Product Manager: Software & Cloud (Midrand)

Job Purpose

To manage the products in terms of the strategy, roadmap, and feature definition including marketing, forecasting, and profit and loss (P&L) responsibilities. To analyse the market and competitive conditions for laying out a product vision that is differentiated and delivers unique value based solutions on customer demands while bridging gaps within the company between different functions, most notably between engineering-oriented teams, sales and marketing, and support. To provide the latest insights on products to all stakeholders and provide training on products to internal sales and marketing staff.

Responsibilities

Product Management

• Make new products, features and/or promo available to sales & channel.
• Release updated pricelists, quote processes/tools training to team when required.
• Align & drive vendor priorities. Communicate & manage changes impacting the business to all stakeholders.
• Monthly billing reconciliation & prepare monthly and yearly reports.
• Drive vendors’ cloud partner programs.
• Generate leads through campaigns for sales to qualify. Convert leads into paid seats. Promote existing customers purchase additional services.
• Manage cloud & software sales processes in systems and license agreements.
• Keep Mustek’s ERP and Cloud platforms up to date.
• Develop, maintain & manage onboarding process when required.
• Run partner recruit sessions nationally to enable cloud & software resellers.
• Maintain the GP set by the budgets.

Stakeholder Relations

• Develop product sales strategies. Gain a deep understanding of customer experience, identify and fill product gaps and generate new ideas that grow market share, improve customer experience and drive growth.
• Negotiate prices for deals and tenders; determines product pricing by utilising market research data, anticipating volume; costing special and customised orders.
• Scope and prioritize activities based on business and customer impact.
• Maintain and retain clients’ relationships.
• Maintain vendor relationships, as well as negotiate contracts, prices, stock.
• Assist sales and clients with information needed, calling on customers with field salespeople and evaluating sales call results.
• Defining product marketing communication objectives.

Training and Development

• Train 100% of sales and service staff (new development on product range within 1 week of changes in product range).
• Development of sales and channel training materials.

Qualification And Experience

• Matric
• Postgraduate degree
• Minimum 5 years’ experience in product management within ICT industry.

Skills and Knowledge:

• Microsoft Office
• Microsoft Excel especially
• ICT industry knowledge
• Product specific knowledge
• Working knowledge of budgets
• Sales and marketing principles and procedures
• Verbal and non-verbal persuasion techniques and communication
• Technological developments relating to products being managed
• Superior presentation skills
• Good problem solving/analytic skills
• Good relationship building skills
• Good general administration skills
• Good influencing/persuasion skills
• Strategy development skills
• Superior negotiation skills
• Good verbal and written communication skills
• Good organisational skills
• Good people and customer management skills