Pierre Cronje
Business Development Manager
Cape Town
Summary
Business Development Manager skilled in growing sales and improving stakeholder relations. Strategically-minded in capturing new business and leveraging dynamic market opportunities. Accomplished in exceeding targets with results-driven approach.
Overview
10
10
years of professional experience
Work History
Business Development Manager
Babble Cloud
01.2023 - Current
- Spearheaded strategic business development initiatives in the SaaS sector within the IT industry, focusing on Microsoft 365 solutions as a key area of expertise.
- Identified and cultivated new business opportunities, resulting in a notable increase in the client base and recurring revenue.
- Consistently achieved sales targets through a consultative approach, ensuring client needs were met effectively.
- Proactively built and nurtured strong relationships with key stakeholders, fostering long-term partnerships and client loyalty.
- Built and expanded robust pipelines, playing a key role in bringing in new business ventures
- Played a pivotal role in driving revenue growth by developing and implementing innovative sales strategies aligned with the dynamic landscape of the SaaS industry.
- Collaborated closely with cross-functional teams, including marketing and technical experts, to ensure seamless integration of Microsoft 365 solutions and delivery of exceptional customer experiences.
- Negotiated and secured key partnerships with industry-leading clients, generating £175,000 in additional revenue.
Freelance Consultant
Nautical North Traders (Pty) Ltd
09.2022 - 01.2023
- Developing comprehensive business plans to strategically align with and advance the company's financial objectives, fostering a roadmap for sustainable growth and success
- Recruit, train, and cultivate a high-performing sales team, fostering a dynamic and results-driven workforce to drive revenue growth
- Enhancing internal processes across Finance, Order Fulfillment, and Stock Management, optimizing operational efficiency and fostering streamlined workflows
- Designed, developed, and launched a new custom apparel Shopify website, showcasing a seamless blend of creativity and technical proficiency to enhance the online presence and user experience.
- Developed and strategically mapped out a comprehensive social media strategy, aligning brand objectives with targeted audience engagement and growth for impactful online presence and market positioning
- Orchestrated the management of social media accounts and executed promotional sales activities, leveraging a strategic approach to enhance brand visibility, engage target audiences, and drive sales growth, leading to engagement growth of 400+%
- Proactively engaged in community management on various social media platforms, fostering positive interactions, building brand loyalty, and ensuring a vibrant and cohesive online community presence.
Sales & Account Manager
Takealot.com
02.2020 - 08.2022
- Deliver on Marketplace sales and selection targets focused on 3rd party seller acquisition, growth and retention, by creating and maintaining a robust sales pipeline with a focus on key strategic sellers
- Coaching & Mentoring New Account Managers
- Recruiting new sellers and maximizing results of existing sellers
- Developed trusted advisor relationships with accounts and business stakeholders
- Driving the success of sellers by actively increasing and retaining sales and product selection
- Work closely with Category Managers to drive product assortment
- Create executable actions by managing data
- Track 25+ marketplace partner metrics to uncover hidden areas of opportunity to further grow their accounts and achieve Sales Targets
- All key accounts achieved a combined 128% of the target at the end of the financial year.
- Grew a declining category by 35%. From 63% of Sales target to 98%
- Increased promo participation within Liquor from 5% to 12%
- Launched a new Health brand that has become the top-selling Health Seller.
- Launched a new Liquor brand that has become the top-selling Liquor Seller.
- Advised Sellers on e-commerce metrics such as (SEO, Pageviews, Conversion Rates, Overall Quality of Product Offering, Stock Management & Brand Awareness through the means of Promotional Strategy and Advertising Avenues)
- Consulted Sellers on best practices to ensure that the product data is correct, that the visual assets resonated with the intended users, and that the overall experience works seamlessly
- Take responsibility for additional tasks as required for the successful completion of the sales cycle and to drive customer satisfaction
- Developed new business with existing clients and identify areas of improvement to meet sales objectives
- Prepared reports on account status and provided input for further growth
- Collaborated with the overall commercial team to identify growth opportunities
- Provided adequate market feedback on the segment trends
- Worked closely with our Marketing and Advertising team and briefed them on Marketing Initiatives to help increase awareness and drive sales for relevant departments
- Experience pitching and presenting to C-suite executives.
- Grew liquor seller base by 200 new sellers
- Identified & Captured leads
- Recorded and Hosted Live Webinars to streamline and scale on boarding processes
Deals Buyer
Takealot.com
09.2019 - 01.2020
- Deal Price Negotiation
- Encouraging Daily Deal Participation and
- Building a Robust Deals Pipeline
- Data Analysis and Presentation on Deal Performance
- Deliver against key financial and service level performance indicators (Conversion, Sell Through, Revenue & Pageviews
- Buying for specific category ranges for Deals & Promotions as per agreed targets and objectives.
- Negotiated and curated Deals for Black Friday & Birthday Sale
- Worked closely with the Promotions & Marketing team on Marketing Initiatives
- Continually closed deals and provided clients with top-of-the-line service.
- Implemented effective negotiation strategies to close deals with the best possible purchase prices.
- Identified and maximized sales opportunities, and increased customer retention rates.
- Maintained up-to-date knowledge of all retail promotions.
Retail Buyers Assistant
Takealot.com
03.2017 - 08.2019
- Managing the critical path through the key stages of product development, to achieve on time availability and delivery
- Understanding and analyzing the product market place and Takealot.com's position, by using market data and conducting regular market and competitor analysis; keeping your knowledge up to date.
- Working with Marketing, you’ll help develop the correct product listings
- Deputizing for the Junior Buyer/Buyer in their absence and maintaining overall knowledge of the department performance
- Contributing to the development of the department to encourage and enhance learning, collaboration, and team spirit
- Order processing and support on buy plans
- Sales Data and Forecasting Analysis
- Compiling Sales reports to Suppliers and Brands
- Site Merchandising
- Price comparison and Cost negotiation
- Customer & Business Support on product queries
E-Learning Administrator
Shoprite Checkers
12.2014 - 02.2016
- Conveying technical information to non-technical audiences
- Provide business support for E-Learning
- Deliver call center support to end-users
- Liaise with E-Learning vendors
- Identify and analyze business requirements
- Provide Administrative Support
- Interprets datasets from a variety of sources in order to prepare reports and presentations
- Identify and interpret patterns and trends
- Analyzing assessment results per course and per question
- Provide feedback by running regular statistical E-Learning reports, presenting data in charts
- Works in collaboration with HR L&D team and all stakeholders on standardizing reporting and dashboards, and data integration
- SAP learning management System
- Conducting Quality Assurance tests before content was made live etc.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Business Management
University of Stellenbosch
Stellenbosch 04.2001 -
Matriculated -
Paarl Boys High School
Paarl, South Africa 04.2001 -
Skills
Net New Business Development
Decision-making
Process improvement
Negotiations
Pipeline management
Strategic partnerships
Revenue generation
Account management
Timeline
Business Development Manager
Babble Cloud
01.2023 - Current
Freelance Consultant
Nautical North Traders (Pty) Ltd
09.2022 - 01.2023
Sales & Account Manager
Takealot.com
02.2020 - 08.2022
Deals Buyer
Takealot.com
09.2019 - 01.2020
Retail Buyers Assistant
Takealot.com
03.2017 - 08.2019
E-Learning Administrator
Shoprite Checkers
12.2014 - 02.2016
Bachelor of Science - Business Management
University of Stellenbosch
04.2001 -
Matriculated -
Paarl Boys High School
04.2001 -
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