Internationalization and exports have become key aspects for many companies. In these circumstances, the figure of the Country Manager has become important, whose task is to represent the company abroad, and whose profile is more in demand than ever.
Their work is key to defining how a product is going to be sold in a target country. However, despite the importance of his position, his work is still unknown to part of the general public. To try to dispel those doubts that arise about these professionals, they organized a debate that helped to discover these profiles.
What are the challenges faced by country managers in Spain? What are the upcoming trends for this profession? How is the work of the country manager integrated into the organization chart of the company?
These and other questions have been the subject of debate during the session held in Madrid, which was sponsored by Hispaweb. Other companies also participated such as AB Tasty, Affinion International, Emnos Iberia – American Express Group, Axicom, Bigbank, Casashops, Checkpoint Systems, Dealz Spain, Dos Dias Restauración y Eventos, Guillemot Corporation, Grupo Herdez, Laurens Cosmetics, Ligatus Spain, Malt, Mister Auto, Paf Games Sport Casino, TradeDoubler, Travel Media Hub, Uniplaces, Visyon and WPP Health & Wellness.
the necessary qualities
“He must be a juggler and an evangelist. Cultural differences must be detected and explained in the country of origin of the matrix,” the participants assured. “The work of evangelization is essential to be able to achieve results. It is also the most complicated to explain to the parent company. Not all countries are the same.”
Participants in the debate on country manager, organized by Emilio Márquez and La Latina Valley.
The participants highlighted that it is important for these professionals to “multitask”. “You have to know how to deal with the different departments of the company, both in the country of destination and in the country of origin of the company.”
In this sense, the professionals consulted assured that the country manager’s greatest competition is not his direct competitor, but the company’s country managers assigned to other countries.
Challenges and opportunities
One of the problems that companies have encountered in recent times when selecting professionals to act as country managers is that millennials do not adapt well to the position. “In general, they are less patient and have a higher turnover that makes it less possible to get the necessary training,” they indicated during the meeting.
But it is also more difficult for young professionals now when they take up the position: they need to motivate older people who are in the company and who have lost motivation, and they also have to convince their bosses that they have been stuck for years in business models of traditional business.
To retain talent in this position, it is necessary, first of all, to promote good recruitment. “You have to look for candidates who are in tune with the company’s values. The retention problem is largely eliminated if you also take into account the team with which you are going to work,” say the experts.
The professional jump usually occurs every five years, although depending on the objectives of each professional. “There are usually two types of jumps: horizontal, which consists of holding similar positions in competitors, or vertical, which is the most common and which allows learning new aspects in different sectors/positions,” they point out.
The advantage of the country manager is that he can have access to various profiles: management, marketing, advertising, direction, etc.
Experts also recommend taking into account that the work of the country manager does not bear immediate fruit. “It is a decision-making strategy that is reflected in the results in the medium term, once it is deployed in the market,” they say.
Facebook Comments
Disqus