We can identify trends early on

Interview with alfa Medias’s new Sales Director Peter Drinkguth

Peter, you are no stranger to alfa and are faced with great tasks. Therefore, the question is permitted: What will you be doing all day at alfa in the future?

I have been with alfa since the beginning of the year and have been a returnee, so to speak, I had been working for the company for several years in the past. After rejoining alfa as Senior Sales Manager, I was appointed Director Sales & Account Management, which of course makes me very happy. The task is to drive the company forward in the areas of sales and account management, to discover, develop and monetise new business areas.

You have decided to combine the proven traditions with new impulses – without sacrificing the identity of the company to a certain actionism. How do you proceed and where will it lead to?

Jens Emmerich and I have known each other for 28 years. Perhaps this blurred the vision a bit. But seriously, alfa Media is developing with the media industry into a digital solution provider who supports its customers on their way to digital transformation. This may come as no surprise at first, but we are entering the ring with a market-leading claim in terms of quality and all-round carefree support.

That’ now the version from the communications department, let’s have a look behind the scenes …

We’re focusing on two product lines. The ContentLine for the modern multi-channel management of all editorial content. In close networking with it, the best possible monetisation of content including the necessary data analysis tools, tracking methods and offers for today’s demanding hybrid user. This can lead to the introduction of dynamic paywalls that pull well-clicked content behind a paywall from a certain traffic value. In short, we have a profound opinion on how to make money with content and we are not afraid to pass on this knowledge and the necessary software solutions to our customers. Also supported by AI. In addition, we also have solutions such as audio/video transcription as a supporting tool for the editorial staff in our portfolio.

Are you not jumping a bit too far ahead for your customers?

Certainly not. We want to and can identify trends at an early stage and help our customers to integrate those which are sustainable into the business process. Therefore, we deal with digital publishing, advertising programming, the impact and content of influencers and bloggers, start-ups, etc. and start project-based cooperations. There may still be a certain reluctance in Germany, but in Scandinavian countries, for example, digital opportunities are already being better exploited. For alfa, these are excellent growth potentials. We can rely on decades of expertise on our side and on this basis also be brave enough to develop for the future. This also underscores our credibility.

Is this formula right for you, too? New sales manager, new structures?

Clearly, everyone who wants to be successful in sales contributes their own signature. In the future, we will focus more on account management in order to clearly signal to our existing customers how much we value them. Our Key Account Manager is the communication centre in persona. He controls the processes, accelerates the implementation, constantly expands his market and industry knowledge and is thus above all a lawyer for the customer. It will come as no surprise to anyone that we have also set new goals in new business. That’s why I pulled the areas a little further apart. This enables us to act even more selectively and thus more successfully, to identify and fulfil customer wishes. My experience in international companies is incorporated in this and helps us, my colleagues and myself, to position ourselves even better.

Peter, assuming you had a wish free regarding alfa: What is it? Other than salary…

I would love to be able to communicate my enthusiasm for digital diversity and the tasks it entails to my team as quickly as possible. This is a management task. We need to strengthen our team with digital natives and consciously question things that have gone well so far.

Towards the end of the interview, a curious question: What would you have become if you hadn’t found your professional home in the media industry?

Besides working in the publishing industry, I was a musician for many years. At least until my daughter was born – she is now 26 years old – we were on the road with my band almost every weekend. I was a presenter, singer and played the trumpet. That still helps me today to see a sales talk as a kind of gig. Our aim is clearly defined: to offer customers value for money with sympathy and competence. That works pretty well.