When his mobile operator recently invited him to the store to pick up a gift for his loyalty, he was mainly interested, for professional reasons, in what they would ask of him. Additional services, filling out a questionnaire, will they condition the gift on something else? He was pleasantly surprised that they didn't ask for anything at all. They just let him choose a valuable cover glass for his phone and wished him a nice day. "It's a great example of caring for existing customers. They are the most important thing for the company," says Martin Prunner. He has dedicated his whole life to business and customer care. He started as a salesman for the mobile operator Oskar, which later changed to Vodafoneone. Later he worked at Citibank and American Express. For the last seven years he has been associated with a strong global player in the field of online payments, the company PayU. Since the end of the year, he has been leading its domestic branch, which is the first time in his career that he has stepped into a role other than a purely commercial one. We also talked about how difficult and important it is to protect family time when transitioning to the top job.
What was your most challenging work period?
The past months when I took over PayU. I had to manage two roles at once, I managed the sales department and at the same time the entire branch.
What have you learned throughout your career that is key to being a good marketer?
The most important thing is openness and responsibility. It pays to talk about several possible solutions and their possible pitfalls from the beginning. Not trying to close the deal as quickly as possible just for short-term profit. Being open sometimes prolongs negotiations, but it's the better way. It is also good if one person is responsible for sales, successful implementation and ex post evaluation of the cooperation. That's how I had it set up, for example, in American Express. When the salesperson is separated from the colleague who implements everything, it is often found that the sold solution can only be delivered very problematically or does not bring the promised results. Openness and responsibility also correspond with the management of the branch. The same rules apply here.
What else is important for a successful sale?
No business comes alone. It is important to look for them and take care of the development of current relationships. Some people call it predation, I don't like it. I like the activity much more. It is necessary to make a reasonable effort.
What store did you enjoy the most in your life?
When I was at American Express, we managed to get business cooperation with Škoda Auto and Volkswagen. That was an interesting and big project. Of course, it was the merit of several people, I was part of a larger team. But I was happy about that. And I think that cooperation is still continuing after many years. Then there are many other deals behind PayU, which I am pleased with. On behalf of all of them, I will mention the cooperation with Kiwi.com. This client is interesting because it is a global company with local operations. People all over the world use their service, we provide them with payments in all currencies and languages, all of which must be supported by the payment gateway. Currently, similar companies are having a hard time, but I believe that they will do better again. We also have many other companies in our portfolio that are currently growing, for example Electroworld.
With today's experience, what advice would you give yourself at the beginning of your career?
I may have been in some positions longer than necessary because I was no longer studying there. But I'm still happy about it and wouldn't change a thing. At a younger age, people tend to solve some things impulsively and personally. However, many situations in business are not personal, even though they may seem that way. I wouldn't want to be the boss PayU ten years earlier. The important thing for me is that I figured everything out on my own. It's better than having someone whispering to me. Thanks to that, I had a good foundation, experience in every position and could solve things with a clear vision. I didn't go after a career, but after what I enjoyed.
What do you expect from work?
Apart from money, which is of course important, I need to see results and happy people behind me. In addition to product development and business goals, which is key for any business, it is important for me to work with a team that is truly a team. We must have one goal, not rivalry. I feel that our team is very strong because everyone knows what to do and everyone brings something different. The success of the company and the satisfaction of the people should be in balance.
How did he/sheancDo you balance family and work?
I had to set my own rules. The last five months have been very intense for me. But I wanted to close the computer every day around six and at least spend the evening with my family, be with them internally, not think about work. During the evening we talk or with our son who is fishing, we transport a rod, for example. I still checked my email late at night every day to see what was going on, which is not good, but I did it. Now that I have stabilized in my new position, I rarely turn on the computer in the evening. I had to disconnect because we have colleagues all over the world and I get emails even at night. If I didn't set rules, I wouldn't rest, and I'd miss out on family life altogether.
We talk about what has gone well and is improving. On the other hand, what did not succeed when starting the new position?
It also has to do with privacy. When I started managing the branch, I didn't want to miss anything, so I also set various technical alerts on myself, which I also have connected to my watch. That was probably the biggest mistake, that I wanted to know about everything, to watch everything right away. Then I started to perceive that it was too much, so I change it. Alerts are still handled by a separate global team. It's just a setup, I don't have to watch it. People in the company have a phone number for me and will call if necessary.
How do you manage to get away from work on the weekends?
Not yet, I'm still working a bit, but soon I plan to cut myself off completely, unless something really important happens in the company. I recently went fishing with my son early in the morning on a Sunday. We were already at the water after six o'clock. We sat in complete solitude and I left my phone in my backpack. It was just the two of us, nature, peace. It was incredibly liberating.
What has been the most challenging for you in the last five months?
I had no previous experience of running a business. For the first two months I was just working. I needed to orientate myself in new processes. In addition to this, I also had time for my full business agenda, which I gradually began to suppress. I commuted to negotiated deals and collected compensation for myself as a merchant. Fortunately, this was done. But I'm still a businessman on the inside, I'll probably never completely disconnect from that, I'll still devote myself to it.
I have a bit of a feeling that you will only have the management of the branch on the side, but you will still mainly enjoy the business.
I have to run the branch fully with everything that goes with it. Business is a very important part and our separate team will take care of acquisitions. I will follow big business projects and I also want to take care of existing customers and develop current relationships.
How exactly will it take place?
I want to be close to them. Go to them and ask them how satisfied they are, what suits them and what, on the contrary, we can improve. I will devote myself to care and development. I don't want to be cut off somewhere and have information only from tables or indirectly. I will combine information from the sales team with feedback from our customers. In addition to ensuring the basic functioning of the company, I want to bring impulses to innovations and development. We're at that activity again. This is key in development, acquisition of new customers, but also in care. Current customers will tell us the most. They should be the most important for companies. At the same time, they are very often forgotten, which is a mistake.
What are your main benefits for existing and new customers?
The most important thing is security. We all know in the back of our minds that security is important when it comes to online payments. But at the same time, many people take it for granted and have not yet encountered any attacks or losses. However, the risks will increase and in the future, data security is the most important thing for me. Only large, stable companies that have enough capacity are able to ensure it. The stability of systems also plays a big role in peak times. This is most often Christmas, but not only those. I am proud that in eight years, when in PayWe have never had a downtime in the peak season. Last but not least, development is important, which is why we launch major innovations as quickly as possible. We were the first on the market to launch Apple Pay and right from the start we had all three Google integration options Pay.
How much extra capacity do you need in your systems to handle peak season?
We always calculate approximately one hundred percent more than the current maximums. Capacities are always planned well in advance and are continuously growing rapidly. This also helped us when the coronavirus arrived, business quickly moved online and the peak came completely unexpectedly and quickly.
