Meet the Team: Daniel Davids

Daniel Davids, Sales & Account Manager - Team IPT

You’ve been a vital member of our IPT Sales team for many years now, what has been your experience of working for IPT?

It has been a great pleasure to be part of the IPT team for five years. From the onset I have been welcomed and embraced as a valued member of the team. I have developed many skills and gained knowledge of the industry over the years from both the industry itself and my colleagues in particular. My Sales Director, Ed has been my mentor and guided me to succeed in the role.

I have learnt to be disciplined and focussed on mastering my time management and organisational skills which are essential in this role. The role is challenging as it’s a high-performance environment but with the right mind-set I have adapted and learnt how to overcome any obstacles I come across.

I have learnt that confidence and relationship-building are of great importance to achieving success within this role. I have built strong working relationships with both colleagues and clients, something I believe contributes to IPT's continual success as we all work together as a team. So my experience working with IPT is much more than just ‘doing a job’ I feel like I’m part of a family here, where we work together and support each other.

In what area do you specialise?

I support members by connecting contacts who deal in new mobile phones, accessories and SDA however, the used phone category is my specialty. Over the years I have seen this category grow into one of the most lucrative and active sectors of the trade and have played a role in facilitating countless deals for our clients.

I thrive on seeing companies I’ve supported do deals as a result of my help and I achieve this by committing myself to understanding the needs of our clients, whether it be looking for retailers or distributors or different products. My goal is the same as the purpose of my role; to be a connector who promotes trade in the industry, where success is seeing our members do more deals in a safe environment and ultimately reaching their own goals by making the profits they desire to achieve.

What have been some of your career highlights so far?

Client satisfaction is the highlight of my work. Seeing clients appreciative of the support I’ve provided them, whether it be giving them peace of mind in the form of a reference, running checks on companies that they’re in business with, an introduction which leads to an increase in their sales or providing them with new contacts to add to their database. Seeing our clients reach their goals is what it’s all about it.

I believe trust is the recipe for success. I have developed a reputation for being able to help clients do deals through my recommendations and introductions. For example, I have helped companies who, when they joined IPT, had been struggling with finding new reliable contacts and effectively growing and expanding their business. Years down the line they continue to do deals as a result of these initial introductions I’ve made and we have fostered a mutual loyalty to each other which ultimately promotes a stronger and safer industry.

I believe no challenge is too big, I am proud to bring on big clients into the IPT trading community and continually support them in achieving results.

What’s the best thing you’ve learnt so far in your career?

In this role I have acquired many skills, from time management, the ability to work independently and within a team and effective communication amongst many others, however, the best thing I have learnt is relationship building skills which are vital to being able to succeed in this high-performance environment. People buy from people and having a relationship enables the transaction to happen easily because it is built on trust.

I have also learnt that having knowledge is powerful and acting on it yields great results so I am always striving to learn more.

How do you approach supporting your clients?

My philosophy is to support our members to the best of my ability. To do this I need to build a relationship with the client and gain a full understanding of what they do and their goals. This involves me ensuring I am well equipped with the relevant industry knowledge to be able to readily help them. I must also be an effective facilitator of relationship building to ensure they see the results of the support I offer.

What key benefits do you bring the clients?

I ensure I am readily available to help and support, whether it be running company checks, obtaining/giving references and introductions to new contacts for the offers or requests they have. I understand our clients are busy focussing on trading their goods, meanwhile, I am on hand to ensure they, for example; meet the company they would like to do business with or keep them up-to-date with product and industry trends - ultimately saving them time and effort so that they can focus on other activities within their role. Another key benefit is being able to provide peace of mind. Our industry is fraught with risks such as cloning and fraud.

I can help with the checks and references that form part of their due diligence processes. In a nutshell, they get to take advantage of my own and our entire team’s expertise, in-depth industry knowledge and years of experience.

How do you cross-match clients with potential customers and suppliers?

I fact-find. I get to understand potential customers and suppliers requirements and as I already have an acute understanding of what our existing clients are doing, I am able to make a match and make the right introduction at the right time. Sometimes these companies already know of each other, or may even be friends but they just aren’t aware of each other’s needs at a particular point in time - that’s where I come in.

What do you specifically enjoy about ITC?

I enjoy meeting our clients and getting to know them in person, there is no comparison for being able to meet face-to-face, to be able to put a face to the person you speak to only on the phone or Skype is priceless. It also gives me the opportunity to build trust.

In the relaxed environment of ITC we can talk openly, they can open up, allowing me to obtain invaluable information of their thoughts, goals and worries and in turn, they can ask me questions and get a feel of what I am like as a person which really helps in cementing a relationship - I believe that everything in business is based on trust.

I am passionate about human interactions and building relationships which translates into business. ITC provides the perfect environment to spend quality time together getting to know our clients personally and professionally.

I enjoy how well organised the event is, from the venue, the activities, the coordination and I am proud to be a part of it.

Tell us a bit about Daniel outside of the office!

I am a family man, I  love spending time travelling, sightseeing and exploring different cultures. I am passionate about  physical fitness too, so in my spare time I run long distances weekly and do resistance training exercises 3-4 times a week. In my spare time I enjoy reading books from a wide range of genres including personal development, journals and industry specific magazines to keep abreast with current trends and to keep me well informed.