Although he didn’t know it at the time, Henry has always been preparing for a Sales career. In this Pulse People interview, he talks about his background and how he built a career out of his early petty trading vocation, and how he came to lead the Sales team at Pulse Ghana.
Tell me about your background, and how you came to be involved with Sales.
So to start with my background, I am a young man with good hopes of growing up to become a lawyer, a dream I hold in high esteem and am sure all hopes are not lost yet. But selling has always been part of my life as a result of my mother being a petty trader. Right during national service I found myself in an FMCG space where I started as a Salesperson and moved up the ranks to Territory Sales Manager, Category Manager and then to Head of Sales & Marketing before joining Pulse Ghana. During these periods Marketing and Brand awareness were part of my JD so I was always showcasing my brand through print media and radio. Still, I fell in love with the Digital Marketing space, and boom here I am selling Digital.
Tell me about how you got into Pulse.
I suggest becoming a major shareholder at Linkedin due to my addiction to that social channel, where I used to connect with a lot of “Generational Thinkers“. During my normal routine on this channel, I saw a job posting From Pulse Ghana wanting a Senior Digital Strategist. I applied and was scheduled for an interview. During the process, the Director of Sales & Strategy (Sena Quashie) told me there was another vacant position for Head of Sales and would like to interview me for that role as well. Fast forward, and I was given that role instead, and the learnings have been so amazing; my short time with Sena was literally already an MSc in Digital Strategy, and the rest is history.
Tell me about your current role at Pulse Ghana.
As the Head of Sales for Pulse Ghana and with Nigeria especially being my benchmark, I needed to achieve my monthly sales targets, and work with the account management team to ensure services sold are delivered to clients with the goal of maximising client retention. I’m also responsible for the sales team members growing and realising their full potential per assigned target. I assist inbound inquiries to the team members, represent Pulse Ghana at events and build relationships with potential clients and partners. I ensure that defined sales processes are followed at all times, review proposals developed by members of the team, identify prospective clients and develop connections with decision-makers.
What does a typical day look like for you?
My typical day starts with jumping on my Daily Sales & Strategy calls at 8:00 am every day, short calls with my Director of Sales & Strategy for realigned topics and key action points, responding to internal and external calls and most importantly prospecting.
How do you draw inspiration?
I draw most of my aspirations from my lovely kids as they remind me every day to work like a superman.
How do you relax and unwind?
My fun time is playing tennis with old school friends, and colleagues from the industry, time with my small family and some drink-up sessions which are very necessary to me. As the saying goes: “You work hard, you chill hard“.
