このPersonal Journeyは、私の友人のRon McFarlandが書いた自叙伝です。
Ron-sanとは蒲田で打ち合わせ兼新年会を行う予定でしたが、Google Meetでの打ち合わせとなってしまいました。
オミクロン株の感染防止のため・・・・・・ではなく、私自身の年末・年始の暴飲暴食により体調不良。ドクターストップがかかったためです。
ちなみにRon-sanは1月8日に横浜でセミナー「アメリカの老後と葬儀」について英語で講演しています。
コロナ禍にも関わらず50人以上集まり盛況でした。
ご興味のある方は、メールでご連絡をいただけると幸いです。
さて、今週も中南米の話です。
今、政治的、経済的な混乱が続いているベネズエラ。Ronさんが訪れたのは1987年、35年前です。ベネズエラは今よりも相対的には豊かな国だったかもしれません。
Venezuela ベネゼイラ
From Panama I went to Caracas, Venezuela. Venezuela has built its economy around oil. It is an oil producer and exporter. Unlike its neighbor, Colombia, its population is much lower and has a higher educational level. It does tend to live above its means though, and when the price of oil goes down, so do the Venezuelan economy and it’s Bolivar (their currency). Unlike other nations in the region, the cars are very large and luxurious. Caracas is a city like the shape of an octopus with many winding valleys going away from the center of the city. It is very close to the equator, so the climate is very mild year around.
Venezuela Sales Training, February 1987
Puerto Rico プエルト・リコ（アメリカの自治領）
自動車業界におけるこの国の立ち位置は？
To finish that first trip to Latin America, I returned to Puerto Rico to give a seminar to the local Isuzu distributor and its dealers on dealership sales management. At that time there was a quota on Japanese vehicles going into the United States, but vehicles could be supplied unrestricted to all US territories, like Puerto Rico. So, Puerto Rican dealers were ordering vehicles from their Japanese supplier and reselling them to dealers in the United States with a profit margin. This is very common among dealers that need a particular vehicle in a hurry to satisfy a customer who is willing to pay a little be more. They are called dealer-to-dealer agreements.
Well, with the quota, dealers in Puerto Rico were making a killing on reselling into the United States. They bought 10,000 units from just Isuzu at the time of that trip. So, my training was more a thank you note to the dealers than actual dealer development. Simply speaking, I was very serious about sales management and how to develop a strong sales force, and over half the group was there to party. Unfortunately, even my interpreter wanted to join in with the party. Right in the middle of my presentation, the interpreter said to just speak to the English speakers and don’t worry about the rest. I felt terrible about the people who just sat there and couldn’t understand a word I was saying. It was in a casino hotel with a lot of guests from the Eastern part of the US on vacation. So, the atmosphere was all fun and little work. All in all, most of the people were fascinated with the concepts I presented, and the seminar was a success. I should say it was a success for them, but not for me. I guess I expected too much.
Puerto Rico Sales Training, February 1986
Ron-sanとは蒲田で打ち合わせ兼新年会を行う予定でしたが、Google Meetでの打ち合わせとなってしまいました。
オミクロン株の感染防止のため・・・・・・ではなく、私自身の年末・年始の暴飲暴食により体調不良。ドクターストップがかかったためです。
ちなみにRon-sanは1月8日に横浜でセミナー「アメリカの老後と葬儀」について英語で講演しています。
コロナ禍にも関わらず50人以上集まり盛況でした。
ご興味のある方は、メールでご連絡をいただけると幸いです。
さて、今週も中南米の話です。
今、政治的、経済的な混乱が続いているベネズエラ。Ronさんが訪れたのは1987年、35年前です。ベネズエラは今よりも相対的には豊かな国だったかもしれません。
Venezuela ベネゼイラ
From Panama I went to Caracas, Venezuela. Venezuela has built its economy around oil. It is an oil producer and exporter. Unlike its neighbor, Colombia, its population is much lower and has a higher educational level. It does tend to live above its means though, and when the price of oil goes down, so do the Venezuelan economy and it’s Bolivar (their currency). Unlike other nations in the region, the cars are very large and luxurious. Caracas is a city like the shape of an octopus with many winding valleys going away from the center of the city. It is very close to the equator, so the climate is very mild year around.
Venezuela Sales Training, February 1987
Puerto Rico プエルト・リコ（アメリカの自治領）
自動車業界におけるこの国の立ち位置は？
To finish that first trip to Latin America, I returned to Puerto Rico to give a seminar to the local Isuzu distributor and its dealers on dealership sales management. At that time there was a quota on Japanese vehicles going into the United States, but vehicles could be supplied unrestricted to all US territories, like Puerto Rico. So, Puerto Rican dealers were ordering vehicles from their Japanese supplier and reselling them to dealers in the United States with a profit margin. This is very common among dealers that need a particular vehicle in a hurry to satisfy a customer who is willing to pay a little be more. They are called dealer-to-dealer agreements.
Well, with the quota, dealers in Puerto Rico were making a killing on reselling into the United States. They bought 10,000 units from just Isuzu at the time of that trip. So, my training was more a thank you note to the dealers than actual dealer development. Simply speaking, I was very serious about sales management and how to develop a strong sales force, and over half the group was there to party. Unfortunately, even my interpreter wanted to join in with the party. Right in the middle of my presentation, the interpreter said to just speak to the English speakers and don’t worry about the rest. I felt terrible about the people who just sat there and couldn’t understand a word I was saying. It was in a casino hotel with a lot of guests from the Eastern part of the US on vacation. So, the atmosphere was all fun and little work. All in all, most of the people were fascinated with the concepts I presented, and the seminar was a success. I should say it was a success for them, but not for me. I guess I expected too much.
Puerto Rico Sales Training, February 1986
