Salesmen ‘too nice’

Press, 26 February 1977, Page 20

Salesmen ‘too nice’

Naw Zealanders are a "bit too nice" when it comes to overseas marketing, says an Australian management consultant visiting Christchurch. Mr John P Young, who founded the firm of the same name, said that New Zealand businessmen gave up too easily and had a tendency to sit back and wait for customers to approach them. "New Zealanders visit Syd-; ney or Melbourne for two days and then return saying:

‘We are not likely to get this market’.” This was the wrong approach said Mr Young. Ai planned sales programme should be mounted to capture only a small share of the market, and not the whole market. The “nice” New Zealander could learn from the aggressive techniques of Australian business. "We come from fine convict stock," said Mr Young, whose firm handles many applications from New Zealand executives wishing to learn aggressive marketing “Australia has marketed it- . self as a country of opportunity better than New Zealand Management in Australia is more with it—more in tune with the challenges of change. Mr Young urged New Zea-. land and Australian compan-ii

les to join forces and “hunt! together” for overseas mar-1 kets. He was appalled to see representatives of both nations "playing off against each other.” "Australia is not trying to’ take over New Zealand, but, the two countries should merge and go forward as Australasia " This could also apply to the Governments. The Australian Constitution allowed for New Zealand to become a state of the Com-

monwealth of Australia. Mr J Young disagreed with this jidea, saying that the Govemjments should merge and offer a single attack to trade. The idea of New Zealand becoming a state of Australia would not be possible for many years because many , New Zealanders were “big shots in a little pool and were ■not prepared to become little shots in a big pool.” This; was why a merger would be i more practicable. I