SYSCOMで活躍する社員たち：フォン・サランヤさん

SYSCOMで活躍する社員たち

お客様の立場からベストなソリューションを提案することがモットー：フォン・サランヤさん

役職:	ソリューション・セールス
部署:	ビジネス・ソリューション
勤務地:	東京オフィス
専門:	Microsoft Dynamics 365コンサルティング（3か国語プリセールス
経験:	SYSCOM歴3年1か月
趣味:	読書、旅行、スキー

役職

ソリューション・セールス

部署:

ビジネス・ソリューション

勤務地:

東京オフィス

専門:

Microsoft Dynamics 365コンサルティング（3か国語プリセールス）

経験:

SYSCOM歴3年1か月

趣味:

読書、旅行、スキー

A lot goes into keeping the IT operations of a company up to date—especially a company that manages finances or supply chains. As a Solutions Sales specialist in our Tokyo office, Fon Saranya knows that firsthand. For over three years now, she’s worked to connect customers with the solutions they need to achieve the results they intend.

However, IT solutions for finance and supply chain management aren’t always as simple as recommending the latest update of a powerful software. Every business is unique, from the challenges they face to the budgets they have. Fon has learned that the key is in taking the time to know the client themselves. “We need to maintain a relationship with clients and partners,” she says. “Supporting them with deep care and a positive mindset is crucial to my job in Solutions Sales.”

Recommending a solution to a client is one thing, but truly understanding what they need is another entirely. Meeting them where they are requires patience and empathy. “When I communicate with a customer, it’s not cold-hearted or without a feeling of deep care. I have to put myself in their shoes and communicate with them fully to truly understand them.”

But what does this look like in the course of everyday business? What does it mean to “meet someone where they are,” as opposed to recommending an out-of-the-box solution to them? For Fon, the difference comes down to pausing to understand the workplace environment the solution will be implemented in. In other words, it’s about people. “A common issue we face in implementation is that most of our customer’s employees are already used to the old way. When switching from Process A to Process B, they try to still use their old process,” says Fon. “It’s our job to say, ‘There are standards in Microsoft Dynamics 365 which work the same way as your current business processes, and we’ve set it up this way for a reason.”

Communication problems can happen with more than the people who end up using the new process, however. A significant part of Fon’s work is ensuring not only that she understands what the client needs, but that the client understands what she’s actually offering. “There are times when we reach the end of a system development and the client sees the result, and they say, ‘Wait, this isn’t what I wanted,’” says Fon. “Before moving forward, we have to make sure we understand the customer requirements correctly.”

She has to take extra care at the start to ensure that the client is on the same page, and that she can deliver on what she’s promised. She had to put all her tools to use in a recent project. A trading company was implementing Microsoft Dynamics 365. They were pleased with Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain Management and Power BI, but didn’t have the budget to secure additional customization development support for ongoing projects.

I have to put myself in the client’s shoes and communicate with them fully to truly understand them.

Fon Saranya

Solutions Sales

Fon went to work: “The customer had a limited budget and wanted to use it strategically. I had to come up with multiple scenarios and walk them through how each would affect them and their budget. I had to put myself in their shoes.” They had no more budget, but she had to show them that this was unavoidable. “Eventually, we found that the customer was willing to commit some budget, but wanted a guarantee that we’d be able to deliver on what we were promising. My team and I worked closely together across functions and brainstormed to make sure I could back it up, and they confirmed it.” Fon won the business.

Understanding a client’s position, needs, and concerns is vital to sales in any industry, but especially the high-cost and high-risk IT industry. It’s why getting Fon on our team was such a win for SYSCOM GLOBAL SOLUTIONS—and Fon says she feels it’s been a good fit. “SYSCOM has so many bilingual consultants. We can support overseas rollouts, American rollouts, Japanese roll-ins and more, while most Japanese-owned IT companies can only support Japanese roll-ins.” Fon says SYSCOM always has an eye on growth: “We’re small and can support you individually, but we can also scale with you as you grow globally.”

She’s found SYSCOM even takes the time to get to understand her, on her own level. “I’m from Thailand, but I’ve always loved Japanese culture. I traveled here with my family when I was young and this was my first choice to study abroad.” She’s been in Tokyo for over a decade now.

SYSCOM made a point to understand her own culture, even as she was leaving it geographically for work. “Thai people tend to have long names, so when we’re born our parents give us a nickname. All Thai people have nicknames.” But while other Japanese-Owned Companies took her birth name and addressed her by that at the office, “SYSCOM knew Thai culture and brought her nickname to work. Now I’m known around the office by the name I go by.”

When asked about what she admires about SYSCOM’s business and where she sees it going, she sees fertile ground for future growth. “The Tokyo office is such a good, friendly working environment. We’re also all close in age. We’ll go out for a drink or get dinner together, catch up, talk about work or concerns. We’re there to support each other.” And from this soil, the potential for greater things: “I have a clear goal for my future and am always building my skills. I’d love to be a part of the company, share my voice to plan, and expand SYSCOM’s future business.”

With the mentality she brings to the office and her work with clients, we’d be tremendously lucky to have her.

To learn more about the Dynamics 365 solutions, click here or contact us if you like to consult with our Tokyo team.