Last month, display solutions manufacturer BenQ appointed Sam Pomfret as its new UK director of B2B sales, as part of an internal restructure to make the company more ‘vertically driven’. Bringing 30 years of industry experience to the role, Pomfret joins BenQ from AV distributor Sahara to lead the B2B sales team as it transitions towards providing display solutions with a greater focus on end users.
The change in leadership coincides with BenQ’s new, vertically-driven restructure and investment in personnel across its B2B division. With new products entering the market for corporate and education verticals, a team has been assembled to work with integrators to bring them to market more efficiently and with improved end-user support. New positions in the company include Lisa Yates, head of workplace technology, Chris Goff, head of pro AV & education, Gemma Jimenez, senior sales manager, Laura Harle, marketing manager for workplace technology, Jess Golding marketing manager for education and Pro AV, and Carly Cheshire, head of B2C.
Here, Pomfret tells Installation about what’s in store for the business…
What will your top priorities be in this new role?
To increase BenQ’s profile and build partner relationships within the B2B channel to ensure BenQ becomes an automatic go-to brand within the industry. We have a fantastic customer base that currently only focuses on separate individual lines of the business. My goal is to build customer awareness to our complete portfolio that includes IFP, LFD, digital signage, projection, wireless presentation and mirroring plus desktop monitors.
Myself and the team will be working on reinforcing the BenQ portfolio and solutions strategy and developing our end-user focus to assist partners and provide them with new opportunities. We’ll also be looking at developing a clear and precise pricing model across the range, enhancing the bid management process and reinforcing a fully connected sales and marketing approach.
You may also be interested in:
- BenQ launches free whiteboard solution to support distance learning
- BenQ unveils next generation classroom IFP
- Life under lockdown: The best AV tools and resources on the web
What will you be able to bring to BenQ and its new vertically-driven strategy?
I bring experience, partner relationships and trust, a deep understanding of other solution-based products and a fresh pair of eyes on a business which is well established but with untapped potential.
How does it feel to be starting a new role at such a strange time – how will the current lockdown affect the way you approach the job?
It is very surreal, but it is giving me the opportunity to understand the complete BenQ offering and strategy, analyse the systems in place and make improvements where necessary. As an industry, we have spoken for a long time about remote working/learning and now the measures have meant it has suddenly become the primary way of working for most people.
For the BenQ team, it has been easy to adapt as these systems were already part of our product portfolio and infrastructure, allowing us to maintain regular contact with our customers and colleagues. This has made it easier for us to keep things running smoothly during these challenging times.
What are the biggest opportunities in the market for you?
I would regard BenQ as a sleeping giant. We have an amazing portfolio of products to offer complete solutions to all verticals with individual product managers and specialists focusing on specific verticals and product groups. From our new corporate range, to Jamboard, digital signage and our best-in-class collaborative solutions, there’s a lot to talk about.
BenQ has a fantastic long-standing reputation within the education sector and to continue our enhancements to teachers we have the launch of our new RP series, our latest IFP solution designed for the contemporary classroom.
And the biggest challenges?
The biggest challenge has to be understanding the landscape following COVID-19. I feel that we are all confident that the dynamics will change, what those changes will be remains unknown. If only I had a crystal ball!
