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Victoria Button

Staff set the pace by following creative evolution principle

THE PROCESS OF taking part in the Distinguished Salesperson Award programme was as important as the prize for MTR Corporation,  according to assistant sales manager Lucy Lui.

Ms Lui used the theme of the competition, 'Creative Evolution', to reflect on business and life.

She said: 'In business, losers are those who simply copy what other people do.

'Survivors are those who carry on doing what they themselves have done successfully in the past.

'Winners are those who create and lead their customers towards the future trend, and this is what creative evolution is all about.'

Regardless of their work, everyone was a salesman of some kind, having to 'sell' something to justify their existence, from their charm to their creativity to their leadership or specialist knowledge, she said.

'Doing a good sales job will enhance our value at work, in the family and among friends,' she said.

Ms Lui leapt at the opportunity to take up her role - she is responsible for bulk sales of Airport Express tickets to airlines, hotels and others in the travel and service sectors - because it was a product she believed in.

Despite tight competition from buses and taxis, Airport Express was the best way of getting to the airport, she said.

The biggest challenge was how to capture additional travellers from China, who normally came on group tours using buses for transport.

MTR's co-operation with travel agents, hotels and airlines during the Sars crisis - extending credit and settlement periods - had paid off, she said,  with grateful customers becoming more committed to using the Airport Express.

MTR subsidiary TraxComm also had a DSA Award winner:  business development manager Reginia  Chan, who explores wholesale business opportunities with telecommunications service providers.

In a saturated telecoms market, it was essential to provide high-quality service and customise products, she said.

The more difficult the sales challenge, the greater her motivation.

A few years ago, when Ms Chan started her sales career, she won over a particularly tough customer - an international retail chain.

When the decision maker repeatedly refused to meet  her, saying he would not consider switching service provider, she visited his office with a written proposal.

After seeing the proposal, he called her to arrange a meeting, eventually becoming her customer and later a friend.



MTR employees on the express route to the top