Sales Manager for the Rhône-Alpes Region

Can you describe your job for us?

I’m the Sales Manager for the Rhône-Alpes region! We can sum up the job of a Sales Manager in 3 large tasks: firstly, taking part in defining the company’s sales policy and adapting it to your region; secondly, supporting a technical sales team both technically and commercially and thus leading them to grow in their job; and then thirdly, quite simply selling things. This happens particularly through responding to clients’ contacts, promoting the Group’s activities and fostering partnerships. It’s a really very varied job!

When did you become part of DV GROUP? And how did you become a Regional Sales Manager?

I began working with the company in 2002 as a travelling technical salesperson in the Nord region. Little by little over the years, the company has grown and has developed into other sectors. In this context, the Management offered me the role of Sales Manager in the Rhône-Alpes region and I didn’t hesitate for a second! The fact of adding the management of a team to my job was a real challenge. The idea of passing on my knowledge, my skills and in some way sending what I’ve been able to learn back down the line has always enchanted me.

What skills do you need to have to follow this profession?

Firstly, you need real sales skill. What I mean by that is a feeling for relationships, an analytical mind and an ability to adapt. Then, knowing how to manage and therefore advise, support and guide a team. For me, this is particularly expressed by the fact of explaining things simply. And then technical expertise to complement all that.

What are the challenges and difficulties of this job?

In my profession, the real challenge is reconciling my own sales tasks and my team’s tasks. For example, the error not to commit is to deal with a management subject while thinking about business. That’s the reason why you need to change the hat you’re wearing all the time. Then, for me, the difficulty of this role lies rather in management because, to be honest, I’m a technician first and foremost, then a salesman and lastly a manager. And finally, as with lots of professions, time management isn’t easy, but the challenges and difficulties are really what make the job interesting. Routine is my number 1 enemy!

What challenges have you encountered during your career and how have you overcome them?

When starting out in our careers, we have a tendency to go for it with your head down, without taking a step back. I was certain that the technical and commercial worlds could manage every problem. Of course, that’s not the case! Nowadays, in order to overcome any difficulties and address challenges, I advise and implement the fact that my counterparts tell me what they expect from me and I don’t hesitate to let them know what I expect from them. This advice might seem surprising, but I’m sure that as long as we haven’t made that step towards openness, we’re lacking in efficiency. So, my main challenge has been and still remains: maintaining dialogue and combating assumptions.

To finish with, why have you chosen to work with DV GROUP?

Working in a large international group, I was won over by DV GROUP’s conquering project. What I expected were resources and human contact. I’ve found what I was looking for in both cases! I’ve always enormously enjoyed the group’s dynamic, its ambition and above all the resources deployed by the management in successfully seeing through the various projects. I haven’t always agreed with all the decisions and, of course, have had moments of doubt, but I’ve always been reassured and valued by the real trust between my colleagues and the management. This year, I’ve celebrated 18 years with DV GROUP! That’s quite unusual these days, particularly for a salesman, but when you feel comfortable in a company and it keeps its promises, why change?