Meet the team

As Samsung channels all sales through its partner network, the relationship it has with dealers and the help it provides is critical to success. Here, we meet two members of the sales team to find out more about their roles
Neil Winckworth, Managed Print Specialist
What’s the best thing about working for Samsung There are multiple things but I would say the people I work with and that no one day is the same. The variety of managing various sales cycles and supporting both end-users and partners provides a constant challenge that I enjoy.
Describe a typical day’s work A typical day would begin with an early start reviewing my to-do list, then jumping in the car and travelling to my first customer meeting. Regularly I use the journey time to make calls or dial into pre-arranged conference calls. I would normally meet the dealer beforehand and go over the back ground of the customer and what we want to achieve in the meeting. Afterwards I would have a debrief with the dealer over a quick lunch and agree what our next actions are and timelines for completion. I would then set off in the car either to a further meeting depending on location or back to the office or home to catch up on emails/calls and other general admin duties around GSBN/pipelines/forecasts and complete my to do list. My day normally ends with a diary review, creation of a new to-do list and completion of my call backs for the day.
What would you say are your main strengths? I think my main strength is my ability to interact with lots of different people, in lots of different roles in lots of different environments. From colleagues to dealers or end customers, it’s critical that we can operate effectively with lots of different people as we are the face of Samsung to so many. Samsung is extremely fast-paced with lots of variety, so it is essential to be able to prioritise and manage your workload effectively. Being able to deal with change is a huge strength.
How can you help a dealer build their sales and business? My main role is a hybrid one to support our partners in end-user engagements from customer meetings, presentations, creating bids, running print assessments, responding to tenders, designing print solutions, making hardware/software recommendations and anything else that helps dealers progress their sales cycles.
All of our dealers share a common structure but at the same time are totally different so the support they require to build pipeline and develop sales cycles will vary, as a result the industry experience all of us in the MPS and OA teams possess is an invaluable sales resource that our dealers can benefit from and when used effectively can make a real difference to winning business as we have seen throughout the last 4 years in numerous success stories.
What’s your favourite feature of Samsung’s print technology? The Android Smart UX gives us endless customisation possibilities and the ability to truly innovate. 
Paul Shipperlee, Dealer Sales Manager – OA Print Team
What’s the best thing about working for Samsung There are a multitude of reasons, but if I have to pinpoint just one it would be the fast-paced work ethic and mentality – this approach has allowed us within the OA Print Channel to move from 13th in the market place to 5th (subject to changes in market share) in the two and a half years I have been working with Samsung. This approach allows us to react quicker to requests and industry changes. We also have a great support structure and I believe all of this contributes to Samsung being one of the only newcomers to succeed in this established marketplace over the last 30 years.
Describe a typical day’s work Every day is different but it always starts at the crack of dawn with a coffee and creating a ‘to do list’ for that day. I then set off to meet one of my dealers at their offices, which could be anywhere from Inverness to London. Due to the length of time I spend in the car I have to utilise this time to my advantage, so this is when I will contact customers, speak to internal staff and distribution staff to ensure all cogs of the wheel are always in motion and aligned.
The nature of the meeting I’m hosting/attending will vary each day but the purpose will be to review progress from previous meetings, carry out training, attend sales meetings and report on recent additions and changes or to work with the sales teams. I also implement fun activities throughout the day to help increase productivity both on the phone, with good old-fashioned foot canvassing and attending end-user appointments to help drive the Samsung message and demonstrate the joined up approach between Samsung and the dealer.
On the way home I again use this time to call dealers, internal staff and distributions teams. Once home or at the hotel I catch up on emails.
What would you say are your main strengths? I’m sure that any account manager, whatever their industry, would agree that the main strengths one must possess are:
Communication skills – The ability to communicate effectively with dealers, superiors, colleagues, and distribution teams is essential. Workers in the digital age must know how to effectively convey and receive messages in person as well as via phone, email, and social media to ensure all parties are kept in the loop.
Delivering on commitments –If I say I’m going to do something – then I do it!
Being flexible – Being flexible allows me to treat each dealer as an individual and create bespoke ways of working with them to accommodate personal styles and needs. I assess the needs of dealer and provide feedback, guidance, and recognition individually to optimise performance.
 How can you help a dealer build their sales and business? The first thing would be to utilise my communication skills to listen and gain a greater understanding of their individual requirements and driving factors. This allows me to create bespoke offerings to the dealer which can vary from arranging training courses, working with Samsung’s internal support and MPS teams to ensure the dealer’s team is fully equipped with the information they need to drive Samsung’s unique offering. I see myself as an extension to the dealer’s resources and ensure that I align the dealer’s objectives with Samsung’s to ensure a joined-up approach. As Samsung channels all sales through the dealer network it is critical we work closely together to drive the unique winning proposition to the end-user.
What’s your favourite feature of Samsung’s print technology? It would have to be the Smart UX. Having this Android control panel on the front of the machine allows our dealers to enter into different conversations with their end users and we have been able to move away from talking feeds and speeds of the machines to truly integrating the Samsung machines into end-user workflows. As the Smart UX is fully Android we are able to install already implemented applications as well as support dealers to create unique applications specific to each customer. Samsung has developed over 40 print specific apps and this number is increasing on a monthly basis.