THE PAKI- MAGIC

Salespersons are oftentimes confronted by various difficult situations akin to the performance of their professions. Divided conveniently into three, these situations are identified as the ONE-ON-ONE situation, the GROUP situation and the CRISIS situation.
How would you face these situations if you were confronted with them while doing your job? How would you react to each one of them?
According to Dr. Jocano, when confronted by a one-on-one situation-say, by a smart aleck or a persistent client-you should know how to use the principle of PAKIKITUNGO (harmonious relations). You do not make a sales call to engage in a debate but to make a sale. Through pakikitungo and respectful dialog, you can turn a sales rejection into a success. On the other hand, rejection could be the result if you do not exercise patience and consideration.
Filipino clients like being treated well. They enjoy being treated as very important personalities. This may be due to a once-popular slogan, The customer is always right. But, whether this is right or wrong, customers deserve to be treated well. They are who they are-customers-and their kind makes the business of selling alive and profitable.
How do you react when confronted by a group situation? Again, according to Dr. Jocano, know how to use the principle of PAKIKISAMA. Getting along well with your clients will surely get you what you want and where you want to be, inside the bank, making encashment.
The crisis situation is best met by PAKIKIRAMAY (sympathy). You express your intentions by giving a significant part of you to help bear the gravity of a given crisis. This is essential in the kind of relationship we build with our friends and clients. Without this, selling will be just as cold and empty as the concrete windowsill atop a tall building where even the birds refuse to lay rest after a day’s flight under the sun.
Paki- (please) is a Filipino magic prefix. When invoked, it is a special key that opens the door to all the avenues of agreement, cooperation and consent. When used wisely and sparingly, paki- makes the impossible tasks possible.