Interview with Baek Jong-won, Hyundai Motor's 20th Top Sales Director
Sold 120 Cars Annually for 16 Consecutive Years...Total 5,000 Units
Strategy Focused on Consistent Demand from Personal Taxis Regardless of Gyeonggi Region
Endured IMF Crisis with Trust... "Some Customers for 30 Years"
Baek Jong-won, Sales Director at Hyundai Motor Company, is taking a commemorative photo at the Gwangju Suwan Jungbu Branch on the 3rd. (Photo by Hyundai Motor Company)
"Some customers have been with me for 30 years. Building trust is the most important thing. You can never rely solely on school or regional connections for sales."
This is the philosophy of Baek Jong-won, Sales Director at Hyundai Motor's Gwangju Suwan Jungbu Branch, who has sold over 5,000 vehicles and became the twentieth 'Sales Master.' Baek shared these thoughts in a phone interview with Asia Economy on the 8th.
Baek joined Hyundai Motor in June 1993 and surpassed 5,000 cumulative sales last month after 31 years. He consistently closed about 160 deals annually, averaging three contracts per week without breaks. This was not a sudden 'big hit.' He also earned the 'Top Class' title, awarded to those who sell over 120 vehicles annually, 16 consecutive times from 2008 to last year.
His first job was at Daewoo Electronics. After four years working in manufacturing, utilizing mechanical knowledge gained in high school and university, he felt it was not a good fit and found it stifling. He wanted to see a freer and broader world. So, he chose sales, and among sales fields, he picked the automotive sector, which has the largest sales volume.
Just as his sales career was gaining momentum, the IMF crisis hit. Despite the economic downturn, Baek was able to endure. He strategically focused on individual taxi customers who replace their cars regardless of the economy. Baek explained, "While struggling with daily sales targets, I thought about finding a more stable demand sector. I focused on those who need to replace their cars regularly regardless of the economy and actively sought out individual taxi and freight customers." From the start, he strategically prepared for a 'long race.'
He said, "Individual taxi customers know so much about cars that it was difficult to approach them with superficial knowledge." He prepared extensively not only on Hyundai vehicles but also on competitors' cars and accident handling details. He also made efforts to fully understand the complex paperwork unique to individual taxis. Baek said, "For individual taxi vehicles, the commercial vehicle registration number must be canceled before registering a new car, and there is a significant amount of paperwork to submit to the city and the individual taxi transport business association." He added, "I helped customers smoothly handle these complicated documents, which are more complex than when purchasing regular cars."
The trust built this way has been passed down through generations. His longest-standing customer relationship has lasted 30 years. Baek said, "One customer who started as an individual taxi driver and later succeeded in another business has already purchased over 40 vehicles and is currently contracting for a second car this year. Drivers in their 50s and 60s also come to me when buying cars for their children, allowing us to maintain steady relationships and trust."
Born in 1966, Baek still has about two and a half years until retirement but remains full of passion. He still wakes up before 5 a.m. and arrives at work an hour earlier than others. Recently, he has been actively introducing eco-friendly vehicles such as electric cars to customers. Baek said, "I want to share Hyundai Motor's eco-friendly vehicle-based future vision with customers. Although retirement is near, I will work even harder to become a sales master with 6,000 or 7,000 vehicles sold."
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