XME SalesXtend

Your Dedicated Middle East Sales Force

This is our premier service and seamless collaboration with our clients. Extending your business to the Middle East becomes a reality with XME SalesXtend. We become your partner and dedicated, high-level field-based sales force tasked with opening up the Middle East to your business.

Our certified sales champions take full responsibility for sales and new business development and execute the entire sales cycle from prospecting through to closing deals and ensuring timely payment of invoices. You will also be working with a Xpand Middle East Sales Director who will not only manage and support your Middle East sales effort but will be able to leverage vast market experience and a track-record of success to suggest innovative ways of augmenting the overall sales effort and developing short-to-long-term business strategies to maximise your success in the Middle East. It will be as though you have an additional member of Executive Team representing your best interests in the Middle East.

Where else can you find such highly skilled experts that can reduce your cost of sales by 60-70% and at the same time open up the whole Middle East to your business? Not only do we sell your products and services in a region like the UAE, which is attractive to most foreign companies due to its reputation for being ‘business-friendly’, but unlike any other firm, we excel in the more lucrative, traditional Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Jordan and Bahrain.

Overcoming the Challenges

Many IT companies want to do business in the Middle East but do not know how to go about it. The ‘C’ Level Think-Tank’ in IT companies asks themselves, “How can we maximise our short-term Return-on-Investment (ROI), minimise our cost exposure and risk while creating a sustainable business in the Middle East?” Costs and risk are an obvious concern for IT companies in the West, but senior management are also mindful of one other major limitation: “What do we know about doing business in the Middle East?” The cost of learning is high and the process can be very painful and fruitless and holds an ever looming threat of failure. In addition, it takes time to understand a new market and altogether different social and business culture. Other challenges companies faces include:

  • The upfront costs required to mobilize an operational sales function in the Middle East.
  • The time and resources required to ‘Go-Live’ and actually start to sell in the Middle East.
  • Overcoming the ‘Middle East Learning Curve,’ such as the regional experience; social and cultural awareness; Middle East commercial ethics and dynamics; legal environment.
  • Selecting and managing local partners, representatives and agents.
  • Managing uncertainty associated in selling in a new market
  • Doing business outside of Dubai and the UAE – many companies get stuck here.
  • Recruitment of the right sales personnel (costs and calibre of sales people)

XME SalesXtend was created as a solution to counter the obstacles and challenges faced by IT companies in Europe and the US when trying to do business in the Middle East and also provide them with a clear exit strategy should we fail in creating a market for our clients and justifying a continued presence in the Middle East.

XME SalesXtend Advantage

We want to make the decision as easy and clear as possible for you. By partnering with Xpand Middle East and having us work as your dedicated field-based sales force in the Middle East verses having your own staff or recruiting new staff the benefits become clear:

Working Independently Working with XME SalesXtend

Significant Upfront Capital Costs:

Travel, Visas, Accommodation, Medical, Subsistence, Communications, Legal, Office Space, Marketing.		 Increased Sales Revenue
Burden on Current Resources/Personnel Increased Profitability
Recruitment of New Personnel Eliminate upfront Capital Costs
Learning Curve – The Market Reduced Overall Costs
Learning Curve – The Culture, Ethics, Language Reduced Time-to-Market
Learning Curve – Effective Selling Reduced Uncertainty and Overall Risk
Overall High Risk Outsourced Responsibility for the Execution of the Entire Sales Cycle
Costly, Undefined Middle East Exist Strategy Leverage Middle East Market Knowledge, Experience, Contacts and Local Infrastructure
Long, Sales Cycles Representation in the traditional Arab countries: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Jordan, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi.
High Cost of Sales A Unique Sales Methodology, Proven across the Middle East
Inaccurate Sales Forecasting and Unpredictability Accurate Sales Forecasting & Predictability
Fewer Client Wins Shorter Sales Cycles
Distraction from Core Business More Client Wins
Selection of Local Partner Lower Cost of Sales
Managing the Local Partner Strong Market Visibility
  Selection and Management of Local Partner
  Clear Middle East Exit Strategy
  Commercially Justified Long-term Investment
  No Burden on Existing Resources
  Minimal Disruption of Core Business

XME SalesXtend Secures Your Dedicated Middle East Sales force. Here's how it works.

Selecting XME SalesXtend will secure your own dedicated field-based sales force to sell your products and services in the Middle East and in the process creating a new profit centre for your organisation. We sell your products and services through a two-pronged approach:

  1. Direct Field-based Sales – Converting prospects into paying clients drives our sales champions. Managed by a Sales Director our regional sales team takes full responsibility for the entire sales cycle from prospecting, securing the final order and ensuring timely payment of invoices. We engage with your target customer base and strive to build a healthy new business pipeline with a high ratio of deals won.

  1. Selling through a Local Middle East Partner - Identifying, appointing and directly managing a local partner for specific Middle East countries or specific industry sectors will maximise our potential to close new business.

    Selling through a local Middle East partner is driving new clients to our business every day and makes it an exclusive part of the XME SalesXtend service offering and selling process. Traditionally, local partners appointed by foreign companies, work with the typical Middle East ‘agent, reseller’ arrangement, which our experience suggests is not the most fruitful.

    IT and technology companies in the West will be pleasantly surprised at the excitement with which the prospect of entering into a Partnership Agreement is met by local Middle East companies/entities. Wanting to sign on the dotted line of Partnership Agreements and Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) seems like the logical course of action, but then what happens? In some cases, things start of well, with the best of intent and then activity dwindles; enthusiasm and interest fades; the partner company gets caught up in ‘other projects and priorities’; and ultimately there is evidence of a healthy new business development pipeline, no real prospect of closing new business. Eventually, there is sales activity at all and both parties part ways. In other cases, there is a complete misunderstanding of roles, responsibilities and expectations and the prospect of business success is doomed from Day 1.

    How do we ensure that we don’t fall into the same trap? Pure and simple it is a case of holding our sales team wholly accountable for the sales function, as opposed to the Partner Company, and complete confidence in our sales people using the proven XME SalesXtend Middle East sales methodology and their own know-how and experience. Our way of working with and managing local partners and agents is altogether very different. Knowing the potential value of having the right local Middle East partner working with our clients on the right opportunities, at the right time, in the right manner is invaluable. Apart from the legal and practical advantages, some partners can prove to be very influential in helping to win new business. We want you to achieve extraordinary success in the Middle East and a partner that is trusted locally and may already be a supplier to your prospects can provide you with a powerful advantage.

    Not only are we able to identify, secure the most suitable and valuable local partners for our clients, but we eliminate any risk by directly managing the local partner and their resources. The key benefit to our clients is that we do not rely on the partner company to do any hard selling. That is what you pay us for. We retain responsibility for running with the sales process, and we leverage, drive and utilise the local partner to add value to this process as and when required. The ownership of the sales process and customer account rests firmly with us. We know the pitfalls of local partners and therefore do not solely rely on them, nor do we count on them being proactive. We expect the minimum and then reorganise our sales process to achieve maximum results. This way, the partner is energised at seeing us making an investment in the partnership (the sales personnel from Xpand Middle East and bearing the challenging burden and responsibility for the actual selling and sales process itself. Success breeds motivation and cooperation from partners.

Post-Sales Success

As experts in selling high-value, complex IT products, solutions and services, we recognise that what happens after sale often influences whether a sale is achieved in the first place.

In the Middle East, prospective customers need to be assured of the level of after-sales support and service they will receive if they purchase your technology. They need to know about your ability provide local (in time-zone) pre and post sales technical support. We will work with you to contract dedicated local technical personnel for your customers on a needs basis in line with your customer requirements. During the initial months of a new project or assignment providing technical support and assistance remotely from Europe or the US is usually satisfactory.

XME SalesXtend – This is What We Do

The engagement with our clients through XME SalesXtend takes place through three distinct phases of business activity:

  • Discovery and Learning
  • Planning and Preparation
  • SalesXtend – Execution

Discovery & Learning – Representing your Company and Brand with Passion, Integrity and Accuracy.

During the first two to three weeks of our engagement our objective is to ensure that you organisation is represented in the field, out in the Middle East, with the same credibility, passion and confidence as your own local sales personnel. The Discovery & Learning phase empowers your new Middle East sales force with knowledge and information on the following:

  • Your Business Identity – background information on your organisation. Who you are; what you do; why you exist; your mission statement; key management and team members; primary points of contact; unique value propositions; the competitive landscape; your competitive advantage and unique selling points.
  • Products & Services Training / Orientation – the products and services you sell; product and technical training; knowledge transfer; why customers buy your wares; ROI proposition.
  • Target Account Profiling – what industry sectors/verticals you sell to; the ideal target customer and buying centre; developing a suspect list; case-studies; success stories; existing customer references;
  • Your Existing Sales Process – what your sales cycle looks like; specific pitches and value propositions; objection handling; marketing materials and sales support; lead qualification criteria; customer acquisition benchmarks; best practice.
  • The Delivery/Implementation & After Sales Support Model – how you deliver and implement your products and services to your customers; what your support service consists of and how is this resourced.

Developing an affinity with your existing team gives your new sales force confidence to be able to sell into the Middle East markets with credibility. Our experience shows that successful selling in the Middle East revolves around sales people securing the position of a ‘trusted, strategic advisor’ with customers.

The role demands resourcefulness and a thorough knowledge of the customers’ business, needs and priorities. It also demands sales people to be technically proficient and adept in creating business value around the products and services being sold. This phase proves successful in empowering Xpand Middle East if our clients are generous, honest and transparent when sharing information and inducting us into their own sales organisation.

Planning & Preparation: We learn your business. We localize your sales efforts. We determine the optimum strategy to sell your products, services and solutions across the Middle East.

We firmly subscribe to the view that the ‘devil is in the detail.’ Planning, strategising and prioritising helps build a solid foundation of knowledge within your new Middle East sales force. Being knowledgeable enables the XME SalesXtend sales force to be credible and valuable in the eyes of your prospective customers in the Middle East.   Careful planning and preparation means that your Middle East sales force works smart from the outset. You only get one opportunity to make inroads into a strategic customer account. An ill-prepared sales person can soon lose the clients’ mindshare and trust. We aim to work with you to ensure that the sales team representing your organisation is indeed an ‘A’ team in all respects.

Having developed a core competency and knowledge-base to sell your products and services in the Middle East markets, the Planning & Preparation phase is vital in ensuring the efforts of your dedicated field-based sales force several thousand kilometres away (that’s us!) is spent working hard, but more importantly, working smart. After all, our goal is to attract new clients and generate new business within the next six months.  The Planning and Preparation phase is all about enablement. Having understood how your own sales people sell your products and services, the activities undertaken and issues addressed in this two-week phase include:

  • Localising as much of what we learnt during Discovery & Learning and localising it for the Middle East regions.
  • Identifying and finalising the addressable market in the Middle East. Which prospective customers are we going to target and why? What is the compelling, unique, value proposition? Finalising which countries in the Middle East will be focusing on for the next 6 months and why?
  • Finalising which specific products and services we will focus on selling in specific regions. Do we focus just on one, two or a subset of your products/service offering? Can we go after some ‘low-hanging fruit’ buy selling something specific to secure some quick-wins?
  • What can we do specifically to secure that all important first reference client?
  • Fine-tuning the sales process for your products and services using our unique Middle East sales methodology.
  • Identifying the criteria for the ideal local partner(s) for your specific technology, products and services. Establishing whether such companies can add value to our sales efforts and have the credibility, visibility and access to our target sectors, verticals, prospective customers and decision-makers in the Middle East.
  • Identifying, research and qualify specific companies in the Middle East that we would like to approach for a potential alliance in the Middle East.
  • Developing and finalising an Information Memorandum for your company that introduces you to prospective local partners in the Middle East.

Xpand Middle East will be working closely with you during this stage to chalk our strategies and ensure that there is synergy and consistency in our expectations of your new Middle East sales team’s efforts over the next few months.

XME Sales Execution: Making it happen with market penetration, front-line selling and the power of partnerships

The sales skills required to successfully establish a commercial foot-print in a new regional market are diverse from those needed to maintain and augment existing sales territories with a mature client base. Your will have the comfort of knowing that during the XME Sales Execution phase, you will enjoy the benefit of having high-calibre, seasoned Middle East sales professionals with clear goals and a proven strategy to meet the challenge of creating a new profit centre for your company in the Middle East.

Key features of the XME Sales Execution phase include:

  • Market Penetration – to maximise the likelihood of early initial market penetration, a direct strategic and conceptual selling approach will be used to address the specific target customer accounts in the specific Middle East countries we have identified. Direct account management and ownership over target accounts will enable us to shorten the sales cycle, instil focus and influence within the sales process. Our aim is to secure that first Middle East reference client for you.
  • Direct Field-based Selling – as your dedicated sales force in the Middle East, we take full responsibility for executing the entire sales cycle and associated business development activities to attract new clients and win new business in the Middle East. From carrying out the initial research and preparation, making the initial calls, attending meetings, mapping complex accounts, delivering presentations, developing influential customer relationships, getting proposals out, managing negotiations and pushing to close the deals and managing client expectations for delivery and post-sales efforts, you will be able to count on a full-service sales solution in XME Sales Execution.
  • Local Channel Partners – To augment the direct sales activity of our dedicated sales professionals, we may recommend the appointment of strategically selected local companies across the Middle East to partner with us to penetrate specific customer accounts or industry verticals. In such cases, the XME Sales Execution sales team will remain in direct control of the sales cycle and will leverage the local partner’s resources, contacts, influence to expedite the sales cycle and help win the business. This strategy ensures that such partner relationships are valuable to overall sales strategy and can deliver results. Many foreign companies tend to rely on solely local partner companies to win new order for them. They believe partners will be able to sell their products and services in the Middle East on their behalf. Relying on partners to bring qualified leads to the table and generating revenue independently is a gross mistake in our experience. XME Sales Execution phase involves the total management of the local partner with retention and ownership of the actual client relationship and all important sales process.  
  • Forecasting – collaboration is again evident in the way the sales activities and progress during the XME Sales Execution phase are monitored by mutual agreement. If you prefer your Middle East sales team to comply with your own corporate sales forecasting and reporting procedures then we will be happy to oblige. In addition, you will have your own designated Sales Director based in the region, with the responsibility to manage your sales teams’ effort. The Sales Director will be conducting weekly sales meetings as per our own sales management best-practice to monitor progress and develop accurate sales forecasts. We also encourage our clients to participate in a fortnightly sales conference call.

Our goal in the XME Sales Execution phase is to manage and drive all client and project sales opportunities through to the contract stage. We will work in close collaboration with your key points of contact back at HQ at all key stages. We certainly encourage you to drive pricing and contract negotiations with our input and recommendations

Create a New Profit Centre in the Middle East

XME SalesXtend is a new business development solution for IT and technology companies who want to create a profitable sales territory in the Middle East. Our commitment to you is to help you achieve this goal in the shortest possible timeframe, with minimum costs, low risk exposure and optimum reach and visibility across the Middle East regions.

XME SalesXtend works over a period of six months and gives our clients the opportunity to gauge the commercial potential the Middle East holds for their organisation in terms of scope for their products and services.

Find out how our XME SalesXtend team can help your organisation attract new clients in the Middle East. Contact us in confidence at sales@xpandme.com