Winston Churchilll, a British stateman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom famously stated “Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” This emphasizes the value of ‘courage’ in achieving success.
True Blog sits down with a sales specialist from True Corporation to learn about his encounters with enterprise customers, his work advice insights, and his dedication to winning over customers.
Overcoming Challenges
Nattapon Khanchana, the Strategic Account Manager at dtac Business under True Corporation, responsible for overseeing large enterprise customers, explains that enterprise customers can be categorized into two main groups: small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and large enterprises (LEs). Each salesperson is tasked with providing a range of products and services tailored to these target customers. For instance, the sales team may offer mobile phone services, SMS services including OTP (one-time password) and location-based messaging, electronic data capture (EDC) systems, as well as Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) service.
Large enterprises have distinct subcategories across various industries. Mr. Nattapon’s main focus is on the banking sector.
“In the past, my sales work revolved around physical products like construction materials. During that time, I concentrated on marketing to dealers of all sizes. However, upon joining the dtac Business brand, I was tasked with managing large enterprise customers, which marked a significant shift for me,” Mr. Nattapon shares.
Moving into the telecom industry, where products aren’t ‘physical,’ he invested time in understanding his service range. He underwent extensive training from the presales engineer team, who shared their intricate insights and specifics.
Furthermore, Mr. Nattapon discovered that approaching target customers demanded a distinct set of strategies. In his previous role, he could simply walk in and present his products to dealers without prior arrangement. When engaging with large enterprises, he must thoroughly prepare before arranging a sales visit, while meeting a project owner or decision-maker at a large enterprise without an appointment proves quite challenging, too.
“Large enterprises usually adopt a bidding process when evaluating potential purchases of products or services. Different suppliers submit bids within a specified timeframe to compete for the opportunity. This bidding process adheres to specific rules and timeline, making initial customer contact more straightforward ,” Mr. Nattapon explains. “However, salespeople need to leverage available data, such as information in the Salesforce database, to initiate contact effectively. This process can be intricate, sometimes taking up to six months to successfully connect with the decision-making authority.”
Third Time’s The Charm
Given his responsibility for the banking sector, Mr. Nattapon acknowledges the diverse customer profiles within this industry. Some customers initiate auctions through their corporate procurement division. In such instances, he enters a zero-sum game, where it’s either a complete win or a total loss. On the other hand, certain customers opt for area-based or product-based auctions. Here, effective marketing techniques come into play.
Mr. Nattapon’s triumph in securing an auction with a state-owned bank marked a significant breakthrough for him and the dtac Business brand, granting access to the state-bank sector for the first time. Reflecting on his proudest accomplishment, he reveals, “In the beginning, we failed in their biennial auctions. However, I devoted the subsequent two years to fostering relationships for valuable insights and drawing lessons from the setback. Through team collaboration and meticulous preparation, we walked away with victory in the bank’s subsequent three auctions.”
Working at the dtac Business brand for five years, Mr. Nattapon has observed shifting customer demands. A majority of Terms of Reference (TORs) now include 5G technology. Amidst escalating industry competition, maintaining profit margins has become challenging. Consequently, sales teams are seeking a new approach by highlighting productivity applications like Google Workspace, dtac OneCall, and location-based SMS services. These solutions cater better to customer demands, offering functionalities beyond standard voice calls and data usage.
After the dtac-True amalgamation, dtac Business capitalizes on True Corporation’s exceptional strengths in enterprise customers, synergizing them with the brand’s SME segment expertise and global partnerships.
Selling products in large quantities poses a challenge, as customers generally don’t show interest in the initial proposal. Mr. Nattapon and his team usually need to return for further research to identify customer needs and improve the presentation for the next sales visit. When the presentation is ready, the team meets with customers again to understand their preferences and ensure a successful deal during the third presentation, which Mr. Nattapon describes as a “make-or-break point.”
Sales Approach, Marketing Mindset
Mr. Nattapon attributes his accomplishments, including surpassing his sales target three months ahead and managing prominent state enterprise clients in his portfolio, to the combined efforts of his team and his approach as a salesperson with a marketer’s mindset.
“Salespeople usually focus on numbers and sales goals. On the other hand, marketers concentrate more on long-term growth. Often, we might not see immediate results in the first three months. We need time to enhance our product offerings, fine-tune discount strategies, and identify the best way to sell,” he says, “Once we’ve done all that, we will recognize who are our potential customers. As we engage them, achieving sales targets three months or even further in advance becomes feasible.”
Mr. Nattapon’s final advice highlights how important it is for salespeople to connect with customers through shared value. “That’s how we build strong, lasting relationships with customers and win their hearts.”
