Pan Shiyi regards people is a very important element for the success of his company, SOHO China Ltd. "We have now come to the 21st Century, many simple and repetitious tasks can be done by machines or computers. But the people element seems more important -- because people have creative minds, and can think out of the box."
Govern By Non-Interference
To stimulate creativity of his staff, Pan follows the ruling principle of Emperors Wen and Jin of the Han Dynasty: "Govern by non-interference". He has simplified the management structure allowing staff to think and work freely. "We create a stage and welcome people to perform." Pan says.
He regards the team of architects as the source of the company's creativity. He rewards team members who demonstrate outstanding creativitiy with bonuses and "honour". It proves the value of innovative architects.
Pan believes in creating a multicultural environment and so brings in architects from other places like Germany, Australia, United Kingdom and Korea. The presence of a cosmopolitan group of talent would add an international flavour to SOHO.
Success by Elimination
The sales department is also very important to SOHO China. Pan is less concerned with the age and educational background of his salespeople, than he is with their integrity. He asks his sales team to follow one rule - never tell lies. He has also set in place an elimination system -- every three months, the performance of different teams in the same department are compared and the team with the worst results is fired. There are no exceptions. The company once had a salesperson who in three months made 1 billion RMB -- an year's turnover for some companies -- who was still fired because of his "poor result".
"We have to obey our system." Pan says firmly with a smile.
In 1998, this system led to the loss of 23 staff in a day. They thought the system too cruel and decided to work for one of Pan's competitors. This made Pan reflect, but after some consideration he decided to stay with his system because of its benefits. In the past, there wasn't much pressure on salespeople and it was difficult to measure their performance.
However, with the elimination system in place, salespeople do better. Pan believes that those who think they are unsuitable for sales job should quit quickly -- in the interest of themselves and the organisation. Many of his 300 staff have been working for the company for seven to eight years. Pan believes high pay is the major reason for the low turnover.
"In China's real estate sector, most salespeople earn RMB120,000 annually, but we have quite a number of staff who can earn RMB1,000,000 after-tax-income per year," he says.
Improve Verbal Skills
Pan is renowned for his creativity, especially in the promotional strategies of SOHO China's projects. However he never gives his staff tips on selling. "It is because every person has his own creativity. We have a girl from Xi'an. She cannot speak good Putonghua and minds that very much. When she meets clients from Beijing, she just looks at them for some time and says 'please buy it!' People in Beijing love to talk while she does not, but her successful rate is very high. This is because people think she is honest as she does not say many things to praise the property but allows her clients to judge for themselves. You see, everyone has their own method."
Pan encourages his salespeople to share their experiences, and even published a book named Game of Survivor, copiling sales stories of his staff. Pan only talks for 10 minutes at the quarterly SOHO China staff gatherings, but his talks impart insights from film, and little stories from daily life. He rarely talks about his business.
The quarterly staff gathering also include a speech competition for salespeople. Every sales team has to make a speech, and select a member to compete. That person has to use 10 minutes to show his verbal sales skills. Some people talk about business theories like risk and return, some make passionate appeals as though they are urging people to join a revolution, while some get emotional enough to make others cry... Pan does not set up a standard, but invites the teamleaders to vote for the winning team.
"What Chinese people learn is quite different from the West. We emphasize reading, but Western people focus on talking and expressing themselves. We have to improve our verbal skills, which is very important for selling."
Bio
Pan Shiyi is a maverick and vanguard in China's property development market. He always stands out in the crowd. Not only a successful entrepreneur, he is also a household name and business celebrity. His exposure includes business forums, TV, film, and advertising.
Born in Gansu, China in 1963, Pan went to college at the Beijing Petroleum Institute in 1982 and worked in the Ministry of Petroleum after graduating. From 1987, he began working in property development in Shenzhen and Hainan. In 1992, he co-established Beijing Vantone Co., Ltd., and developed several properties in Beijing. In 1995, Pan co-founded SOHO China Ltd. with his wife, Zhang Xin. Together they have developed a series of projects including SOHO New Town, Jianwai SOHO, SOHO Shang Du, Boao Canal Village, and Commune by the Great Wall, which is 12 contemporary private houses designed by 12 Asian architects and China's first award winning project at the Venice Biennale.
