you top of mind lessons I picked in my first formal job .
Lessons Learnt : Every morning at 8:00am on the dot , without fail , the sales department met with the MD . We discussed not just the sales but the number of customers one contacted the previous day . We were required to see at least 5 customers a day . And so , pipeline building was a very important lesson I picked . In order to see this number one had to be organized and self-disciplined which we call time management which actually is self-management .
The second lesson is an extension from this . One has to see many customers to hit the target . The more doors one knocks on the more the chances of success . Some sales persons pursue a few leads hoping to hit it big , the one hit wonder mentality , which I would highly discourage . Those who tried this ended up not meeting their targets .
Thirdly is the need for everyone in an organization to be clear about their mandate , what they were hired to do and how it fits within the whole organization . How the pieces fit together . Many organization ’ s departments work in silos because of lack of clarity of roles and how each dove-tails to the other departments or functions and this brings lack of order . An organization should function like a well-oiled machine with each part moving in unison with the rest . A better example is a well-coordinated orchestra or choir , where every person has a unique role but the result is harmony and melody delightful to the ear .
Why did you leave a job you really enjoyed to move to Firestone ?
One of the things I believe in is always looking for different opportunities to avoid being too comfortable , a sure recipe for stagnation . Moreover , the position at Firestone offered a different challenge for it was a bigger position in a different environment for I was offered the position of Sales Manager for Great Rift based in Nakuru . Here again I was trained well starting from the factory floor , production department , to understand how tyres are manufactured right from the mixing of rubber until it comes out of the assembly line at the other end , ready for the customers . The position involved lots of travelling and working with different customers including large farmers as well as distributors . Some of our customers were public service vehicles and we had to go to matatu terminus and bus stations which gave me valuable experience reaffirming that I had made the right decision to move .
One achievement I was most proud of is developing a strong distribution network and one that comes to mind is Generation Tyres , still one of the largest to-date . I was then moved to Mombasa on a promotion which I however found very slow and this prompted me to start looking for a job that would bring me back to Nairobi . And sooner than later I good an opportunity and I left , but first the lessons I picked at Firestone .
Lessons Learnt : When selling a product , it ’ s important to understand the whole supply chain from the factory to the customer . In addition , I appreciated the importance of working well with our partners to keep the customer satisfied . A case in point was our distributors . I had to understand how to make things smooth for them , what I could do to make it easier by solving any challenges they faced with our products .
The second lesson is to go to the ground where the customers are to get a real feel of what ’ s on the ground .
So where was your next stop in your career journey ?
As I have said I really wanted to come to Nairobi and an opportunity presented itself as Hashi ‘ Impex ’ Energy were looking for an Export Manager for the region . However , this was short lived for when the war in the Gulf broke out , America attacked Iraq in 2002 , sourcing oil became a big challenge and my position was scrapped . All was not lost however as I had opened a soda distribution shop in Thika which I was running with my sister while working for Firestone . So , I joined her full time .
After a while my brother who was working for an insurance company told me there was someone selling a travel agency and he thought it provided a good opportunity for me . He was persistent and after giving it a thought and talking to people in the industry to get a feel of how things work , I realized there was potential . Together with my brother we looked for finances and I dived right in . I started by focusing on two things ; sales and marketing which was what I knew best and putting in controls . In time we grew and the rest as they say is history .
Within one year in 2004 my brother left his insurance job and joined me to look after the finances , he has a head for figures far better than mine , as I concentrated on sales , marketing and operations . 2005 was a milestone for us as we got our biggest client thus far , International Livestock Research Institute ( ILRI ). This gave us the market confidence and we went on a well thought out expansion plan opening offices in the region and looking for partnerships with Airlines . We were the first travel agency to open an office in Juba . Today we have presence in Uganda , Arusha , Rwanda and Central African Republic ( CAR ).
We were also innovative and partnered with African Express to offer 3 weekly flights to Lokichogio where we had opened an office . This was taking chances and going into unchartered frontiers became part of our DNA . To this end we are very proud partner with FCM as their exclusive partner . FCM is a much respected worldwide corporate travel and expense management specialist operating in 100 countries . This has enabled Charleston not only scale out but enhance our services as we can plug in their market trend research , proprietary tools , products and cost saving solutions in a way that would not have been possible .
Our clients are able to enjoy tremendous benefits due to this partnership . For example , by leveraging AI we can offer self-booking services as customers can link to our Hub making bookings and approvals seamless without the need for personal intervention . This has made us very efficient and reduced errors and costs cementing our leadership position in the industry and making true or tag line - Discover the Alternative .
No wonder you have won many awards . What has this meant to you as a person and Charleston as a whole ?
Yes we ’ ve been rightly recognized and I believe we deserve the awards we have won . Awards and accolades simply mean that we are doing the right thing and our efforts are worthwhile and bearing fruit . It means we are being felt out there , and we are making a positive difference not just to our customers , and the travel industry , but to others in the ecosystem as well . In short all of us at Charleston know that we are not laboring in vain and this is highly motivating , and keeps us going .
Personally I am deeply proud and thankful and as an organization it ’ s deeply satisfying for all of us . But we are also acutely aware that it is also a challenge . We must strive to ensure that we don ’ t drop the ball as we have been raised to a higher pedestal and
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