“I’ve been wearing the same hairstyle for years,” answers Semere Gebrab with a smile when asked what he would like to change. The answer demonstrates his sense of humor and shows that he doesn’t take himself too seriously. Semere’s approach to customers is completely different: They are always the focus of his attention. He has been working as a Senior Consultant at Schober since the beginning of the year and communicates the opportunities of data-driven sales and marketing. In many projects, “Brahm’s staircase is an ingenious tool that always shows the right path as a compass,” says Semere. Otherwise, the passionate sportsman speaks fluent Chinese, is a philanthropist, communicator and (in the car city of Stuttgart!) sometimes converts model cars from combustion engines to electric cars to relax. But it’s actually people who make him shine. But one after the other.

With strong women on the Albaufstieg

Semere grew up in a small town in the Alb-Donau district, right at the foot of the Swabian Alb. He came here with his family – three sisters, three brothers and his mother – when he was four years old. While most of the family fled the civil war in Ethiopia/Eritrea, his father stayed and continued to run his logistics company. The Albaufstieg is Semere’s home, where he goes to school until he completes his vocational baccalaureate. He repeatedly emphasizes that strong women have had a formative influence on him: “I was brought up by strong women. That had a big influence on my life and my view of the world.” In the first phase of his life, these were his sisters, but above all his mother. Her courage, assertiveness and determination left their mark and made an impression. “She was a self-taught language learner, enormously courageous and always took on great responsibility. But conversely, she also gave up responsibility so that I could do things myself and develop,” says Semere.

In search of the new: from the Alb to Xi’an

After school, he did community service in various retirement homes and broadened his horizons by interacting with people: “Learning starts with doing,” he emphasizes. Because of his commitment, he is popular, plays chess with the residents and is so communicative that he discovers many ways of thinking and speaking for himself. He then moves to Stuttgart as a sports and gymnastics coach before going to China. Because he has courage and a thirst for action – and so he decides to enrol on the German-Chinese Media and Technology degree course with a specialization in packaging technology at the Hochschule der Medien (HdM) and Xi’an University of Technology (TUX) in the People’s Republic of China. He spends one and a half years in China, not only learning for his studies, but also actively seeking exchange. “It’s the here and now that counts,” he recalls, recounting how he played football with his fellow students and immersed himself in the everyday life of the Chinese.

Close to people: selling the extra mile

Back in Stuttgart, the newly qualified packaging engineer is about to start his career: Goods, products or people? “Packaging is nice, communicating is nicer” – in the end, Semere decides to work with people. Selling is his calling. For the next eight years, he worked for a recruitment agency that placed IT specialists. “It was always about understanding and thinking through the client’s complex projects in order to find the right IT professionals,” he says, describing his work. “Communicating with people, delivering solutions and providing the right skills were important aspects. But for me as a free spirit, working independently and freely was also extremely important.” And again, strong women: “The exchange with my boss was snappy, effective and to the point; she was very self-confident and encouraged me by giving me responsibility and freedom without micromanagement. I’m happy to go the extra mile for freedom and deliver results,” says the sales professional.

Much more news and a warning

Then he feels the need for something completely new. “Eight years was a great time, I learned a lot. But in 2022 it was time for something new, for challenges, for cool people. I looked around and Schober quickly became my favorite. I was impressed by the company’s range of services and the udo product. The job interview quickly confirmed to me that this was exactly the right company for me and a change of industry,” he admits and is pleased that he was also able to impress as a Senior Consultant for Schober Sales. Things are going well with his new colleagues: “I come from a sales background and don’t need close man coverage, but the Schoberians are all very helpful. That’s great. Good company with other people makes me shine!” he says, praising the family atmosphere and flat hierarchies. But he does have one warning: “You should never play table tennis against Jogi from the analysis without preparation, you don’t stand a chance.”

On Brahm’s staircase to top sales

Business and customer contacts have started well for Semere. He is particularly taken with Schober udo: “I love udo. The SaaS platform does three key things: it helps to consolidate data, it helps to better understand regular customers and it helps to find future customers more easily.” As a good communicator, he has learned to listen, remain persistent and respond to customers’ concerns and challenges. The best tool and approach besides udo? “Brahm’s Staircase, because the model shows where you stand with your data strategy – or whether you have one at all.” Customers can use it to assess their own market value and develop strategies to win new customers and retain them in the long term. “That’s why Brahm’s Staircase is an important compass on the road to success in data-driven sales,” Semere is convinced.

Family happiness and fit at the same time

What counts as soon as the Schober world fades into the background in the evening and Semere takes the stairs to go home? Then sport is at the top of the list. “When I’m not thinking about work and professional challenges, sport helps me. I can switch off and be completely in the here and now,” he confesses. The range is wide – in addition to mental sports such as chess, Semere also plays beach volleyball. He also used to play football a lot, but nowadays he prefers a table tennis match and is training for his next encounter with Jogi (so watch out, Jogi 😉). Semere is also a tinkerer. In winter, he builds model cars and clearly moves with the times: last winter, he quickly turned a conventional 1:10 scale car into an electric model.