What is your role with Bitpanda Pro?
I work in institutional sales. In addition to retail users, Bitpanda Pro also allows businesses of all sizes and types to open accounts and trade on the exchange platform. My role involves everything from that initial outreach to businesses, finding context to onboarding them on Bitpanda Pro and finally encouraging trading activity once they are a customer. So the institutional sales team is essentially “the face” of Bitpanda Pro and the primary point of contact for business customers.
What were you doing prior to joining the Bitpanda Pro team?
I worked in a very similar position for a cyber security startup in Budapest. I was specifically tasked with U.S. expansion so there was a lot of work in terms of modifying and promoting the product for a new geographic market. I gained a lot of valuable experience in B2B sales, business management and client relations.
What does a day in the life of a Business Development Manager look like?
Lots of emails, calls and data reporting!! A big part of our time is spent guiding business customers through the onboarding process. It is slightly more time-consuming than onboarding a regular retail user. A lot of my responsibility also involves finding new potential business customers and exploring various ways we can co-operate together.
What would you say is the most rewarding part of your job?
I would definitely say it's successfully onboarding a new business customer and subsequently celebrating their first trade on the exchange. I’m also blessed to have a great team of individuals working on Bitpanda Pro, which definitely helps speed up the process and resolve any hiccups if they arise.
It must be rewarding when a client or business is trading on Bitpanda Pro because of you, right?
Exactly! We stay the point of contact even after everything is finished from a sales perspective. Of course, for technical issues, our customer support is a saviour, but we always make sure to maintain a personal relationship with the customer. With Bitpanda Pro, we understand the importance of building a long-lasting and trusting relationship with the customer via personal touch instead of chatbots and contact forms.
Yes, chatbots and forms can be very impersonal for business customers.
Yes, it is definitely an asset to have a real person they can talk to and maybe even meet in person at our lovely Vienna office. Especially in the digital asset industry that is often stereotyped as being secretive. My team and I try our best to erase this stigma.
What are the biggest challenges you have faced with building and growing Bitpanda Pro into the user base it has today? And how have you overcome these challenges?
The number one challenge from a sales point of view is navigating the growing and increasingly competitive landscape of digital asset trading and investment platforms. There are over 300 exchanges all over the world, so it’s our responsibility to make Bitpanda Pro stand out and offer unparalleled value if we wish to succeed. We are making great steps at accomplishing this by having a strong track record in stability and security, by providing competitive and transparent fees, as well as focusing on building personal relationships with the customer. All of this makes Bitpanda Pro a great choice for businesses wishing to enter the digital asset trading space.
What sets, in your opinion, Bitpanda Pro apart from competitors?
First of all, we have built a strong reputation in the industry and are very well known for being compliant and regulated by the latest EU standards. This makes us a trustworthy and secure choice for businesses that need reassurance in the safety of their funds.
Another thing that sets us apart is definitely the team behind Bitpanda. From the commercial to the development side, everyone puts a lot of effort into making the exchange run smoothly and efficiently. Thankfully, we never had to deal with large outrages or hacks, which reassures both retail and business customers about our stability as a platform.
Where do you see Bitpanda Pro two years from now?
I'd like to see Bitpanda Pro as the number one European-based exchange for both retail and business customers. Considering we just recently celebrated the 1-year anniversary of the exchange, we’ve already come a very long way in terms of providing a top-notch venue for digital asset trading that users across Europe recognise and trust.
