By Jordan French

In emerging markets, growth rarely happens in a straight line. It unfolds one conversation, one approval, one relationship at a time.

That’s a reality many global sales teams underestimate. In regions like the Middle East, market opportunity is immense, but success demands more than aggressive targets and fast pitches. It requires patience, cultural fluency, and a long-game approach to trust.

Few professionals embody this balance better than Mohammed Irfan, a business development and sales leader who has spent over 14 years driving sustainable growth for global enterprises across the Gulf.

From calibrating gas analyzers in Saudi oil fields to closing multi-year outsourcing deals with financial institutions, Irfan has consistently helped global companies grow in places where others stall. His results speak volumes: 200% sales growth, $5M+ portfolios, and repeatable wins across industries, but it’s how he gets there that offers the real insight.

For executives navigating complex growth environments, Irfan’s approach isn’t just practical, it’s instructive.

What Makes Emerging Markets So Difficult to Crack?

Ask anyone who’s tried to grow a business in the Gulf, and you’ll hear familiar pain points:

  • Sales cycles that stretch for months, sometimes years, due to regulatory layers and internal approvals.
  • Decision-making that happens through relationships, not just RFPs.
  • Channel models that need to be built, not just plugged in.
  • Clients who may not know the tech and need to be educated before they can buy.

And yet, the potential is undeniable. The challenge isn’t opportunity, it’s execution. Much like blockchain adoption, where education, regulatory clarity, and proof of value precede mass uptake, emerging markets demand patience before scale.

“You can’t force a Western playbook into these markets and expect it to land,” Irfan says. “You have to translate, not transplant.”

Performance That Speaks for Itself

At GE Oil & Gas, later Baker Hughes, and Panametrics, Irfan built a track record few could match:

  • He consistently exceeded multimillion-dollar targets across the Saudi market.
  • As Sales Manager, he drove 200% sales growth, leveraging Panametrics’ portfolio to expand channel coverage and secure long-term service contracts.
  • In 2022 alone, he managed $5 million in sales across the Western Province.
  • His work with ARAMCO and SABIC led to key infrastructure upgrades and earned him internal recognition as a “Success Story of the Year.”

These weren’t lucky breaks. They were the result of a repeatable process rooted in channel development, client education, and trust-based selling, a process Irfan now applies at Infosys.

As Associate Director for Financial Services, he uses the same principles to guide multi-year outsourcing engagements. Where Panametrics required him to demonstrate technical performance, Infosys required him to demonstrate operational reliability, translating product trust into institutional trust across IT, digital transformation, and cybersecurity deals.

Four Pillars of Regionally Tuned Sales Growth

What sets Irfan apart isn’t just what he sells but how he approaches every market. His framework offers four strategies any global leader can learn from.

1. Build the Right Kind of Channel Partnership

Too many companies treat partners as external agents. Irfan treats them like teammates. His model includes:

  • Shared annual goals.
  • Mutual Action Plans (MAPs) with clear accountability.
  • Dedicated technical enablement.
  • Joint visibility into pipeline and performance.

“When your partner understands the product and shares the outcome, they outperform even your best direct reps,” he says.

It’s not about coverage, it’s about capability and commitment.

2. Lead with Education, Not Just Product

In one memorable session, Irfan stood in front of a group of ARAMCO engineers, running a live demo on moisture calibration. Not to sell but to show.

These weren’t flashy presentations. They were deep dives into how the technology solved real operational problems.

That kind of education-first selling built credibility from the inside. Procurement didn’t just approve the deal that engineering advocated for it.

3. Use Your Install Base as a Proof Engine

Trust in emerging markets doesn’t come from branding, it comes from what you’ve already done.

Irfan turned existing deployments into growth catalysts by:

  • Offering service contracts tied to installed units.
  • Creating structured upgrade paths.
  • Using case data to support cross-sells.

Instead of pushing new deals from scratch, he turned past performance into momentum.

4. Translate Global Strategy into Local Execution

Many multinationals show up with impressive decks and misaligned strategies. Irfan’s success comes from acting as the translator between global intent and local reality.

That means:

  • Adapting pricing to local procurement norms.
  • Rewriting proposals to match internal review logic.
  • Presenting data the way the buyer’s stakeholders want to see it.

In one instance, a global proposal nearly fell through due to a contract term that conflicted with local tender norms. Irfan paused the deal, brought in legal and procurement stakeholders from both sides, and rewrote the clause in language that honored both corporate policy and regional practice. The result? A closed deal and a client who cited that move as the reason for long-term retention.

This isn’t customization, it’s communication.

From Hardware to IT: A Shift in Product, Not in Principle

When Irfan moved to Infosys, the product changed. He wasn’t selling analyzers anymore. He led multi-year IT outsourcing bids, often worth tens of millions, across cybersecurity, digital transformation, and AI.

But what remained constant was his method.

Unlike the tangible metrics of analyzer performance, outsourcing deals are hinged on intangible values, including service reliability, data governance, and client confidence. Irfan had to shift from proving specs to proving outcomes, tailoring his pitch to institutional risk frameworks rather than field engineers. It was a language change, but not in discipline.

At Infosys, Irfan drives:

  • End-to-end bid cycles with major financial institutions.
  • Executive-level stakeholder management.
  • Complex contract negotiation, including Master Services Agreements (MSAs).
  • Joint solutioning with technical and delivery teams.

“At this level, you’re not selling features,” he says. “You’re earning belief deal by deal.”

For Executives Eyeing Complex Markets: Start Here

If you’re planning to expand in high-growth regions, Irfan’s approach offers more than inspiration, it provides a model. Start with these principles:

  • Slow down to speed up: Time spent on relationships early shortens friction later.
  • Make the buyer smarter: Don’t just pitch, teach.
  • Let your footprint work for you: Prior wins are your best marketing.
  • Translate your strategy: Don’t expect your global playbook to plug in as-is.

Lasting Growth Comes from Ground-Level Clarity

There’s no magic formula for winning in emerging markets. But there is a mindset and a system.

Mohammed Irfan’s success across oil & gas and financial services proves that authenticity, education, and operational empathy win where speed alone can’t.

The result? Growth that isn’t just possible but built to last.

This industry announcement article is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice.