOLVE?
My role is to help develop FTI’s presence in Middle East and North Africa, by finding new distributor channels and growing market share for FTI products, including the FalconMedia and Verbatim brands. Ultimately, my main objective is to grow sales for the optical media products that FTI produces and represents.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR TYPICAL DAY AT FTI?
Typically, my day starts at the office in RAK sending emails, developing a list of new potential clients, making calls to existing and potential clients, providing them with information about our products, and organizing meetings with them – in a nutshell, my role is all about effective communication, being proactive and supportive with our existing clients, and researching enough about new prospects to ensure that we can introduce our company and products in a way that meets their needs.
WHAT ARE THE MAIN CHALLENGES YOU FACE IN YOUR ROLE?
The main challenge I face – probably like most people who are employed in sales roles – is to identify and sign new clients. Development of new clients can take a lot of time, there is always a sales cycle to go through and I have to allow enough time to communicate with the prospective client and fully understand their needs so that I can ensure that the brands, products, and tailored service that we offer represents the right choice for every individual prospect. My experience helps me to direct my effort in ways that can save some time so that I can get to the stage of sending a meaningful proposal a little more quickly, however there is always a discovery process to go through with every client.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE TEAM THAT YOU WORK WITH?
The team I work with at FTI are all great communicators, good communication is essential for our team to ensure we communicate well with each other, and with the many other other departments involved in the background that makes our selling jobs possible – specifically the production, product management, marketing and finance teams who support our work. At the end of the day, I believe that communication is the key to any successful working relationship. Also, one thing I want to highlight is the strong team spirit and positive working environment evident at FTI, which makes it a great place to work.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO OUTSIDE FTI?
Outside of work I enjoy walking in the beach, reading Arabic stories from famous writers like Jobran Khalil like the one I’m reading now called “The Prophet”. These days I also go to the gym to keep fit, and I like soccer and am a Fan of FC Barcelona. My favorite food is Lebanese but also like Italian pasta. I enjoy Arabic music from Marwan Khoury, and sometimes Celine Dion.