Global Interaction : No.48 Biz Trip スペインのキャナリー諸島

ヨーロッパの避寒地を代表するスペインのキャナリー諸島でセミナー。羨ましい。

ここでセミナーするほどトラック売れるの。本土で開くセミナーに来てもらえばいいではないの。

まあ、ボーナスの一種かな？

私も営業会議をラスベガスでやったことがあります。しかも、僅かですがギャンブルの費用も会社持ちで。

こういうこともなきゃぁね。

Off the coast of Morocco to the west are the Canary Islands. Those islands are part of Spain, and that is the place Columbus stopped on his way to discover America. There are several islands, but two main islands, Grand Canaria and Tenerefe. The economy evolves around tourism for northern Europeans wanting to get out of the cold and to get in some relaxing sunshine.

I gave several seminars there, as the Canary Islands had no European restrictions in terms of imports and safety/emission regulations. Unfortunately, only Spanish is spoken there except around the tourist areas in the south of both of those two islands. Much like Hawaii, the people are very relaxed and casual and not as industrious as their northern colleagues.



Sales Training with a beautiful German lady who was fluent in Spanish, March 1988

齋藤信幸のロングステイはここ

Global Interaction : No.47 Biz Trip エジプト

世界80か国を旅したRonさん。

海外営業は通常は地域別の組織になるので、シンガポールとマレーシア担当とか、インド担当といったことになり、80か国もの国に行くことはまずありません。

いすゞ自動車の「海外販売拠点のトレーニング」という仕事を自分から会社に提案・実現させたからこそ成しえたこととといえます。

さて、今回はエジプト。観光地としてはメディアにときどき登場しますが、Ronさんの印象に残ったのは？

Egypt

一度行ったら忘れられない国、ブランド重視の国民性
Egypt is one of those countries that you never forget if you go there. Isuzu Motors and General Motors had a vehicle assembly joint venture there, which serviced about eight dealers. One of the dealers, Monsour Chevrolet, dominated the market and probably still does today. The same vehicle was sold under the Isuzu name, Chevrolet name and Bedford name. The Egyptians are very loyal to brands, dealers and individuals. Therefore, the name and contact are more important than the product itself.
I stayed at the Minna House Hotel outside of Cairo in Giza, right at the foot of the pyramids. That is the famous hotel that the Americans and British planned the African campaign in World War II. I jogged around the pyramids every morning before going to work. I will never forget it.



Minna House Hotel, Giza Egypt, December 1987



Center of Cairo

The history there can be traced back 7,000 years, before any known religion. The country of Egypt can be traced back 5,000 years. Needless to say, just wandering around those ruins and structures makes your mind run wild with fascination as to life way back then.



Outside the Egyptian Museum, Cairo



The Sphinx, Giza Egypt

アッパー・エジプト、ロウアー・エジプトとは？
Egypt is a country that lives off of one river, the Nile. The country gets very little rain and all life surrounds the Nile. One interesting thing about Egypt is they talk in terms of “Upper Egypt” and “Lower Egypt”. Upper is not north. It is south. Lower is not south. It is north. The reason being is that the Nile flows into Egypt from Sudan in the south and empties into the Mediterranean Sea. I was to travel to Egypt quite a few times over the years.

「齋藤信幸のロングステイ」はここ

Global Interaction : No.46 Biz Trip アラブ首長国連邦UAE

今朝の朝日新聞の一面で取り上げられていた「イスラエルとUAEの国交合意」。

イスラエルと対立してきた中東諸国が、イランの脅威の前に、イスラエルとの国交正常化に動き出しました。

私はトランプ大統領が大統領選を前に戦争に向かって一歩を踏み出すのではないかと危惧していましたが、そうはならないようなので一安心。





さて1987年のUAEはどのようなところだったのでしょうか。

In 1987, I gave sales training in the UAE (United Arab Emirates). I had provided training in the big Middle East countries of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait but nowhere else. Well, the smaller countries like Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan and the UAE itself wanted training.

Dubai had, and probably still has, the best living standard in the Middle East, and Isuzu Motors, along with most companies from the west, have regional offices there. We had seminars for the region there, and people were coming in from all over the Middle East. We set up four seminars, two basic sales seminars, one seminar specifically for selling heavy trucks and sales management for the managers in the region. It was a mixed group and a very enjoyable two weeks in Dubai. I was so used to packing my bag and moving every 4-5 days that it was nice to stay in the same place and let the participants come to me. That was the first of many seminars in Dubai. In recent times, Dubai has become quite a boom town and has developed a tourist business.



Sales Management and Role Playing in Dubai, UAE July 1987



Frisby, Fernandez, Mohadeem and other managers, Dubai, UAE July 1987

Global Interaction : No.45 Biz Trip 象牙海岸ってどこ？

このPersonal Journeyは、私の友人のRon McFarlandが書いた自叙伝です。

先週、久しぶりにそのRonさん蒲田で飲みました。焼き鳥、串焼き、それとホッピーが大好きなRonさん、六本木ではなく蒲田が似合います。





今回のRonさんの出張先はフランスの植民地だった象牙海岸。現在のコートジボワール。ついにアフリカ西海岸まで行ったRonさん。しかも1987年の話です。

よくよく考えればあたりまえですが、トラックの需要は世界中にありますね。

ちなみに、『FACTFULNESS』（日経BP、ハンス・ロスリング他著、上杉周作・関美和訳）によると現在、コートジボワールはカメルーンとともにレベル２の下位、寿命も60歳＋と短いですね。

The Ivory Coast

The Ivory Coast is the first West African country I had ever been to. I gave a basic sales seminar there. The country was not as poor as you may think at that time. It has a lot of water and can grow a great deal of tropical crops. Also, it has minerals and other raw materials, which are mainly exported to Europe.

It is one of the original French territories, and the official language is French. In that region, most of the countries use French as the official language. Nigeria and Cameroon are half English and half French depending on the region of the country.

　

Sales Training in the Ivory Coast in French, June 1987

Global Interaction : No.44 Biz Trip ベネズエラ、プエルトリコ。ベネズエラは今より相対的には豊かだった？

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、3３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

このPersonal Journeyは、私の友人のRon McFarlandが書いた自叙伝です。