Vendor Success Business Development Manager

About the Role

The Vendor Success BDM acts as the primary business owner and strategic interface for assigned vendor brands, with a strong emphasis on driving Cyber Security growth, market share expansion, and partner adoption across the country or cluster. The role is responsible for identifying, developing, and converting new business opportunities through a proactive sales hunting approach, while leading strategic programmes that keep the partner community informed, enabled, and aligned to evolving Cyber Security market trends, vendor strategies, and emerging technologies.

This role ensures alignment between vendor global objectives and Westcon-Comstor local execution, translating vendor strategies into actionable plans and orchestrating cross-functional resources to deliver measurable outcomes. Acting as the face of the vendor internally and externally, the Vendor Success BDM builds trust-based relationships with vendor executives, partners, and internal teams while ensuring governance, compliance, and operational excellence.

Success requires proactive engagement, strong commercial acumen, a hunter mentality focused on net-new opportunity creation, and the ability to influence vendor, partner, and internal stakeholders to accelerate Cyber Security growth.

Your Key Responsibilities

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Vendor Relationship Management

• Act as the primary point of contact and trusted advisor for assigned vendors.

• Build and maintain multi-level relationships across vendor sales, marketing, operations, and Cyber Security leadership teams.

• Represent Westcon-Comstor at vendor headquarters, Cyber Security forums, events, and strategic meetings.

• Cascade vendor objectives internally to ensure alignment and execution.

• Advocate for Cyber Security strategies and initiatives that drive increased market relevance and growth.

Business Planning & Execution

• Develop and own the Vendor Market Plan with clear objectives, targets, enablement actions, and Cyber Security growth initiatives.

• Deliver revenue, margin, and profitability goals across the vendor portfolio.

• Deploy campaigns, promotions, and investments at local level; adjust plans based on performance.

• Provide structured progress updates to management and vendor counterparts.

• Drive execution of Cyber Security go-to-market strategies focused on market penetration, partner expansion, and competitive displacement.

Resource Mobilization & Cross-Functional Alignment

• Engage internal teams (PSMs, IAMs, IPSMs, Solution Architects) to drive vendor pipeline execution.

• Ensure seamless coordination between field and inside sales for joint opportunities.

• Act as escalation point for vendor-related issues impacting execution.

• Align technical, sales, and marketing resources to accelerate Cyber Security opportunity identification and conversion.

Sales Enablement & Acceleration

• Train sales teams on vendor products, tools, programmes, Cyber Security trends, and competitive positioning to ensure commercial readiness.

• Drive adoption of vendor programmes by partners and internal teams.

• Identify and remove growth blockers to accelerate deal velocity.

• Coach sales teams on opportunity qualification, Cyber Security sales plays, and cross-sell/up-sell opportunities.

• Lead targeted sales acceleration initiatives focused on hunting net-new customers and expanding existing partner business.

Pipeline Stimulation & Demand Generation

• Drive a proactive hunting strategy focused on generating net-new Cyber Security opportunities.

• Generate new opportunities through campaigns, account mapping, prospecting initiatives, and joint planning.

• Identify white-space opportunities within partner and customer ecosystems.

• Track active deals with IAMs and PSMs to ensure timely closure.

• Support vendor-specific sales blitzes and digital initiatives (Power BI, 3DLab).

• Develop and execute market penetration programmes designed to increase vendor market share and competitive wins.

Partner Engagement & Development

• Identify and recruit new vendor-aligned partners; manage focus accounts jointly with PSMs.

• Support partner enablement through certifications, rebates, and programme participation.

• Monitor partner performance and adjust plans to meet vendor objectives.

• Lead recurring partner community programmes, webinars, workshops, executive briefings, and

enablement sessions to keep partners informed of Cyber Security trends, emerging threats, vendor innovations, and market opportunities.

• Build and maintain a highly engaged Cyber Security partner ecosystem that positions Westcon-Comstor as a trusted advisor and market leader.

• Promote thought leadership and best practices across the Cyber Security channel community.

Marketing & MDF Governance

• Execute vendor campaigns and ensure brand consistency across all communications.

• Maximize MDF impact through ROI-driven planning and transparent reporting.

• Develop Cyber Security-focused awareness and demand generation campaigns that drive measurable pipeline growth.

• Represent vendor and Westcon-Comstor at trade shows, events, and joint partner activities.

Forecasting & Reporting

• Provide accurate forecasts for vendor sales and margin projections.

• Track performance versus targets and analyze trends to adapt strategies.

• Maintain CRM discipline and timely reporting for governance compliance.

Compliance & Program Governance

• Ensure adherence to vendor requirements, processes, and ethical standards.

• Manage MDF responsibly, ensuring transparency and audit readiness.

Qualifications / Requirements

Must-Have Skills & Experience

• Minimum of 3 years proven experience in Cyber Security sales, vendor management, channel sales, or business development roles, preferably within IT Distribution.

• Demonstrated success in a hunting-focused sales environment with a track record of generating net-new business opportunities.

• Strong understanding of Cyber Security market trends, technologies, and partner ecosystems.

• Strong commercial acumen and ability to influence vendor, partner, and internal stakeholders.

• Excellent relationship-building, presentation, and negotiation skills.

• Language: English (business fluency).

Education & Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in Business, Sales, or related field (or equivalent experience).

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Vendor revenue and margin attainment at country/regional level.

• Cyber Security revenue growth and market share expansion.

• Net-new pipeline creation and pipeline coverage ratio.

• New partner recruitment, activation, and Cyber Security competency growth.

• Campaign execution and MDF (Marketing Development Funds)ROI.

• Partner community engagement and participation levels.

• Training and enablement impact (sales readiness and certification rates).

• Forecast accuracy and CRM (Sales Central) data quality.

• Vendor satisfaction scores and governance compliance.

• Competitive win rates and new customer acquisition metrics.

Company Values & Culture Fit

This role demands agility, accountability, and a passion for driving vendor success. Success means owning outcomes, enabling growth, and fostering a collaborative, tech-savvy sales culture.

• Recruitment and Selection of candidates will be according to the Company's Employment Equity Targets*