Forefront of Going Cashless vol.3 – Sales Department 2, Enterprise Sales Division 2

About “Forefront of Going Cashless”

Within just three years from its launch, PayPay has grown into a service adopted by 3.4 million merchants. Due to this rapid expansion, which led to our acquiring over 43 million users, many people are now commenting that they can use PayPay in numerous locations and that there are many stores which accept only cash or PayPay.

In this series, we will focus on PayPay’s Sales Group, which is at the forefront of merchant expansion, and bring you the voices of its members to uncover the secrets behind PayPay’s rapid growth.

For the second installment, we interviewed members of Sales Department 2, Enterprise Sales Division 2.

Interviewees

Interviewer: PayPay Inside-Out Editor, Sota

About the Organization

Editor：
First of all, please tell us briefly about the Sales Department 2, Enterprise Sales Division and your own organization.

Suda-san：
In contrast to the East Japan and West Japan Sales Divisions introduced in the previous article, which are responsible for sales activities for small and medium-sized merchants, the Enterprise Sales Division is responsible for sales to large ones. Headquarters, departments, and teams are divided by industry, and they deal with merchants in their respective areas of responsibility. I belong to Team 1, Sales Department 2 of the Enterprise Sales Division 2, which mainly deals with merchants that operate commercial facilities, department stores, and home centers. Other teams within the department are in charge of nationwide convenience stores.

It is said that the strength of PayPay is the overwhelming number of locations where it is available, and that it can also be used in small and medium-sized stores. But in fact the volume of transactions by major merchants is by far the largest overall. We are aware that our job is at the root of PayPay’s business and impacts all aspects of the company, so we work with a sense of urgency and responsibility.

Editor：
Indeed, I still get amazed when I see small, privately owned stores that adopted it and think to myself, “PayPay can be used even at places like this!” On the other hand, although I’ve been using the app without really thinking about the fact, before I knew it, PayPay was available at almost every large national chain store in Japan.
*Click here for more information on stores that accept PayPay.

The Organization’s Mission and Job Description

Editor：
Please tell us about your jobs and the mission of your organization.

Suda-san：
While we are involved in sales activities for businesses that have not yet introduced PayPay, the main mission of our team at the moment is proposing initiatives that will help merchants who already adopted it increase users’ PayPay usage and thereby their sales.

As the leader of the team, I support the members to ensure that they are able to carry out tasks that will help them achieve this mission. I think important things are constantly done in the field, so I prioritize accompanying them to business meetings, doing my part as a sales rep.

Marumoto-san：
The situation differs for each team within the Enterprise Sales Division, but our Team 1 of the 2nd Sales Department in Division 2 has a lot of existing merchants who are already using PayPay, and about 90% of my daily work involves making proposals to those merchants.

Editor：
What sort of proposals do you make to merchants who already introduced PayPay?

Marumoto-san：
We propose the use of “PayPay Coupons” and suggest various campaigns to increase each company’s visibility and sales. The important work happens after you start using PayPay! For example, we recently encouraged participation in a large campaign called Super PayPay Festival. Also, after campaigns are over, we provide feedback on their effectiveness, so that it can be utilized in future sales strategies.

Editor：
I was surprised at the number of companies participating in the “Super PayPay Festival.” The department store segment that Suda-san, Marumoto-san and the others were in charge of also issued coupons.

Difficulties and Rewards

Editor：
What is the most difficult part of your job, and what is the most rewarding part?

Suda-san：
PayPay is launching exciting things one after another quite rapidly. That’s how the company came to where it is now. It also allows us to suggest to merchants new services that have not yet been released to the public, or campaigns that are still in the making. We have to communicate our policy to the merchants and gauge their feelings as well as listen keenly to their requests while making proposals. Of course, we cannot do it half-heartedly. As a salesperson, I think the key to make the pitch as effective as possible is to gather as much information as one can internally, then to supplement it by filling in the gaps from the merchant’s point of view, and consider how we can create the best possible win-win proposal. It’s a tough job, but it’s also a rewarding one, especially when the merchants accept our deal. Plus, although we only interact with merchants, when I see that users are happy about campaigns that we were involved in, that really cheers me up.

Marumoto-san：
In my previous job at a travel agency, the company’s style was more like proposing existing products or plans that had been considered after hearing about what other companies were doing, so when I first came to PayPay, it was very refreshing and shocking to find out that we were proposing something that was still taking shape. However, considering the growth of the cashless industry, and especially PayPay over the past three years, I believe that such challenges and speed are necessary, and I’ve gotten used to it (laughs).

Suda-san：
In addition, since we negotiate with the largest merchants PayPay handles, we do not just go with the flow of the company, but also find out what kind of services the merchants are looking for and what issues they face. I think delivering such voices to the company is also one of the most important things we are doing. One rewarding aspect of working at PayPay is the opportunity to provide feedback to the product and marketing departments to help them refine their services.

Characteristics of the Organization

Editor：
What do you think are the characteristics of the Enterprise Sales Division and your own team?

Suda-san：
Most of the members in the Enterprise Sales Division have moved to PayPay from other companies. Everyone has a variety of experiences and backgrounds, and their personalities are very rich. There are many young folks as well, so I feel a lot of energy and vigor.

Editor：
How is the atmosphere of the team?

Marumoto-san：
Suda-san, our leader, is frank and the atmosphere in the team is cheerful. To say that it’s fun might sound superficial, but it really is an open, worker-friendly environment where it’s easy to seek advice, so folks are able to pace themselves appropriately. I think this environment also allows each member to proactively speak their mind.

Suda-san：
We want to create an environment where it is easy for our members to work so that the team can move directly toward results. I’m especially mindful that each person enjoys their work and private life.

In particular, I believe that a lack of communication and trust can lead to a great deal of stress, so I aim to create an environment that is as open as possible, where people can express their opinions.

Until recently, there were situations where communication became difficult due to the effects of Covid. But I tried to build trust with the members by meeting with them remotely at least once a day, and by having regular 1-on-1 time with them. Now that the pandemic has calmed down a bit, members who wish to come to the office can do so, and we are gradually meeting in real life for team building.

At PayPay, there are many bright colleagues with various talents and career histories. In order to draw out the needs and wants of the person we are facing, whether within the company or externally, I believe it is important that each person has to be able to communicate to others what they are truly thinking.

That leads to meaningful conversation and results in actually valuable proposals to merchants, which helps PayPay grow even further.

Editor：
Thank you both very much!
The Enterprise Sales Division, to which Suda-san and Marumoto-san belong, is currently recruiting new members. Would you like to take up the challenge of further expanding the fast-growing cashless payment service in a unique and energetic organization?

About this series

As mentioned in the beginning, we believe that the availability in many places is the reason why 43 million users, or more than one-third of Japan’s population, are using PayPay. By showcasing the activities behind PayPay’s growth and bringing the voices of salespeople to the fore, we want our readers to learn the secrets behind PayPay’s rapid progress in leading Japan to become a cashless society. Moreover, if you are interested in what it’s like to be a PayPay salesperson, we hope you will gain a better understanding of the work we do through this series.

Special thanks to Nagoya Sales Office Member / Edited by: Sota (PayPay Inside-Out Editor)
* Employees’ affiliations are those of the time of the interview.