"After Distributing Business Cards at the Dawn Market for 5 Years... Life Advice from Hyundai Motor's Top Salesperson"

3 Consecutive Years Hyundai Motor Sales Champion Interview
Kim Gi-yang, Sales Director of Hyundai Motor Daejeon Branch
Work Routine Starting Before 6 AM... Diligence Is the Key
Existing Customers Introduce Acquaintances in 'Isakjupgi' Sales Method
Always Kind to Canceling Customers... Studying Expertise Is Essential

"I relocated the branch and went to the agricultural and marine products wholesale market every dawn to hand out business cards. After doing this for exactly five years, I finally gained real customers."

Kim Gi-yang, Director of Hyundai Motor Company Daejeon Branch (pictured), has been the top salesperson for three consecutive years. Since joining the company in October 1991, he has sold 6,194 cars up to last year. That averages to 16 cars per month, or at least one contract every two days.

Kim Ki-yang, Sales Director of Hyundai Motor Daejeon Branch [Photo by Hyundai Motor]

Kim said he grew up in a wealthy environment without any lack and described his younger years as lacking urgency. He was shy to the point of volunteering for the Marine Corps to overcome his timidity. For the first seven years after joining, he was an employee who worked just enough not to be scolded by the company, always producing mediocre results.

However, his perspective changed when the branch he worked at was merged into the current Daejeon branch due to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) economic crisis. At the larger branch, he saw many seniors who achieved in one day what he did in a month. After becoming the head of the household, the weight of responsibility on his shoulders grew heavier. From then on, he started learning the know-how of successful seniors by observing them closely.

Kim emphasized, "Ultimately, the key is to diligently divide and use your time. It's inevitable to fall behind when there is too much work, but if you have time, you must not procrastinate." His workday begins at 5:30 a.m. After arriving before 6 a.m., he completes all paperwork quietly in the office by 8 a.m. He attends the morning meeting at 8:30, then handles vehicle inspections and deliveries, and customer consultations. Around 7 to 8 p.m., he travels nationwide on business trips, personally visiting customers with contracts to sign at their convenience after work.

Typically, when one thinks of a top salesperson from a regional branch, they imagine networking sales through evening gatherings like alumni meetings or hometown associations. However, Kim neither drinks nor smokes and attends only one or two social gatherings. Instead, he devotes himself sincerely to each customer. Those customers then introduce him to acquaintances. Kim has no corporate clients (bulk buyers) in his customer base. In his words, his sales method is what is called 'picking up leftover grains.'

This was built through hard work. Every day, Kim visited underground parking lots of nearby apartments and the early morning agricultural wholesale market before going to work. He placed business cards on every used car he saw and handed out cards to merchants who came to the wholesale market early in the morning. Only after five full years did customers start seeking him out.

Another secret to his success as a top salesperson is kindness. Kim said, "I especially do my best for customers who cancel contracts midway, and if I send them off with a smile saying to contact me if they need help later, they always get back in touch."

Kim Ki-yang, Sales Director of Hyundai Motor Daejeon Branch [Photo by Hyundai Motor]

Studying for expertise is also essential. He must be well-versed not only in products but also in traffic laws and insurance policies to confidently serve customers. Keeping up with internal news such as production and delivery schedules of major car models is also important. Kim said, "Nowadays, customers have a very high level of product knowledge, so salespeople must have specialized knowledge accordingly. The main role of a salesperson is not just to convey simple information but to provide car model consultations tailored to the customer's lifestyle."

Before becoming the nationwide top seller for the first time in 2021, Kim had been ranked in the top 10 nationwide for over ten years. He recalled that the process of moving from second place to first was even more difficult. Kim said, "I worked hard to reach second and third place, but breaking the barrier to first place was very tough. The habit of setting goals broken down by quarter and month rather than yearly goals was effective." He added, "It is important to always stay alert to achieve goals and to revise short-term goals that were not met to create achievable objectives."

At the end of the interview, Kim happily received a phone call from a customer who had canceled but was contacting him again. His motto is "Don't make excuses." It means not to make excuses for becoming complacent. Kim said with a smile, "When I make a mistake with a customer, I admit and apologize cleanly without excuses. But it’s even better not to make mistakes at all."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.