The Sales Archaeologist

Well as I expected my week in Shanghai is probably going to yield a few posts. I am here to train some executives on managing sales people, but yesterday I had a chance to roam the streets and explore.Words really can't describe this type of city - business everywhere, culture everywhere and people squeezed into all the gaps between. It was yesterday that gave me chance to witness first hand what has made China such a strong contender in the world markets. Here are three experiences and my conclusions regarding their impact.

Lily works in the hotel. She spoke with me in the hotel restaurant regarding my day - she was funny and engaging. When she found out what I did she shook her head and said I should have went somewhere else. When she heard what I had bought she said I paid too much. When she asked me what I had tried eating she informed me it wasn't authentic. This kind of push back was great and when it was time to order I said "you pick for me" and it was superb!

In downtown Shanghai a young man pursued me trying to sell me some "Chinese Rolex" and I kept walking - he kept walking too. We have all been hit up by street vendors but the tenacity of this guy was amazing. He really wouldn't take no for an answer - he started to ask about buying for my wife or daughter and when that persistence hit a chord of compelling reason - you guessed it I bought a watch (sorry honey it's not real)

Finally I passed an office where there were two tables, 6 salespeople at each. So closely packed in that their lap tops were touching each other. No air conditioning,, wearing suits on a 90 degree day and dialing for dollars non stop. This was truly a sales office and in every sense of the word a sales pit. But they were smiling and they were working really hard.

So now for my conclusion - what do these three events make me think of when combined?

Several years ago the threat of China became real when manufacturing really started to migrate here - there was a lot of complaining from the U.S. workforce about using this cheap labor etc....but the labor here isn't just cheap. They work harder (sorry but it's true) so that creates an impact curve so great that in many cases businesses would have no choice.

Once we adjusted to that we comforted ourself in being a "service based economy" that was until India came along - oops. The we decided it was our brain power and intellectual resources that would keep us afloat - but now we see companies looking to Ireland and Eastern Europe for those skills. History is full of examples of nations that saw huge economic shifts that required substantial and rapid changes in their approach. Those that were able to survived and those that were not dissolved. I guess my concern is that we may not be getting it in the U.S as quickly as we need to?

What happens when your sales force is now up against a competitor from another country selling a quality all be it less expensive product. Until now you have probably relied on a superior sales group to fend them off but that is not going to work for long. I am in China because the Chinese see the need and value of training their sales people! It has made the resistance to sales training in the U.S seem really ridiculous when you look at it from this perspective. What are you going to do when not only are you out priced, out sourced, out willed, out shipped , out produced but also out sold?