Julian Krickl, 38, is a sales manager at ART Marine – a luxury yacht sales and marina management company specialising in leisure boating across the UAE and GCC. Mr Krickl grew up in Buckinghamshire, England and was educated at Harrow School and the University of Bristol. He moved to Dubai in late 2012 to embark on a career in yacht sales – a sector he had been hugely keen to move into for some years. He previously worked in London for 10 years in a headhunting role.
7.30am
I value my sleep, so I wake up as late as possible. After getting showered and dressed, I make a fruit smoothie at home, which I take to work for breakfast (having bought a blender recently, I’m striving to be a bit healthier!).
8.30am
I drive from Dubai Marina to our ART Marine offices on Sheikh Zayed Road near Noor Metro Station; I arrive at around 8.45am. I love music and this gives me a chance to listen to something in my eclectic collection, rock, dance, blues – good music puts me in a great mood.
8.45am
I plan for my day and figure out what the best use of my time is. In my job we are fortunate to have certain flexibility and freedom to be strategic with our time. As the job is only partly office-based, I need to have a plan in place for which marinas I’m visiting that day and which clients to meet or speak with while I’m out and about.
9am
It is key for me to have all information about our yachts at my fingertips; we use iPads for this especially. So during this time I respond to relevant clients and work emails, while updating my information on what boats we have for sale; the prices, availability, options and when I have viewings et cetera.
10am
During our busier months of the year (September to the end of May) I head out to one of the marinas in Dubai where I meet clients, captains and other marine-related contacts who I interact with. This is great for networking and an opportunity to hear about what is going on in the industry. While in the marinas I follow up on leads for yacht sales and any other ART Marine business that I assist with. Apart from boat sales, we manage marinas such as Emirates Palace and Al Bandar. We have a strong technical service division and we also offer other maritime products and services around private yachting. At least once a week I try to go to Abu Dhabi to visit our clients and marinas there. The city has amazing cruising and fishing grounds for boating and this is a key area of business for what we do. I plan to spend more time in the capital once the yachting season is back in full swing in early September.
1pm
I typically head back to the office for lunch, which is a sandwich at my desk. We work in an open-plan environment and our sales team tends to converge at the office during lunchtime. We collaborate on who is doing what and which leads and clients need to be looked after. It’s just informal teamwork really.
2pm
From my experience, this is a good time to call clients. The kind of clients we work with are busy and important people and I find lunchtime/just after lunch is a good time to follow up with them. However, in this job you never know when clients will want to talk to you. They are very busy, successful people and we are always keen to be available – the weekend is usually the best time to take clients out on our boats for a sea trial, which is one of the most enjoyable parts of the job.
4pm
Afternoon meetings and typically a further marina visit. I try to get out of the office again to venture to a different marina from my morning excursion, and to visit any boats or clients that I need to. We have new and pre-owned boats for sale across most of the marinas in the UAE, so I need to keep on the move to visit our products and view them with clients at every opportunity.
7pm
One of my favourite things about living in the UAE is the fantastic weather and ability to do sport almost all year round. At least three to four evenings a week I am either playing tennis, squash or in the gym. I also occasionally run in the Dubai Marina. After this I’m ready for supper with a bit of television to unwind for the day. Of course it would be a shame not to go out and visit the myriad of great restaurants in Dubai, so I try to do this with my wife whenever possible.
11pm
Bedtime, but sadly for me I am naturally a night owl and always try to watch one more TV programme, or some sport.
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