One of the incredible things about our industry is that we get to meet some truly inspirational people.

Martec recently worked with our first Middle East dealership, Zayani Motors in Bahrain. We are lucky enough to have the story of Joel Fernandes, the Sales Manager at Zayani Motors. I invite you to read his fantastic story.

“This is my 13th year with Zayani Motors, and whilst my journey seems long, it has been a very satisfying one. Going down memory lane, way back in 1995, I was a fresh college graduate & started my own fishing troller business. To my bad luck, within months the trawler sank and I owed the banks BD15000/- (£27,000). My house was at stake as I was not able to repay the banks their monthly installments; as a result they threatened to auction my home. I was 21 and did not know what to do, but sitting back and crying over spilt milk was no solution. I requested my aunt, who was then working in Bahrain to bring me here, if possible. She agreed, however, it would cost me BD600/- (£1,000) & that’s how I came to this wonderful country in 1996.

With no job in hand, from day one I started looking for work – through news papers, walked long distances & visited offices distributing my Resume, with a hope that one day , something will click. Finally, luck smiled at me & I was offered a job as a Body Shop Coordinator with Zayani Motors.
I started at a meager salary of BD150/- (£270). Within a year, I was promoted as a Sales Secretary, however, my monthly pay backs to the banks back home was much higher than my income. The banks were constantly worrying my mother for payment, who was all by herself in Goa. I knew that I had to do something but what? I decided, I must sleep less & work more and so took up a part time job every evening. My day used to start daily at 5 am and end at 1 am. I used to live in an accommodation, shared by 6 of us. My daily schedule was: wake up at 5am, do the household chores (laundry, cooking, cleaning etc), leave for work at 7am, then my part time job at 6pm & reach home at 1am. After working throughout the day at both the places, I managed to earn BD300/- (£540) monthly. I used to spend BD20/- (£36) on myself & send all the rest of the money back home towards my loan payment.

Slowly and steadily I moved on to be a Traffic Coordinator & then a Sales & Marketing Coordinator. I started learning more & more and although things were a little better than what they were, there was something in me that would not let my mind rest. I wanted to do something more, I wanted more money, I wanted to be on the top; I was greedy. And one fine day, I approached my then Director Mr. Zayed AlZayani & requested for an opportunity to move to Sales. He was kind enough & trusted in my ability to perform & here I was a Sales Executive. In my first month, I sold 27 cars, 2nd month 33 cars & in the 3rd month a whopping 71 vehicles, which earned me BD2500/- (£4,500) & a permanent slot in Sales. My hands shivered whilst collecting the cheque worth BD2500/- (£4,500) from Mr. Zayed AlZayani. After this there was no looking back, my previous experience in the various divisions helped me sell better & the more I sold, the more money I got but I wanted more. I put in more effort & moved up the ladder to Showroom Supervisor & then to ‘Assistant Fleet Manager’, which exposed me to large scale corporate business. And finally after 12 years of sweat and blood, here I am a ‘Sales Manager’ for Zayani Motors, which includes showroom, passenger commercial, used cars in addition to another 3 dealerships.

The journey has been tough with a lot of sacrifices but its worth every penny. I remember I went home for the first time after 6 and half years; I had not seen my family for that long. But as they say, you gain some, you lose some. During my tenure with Zayani Motors, I achieved the following:

• Won ‘Best Employee of the month’ award 4 times for outstanding performance.
• Paid off my loan in India with interest to the banks, worth approx. BD20, 000/- (£36,000).
• Built a 21 room Guest House in South Goa, under my mum’s name –‘Paulina’s Guest House’.
• Found my soulmate and got married.
• Own a band called the ‘Aryan Fame’, playing western music.
• Purchased an apartment in the Kingdom of Bahrain, which is now my second home.

There are a few people, who I owe my success to. Firstly the Zayani family, Mr. Khalid AlZayani, Mr. Zayed AlZayani and Mr. Nawaf AlZayani, who bestowed their trust in me. Mr. Mark Kenworthy, my mentor and General Manager & last but not the least my family, who stood by me through the toughest times of my life. It is said, since God cannot be everywhere, he gave us a ‘Mother’ and how true this is. All of them are the pillars of my success and will be part of me, forever. Sky is the limit for me & so my journey continues…”