Ashraf Katkat
Oakville,ON
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
15
15
years of professional experience
Work History
Business Development Manager
Visa cards
07.2022 - 10.2023
- Representing VISA to Support the Commerical Bank of Qatar by increasing BTB sales and onboarding a new Corporate & SME client and building solid network relationships with SME organizations
- Identifying new SME potential segments such as lodgings, Travel Agents, Retail Trading Groups and SME companies
- Analyzing the expected volume of business and sharing results with the line manager
- Preparing presentations and email templates to lead discussions with clients
- After-sales follow-up to support customer needs and satisfaction and maintain long-term relationships through site visits, attending events, gatherings, etc
- Performed client research and identified opportunities for account growth, account penetration and market expansion
- Established valuable partnerships with complementary businesses, creating mutually beneficial synergies that accelerated growth for both parties
- Collaborated closely with marketing teams to develop targeted campaigns that generated high-quality leads for sales pipeline
- Increased client base by identifying new business opportunities and cultivating strong relationships with key decision-makers
- Facilitated regular communication with clients to ensure their needs were met, fostering long-lasting relationships built on trust and mutual respect
- Developed process to analyze customer feedback to incorporate insights into product development strategies.
Merchant Relationship Manager
Middle East Payment, MEPS
03.2021 - 07.2022
- Develop business account management and partnership with over 1500 key accounts by responding to merchants' needs, regular visits, monitoring clients' activity and building business relationships to reach partners' satisfaction
- Responsible for ensuring that effective plans are developed to achieve targets and to maximize acquiring activity by monitoring portfolio and identifying increases or decreases in merchant volume, reporting any unusual activities
- Providing regular detailed reports to management and ongoing day-to-day management
- Providing full support to operations and risk teams to avoid any chargeback loss
- Providing card acceptance training to ensure knowledge of the transaction process
- Leading MEPS Fast project on the market and on-boarding new clients to start using the facility as one of the latest payment solutions
- Finding new partner opportunities and negotiating to convince and add them to the network.
Merchant Relationship Manager
American Express Cards - MENA
07.2018 - 02.2020
- Responsible for about 6,000+ merchants in Abu Dhabi City, UAE and
- Increased AMEX coverage and acceptance (activity ratio increased since 2015 - 2020 from 45% up to 84%) and improved the merchants' business
- Maintain and enhance relationships with key merchant accounts assigned
- Relationships start from system integration, organizing regular meetings, negotiating pricing contracts and monitoring the payment control system
- Leading POS saving project and managing POS expense reduction for Abu Dhabi
- Built and maintained relationships with new and existing clients while providing a high level of expertise
- Communicated regularly with clients to understand needs, evaluate current product use and cross-sell new products.
Merchant Relationship Sales Executive
American Express Cards Abu Dhabi
10.2008 - 07.2018
- Approach Key potential Merchants to start AMEX Cards acceptance
- Relationships start from system integration, organizing regular meetings, negotiating pricing contracts and monitoring the payment control system
- Ensure recovery of amounts due on the merchant's debit balance
- Ensure sales calls and partnership visits are carried regularly through a systematic plan based on geographical area split that will result in the reduction of unbiased acceptance and the maintenance of sales materials as well as point of sales visibility at all time
- Researched sales opportunities and possible leads to exceed sales goals and increase profits
- Increased revenue by implementing effective sales strategies in the sales cycle process from prospecting leads through close
- Achieved sales goals and service targets by cultivating and securing new customer relationships
- Developed and implemented account management plans to establish customer satisfaction
- Negotiated and closed profitable sales contracts with new and existing customers to increase loyalty and retention
- Monitored and adjusted pricing based on market trends and customer feedback to meet expectations and increase sales
- Evaluated costs against expected market price points and set structures to achieve profit targets
- Analyzed sales data regularly to monitor progress towards goals and make necessary adjustments to strategy as needed.
Education
MBA - Business Administration
SBS - Swiss Business School
Abu Dhabi, UAE07.2019
BBA - Business Administration
University of Creative Sciences, United Arab Emirates
University Of Creative Sciences07.2016
Diploma - Banking And Financial Support Services
Al-Arabia College
Amman, Jordan06.2005
Skills
- 15 years of sales experience
- Outstanding negotiation skills
- Leading and managing team members
- Analyzing and managing reports
- Strategic and tactical planning for projects
- Excellent interpersonal communication skills
- Ability to multitask, prioritize, and thrive in fast-paced environments
- Flexible, articulate and competent team player
- Customer relationship development
Personal Information
- Date of Birth: 12/08/1982
- Gender: Male
- Nationality: Jordan
- Visa Status: Holding Valid Canadian & US Visit Visa
Languages
English
Professional Working
Arabic
Native or Bilingual
Timeline
Business Development Manager
Visa cards
07.2022 - 10.2023
Merchant Relationship Manager
Middle East Payment, MEPS
03.2021 - 07.2022
Merchant Relationship Manager
American Express Cards - MENA
07.2018 - 02.2020
Merchant Relationship Sales Executive
American Express Cards Abu Dhabi
10.2008 - 07.2018
MBA - Business Administration
SBS - Swiss Business School
BBA - Business Administration
University of Creative Sciences, United Arab Emirates
Diploma - Banking And Financial Support Services
Al-Arabia College
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