Turning strangers into customers is the key to success in sales, says Jammy Lam Ka-wai, assistant unit manager of telesales at Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) and winner of the Distinguished Salesperson Award. 'My ideal selling process is to turn strangers, who are not familiar with our company, into our customers,' Ms Lam said. 'To achieve this, I deliver suitable products with a sincere attitude. 'That is always my principle as a salesperson.' Ms Lam has been with the company for nearly five years and is responsible for promoting and selling mortgage products to customers, cross-selling and maintaining a good working relationship with branches. Keeping up to date with trends is important. Good interpersonal and communication skills are also needed to serve customers well. It is also essential to use previous experiences and share them with colleagues. This can make a salesperson more mature and sophisticated in handling different tasks. Phyllis Li Hoi-chi, a unit manager of branch sales, and Danny Yeung Chun-sing, a payroll services manager, won the Outstanding Young Salesperson Award. Ms Li deals with telesales and branch sales. She also motivates her teammates to meet their targets and plays a role in management. 'Confidence is also a key to my success. It is important to know your customer before you sell them. Be confident and patient when you face any obstacles,' Ms Li said. Mr Yeung is responsible for bringing in tailored payroll services and personal payroll account packages to corporate clients and individual employees. 'I manage the entire process, with a view to providing quality services to our customers. From service application, systems implementation and personal account opening to the first payroll,' Mr Yeung said. 'Building relationships with wholesale and SME [small and medium enterprises] clients, by tackling various problems on payrolls and offering solutions, are also parts of my job,' he added. 'We have hundreds of companies to take care of and to keep them engaged, we must keep in touch with every client regularly and build relationships with each one. 'We must offer fitting services and solutions for each target customer,' Mr Yeung said. 'Salespeople have to properly manage their time and arrange appointments with customers. 'And competition among teammates brings a positive influence. Not only can I adopt the merits of others. I can also get rid of my demerits [by seeing what works and what doesn't].'
