Employee introduction04 Actively interacting with a variety of departments to get products adopted and following up
Y.S.
Joined as newly-grad in 2021
CS DivisionConnector Sales Dept. 2 Section 1Sales
Background
Tell us about your major at university and your research subjects.
I took part in seminars for marketing and product development while I was a student, even taking part in product development competitions.
Marketing makes it sound fancy, but it involved a lot of mental and physical activities like standing out in the rain to perform field observations and interviews, and staying up all hours to prepare and practice presentations. I believe those experiences are really benefiting me now at work.
When you were looking for employment, what types of work and industries did you look at? Also tell us why you chose SMK in the end.
There are electronic parts in the home, out on the streets, in fact everywhere. I am basically someone that gets bored easily, so I chose SMK, an electronics part manufacturer, where I have the opportunity to interact with a variety of fields and products. SMK is also always trying new things, like collaborations with start-ups, so another reason was the desire to be around advanced technologies.
Work
What were your feelings about SMK after you started working here?
I felt that there was more team work with other departments than I expected. I had the impression that sales was solitary work, going to business meetings, but actually, even if you have a level of understanding of your product, you still need back up from the technology departments. And even after closing a deal, you still need to communicate effectively, with the production departments to ensure stable deliveries, and even with overseas branches at times. My daily activities are all about interacting with a variety of departments.
Tell us about your job.
I am currently in charge of connector sales to major electrical goods manufacturers in Japan. In some cases I will approach places where they are using products from other companies, but there are also times when we examine the requirements of our customers to produce custom items, rather than provide products we already have in our lineup. I have to ask questions to get an accurate picture of the customers' requirements, then cooperate with design, production, quality management, and so on, to prepare for the negotiations to get an order.
And once the product is adopted for use and mass production starts, up until the time the model finishes production, I have to continue my activities to make sure there is a stable supply of the product. I try my hardest to respond rapidly when an issue arises, holding discussions with parties both inside and outside the company.
Tell us about when you experience a feeling of job satisfaction.
I received information from a customer about unexpected things happening with a connector they had decided to adopt for use.
The product met all the quality, specification, and guarantee points that we had stipulated as a company, but the issue arose in a point that was out of the specification list, so it took a lot of work for me to convince people in the company to make improvements. I was sincere when telling the people in SMK about the requests made by the customer, and we were able to find a compromise, proceeding smoothly despite the tight schedule. There were several meetings with overseas factories and a variety of departments, and when we were able to respond rapidly, it gave me a great deal of pleasure as a salesman.
Tell us about something that you found difficult at work.
One of the hardest things was to get the technical knowledge. Technical terms fly back and forth when talking with customers, and I had real trouble writing my meeting notes. I marked parts that I was unclear about and I made sure to immediately research these by myself after the meeting finished, and also to check my understanding with senior colleagues who also attended the meeting. I also asked questions of colleagues in other departments who were involved with the job. At first, I simply didn't understand what it was I didn't understand, but as time went on, I began to grasp the main points and understood the importance of building up knowledge.
Vision
Describe your dreams and goals.
I would very much like to get more technical knowledge about products. I want to be able to quickly answer questions about connectors accurately on the spot and by doing increase the success rate for my negotiations.
In the future I want to have as much knowledge as a veteran salesman, then use this knowledge systematically to develop younger salesmen.
CASUAL QUESTION
Tell us how you felt about the atmosphere you experienced at SMK after you joined the company.
There is an environment at SMK where they push you to do the things you want. Even at the SMK interview, I explained that I wanted a position where I could use the knowledge I gained studying marketing at university, and they respected that. Also, as they were hiring for particular positions, I felt it was an environment where I could do what I wanted to.
A day in my work life
I can also arrive at 9:30 due to the flexible work hours
