Stefan Eriksson, 2018-01-30
The sales heroes quick global trend watch
Konftel’s salespersons have a nose for the market's demand for solutions and are experts in responding to that demand. They are Konftel’s eyes and ears out there. So, we took the opportunity to talk to a handful of them when they were at our headquarters for a summit. What’s up for 2018?
Fredrik Hörnkvist – In the US the Low-Price-Race has come to an end
– E-commerce giants are now such big players that it affects the market place in every aspect. But we keep telling our customers and partners to not only look at the price. The low price sometimes comes with a big cost and partners that sell purely on price are vulnerable. As a customer you look to minimize downtime, from time to time you will need support and help with getting things in order. Today we see a strong trend towards more of a value-add and service based model and more long-term relationships. That speaks for companies like Konftel that takes good care of their partners and friends. We have an unprecedented high demand for our products at the moment, especially on our cordless Konftel 300Wx that is leading the industry in wireless conferencing.
Nipun Khanna – In India local retail rules
– The big trend right now in India is that the local retail chain is still growing. I hear my colleagues talk about a shift from local stores to e-commerce, but I see nothing of that in India. Our trade is quite regulated and e-commerce is still not a big thing. The Konftel 300IPx is on the other hand a big thing in India right now and the analog models are still important in our country.
Jeff May – UK is all about collaboration
– I recently participated in an interesting Live Panel discussion at Comms Business around the subject of what Collaboration means to the sales channel. In my view the mobile phone is so important in our lives that it will have to follow us into the conference room as an important meeting tool. We have responded to that demand by developing the Konftel Unite App. It's an easy way to use your own personal phone book and calendar to set up the conference call. We call it One Touch Conferencing and I see a huge demand for that solution from many different customers and partners. I think this is a really important step to clear away the hassle in the conference rooms.
Jörgen Rönnqvist – The Nordics love Hybrid Conferencing
– When I meet my colleagues from around the world I see that the Nordic region is a mature market. Here we have seen how the technical advances in the workplace can be described as both fast and slow at the same time. And the same goes for the Nordic users – some of us are quick to embrace new technology and new services, while others feel more comfortable with what they are used to. The solution to that is what we call Hybrid Conferencing. We offer a USB connection for someone's laptop and at the same time our phones support different types of telephone lines. This makes them perfect for all the personality types in the office – the early adopters and the “tech conservatives”.
Simon Chin – China is WeChat-land
– In China, we see how WeChat becomes a platform that is changing consumer behavior. You can almost manage your whole life in the app, but we still see the B2B to be a relatively conservative area. At the same pace as China’s business is growing, we see an increasing demand for solutions in the conference rooms. Distance meeting is very common today in this big country and the demand for our UC products is very big and growing by the hour. I look forward to an interesting 2018, that for my part starts at the at the Chinese New Year, February the 16th.
