Benjamin Chauvel recently joined the J2S team as a Strategic Partnership Manager.
Throughout this interview, you will get to know him.
He will tell us about his arrival at J2S and his previous experiences as well as the importance of his job.
Here are his impressions!
Caroline Balavoine: When did you arrive at J2S? How did you meet the team?
Benjamin Chauvel: I arrived at J2S in mid-October 2021.
Everything went well, each member of the team told me about his/her specific job and we also had the opportunity to talk about our respective backgrounds, passions, the company, etc.
C.B.: Tell us about your job at J2S?
B.C.: I am in charge of partners, my job is to develop and maintain J2S’ partners.
C.B.: What is a strategic partnership manager? How does this role support the role of the sales representative?
B.C.: The role of the strategic partnership manager involves supporting and maintaining business relationships with existing partners while seeking out future opportunities for collaboration.
In the IT industry in particular, it is more strategic to respond to a customer’s needs with several partners.
Indeed, the customer’s need is often ” wide ” and our expertise does not always cover the full scope of his request.
Therefore, including a partner in a project can be a key factor in its success.
Thus, the partnership manager maximizes the response to the customer’s needs with the help of his or her network.
C.B.: How important is he/she to the company?
B.C: The partnership manager shares the company’s story through potential partners. He enables his company to become known to a wider audience (customer contacts, trade shows, events…) and reciprocally, because he also highlights his partner among his network.
Since I am a big fan of cycling, this can be compared to the cyclists of the Tour France.
Indeed, the racers ” exhibit ” on their jerseys the ” brands ” of their sponsors which contribute to make them visible. We find this goal on a smaller scale in our environment.
This business is not limited to this, as we work together on projects and help each other. For example, we can suggest our partner’s PIM (Product Information Management) to complete a client’s project.
We share common values and work together to improve and connect our solutions.
C.B.: What about your previous experiences, what positions have you held?
B.C.: I have mainly worked in an international commercial environment, both in France and abroad (Brazil, Argentina, UK, Spain). In particular, I have worked as an e-commerce buyer, covering an international scope of action and supplier portfolio.
This gave me skills in the B2B sector and also in the relationship between professionals.
C.B.: What do you remember from your stays abroad?
B.C.: These experiences have given me a lot in terms of maturity, adaptation, and open-mindedness. This facilitates my relationship with others (culture, needs, etc.), and moreover makes it possible for me to have a better perspective on some business situations.
C.B.: What are the skills you need to do your job?
B.C.: From my perspective, you have to be friendly, have good interpersonal skills, be curious and be able to listen.
English is also important, especially in a company like ours that works internationally. And I forgot, being Breton is a bonus 😉
(P.S. – You will have understood that Benjamin is Breton!)
Thank you for getting to know Benjamin a little better!
Don’t hesitate to contact him if you have any questions or if you would like to become a J2S partner: bchauvel@j2s.net
Stay tuned to Chez J2S to discover the rest of our team and their jobs.
In the meantime, contact us for a demonstration of the tool!
P.S. – Read Benjamin’s blog posts about J2S partnerships: Dathaki and Katana PIM .
C. Balavoine
Sales & CSM