Day in the Life: Banking Business Advisory at SAP Fioneer
Day in the Life is a new series where we interview Fioneers about their job positions – their day-to-day working lives, what inspired them to go into their specific field, what they love about their role and bust some misconceptions.
Fabián Ruiz is part of the Business Advisory Team in Mexico at SAP Fioneer. His team supports Sales to find the right solution for any need a customer may have.
How would you explain your job to a 5-year-old?
I’m the guy who you’d ask which video game is the best for you because you know he has played them all and will not recommend the most expensive one but the one that you will enjoy most. Now imagine you’re a not a kid but a financial institution and you’re not looking for a video game but for a software solution to your customers to be more successful, I’m still that guy.
What made you go into the field you are in today?
I’m passionate about telling people compelling and memorable stories – rather than bore them with long presentations. I was once an expert consultant and now I use that knowledge to help companies find the best solution for them with a bigger impact.
What was your field of education?
In college, I studied computer science but beyond learning programming languages and electronic stuff, I learned to think out-of-the-box to solve problems and to do things differently. Everything else came from self learning, experience, and continuous trial and error.
What do you wish you would have known before starting your job as a Business Advisor?
I wish I had known that I would be able to have as much freedom as I currently have to do my job and that I would be able to do it my way. I would have left my consultant role sooner if I had known that.
What are some common misconceptions about your role?
Customers often think that we are the sales people and that we get paid commissions for a sale. Colleagues think that we are experts for everything. I think it’s better to think of our role as a jack of all trades, master of none.
What does a typical workday look like for you?
Every day is different. There’s not a typical workday for me. Some days I have internal meetings to talk about the current opportunities, some days I have meetings with customers, some days I have to prepare a presentation, some days I spare time to learn and to create new ways of doing things and processes – and most days I have some sort of combination of the above.
What is your favourite part of the work week?
When I have time to innovate or to do something that I’ve never done before. It may not happen every week, but very often.
