If you were the sales manager of a car dealership and you had to hire salespeople for your team, from which brands would you poach?

If you’re thinking of getting staffers from Toyota just because their brand happens to be number one (by far) in our market in terms of sales, then Mazda Philippines president Steven Tan respectfully disagrees with you.

“I wouldn’t hire sales personnel from Toyota or Honda,” Tan told us during a media dinner in Hokkaido, Japan. “They’re not hungry enough.”

Now, before sales team members from the two aforementioned brands start bashing the Mazda executive, know that his statement is actually not so much a dig at their competence as it is a humble acknowledgment of the popularity (and hence desirability) of Toyota and Honda in the Philippine market. What he means is that Toyota and Honda salespeople don’t need to work as hard as their counterparts from other brands, because customers simply come to them.

“Their cars sell themselves,” Tan added.

Toyota and Honda salespeople don’t need to work as hard as their counterparts from other brands, because customers simply come to them

Fair enough. So which brands would he happily poach salespeople from?

“Isuzu and Chevrolet,” he replied. “They work hard for their sales. They’re hungry.”

He also mentioned another brand that quite surprised us.

“And Mitsubishi.”

Mitsubishi? For real? But they’re the number two brand in our market sales-wise.

“Exactly,” Tan said. “It’s why they’re number two. They have hungry salespeople.”

Interesting. We wonder if the sales personnel in the industry agree with Tan’s assessment. What do you think?