Field Intelligence: Executive Summary
- A client opened a market in the southern part of Shan state, a politically unstable area with significant farmland.
- They recruited a local woman, a former teacher, who succeeded despite lacking traditional sales experience.
- Her success stemmed from her understanding of the local culture and direct communication style.
What Kind of Salespeople Do You Need for Specific Markets?
I have seen a lot of sales people that talk smoothly, are experts in listening, and very consultative. I myself train and coach all my sales reps to be like that and to be humble, to listen more and speak less. Well , what I learned lately is, it shouldn’t be like that, it totally depends on the market that they are dealing with.
How Can You Navigate Sales in a Conflict Economy?
One of the markets that I recently opened for my client is in the very southern part of Shan state, which is a politically grey area with all different arm forces and arm conflict. The market is vast in that area with thousands of acres of farm land and potential customers with very little competition. We have been trying to recruit a sales person for that area for almost a year , and there is literally no one applying for it. We have a partner in that region already as our wholesaler, because of that, we need to start having a sales person to help our current wholesalers and to expand our market. Because of the constant arm conflict, having a good sales person that could navigate in a conflict economy is challenging . So we decided, no need to have sales experiences, just willingness to learn is ok.
How Do You Find the Right Candidate When Traditional Criteria Fail?
We asked our partner if there is anyone willing to apply for the position and she sent us 3 CVs, we did virtual interview and none of them fit to our criteria. But one person that our partner wants she is the worse compare to all candidate that we interviewed, first of all it is a woman, and around 40 years old. Used to be a teacher in the region. She know the region well and she know how to navigate the conflict economy. She would like to join us because of our flexible working hour just with target, no checkin needed as far as she is hitting weekly target and she really love to make her region develop, it was her inspiration. So when we look at her , we can sense remotely zero sales personality, the way she speak is blunt, almost rude, the way she dress, she wore what ever she want. She also chew betel and her teeth are all red. She dont listen , totally do everything according to her gut feeling. And on top of that she is woman.
Our sales reps usually required to travel at night with motor bike alone, since the region is not safe , we though she is not fit, we are just worry for her. But our wholesalers insist she is perfect fit, so we let what we think slide with 3 month probation with target. We told our partner that if she dont hit sales target for the first month, we wont even wait and see for the second month. Our partner agree and we recruited her.
Field Data Evidence: She broke the first month sales target in just a week of joining.
What Happens When You Trust Local Insight?
To our surprise, she broke the first month sales target in just a week of joining, and at the end of the month, she already finished quarterly target and she become fulltime and permanent sales person. Me and my client traveled to taht area to learn from her, still speak blunt, still almost rude when she speak, she took us to a village where she sold alot of her products, she just walked into the house where our customer wasn’t even there in an empty house, she walked into the kitchen, and start cooking for all of us to eat. when our customer came back from farming for lunch, she already prepared food for our customers and us. So we eat together, our original though was , she knew that family for a long time since she just walked into the kitchen and start cooking. The more we speak the morer we think like that, she was so friendly, the way they interact, having conversation, it was like they were childhood friend , all the laughter and so on. We finished our lunch and farmers are ready to leave for their farm again, i can’t hold myself any longer so i asked our customer, are they childhood friend and our customer said, no this is the second time they met. Big surprise, our customer said , they have met alot of sales person in their life, our sales person is the one that act and talk like them,. It is the culture in the region , they all talk blunt, almost rude, the dont give a shit about formality, just straight forward, what can be done and what can’t not, they dont act like a guest anywhere they go, they all act like they owned the region the home. This is the kind of region, where they dont have fence for their home, no door was locked and nothing got stolen. At day time, every parents left their home with door unlock. Such openness.
What Lessons Can Be Learned From This Experience?
This trip both my client and me learn something, we glad that we listen to our wholesalers, we dont recruit according to our city criteria, we are glad that we recruited someone who know the region, not just the geographic region, but also the people and the culture. We just tell our sales reps she did a great job and thanks to her giving us chance to learn from her and we came back. She still keep selling until now and keep hitting sales target despise all the challenges in the region. She still help the people in the region and even sometime yell at us for not able to sent her shipment because of the conflict. But after all, we are glad we hire someone who know the region and can still keep doing business in the region because of her.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the key to successful sales in a conflict-ridden region? A: Understanding the local culture and recruiting someone who knows the region well is crucial.
Q: What qualities are important in a salesperson in a rural market? A: Authenticity, direct communication, and the ability to connect with customers on a personal level are key.
Q: How important is prior sales experience in challenging markets?
A: Willingness to learn and adapt to the local culture can be more important than traditional sales experience.
FAQ
Q: How does Sai Han Linn deliver Field Coaching for last-mile sales teams in Myanmar? A: Through the REACH framework, Sai Han Linn delivers Field Coaching in-situ: on motorbikes, in rural markets, and at the point of transaction. The goal is to transfer judgment, not just technique, so field agents can operate effectively without supervision. This is the most practitioner-dense form of best sales training in Myanmar available.