Hello, from the Marketing Department! This time, we interviewed Ms. Higashino from the International Sales
Department, about her workstyle.
Three years since you changed your career to a new industry
where you had no experience. What is your secret of success as
Client Manager in the International Sales Department?
I was previously a flight attendant for a foreign airline for about two years, and I believe the language skills I
developed through serving customers from various countries was one step that enabled me to be successful even
though I came from a different industry. Since we work with foreign-affiliated companies, we receive many
inquiries from overseas, and meetings and phone calls in English are a daily occurrence. Our clients themselves are
busy, so when we don’t receive responses to our e-mails, we call them to check on the progress. Also, since our
clients are operating globally, it is essential for us to collaborate with NTT Group companies overseas.
What kind of clients do you work with and what kind of products,
solutions, and services do you propose to them?
I work with a wide range of clients in various industries, but many of them are in the manufacturing sector. I
actively make proposals, offering not only Cisco products but also additional services. For example, we can provide
one of NTT Com DD’s strengths: infrastructure construction and design by bilingual (Japanese, English) engineers.
Configuration inputs and changes to infrastructure equipment specifications require interaction with the client’s HQ,
but since we have many bilingual engineers, clients can rest assured and rely on us to build the system for them.
During this year’s Golden Week, I was at the site of a large-scale project, and saw to its successful completion!
We also offer a maintenance service that is unique to our company: SDIS®. This service has been highly received
by many of our clients around the world. While most manufacturers can only offer limited hours of service in
Japanese, SDIS® is available 24 hours a day, 7days a week in both Japanese and English. This enables our clients
to contact us at their convenience and makes it our unique advantage that no other company can offer.
As you develop as Client Manager, your responsibilities and scope
of work expand more and more. What challenges do you take on
on a daily basis?
The International Sales Department focuses on developing new sales to foreign-affiliated companies that have
entered the Japanese market. Last year I was able to achieve the best results in the team for this activity. I really
want more customers to know about the advantages of our company, and I am determined to continue contacting
more customers this year.
We are also constantly adding new solutions and services. I am also actively proposing solutions that have not yet
penetrated the domestic market, such as the security policy management solution: Tufin and the cloud security
service: Cloudflare, to our clients. We hear from clients that they don’t know how to implement SASE, or that they
are unable to set up policies due to a lack of human resources in their company. I confidently propose Tufin and
Cloudflare as solutions for clients who are facing such problems and challenges.
If any of your clients have these problems, please feel free to contact me.
What skills do you feel you are developing every day at NTT Com DD?
I came to this company without any experience in the industry, so every day is a learning experience. I had been
in an environment where I used English every day, but there is always new vocabulary in new industries. I joined
NTT Com DD with no knowledge of IT terminology, so I struggled when I joined the International Sales
Department.
Also, when I started out in Inside Sales, proposals where often made after receiving inquiries from clients. But
as Client Manager, I have much more responsibility. They say, “Work is not something you are taught, but
something you learn by watching.” Fortunately, the International Sales Department is full of unique and active
sales members. So I actively take the initiative to communicate with them and learn what kind of sales activities
they are doing, and avidly absorb any skills that I am lacking.
How do you spend your time outside of work?
I enjoy having delicious food and traveling. I go out dining at fancy restaurants once a month with my friends from
university for a girls’ night out. When I was a student, I would often go to a ramen shop near the university, so I
feel I have grown up since those days. Also, we all get along well in the International Sales Department, so we
sometimes go out for a quick drink after work with members who have come to the office. I also recently went on
a trip to Taiwan with Ms. Kijima, one of my colleagues!
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What are your future goals and how would you like to develop
yourself to achieve them?
It has been three years since I took on the challenge of joining the IT industry, but I realize every day that my
knowledge isn’t enough. I would like to work on acquiring more knowledge by studying for certifications and
actively participating in manufacturer’s seminars.
Above all, I would like to pass on the “baton of gratitude” to the colleagues I work with in the International Sales
Department, to the people in other departments of the company, and to our business partners. Instead of
repaying the person who has helped you or has been kind to you, there is what is called “passing on the baton of
gratitude” where you pass on the thoughtful act you received to a completely unrelated third party.
In English, it is also called “paying it forward.” In some countries, there is a paying-forward system where you can
smartly “give the next customer a delicious cup of coffee” by paying for an extra cup at coffee stands. I empathize
with this idea and would like to put it into practice. I believe it will lead to my future growth.
