Recently, I received a bolt from the blue notification from the co-CEO of our company’s largest client. It was a unilateral declaration to switch solutions. With the competitor’s proof of concept (PoC) already underway, it was an emergency situation where the customer’s departure was effectively confirmed. As the Korea branch manager, facing a ‘life-or-death’ moment where achieving this year’s sales target became uncertain, I had to win back the customer’s trust while tackling the difficult challenges of resolving technical issues and proposing price constraints.

Strangely enough, this massive wave hit immediately after I made a decision last Sunday to fully submit to God. Though I briefly wondered, ‘Why this trial after my decision to obey?’, solid backup arrived promptly from headquarters. Despite the difficulty of obtaining visas due to China’s lifting of COVID restrictions, a technical support team composed of a 10-year multiple-entry visa holder and a permanent resident miraculously entered Korea within two days. It felt like gaining an army of reinforcements. During meetings with the client, a surprising fact emerged: the cause of the overbilling over the past few months was a minor configuration error by the client’s developer (co-CEO). We also confirmed that our team had already presented this issue and a solution, but it had been ignored. The problem wasn’t technical; it was the ‘people’ who knew the truth but turned a blind eye.

The situation only got worse. The local staff, who had previously exploited our lack of on-site personnel in Korea as a weakness, suddenly avoided meetings and became overly cautious when our headquarters experts arrived. Waiting all day near the client’s location for a call left both myself and the traveling team physically and mentally drained. Though a sense of futility washed over us when we decided to return over the weekend, I resolved to make this time meaningful. We maximized the impact of on-site support by handling issues for other clients, and even reopened discussions with the conflicted client, creating an opportunity for contract renewal. It was a time when the message from Daiso Chairman Park Jeong-bu’s book, 『Manage with a Thousand Won』, that a small spark can burn down a house, resonated deeply. Soothing my colleagues’ distrust and fatigue, I cleared up misunderstandings through clear communication tailored to each role.

Although we succeeded in renewing the contract, the client chose to gradually shift to competitors after removing the minimum monthly cost clause. The renewal felt practically void, leaving me deeply disheartened. But recalling Masanori Ganda’s Unconventional Success Rules, I refocused my resolve. The core of successful sales is quickly identifying ‘who my true customers are.’ I gained the courage to now focus solely on my genuine clients and decisively cut ties with others. In this moment of crisis, sharing prayer requests with brothers in faith and praying together became a spiritual breakthrough. As the Sunday sermon reminded us, the greatest comfort was knowing that Jesus is praying for me even now.

“But I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail…” (Luke 22:32)

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