Page 290 - Aamir Rehman - Dubai & Co Global Strategies for Doing Business in the Gulf States-McGraw-Hill (2007)

272 Dubai & Co.

market analysis. They may likewise lack access to the strategic
decision makers outside the sales organization. A third, more sub-
tle reason relates to incentives. The sales force, in many organiza-
tions, has an incentive to understate the scale of opportunity in their
region in order to set more manageable sales targets and to enable
“overperformance.” Delivering results above the target yields sig-
nificant personal rewards, while meeting the plan’s objectives
exactly is considered strong performance. Unless strategy, market-
ing, and senior management’s analysis of the market as a whole are
involved, sales targets can be kept artificially low and will not
reflect the business’s true potential in the region. If, however,
the sales organization has in-house business analysts and tools
assessing the market objectively, tighter performance management
is possible.
Savvy multinationals with serious intentions in the Gulf states
put a team on the ground that extends beyond sales. A marketing
and public relations function is important in crafting propositions
that are specific to the Gulf. Strategy and business development
units on the ground can assess market opportunities more directly
and take a more aggressive posture toward growth in the region.
Having senior management present is crucial for efficient, in-mar-
ket decision making and for managing resource allocation from an
informed perspective. Business support functions such as finance
and human resources become relevant as the scale of business man-
aged from the GCC region warrants the incremental costs.
Professional services firms such as consulting and law firms
and investment banks have come to appreciate much more in recent
years the importance of an in-market presence. Top-tier firms like
McKinsey & Co., BCG, Freshfields, and Goldman Sachs long served
Gulf-based clients through “fly-in” teams based in London or else-
where. The teams would spend their weeks with the client and their
weekends at home, outside the GCC countries. This approach
allowed firms to serve Gulf clients opportunistically, without need-
ing to invest in building a local office or specialized practice. It also
resonated with many clients who, at the time, strongly preferred
“outside” experts from developed markets to come in and provide
world-class advice.
Since the boom of the 2000s (and even earlier in some cases),
professional services firms have begun building local offices and