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2022.12.15
｜CEP
A crisply ironed white shirt, tailored dress pants, and a signature crescent-moon smile. He is impeccably polite, thoroughly attentive, and deeply cautious in everything he does.
This is Benjamin.
In a mere year and a half, he unlocked the ultimate achievement of becoming the "Annual Top Sales Champion." Yet, behind these brilliant results, how much sweat, tears, and grit were poured into the journey?
Before joining GMC, Benjamin cycled through seven or eight different jobs, most of which were part-time. Reflecting on his past experiences, Benjamin shared, "I actually worked as a certified technician for an electric scooter brand, handling maintenance and showroom sales. Back then, I managed to hit the number one sales spot in the store."
"I realized I had a knack for handling customer complaints. Whenever a major complaint arose, I could almost always smooth things over. Those disgruntled clients would end up turning into my most loyal customers. If I got transferred to a different branch, they would follow me there, and their spending would be exceptionally high." Benjamin recounted his past with a confident, proud smile.
Having the courage to welcome diverse challenges, being skilled at resolving issues, and knowing how to soothe client emotions to turn them into loyal advocates—even back then, Benjamin had begun to recognize his natural affinity for client relations, gradually discovering his innate talents.
When Benjamin first arrived at GMC, he started at the very bottom in general affairs, with a daily routine consisting of running errands and handling basic office chores.
"After a few months, an opening came up in the Ocean Freight Documentation Department. I proactively stepped forward to ask for a chance, wanting to learn the core corporate workflows, do more, and earn more," Benjamin said.
Though documentation and administrative desk work were far from his strong suit, Benjamin cast his anxieties aside and resolutely chose to try a role he wasn't naturally comfortable with—as long as it allowed him to learn more about the company's business, he was willing to try any position. Armed with this raw drive and mindset, he advanced from documentation to an Operations Specialist (OP), then transitioned into an inside sales assistant. Today, he is a Customer Service representative in the Overseas Department, holding his own independent Sales Code.
Looking back at his stint in documentation and operations, Benjamin mused, "At that time, I basically knew absolutely nothing. I had to learn everything from scratch. Plus, since paperwork really isn't my strength, it took me quite a long time to adapt."
"I am incredibly grateful to the mentors who guided and taught me back then. They were absolute angels!"
Because he wasn't yet proficient, mistakes were frequent in those early days. "Sometimes when I messed up, I had to ask them to double-check my work and find the errors. I am so thankful to the seniors who trained me. They spent so much time and mental energy on me; I’m sure I pushed their blood pressure to the limit," Benjamin laughed.
Later on, through the structured cultivation planned by our Managing Director, Jennifer, Benjamin was given the opportunity to shadow Erica, who was then an inside sales CS professional in the Ocean Freight Department. Benjamin, who thrives on human connection, felt incredibly fortunate to pivot toward a sales-oriented track. Yet, true to his previous experiences, everything had to start from absolute zero—relearning how to be a competent assistant.
"I am profoundly grateful for the time Erica trained me hand-in-hand. Beyond industry knowledge, she taught me numerous sales techniques and the crucial nuances of client correspondence. She is my master! She led me through the door and taught me everything. She has this incredible sales presence—super cool and remarkably sharp. She is truly my idol!" Benjamin shared enthusiastically.
Observing how Erica managed clients from the sidelines—whether developing new accounts, maintaining legacy clients, handling complaints, or defusing massive crises—he noticed that the moment she stepped in, issues were seamlessly resolved. "At the time, I couldn't even fathom how she did it; it looked like a battle of titans, absolutely mind-blowing!" Benjamin said.
"To me, Erica is the ultimate benchmark. No matter the crisis, she always maintains an accountable attitude. She tackles problems head-on with a straight drive, provides real-time updates to clients when emergencies pop up, and piece by piece, works out a solution together with them."
The training methods and cultural atmosphere a rookie experiences during their formative years heavily influence how they eventually run the show on their own. Erica's daily conduct and philosophy of client care left a profound, lasting imprint on Benjamin.
From the second half of 2019 to clinching the Annual Top Sales Champion title in 2021, Benjamin achieved these dazzling results in a mere year and a half. Rewinding the clock, Benjamin paused, then said, "I truly feel I was incredibly lucky. The direction and types of roles the company utilized to groom me early on, combined with later finding the right clients, getting the opportunities, and riding certain waves of the era—everything converged perfectly without a single drop of waste."
Of course, luck alone is never enough; relentless day-and-night hustle was non-negotiable. There were consecutive months where he worked until everyone else in the building had gone home, making him the one to lock up at 10 PM, 11 PM, midnight, 1 AM, or even 2 AM.
During that period, Benjamin poured an immense amount of time into his work. Before the results materialized, it felt like walking through an endless tunnel with no exit in sight, leaving him with an overwhelming sense of uncertainty. Recalling the mental landscape of that journey, Benjamin admitted he faced severe self-doubt, but he ultimately pulled himself together through countless internal dialogues. The force that propelled him forward was a burning, sun-like faith deep within.
"You have to carry an unshakeable faith. You must believe that you will succeed, believe that your day will come. It literally has to reach the level of religious faith—to believe against all odds that you have a shot."
"No matter what, throughout the process, you must maintain your moral integrity and do things the right and honest way." Elevating belief into absolute faith is what prevents one from losing direction on a long, grueling road. Benjamin spoke without a shred of pretense: "Because at the end of the day, you are the only one you have to answer to. You are the only one responsible for yourself. Nobody else is going to carry your weight; you have to figure it out on your own. So, whether you produce results or not, you can't blame anyone else. You have to shoulder both the rewards and the costs of your actions."
As his career steadily gained traction, Benjamin remained entirely humble: "I still think I was just very lucky! I met so many mentors along the way, whether it was senior colleagues inside the company or clients who also acted as my teachers; I learned so much from them."
Benjamin's sincere, polite, and wholehearted devotion to every client touched their hearts, making them willing to give this young professional a shot. Over time, as they worked together, many core clients grew to admire Benjamin's character and proactively introduced him to more accounts. Thus, the tiny seed that had been quietly absorbing nutrients deep in the soil gradually grew into robust branches.
"As long as the fire in my heart doesn't go out, I can keep walking. Even if it flickers for a moment, as long as the embers remain hot enough, it can always reignite."
Benjamin's passion for his work and his resilient will have forged an unquenchable fire in his soul. "It's only when that fire becomes completely impossible to put out that you finally have a chance to break through!" Benjamin shared that in the past, he used to think success was a mix of hard work and luck, and he would try to calculate a specific percentage for each, but the math never sat right. During his interview preparation, it suddenly clicked:
"It should be Hard Work × Luck. The foundation of your hard work has to be massive so that when luck finally arrives, it has the leverage to multiply and manifest."
This sudden realization makes it easy to imagine exactly how much blood, sweat, and tears he invested to stand where he is today. "Of course, it’s only because I have some results now that I can look back and talk about it so casually. During the actual process, it felt like I was dying. It was brutal, haha!" Benjamin joked.
When an opportunity arrived, he grabbed it with everything he had, fought tooth and nail, corrected his course when he erred, and threw his entire being into the work. "The moment my eyes opened, I was on it, giving it everything I had. It was from that moment on that I made a definitive choice to wager everything and push my potential to the absolute limit." His conviction remains unshakeable. Whenever mental and physical exhaustion set in and his resolve wavered, Benjamin, stranded in that seemingly endless darkness, never threw in the towel. He held onto the faintest spark in the deepest corners of his soul, and it was only by traversing that darkness that he discovered the fire within had never once gone out.
When discussing GMC's agency advantages, Benjamin spoke with immense pride, noting that GMC’s global network was built collaboratively over decades. It was established by venturing out into the world under the GMC banner, steadily amassing industry recognition, authority, and trust.
"A stellar reputation and commercial integrity aren’t built overnight. It requires years of refinement through countless transactions, partnerships, and weathering industrial storms to solidify such deep relationships of trust."
Benjamin explained that because everyone at GMC—from the core executive leadership outwards to every operational unit—operates with absolute integrity, the overseas agents they have retained over the long run naturally share a corporate culture and work ethic highly aligned with GMC's. Despite cultural differences across various nationalities, the traits of being exceptionally hardworking, steady, and solid remain identical across the board.
"It’s a bit like the Law of Attraction. I believe people with similar traits naturally gravitate toward one another."
The agents who remain aligned with GMC after years of filtering and partnership are all collaborators who share the same core values. Furthermore, each agent leverages their specific geographical location and expertise to maximize their strengths, opening up highly diversified markets. "When connecting with such elite partners, our competitive conditions find a much larger stage to shine. The synergy and chemistry we share are incredibly rare and invaluable."
As a professional skilled at cultivating internal and external relationships, Benjamin broke down the nuances of agency management with razor-sharp analysis, mapping out the overlaps and differences between managing clients versus managing agents.
"I think it’s a matter of perspective, which dictates how you pivot your role. But at its core, the essence is identical."
From one angle, an agent is part of the vendor network providing internal fulfillment services. In this light, they are partners working in unison to satisfy client demands. Ultimately, the shared goal is always to engineer an optimal solution where all parties benefit holistically—and the business can only remain sustainable if it’s a two-way street built on mutual contribution.
Because personalities vary, every sales professional has their own unique methodology and attracts their own distinct clientele. When it comes to winning a client's trust, Benjamin has engineered his own approach. "When calibrating communication, especially in written correspondence, I always phrase events from a positive angle. The psychological impact on the person reading the text is completely different." Radiant with positive energy, his principles of partnership remain fiercely consistent.
"For me, it’s about bringing a sincere heart and shining eyes so they can genuinely feel my absolute sincerity. On top of that, it’s about a willingness to share and co-bear risks—that is the ultimate key to making people feel secure and safe in a partnership!"
This conversation naturally brings to mind GMC's bedrock principle for over 30 years: Integrity. This is the paramount rule championed by GMC's leader and spiritual anchor, Mr. Chen. Among the many mottos Mr. Chen has promoted across the company over the years, Benjamin mentioned the one that resonates with him most deeply:
"There is nothing that we cannot solve when we all come together!"
"When a hardship or crisis strikes, it truly requires everyone to consolidate their resources and mental focus. Mr. Chen invests an immense amount of energy into grooming our team daily, so when things happen, the team possesses the capability to stand united and face it head-on."
We were curious about what Benjamin admires most about Mr. Chen or what he wishes to emulate most during his tenure at the company.
"An iron will, a fiery passion."
"That is the single best phrase to describe him; he is my ultimate role model and benchmark," Benjamin said. "Mr. Chen always maintains this piercing, brilliant spark in his eyes—something even many young people don't possess, which I find incredibly precious. He has so many qualities I deeply admire, and they are exactly what I need to learn from as I pivot toward management and executive leadership in the future." As he spoke, a reflection of admiration and resolute fire gleamed in Benjamin's own eyes. How much refinement must one undergo to march straight down a chosen path while keeping their original spark entirely intact?
"On the road of life, you will face many brutal decisions. It’s those forks in the road that grant you the opportunity to choose—and those choices are precisely what shape you into the person you are today."
Benjamin smiled and added, "It’s all about life experience. I’ve only passed through a few small intersections; there are plenty more to come. The road ahead is still very long."
"I feel GMC is a company teeming with genuinely honest and incredibly hardworking people."
In the professional arena, every senior colleague possesses traits worth emulating—be it their work ethic or their mental fortitude. While these invaluable attributes cannot be mastered overnight, they act as seeds planted in the heart, destined to sprout, grow, and anchor themselves firmly over time.
"I love the way the company looks right now, and I hope that one day I can be like our seniors—protecting, nurturing, and maintaining this environment so it continues to thrive," he said when sharing his thoughts on the firm. "What the future holds remains an unknown, and any development is possible, but I believe it is vital to sustain this culture so everyone can settle down, work happily, and build their respective lives here."
Benjamin expressed immense admiration for GMC's corporate culture and interpersonal dynamics. "This environment is phenomenal; when you genuinely want to climb higher, everyone sincerely roots for you to unleash your full potential!" The people at GMC are overwhelmingly positive, inclusive, and upright. Traits that pull others down or foster toxicity simply cannot survive in this ecosystem. At GMC, as long as you are willing to learn and desire room for development, everyone is eager to extend a helping hand, because we firmly believe that a company only progresses when its individual employees are continuously growing.
"Whether big or small, positive energy gets magnified exponentially at GMC. That is one of the things I love most about our company—I absolutely love the atmosphere here."
"When you truly desire something, the entire universe conspires to help you achieve it."
When asked about the person he wants to thank most since joining the company, Benjamin laughed and said, "There are way too many! I feel like I could spend half an hour just answering this question, haha." Starting completely from scratch, Benjamin encountered countless angelic seniors who aided him along the way. "From the seniors who led me through the gates in documentation, helping me master administrative tasks, to those in operations and the mentors who taught me how to correspond with clients—so many people assisted my learning before I transitioned to CS."
"Erica is my master in sales, my ultimate benchmark, and my defining mentor. I admire her immensely; she will always hold a vital place in my heart."
Benjamin spoke with palpable emotion, noting that every senior who guided him at GMC acted as an essential educator, influencing not just his hard skills but his character development. "This is something I find incredibly hard to quantify, yet it is an indispensable factor. GMC is filled with wonderful people, so no matter where you look, you can always find something worth learning from and admiring—that’s truly how I feel."
Furthermore, he expressed deep gratitude to Jennifer, our Managing Director, the driving force behind the scenes who continuously mapped out his development and granted him opportunities, as well as the countless clients who chose to give him a chance.
"I think I am incredibly fortunate to be in the Overseas Department. Michael and Tina are entirely selfless when it comes to passing down knowledge; they teach us everything they know without holding anything back. I am deeply grateful to them."
The two managers of the Overseas Department—Michael and Tina—are also at the top of Benjamin's list of gratitude. "A dynamic like this isn't something you find everywhere, nor do you stumble upon it every day. To be able to learn and work under them in this team is what I consider my greatest stroke of luck!" Benjamin shared that Michael—a deeply well-read poet, or rather, an astronomer who accidentally became a freight forwarder—once shared a beautiful metaphor: Asking questions is like striking a bell. Seeking guidance from others requires you to actively strike the bell for it to ring; if you don't strike it, the bell will simply remain silent.
At the close of our interview, we curiously inquired how Benjamin, who currently prioritizes his career, maintains a harmony between work and life.
"By keeping life entirely minimalist to preserve internal equilibrium. For me, my attire is a crucial psychological switch."
Opening his wardrobe reveals seven identical white shirts. This is a deliberate "work state" Benjamin established for himself two years ago when he resolved to give his absolute all to his career.
By streamlining his lifestyle down to the bare essentials, he can consolidate his focus and energy, channeling everything into his current output and future growth. "I’ll probably keep dressing like this for quite some time, at least until the day I feel I’ve reached a certain milestone. So, for this current stage, I'm pretty much going to look the same every day, haha," Benjamin joked.
Focusing squarely on a single direction, exhausting every drop of capability, and welcoming every challenge with fiery passion—having navigated setbacks, transformation, adaptation, and ultimately self-transcendence—Benjamin concluded:
"I think the tiny drops of accomplishment accumulated from every single daily routine are what make my life feel incredibly grounded. It gives me the tangible sense that I am moving toward my goals, piece by piece. It’s a pretty great feeling."
