Falcon Technologies International recently hosted its Global Sales Managers and Master Distributors in its home Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah. We were delighted to welcome our Global Sales Managers responsible for the Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa and North-America territories together with our European Master Distributors (River Pro Audio – UK & Ireland, Media Range – Northern Continental Europe and Synoptic International – Southern Continental Europe) to discuss the latest developments, opportunities and innovations that make optical media the exciting and progressive industry that it is today. The entire FTI extended a very warm welcome to all the guests, who enjoyed the superb hospitality and fun activities including a Safari in Ras Al Khaimah desert.
Tag: fti
Issue 31
Issue 30
“Meet The Team” – Issue 9
IN A NEW SERIES OF ARTICLES, WE WILL LOOK AT THE INDIVIDUAL ROLES OF A CROSS-SECTION OF DIFFERENT FTI EMPLOYEES. FOR OUR NINTH ISSUE OF “MEET THE TEAM” WE SPEAK TO MS. KIMBERLY HANEY
WHAT IS YOUR NAME AND WHERE ARE YOU FROM?
My name is Kimberly Haney and I live in the metro area of Atlanta, Georgia in the Southeastern Region of the United States of America.
WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT POSITION IN FTI AND HOW LONG HAVE YOU WORKED HERE?
I am the Business Development Manager for FTI-US, LLC and I have been with FTI since 2008, with a brief departure for a period of time from 2014-2015.
WHAT ARE THE MAIN FUNCTIONS OF YOUR JOB?
I am responsible for Channel sales training, support and business growth within the Channel of resellers. I currently manage 11 VARs within my region.
CAN YOU DESCRIBE A TYPICAL WORKING DAY FOR YOU IN FTI?
Email is the first thing I check in the morning and make responses appropriately. I print out all invoices received from FTI-US for my files. I keep a running forecast from weekly activity reports on my desk and I check those to see if I need to follow-up on any important tasks, then open my contact manager to import any emails over into the notes fields. Phone calls are made, samples sent if required, and then rest of the day is set up for prospecting.
WHAT ARE THE MAIN CHALLENGES YOU FACE IN YOUR JOB, AND HOW DO YOU OVERCOME THEM?
Finding new business for my reseller channel and generating new business within the channel. Many of our resellers are being absorbed through attrition, so there really isn’t much that can be done to resolve them, with the exception of working together with the contacts at both companies to make forecasting and ordering a seamless transition.
WHO DO YOU WORK MOST CLOSELY IN FTI AND HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE SPIRIT OF TEAMWORK WITHIN THE COMPANY?
Fred Perez, Director of Sales. Fred and I have worked together for over 20 years in the optical media industry. Fred is committed to providing the best support to his team!
WHAT IS THE BEST THING ABOUT WORKING FOR FTI?
Representing a quality product to our customers! Our customer base continually lets me know how much they appreciate our level of service and responsiveness. Customers know that they can count on us to deliver the best optical discs with consistent quality. Representing the FTI reputation is the best thing about working for FTI.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO OUTSIDE OF WORK FOR FUN?
I have a 3 year old grandson named Hollis who is my sole source of extracurricular activities. We love to ride trains and go look at the airplanes at a small regional airport. Playing at the park and feeding the ducks has become a regular activity. I am also very active in rescuing cats and kittens for several licensed Rescues in my state of Georgia. I volunteer to bottle feed abandoned kittens that cannot eat on their own, and we have fostered many kitties at the Haney Estate!
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FOOD?
Boy, that’s a tough one. I love Mexican food, but I’m also a steak and potatoes kind of gal!
WHICH IS YOUR FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM?
Dallas Cowboys (American Football, y’all).
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE/SONG?
My favorite movie is Steel Magnolias and my favorite song is Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynrd.
“Meet The Team” – Issue 8
IN A NEW SERIES OF ARTICLES, WE WILL LOOK AT THE INDIVIDUAL ROLES OF A CROSS-SECTION OF DIFFERENT FTI EMPLOYEES. FOR OUR EIGHTH ISSUE OF “MEET THE TEAM” WE SPEAK TO MR. RAJAS NAINAM
WHAT IS YOUR NAME?
My Name is Rajas Nainam and I am from Calicut, India.
WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT POSITION IN FTI?
I am the Sales and Business Development Manager for MENA region and have worked at FTI for almost 2 years.
WHAT DOES YOUR ROLE INVOLVE?
The main function of my role involves developing and growing distribution channels in the MENA region for FTI brands and identify potential clients for the Private Label business. I am also very much involved and responsible for the distribution of the Verbatim brand in Middle Eastern region. In general, I am responsible for selling products and maintaining / improving relationships with the clients.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR TYPICAL DAY AT FTI?
My day in FTI starts by reviewing my sales forecast, looking ahead to see how I am projected to perform during the month or quarter. I then conduct a range of activities to develop business for FTI – these include conducting research to identify new markets, identifying potential clients and the decision makers in the target organisations, sending emails, making cold calls, arranging business meetings with prospective and existing clients, promoting company’s products / services, delivering effective communication of our products to potential clients and – finally – transforming all of these activities into increased business for FTI.
WHAT ARE THE MAIN CHALLENGES YOU FACE IN YOUR ROLE?
I would say that the toughest part of my job is prospecting – I expect that many salespeople will tell you that this is the biggest challenge of their job, regardless of industry. For example – cold calls can often get ignored and emails can often go unanswered by customers. The MENA market is a very competitive one and major customers are often difficult to persuade to change from their existing major suppliers, and to overcome this challenge I must think outside of the box and try to be different. However, my past experience and the unique FTI product range and services help me to target the right customers with the right offers at the right time. Nevertheless, there is always a sales cycle to go through and I must allow enough time to find prospective clients to turn into real business.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE TEAM THAT YOU WORK WITH?
In FTI, I work closely with the Product Management team who help in providing the product related information I require to effectively communicate to prospective and existing clients. I also work closely with the Marketing team who assist the sale teams in providing support and materials for brand promotion. Having worked here for almost 2 years I must say FTI is a multicultural organization that prioritizes the contributions of a diverse workforce. Here I can feel the spirit “Alone we can do a little; together we can do a lot.”
WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO OUTSIDE FTI?
I love travelling and reading books. My favorite books are “The Alchemist’’ by Paulo Coelho and “Love in the Time of Cholera “by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. As an Indian I love Indian food, however I am also a fan of Chinese and Lebanese cuisine. I like watching football and am a supporter of Barcelona, Spain – I am especially a big fan of Lionel Messi. Finally, also like music and movies, especially Indian movies and songs. My favorite English movie is “The Pursuit of Happyness’’.
“Meet The Team” – Issue 7
IN A NEW SERIES OF ARTICLES, WE WILL LOOK AT THE INDIVIDUAL ROLES OF A CROSS-SECTION OF DIFFERENT FTI EMPLOYEES. FOR OUR SEVENTH ISSUE OF “MEET THE TEAM” WE SPEAK TO MR. RAGHU RAJ KURUP
WHAT IS YOUR NAME?
My Name is Raghu Raj Kurup. I am from India, and am currently living in Ras Al Khaimah UAE.
WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT POSITION IN FTI?
I am the Regional Sales Manager for Middle East & Africa region, and have been with FTI since the early days of the company – a total of 11 years and 11 months.
WHAT DOES YOUR ROLE INVOLVE?
My main responsibility is to build distribution channels for FTI Brands in Middle East & Africa and Private Label Business in South-East Asia. This is a role that includes many different activities and facets, however like many of my colleagues in the customer-facing side of FTI, the ability to communicate is a vital skill for my role.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR TYPICAL DAY AT FTI?
Typically, my day starts with short meetings with the product management and sales support teams on pending orders and shipments. Then, I spend a considerable part of my day communicating with the clients, gathering market information, understanding competitor’s strategy etc., which I then discuss in-depth with the MEA sales team. Furthermore, I devote some of my time to contacting new prospects and promoting FTI products, highlighting the benefits of doing business with FTI. The need to maintain constant contact with new clients is crucial because the sales cycle behind a new client deal takes a minimum of 2 to 3 months, and some cases up to a year.
WHAT ARE THE MAIN CHALLENGES YOU FACE IN YOUR ROLE?
I think the MEA market volatility is a considerable challenge that I must deal with on a daily basis. The market volatility is related to the fact that end-consumers of our product are not always quality conscious, and the market is therefore influenced by cheaper competitors who produce lower-priced products from Far East Asian Brands. However, with FTI’s unique product range, consistent quality, proximity and customer relations we are able to overcome such challenges and maintain our positive market position.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE TEAM THAT YOU WORK WITH?
The closest working relationship I have is with the product management team, who regularly update me on production capacity, lead times, new product information etc. Secondly I often interact with the marketing team, who is very active in social media and in supporting sales managers with catalogues, POP materials, banners etc. Overall, I would say that FTI has a very professional team across the board, who work hard to ensure that all processes happen very smoothly.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO OUTSIDE FTI?
I like to be physically active and on week days I often play badminton, whilst at the weekends I enjoy cycling – Ras Al Khaimah has some excellent roads and tracks to cycle on and this is one of the benefits of living here. I also enjoy international cuisine, and whilst I would say that food from my home country of India is my favourite, I enjoy sampling cuisines from different countries, especially Lebanese and Iranian food.
“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.
“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.
“Meet The Team” – Issue 4
IN A NEW SERIES OF ARTICLES, WE WILL LOOK AT THE INDIVIDUAL ROLES OF A CROSS-SECTION OF DIFFERENT FTI EMPLOYEES. FOR OUR FOURTH ISSUE OF “MEET THE TEAM” WE SPEAK TO MR. NEIL BROCK
WHAT IS YOUR NAME?
My name is Neil Brock and I am from Manchester in the UK.
WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT POSITION IN FTI?
I am currently the sales and business development manger for Europe, having worked for the company since 2009 and held a number of different roles.
WHAT DOES YOUR ROLE INVOLVE?
FTI has recently evolved its business strategy to move towards a partner-distribution model, and my principle responsibility is to manage the master distribution agreements FTI has in place with three key distribution partners in Europe. Technically, this responsibility is relatively new for me as the new business strategy was rolled out within the last month, however the distribution partners we have chosen are ones I have been working with for several years so there is an excellent relationship in place already and I see this change in role as a positive development. Also, I am responsible for new sales and business development in new territories such as Eastern Europe where FTI’s brand is less well known, plus I also manage a select number of key FTI customers on a direct basis.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR TYPICAL DAY AT FTI?
Being based in the UK, I work remotely from the central FTI office in Ras Al Khaimah. Much of my day is spent communicating with the team to ensure that I keep track of product developments which equips me with any new information available to assist with the business of growing sales for FTI in Europe. The other side of my daily activities involves liaison with clients and distributors to enable their requests and needs are effectively communicated to my manufacturing and production colleagues back in the RAK central office. While I would say that no two days are the same, the crucial, central factor to my role which I employ on a daily basis is the ability to both listen and communicate effectively.
WHAT ARE THE MAIN CHALLENGES YOU FACE IN YOUR ROLE?
I would say there are three skills that are essential to my role – communication, innovation and negotiation. I often find myself in a position whereby I am the “interpreter” between our clients and our manufacturing operations. For this, it is essential that I understand enough detail about the requirements and workings of both to be able to innovate different solutions which ensure that our clients needs are met, whilst our manufacturing and production teams continue to adhere to their high working practices and standards. Innovating such solutions is the biggest challenge of my role, however it is one that I enjoy and makes the job interesting and worthwhile.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE TEAM THAT YOU WORK WITH?
My main contact with the team is via the senior management, especially the leaders of the product management department, who I communicate with on a very regular basis. I also work closely with the ordering processing team, and in general I would describe all the people I work with as very efficient and trustworthy. I also enjoy the multi-cultural nature of the people that I deal with, and during my tenure at FTI I have learned a lot about how cultural norms differ from region to region, and how to adapt my own communication style accordingly. That said, no matter what the cultural background of my colleagues at FTI one common thread is that everyone shares a positive attitude and a willingness to succeed.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO OUTSIDE FTI?
Running is my main passion outside work – I have run 7 marathons and hope to break the 3 hour mark when I run the London marathon in April this year. I have also ran the RAK Half Marathon on my travels to Ras Al Khaimah, and I must say it is a fantastic event and a great course for runners. I am married with two adult children, who are both following their own career paths in the UK (based in London and Leeds respectively) and I enjoy sampling local cuisines when I travel.
Falcon Technologies International unveils regional partnerships in new global distribution strategy.
Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, January 29th 2018 – Optical Media storage specialist Falcon Technologies International (FTI) has announced the formation of a number of key regional distribution partnerships in support of the company’s new worldwide strategy to increase sales and distribution via closer cooperation with the key players in the global optical media industry.
FTI’s new strategy is a pro-active step towards adapting to the shifting market dynamics of the optical media industry, which have evolved in the last 2 years towards consolidation into a smaller number of larger market players within all major territories globally.
In Europe, FTI has entered into distribution agreements with River Pro Audio to cover UK and Ireland, with Media Range to cover Northern Europe, and with Synoptic to cover Southern Europe. Each distribution partner has specialist knowledge and distribution networks in their respective territories and the existing, long-standing relationship each partner currently enjoys with FTI was a key factor in their selection as partners.
Within China, FTI has entered into an agreement with Yuen Data Technology Limited, who will serve as the official distributor of FTI archival, medical and professional products for the Chinese market. The partnership has been effective since January 2018.
FTI’s new distribution agreements come shortly after two other important news were announced; earlier this month FTI confirmed the opening of FTI US LLC to serve the dual functions of further improving its customer service to its North American customers, as well as gaining a larger footprint in the territory, and during 2017 FTI entered into an agreement with Verbatim to act as Verbatim’s exclusive distributor for their optical media products to countries in the Middle East.
FTI CEO Michael Gutowski said: “The optical media market has seen a number of partnerships and mergers take place in the last few years, and today we can see that the global future of the industry will be more heavily influenced by a smaller number of key companies as the sector moves towards a more consolidated position. FTI is one of those key market players, and given that our core strength is our professional focus and attitude, we have made the strategic decision to focus on being the number one global professional optical media manufacturer and made alliances with strategic distribution partners in our key market territories. This strategy will ensure that FTI is best positioned to take advantage of the current market consolidation and will place FTI’s products at the top of the scale as regards quality and reliability”.