Tanaka:  I don’t want to be misunderstood, but I think the sales function is no longer considered to be about product sales. In the past, conversations in sales meetings were mainly discussions around “How much is it?” - Basically a price negotiation only. Meetings have now drastically changed to proposal opportunities, and therefore our clients are always waiting for us to come up with new ideas.

Tanaka:  Since Super Light 700 is 25% lighter in weight than compared to conventional products, the product has become popular due to the benefits of lower transportation costs and the ease of handling. Customers in Kyushu tend to be very conservative but once our products’ attributes were recognized and accepted, we began to develop lasting relationships with them. Interestingly enough, even construction workers in Kyushu have strongly recommended the use of our products!

Tsutsumi:  As a sales assistant, I had studied about Daiwa’s products and even sent out an e-mail magazine to share the information with our clients. I learned about zinc, its uses for scaffolding, characteristics of other non-ferrous metals, market rates of materials, and so forth. Readers of my email magazine were much like me, assistants in the back office of trading companies and leasing companies that were taking orders from clients. However, what surprised me the most was that these assistants’ managers were also reading my messages and having discussions about them!

Tanaka:  Our strength is in the information sharing system - sharing and analyzing information on a weekly, monthly, and yearly basis through Daiwa’s geographical reach. All of us are information providers and receivers, and by learning from success stories of others, we can further improve and develop our marketing skills to provide the best value to our customers.