Company values are the foundation that shapes how employees think and act in their pursuit of excellence. At True Corporation, the drive to become Thailand’s top telecom-tech company is rooted in four core values: Compassion, Credibility, Courage, and Co-creation.
True Blog speaks with Natthacha Sutthibenjakul, a senior sales executive of dtac Business brand under True Corporation, to learn how she applies the four core values in her everyday life and uncover the secret behind her success.
Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Ms. Natthacha holds a degree in Telecommunication and Electronics Engineering from Assumption University. In her final semester, she came across a job posting for a sales representative position at the dtac Business brand. With her educational background in telecommunications, her curiosity was piqued. Ms. Natthacha was determined and submitted her application on the very day she spotted the ad. On that very same day, she received a phone call, informing her of a job interview scheduled for 9am the following day. To her delight, she secured the position right after the interview.
In her role as a sales specialist, she is responsible for selling a range of connectivity services and solutions to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). These offerings include corporate mobile packages, Google Workspace, MPBX or mobile call-center services, SMS marketing services, and a variety of other business solutions.
One month into her new role, COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic.
“During my first months on the job, things were challenging for a fresh graduate like me. I had a lot to learn, and to make matters worse, the COVID-19 crisis raged through. At the height of the pandemic, it was difficult for my more experienced colleagues to provide guidance and training. So, I had struggled hard to learn everything from scratch,” Ms. Nattacha recalls. “I was also kept busy supporting customers who were hit by the crisis.”
Yet, she devised her own selling approaches. Fueled by her passion, technical know-how, and compassion, she created presentations that highlighted the benefits of each product and service in simple language, tailored to the right customers. This approach led to successful pitches. During the pandemic, she engaged potential customers by initiating conversations about network quality and their views on pricing. If customers’ current plans didn’t align with their needs, she promptly made adjustments to better address their requirements. These efforts significantly contributed to building her credibility with customers.
A Win-Win Approach
When asked how she balances her customers’ needs while meeting her sales targets, Ms. Natthacha explains, “It’s quite simple. Getting value for money is what matters. Imagine a company using five mobile phone numbers, each on a 600-baht monthly plan. In this case, I check if this plan suits all five users. If not, I adjust things and suggest the best plan for each number. This makes sure the company gets more for their money and shows I care about their needs. It’s a win-win strategy.”
Another skill that Ms. Natthacha has been refining over the past few years is the courage to engage with customers without resorting to aggressive sales tactics. By inquiring about customers’ needs and preferences, Ms. Natthacha consistently makes them feel valued. This fosters their confidence in her commitment to provide the most suitable products and services. Once trust is established, she then genuinely seeks their support.
“Tone is another significant aspect,” Ms. Natthacha explains. “When presenting product information, sales representatives need to convey a sense of assurance and speak clearly to inspire customer confidence. Effective salespeople should also possess the ability to simplify complex details, making them easily comprehensible. Presentations should be concise, ideally within a five-minute timeframe. This task is challenging due to the extensive nature of the product information manual, often spanning hundreds of pages. Moreover, identifying the decision-maker within the targeted company is a crucial skill.”
With sincerity, a firm grasp of the products, the knack for simplifying complex ideas, and a deep understanding of customers, Ms. Nattacha usually wraps up her sales within three days. Her fastest record is closing a sale in just one hour.
Do Your Research
Ms. Natthacha explains that understanding customer profiles thoroughly requires sellers to invest significant effort in research. Amid the COVID-19 crisis, she observed a marked increase in the death toll and inferred that businesses linked to coffins must be witnessing a surge in demand. Realizing that relying solely on traditional phone calls wouldn’t suffice for handling the surge in inquiries, Ms. Natthacha proactively reached out to coffin businesses with proposals for connectivity solutions.
“I began by searching for ‘funeral services’. After that, I double-checked the information against the Department of Business Development’s database to precisely identify the decision makers. I reached out to the owner of a coffin shop to introduce the call-center service, dtac One Call, emphasizing that this solution could enhance customer trust. The feedback was swift and positive. Not only did the shop owner opt for the service, but he also referred me to five other branches of his shop and companies owned by his friends,” she recalls.
According to Ms. Natthacha, a good salesperson should have a solid understanding of business and be aware of upcoming trends, rather than just focusing on selling. They need to offer added value as well. With this approach, her portfolio grew from 100 companies in the first month to thousands within three years.
However, Ms. Natthacha recognizes that her success isn’t solely attributed to her individual efforts. Co-creation has played a pivotal role in making significant contributions. The collaborative efforts of the team and the combined capabilities of dtac and True Business have resulted in enhanced products and services for enterprise customers of True Corporation.
“Having supportive supervisors and colleagues has been instrumental in my growth. There are times when I face challenges beyond my capabilities, and my supervisor steps in right away to resolve them, preventing crises. This is one of the valuable lessons I continuously learn from my line manager and team,” she says. “I want to keep learning and improving.”
