Channel Post MEA speaks with Peter Oganesean, Country Sales Manager, HP Inc. on how collaboration and communication play an integral role in creating an effective channel strategy.
What is your career history to date and key career achievements?
I have been working at HP Inc. for more than 8 years, currently as the Regional Manager for the UAE, Iraq and East Africa territories. One of my key career achievements at HP is having the opportunity to be involved in various job roles in the organization from marketing to sales to managing different teams across HP’s computing and print businesses. This has made me professionally rich and became my main point of strength in leading the brand in maintaining our market leadership in the region.
What are your roles and responsibilities in the company as a channel influencer?
As a channel influencer, I am responsible for managing HP’s sales and channel activities in the UAE, Iraq and East Africa territories. I work with multiple sales teams to drive the growth of HP’s computing and print businesses across the said regions. I also work closely with our product category teams across both computing and print businesses in developing new product lines and positioning in the market.
What qualities should a channel influencer possess to lead the channel?
At HP, more than 90% of our business goes through the channel so it is extremely important to manage and understand it well. Therefore, a channel influencer should spend a lot of time with the organization’s channel partners to understand their market needs and address existing challenges that are hindering market growth. Good channel influencers encourage two-way communication between both parties and promote the exchange of best practices to streamline processes and achieve best results.
Channel influencers should also firmly believe in their channel philosophy and ensure this is properly communicated to their channel partners through clear strategies that are aimed at increasing market share and profitability of their product lines. Overall, a good channel influencer always thinks about the health of the channel and how he can strengthen the relationships within the people in it.
What is your advice on finding success in the channel?
My advice on finding success in the channel is to focus on three things: market knowledge, product knowledge and relationships. All three are important elements of an efficient and effective channel strategy. For our channel partners at HP, we ensure that they have the right market knowledge, distribution channels, sales expertise and customer relationships to successfully market our products to customers in the region. Always remember that your channel partners are looking for easy access to the material they need to be more productive: training courses, lead management and sales productivity tools that can be accessed by the appropriate people, and social forums that the sales force can feel connected and have a means to share best practices.
Overall, it is important to engage with partners at all levels and build relationships that value what each party brings to the table. Collaboration is critical for partner organizations to interact with each other to realize shared goals. This interaction can take many forms, but problem solving, open communication, and sharing of best practice ideas are at the top of the list.
How would you assess the current state of channel?
The channel community in the MEA region is supported by a lot of strong partners and retailers. In the Middle East for example, we have a well-developed community of system integrators and vast traders that operate on a worldwide level. With a lot of established players in the market, there is a lot of ongoing consolidation happening not only in the IT sector but also in the retail and commercial spaces as well. On the other hand, the channel state in Africa continues to develop with new channel partners establishing themselves and increasing market opportunities for vendors. At HP, we are focused in strengthening relationships with our partners in the said channel communities and gathering their inputs to further tailor programs for them that will provide the best business environment to sell and promote our products and services.
What is the biggest challenge facing the IT channel in the region?
One of the biggest challenges facing the IT channel in the region today is maintaining the balance when dealing with diverse economies and constantly changing market conditions, to which HP is handling efficiently with well-managed sales and customer support teams in various markets.
If you could improve one thing about the channel business what would it be?
Overall, I feel that the channel is fit already so I wouldn’t change anything in that regard. Instead, I will look to stabilize the market and the economies in order to reduce the turbulences that we see in our businesses today.
How can partners work effectively to generate growth in the channel?
Channel partners need to work together to constantly educate their end customers on the ROI and benefits of the products and solutions that they are promoting in the market. They need to take advantage of product workshops (usually hosted by the vendor) that gives them the perfect opportunity to get a refresher on new and upcoming product offerings as well as exchange best practices and address customer concerns. Overall, having the complete product knowledge will enable them to not only recommend the right solutions for their customers, but also the opportunity to reach out to untapped markets in the local community.
