Laura Shen – Sales Manager, Porsche Centre Nanjing Jiangning, Jebsen Motors
I have been working at Jebsen for ten years. Considering it takes less than a month for a caterpillar to go from larva to butterfly, ten years may seem like a long time, especially when spent working at the same company. But there has never been a dull moment in my decade here – on the contrary, it has been a period of transformative growth and splendid experiences.
I joined Jebsen on a friend’s recommendation, initially doing sales audits in the Porsche Centre Hangzhou Westlake administrative department. Jebsen sees all newcomers as long-term investments, so even as an inexperienced fresh graduate, I had opportunities to take up the banner and benefit from relevant training.
I maximised every learning opportunity over the years, rising to my current position as Sales Manager at Porsche Centre Nanjing Jiangning, where I oversee sales for the centre and guide my team through the sales process.
I have a natural eagerness to take on new challenges. When the company began venturing into online sales, I saw a chance to develop my people management skills. I requested to build my own team and sought ways to keep it productive. I particularly wanted to secure an office for the team – I believed the right physical environment was crucial for a sales team to grow together, and be united in purpose. I wanted our office to be a welcome shared space for discussions and experience sharing.
Once we were assigned an office, we filled it with our team personality and tons of energy. Instead of using our blank walls for tallying sales goals and numbers, we tacked up fun avatars and cartoon cars to indicate who’s working on which car order. As a leader, I valued the little things like remembering birthdays, and I never forget to organise team outings every month – from trying out new restaurants to more thrilling adventures like parachuting! Our fun-loving spirit and strong bond spill over to our work, too: we work well together, and we understand what our young customers want – a winning combination for our sales strategies.
Still, there are days that inevitably challenge this energy. I rely on hobbies like reading, swimming, badminton and yoga to help me relax and recharge. Like a chrysalis that protects a caterpillar through a harsh winter, my work-life balance keeps me in optimal physical and mental shape, ready to take on more challenges.
Our venture into online sales four years ago was an example of a major challenge for me. Porsche China became the first in the industry to sell cars digitally, in response to growing demand. We began to engage customers through car websites and social media, inviting them to visit our stores and explore our products.
As Supervisor of the Prospect Management Platform (PMP), I oversaw our team’s training, taking guidance from other Porsche Centres and benchmarking ourselves against car brands that later jumped on the digital sales bandwagon. My research and market knowledge helped develop our customer base, and support our sales performance and service goals.
With the team’s hard work, the fledgling PMP team at Porsche Centre Hangzhou Westlake blossomed like a butterflying breaking out of its cocoon. We grew a wide customer base, helping the centre achieve top rankings for both Group and Central China operations. I, too, have undergone a metamorphosis, transforming from an inexperienced graduate to a confident leader. I am grateful to the trust Jebsen has given me, and am excited to now be pursing yet another chapter of my career at Porsche Centre Nanjing Jiangning.
In hindsight, even though ten years is a long time, every year at Jebsen has been wonderfully different. I have grown with every unique opportunity that came to me, and been inspired by the people I have worked with. By extending this positive and proactive working culture among my team, I enable them to do their best work and maximise their potential as well.