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FINALISTS
Open to all account managers at builders’ supply merchants, this award recognises account representatives or account managers who sell hardware and building supply products by calling on builders and building companies during a regular call cycle.
TRADE ACCOUNT MANAGER OF THE YEAR
Jeff (Chen) Li
PLACEMAKERS AUCKLAND WEST HUB
Jeff (Chen) Li’s results
are “always best in class,” says HUB Manager Kevin Riley. Having in the last year “outperformed all other account managers by a very large margin”, thanks to his “passion and hard work” not only is Jeff’s margin growing but he’s also among the most knowledgeable. He has
a “no surprises” outlook, ensures high levels of communication with customers, and pushes suppliers hard on their behalf. Indeed, Jeff’s “care factor” goes before him, to the extent that one new customer, having heard of his high levels of service and commitment, simply trusted Jeff would do his best on price.
Charles Luan
MITRE 10 MEGA TE RAPA
Charles Luan says
a successful Trade Account Manager is “empathetic”, someone who understands both the company’s and the client’s goals and overcomes obstacles. “There is always a way around a problem
if you are willing to look outside the box,” he
says. Bryan King, Mitre
10 Hamilton’s GM Trade, describes Charles’ metrics as “unprecedented”, with ongoing sales growth from both new and existing customers. Charles has “a relentless obsession with the customer,” he says. “A credit to Charles’ success is his real drive to listen, debate and learn, striving to improve himself as a person and an account manager.”
Sai Ma
PLACEMAKERS AUCKLAND SOUTH EAST HUB
A previous Finalist in 2019, Sai Ma is back to finish what he started. Armed with a “no excuses” mindset, and always beginning “with the end in mind”, key
to his success is his willingness to collaborate and communicate, “understand the customer’s pain points and find clear solutions”, anticipate material shortages and work through the issues
with team, suppliers
and customers. Noting his impressive dollar margin growth, Keven Chen, Asian Business Manager for PlaceMakers’ South East HUB, calls
Sai “A genuine hunter... incredibly tenacious and hardworking”.
Yuan Pei
PLACEMAKERS AUCKLAND SOUTH EAST HUB
Another high performer in Auckland’s ultra- competitive Asian market, Yuan Pei puts his success down to “the good, the bad and the ugly”. While
a customer must feel confident about their Account Manager, he must also be able to let the customer know that they need to give a little, as well as offering honest opinions or suggestions that they might not like, but have to know about. Keven Chen is happy to confirm that Yuan “cares deeply for his customers”, that he’s one of the SE HUB’s “top performers” and that he is “dedicated, hardworking and intelligent”.
Ryan Rooney
PLACEMAKERS NEW PLYMOUTH
Ryan Rooney joined PlaceMakers New Plymouth in September last year, having returned home from London where he was Sales Manager
for Jewson’s. Describing Ryan as “hardworking and driven”, Branch Operator Jeremy Donoghue says he quickly got stuck
into networking and building a client base, calling his Stratford connections in particular “game changing” for
the business. Ryan has worked at building strong relationships with and has gained the respect
of both his team and
his customers (“not an easy feat!” says Jeremy Donoghue), thanks to
his positive attitude and ability to navigate difficult situations and quickly find solutions.
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