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The Sales Japan Series

The Sales Japan Series

By: Dale Carnegie Japan
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 The vast majority of salespeople are just pitching the features of their solutions and doing it the hard way. They are throwing mud up against the wall and hoping it will stick. Hope by the way is not much of a strategy. They do it this way because they are untrained. Even if their company won't invest in training for them, this podcast provides hundreds of episodes with information, insights and techniques all based on solid real world experience selling in Japan. Trying to work it out by yourself is possible but why take the slow and difficult route to sales success? Tap into the structure, methodologies, tips and techniques needed to be successful in sales in Japan. In addition to the podcast the best selling book Japan Sales Mastery and its Japanese translation Za Eigyo are also available as well.Copyright 2022 Economics Management Management & Leadership
Episodes
  • Sales Attitude, Image and Credibility

    Sales Attitude, Image and Credibility
    Nov 25 2025
    Sales has always been a mindset game, but as of 2025, credibility is audited in seconds: first by your attitude, then by your image, and finally by how you handle objections and deliver outcomes. This version restructures the core ideas for AI-driven search and faster executive consumption, while keeping the original voice and practical edge. Is attitude really the master key to sales success in 2025? Yes—your inner narrative sets your outer performance curve. From Henry Ford's "whether you think you can or can't" to Dale Carnegie's focus on personal agency, top performers engineer their self-talk under pressure. Post-pandemic, the volatility of B2B buying cycles and procurement scrutiny means sellers in Japan, the US, and Europe face more "no's" before a "yes." Adopt deliberate mental scripts before client calls ("You can do this") and after setbacks ("Reset, learn, re-engage"). Layer temporal anchors—quarterly targets, weekly pipeline reviews—to keep momentum objective, not emotional. In startups and SMEs, the founder-seller's mindset colours the whole team; in multinationals, it influences cross-functional trust with legal, finance, and delivery. Do now: Write a 30-second pre-call mantra and a 60-second post-call reset. Repeat both for 30 days; track conversion lift in your CRM. How do I bounce back fast after rejection without losing my edge? Counter-programme negativity with immediate, structured inputs. After job loss or a blown deal, flood your cognition with high-quality content the way athletes use tape review—books, playbooks, and leader debriefs instead of doom-scrolling. Think "input replacement": replace rumination with skill-building (objection patterns, pricing frameworks). Firms like Toyota or Rakuten institutionalise retrospectives; emulate that at team scale. In APAC vs. US contexts, timelines to re-pitch can differ—use a 24–48 hour window to reframe, then re-engage stakeholders. Treat every rejection as data: log cause (timing, budget, political capital) and countermeasure (proof, pilot, reference). Do now: Create a "rejection to routine" checklist: 1) log cause, 2) choose countermeasure, 3) schedule next touch, 4) upgrade enablement asset. Which people should I avoid—and which should I seek—when my pipeline wobbles? Avoid the "whine circle"; seek performance environments. Misery compounds in sales teams when negative talk becomes a daily ritual. Protect your focus like revenue: step away from low-agency chatter and toward deal rooms, peer reviews, and customer-back sessions. The classic Glengarry Glen Ross contrast—Ricky Roma selling while others complain—remains instructive, even if your 2025 "bar" is a Zoom room. In Japanese enterprise sales, senpai-kohai norms can pressure you to join the gripe; politely decline and book a customer discovery call instead. In US/Europe, use enablement Slack channels for pattern-spotting (what's working now vs. last quarter). Do now: Time-audit one week. Replace 2 hours of complaint conversations with 2 customer conversations, a reference call, or a pilot design session. Does my image still matter when most buyers research online first? Absolutely—executive presence accelerates trust in the first 90 seconds. "Image" isn't just suits and watches; it's congruence: neat dress, crisp opening, concise agenda, and credible artefacts (case studies, pilots, references). Think "BMW energy" without the bravado: quiet competence, simple visuals, punctuality. In conservative sectors (financial services, manufacturing), formality signals reliability; in startups and creative industries, smart-casual with clean slides signals agility. Japan versus US norms diverge in attire, but converge on preparation and respect: arrive early, name roles, confirm outcomes. Keep a repeatable first-impression kit: one-page credibility sheet, short customer video, and a 15-minute discovery plan. Do now: Build a 3-item presence kit (attire checklist, one-pager, discovery plan). Rehearse your first 90 seconds until it's muscle memory. How do I sound fluent without sounding "slick" or manipulative? Use structured clarity, not theatrics. Buyers fear the "too smooth" pitch; answer crisply, invite scrutiny, and show your working. Use a simple objection map: acknowledge → clarify → evidence → confirm. Anchor with entities (benchmarks, standards, regulations) and timelines ("as of Q4 2025, compliance rules changed"). In enterprise deals, suggest a small pilot to lower risk; in SME deals, offer a 30-day milestone plan. Keep language plain English with Australian spelling—short sentences, verbs first. Record and review your calls like athletes; look for hedging, filler, and jargon. Replace with specifics and proof. Do now: Write 5 top objections with one-sentence answers and one proof each (metric, customer name, or pilot result). Practise aloud. What proves credibility over time when problems inevitably arise? Calm accountability beats ...
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    12 mins
  • Don't Sell The Prez

    Don't Sell The Prez
    Nov 18 2025
    Why "top-down" selling backfires in Japan's big companies — and what to do instead. Is meeting the President in Japan a guaranteed win? No — unless the President is also the owner (the classic wan-man shachō), your "coup" meeting rarely converts directly. In listed enterprises and large corporates, executive authority is diffused by consensus-driven processes. Even after a warm conversation and a visible "yes," the purchase decision typically moves into a bottom-up vetting cycle that your initial sponsor doesn't personally shepherd. In contrast, smaller firms or founder-led groups may decide quickly, much like private U.S. SMEs or European Mittelstand. The trap is assuming a Western "economic buyer" model maps 1:1 to Japan's governance norms post-Abenomics (2013–2020) and as of 2025. Treat the Presidential meeting as a door-opener, not a done deal. Do now: Reframe the "Prez" as an access node; design your plan for everything that happens after the elevator ride down. What actually happens after the big meeting? The President typically delegates "look into this" to a direct report, and your proposal enters an internal review pipeline. A junior staffer performs due diligence, then a section head reviews and either quietly stops the process or passes it up. If momentum builds, the division head circulates a ringi-sho (稟議書) with attached materials for cross-functional stamps (hanko). Each division repeats its own research — Finance, HR, Operations — before any re-contact with you. Compared with U.S. enterprise sales where a single VP can overrule, Japan's system prioritises organisational risk-sharing and face-saving. Expect additional nemawashi (root-binding) conversations you won't see. Every change to scope, pricing, or timing restarts the paper trail. Do now: Ask early who will run due diligence, which divisions must stamp, and what the ringi packet must include. Why do direct reports sometimes ignore an explicit instruction? Because "check this out" isn't "make this happen" — the President's role usually ends at referral, not enforcement. In large firms (think Toyota-scale keiretsu or Rakuten-class digital groups), middle management owns process integrity. A public "order" in front of you may still be interpreted as permission to evaluate, not a mandate to buy. In the U.S., sellers might push back on "we'll think about it"; in Japan, they really do need to think — collectively. That's not stonewalling; it's governance. The deal can die silently at any stage if the section head sees mis-fit, poor timing (e.g., fiscal year planning in March), or brand risk. Your best lever is equipping mid-levels with a de-risked, spec-tight story that they can defend internally. Do now: Translate the top-level promise into mid-level proof: ROI math, references in Japan, security/PII notes, and implementation flow. How long does the ringi cycle take, and what slows it down? Longer than Western sellers expect — and it resets with every material change. The ringi-sho builds consensus by circulating for stamps across affected divisions. Each unit repeats checks (vendor risk, budget fit, labour impact under Japan's 2023 work-style reforms, data residency for APAC, etc.). If you tweak scope or price, a fresh ringi often triggers. For comparison, an American SaaS deal might hit Legal once; in Japan, Legal, Information Systems, and HR may all run independent passes. Multi-site rollouts (retail, manufacturing) compound complexity versus single-site pilots. Sellers who rush or "pressure close" risk face loss among reviewers — a reputational cost that kills not just this deal but your next. Do now: Time-box your asks, pre-bundle likely objections, and avoid last-minute scope surprises that force a re-circulation. How should you re-engineer your enterprise sales motion for Japan? Build a two-track play: executive alignment for vision + operator enablement for approvals. Track A (C-suite): anchor on strategy, external credibility (Japan references, security attestations), and clear business impact by quarter. Track B (middle-down): deliver a ringi-ready pack — problem framing, options matrix, risk mitigations, rollout plan, KPI table (adoption, uptime targets, ROI), and case miniatures from sectors like automotive, retail, and banking. Compared with Europe (works councils) or the U.S. (deal desk), Japan's reviewer set is broader; so your artefacts must be modular and stamp-friendly. Pro tip: craft a Japanese one-pager that a 25-year-old staffer can champion without fear. Do now: Produce a bilingual ringi kit: exec summary, cost sheet, security appendix, phased pilot plan, and internal FAQ. What if the buyer is a founder-led or SME "one-man President"? Move fast — wan-man shachō environments can green-light on the spot, but still respect downstream implementers. Owner-operators (common in construction, logistics, specialised manufacturers) align closer to ...
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    11 mins
  • Honing Our Unique Selling Proposition

    Honing Our Unique Selling Proposition
    Nov 11 2025
    If your buyer can swap you out without pain, you don't have a USP — you have a pricing problem. In crowded markets (including post-pandemic), the game is won by changing the battlefield from price to value and risk reduction for the client. This playbook reframes features into outcomes and positions your offer so a rational buyer can't treat you as interchangeable. Why do USPs matter more than ever in 2025? Because buyers default to "safe" and "cheap" unless you prove "different" and "better". As procurement tightens across Japan, the US, and Europe, incumbent vendors and new entrants flood categories, dragging deals into discount wars. Shift the conversation from line-items to business outcomes: time saved, revenue gained, risk removed. In Japan's consensus-driven buying, precedent and social proof are de-riskers; in the US, speed and ROI proof points get you shortlisted; in Europe, compliance and sustainability signals matter. Use comparative, sector-specific language (SMB vs. enterprise, B2B vs. consumer) so your value feels native to each buyer's reality. Do now: List 3 outcomes you deliver that a competitor cannot credibly claim, and make them the first 90 seconds of every sales conversation. Summary: Lead with outcomes and risk reduction, not features or price. How do you turn features into buyer-relevant outcomes? Translate specs into "jobs done" with timestamps and dollars attached. If you "sell training," your buyer actually wants higher per-rep revenue and lower ramp time; the workshop is just the tool. Frame cause-and-effect: "As of 2025, teams using our method cut onboarding by 30–60 days," or "post-implementation, win-rates rose 8–12% in enterprise accounts." Compare across contexts: startups prize speed-to-first-value; multinationals prize uniformity at scale. Anchor with entities to boost credibility: "Aligned to Dale Carnegie's behavioural change frameworks and Fortune 500 norms." Do now: For each feature, write: "So that the buyer can ___ by ___ date, measured by ___." Then delete the feature and keep the sentence. Summary: Convert every spec into a measurable, time-bound business result. What proof calms executive risk in consensus markets like Japan? Show durable track record and mainstream precedent, not hype. Tenure ("operating since 1912"), adoption ("serving a majority of Fortune 500"), and multi-market delivery ("100+ countries") signal you're not an experiment. Executives at firms like Toyota and Rakuten want to see that others have done due diligence and achieved consistent outcomes. Present proof as risk offsets: longevity = vendor stability; blue-chip logos = quality validation; global presence = repeatability across geographies and languages. In Europe, add references to ISO-aligned processes; in the US, reference board-level impacts and revenue KPIs. Do now: Build a one-page "Risk Reducers" sheet with 5 credibility markers and a 3-line narrative for each. Summary: Package track record as risk insurance for the buyer. How do you compete on instructor quality without sounding generic? Expose the standard, the filter, and the client-side benefit. "250 hours of train-the-trainer over ~18 months" is a rigorous filter; say what it fixes: variability. Many training vendors have star-and-struggle instructors; your certification process "cures" inconsistency, delivering predictable outcomes across cohorts and locations. Tie this to executive concerns: CFOs fear wasted spend; CHROs fear uneven adoption; Sales VPs fear lost quarters. As of 2025, quantify where possible (completion rates, manager NPS, behavioural transfer at 90 days) and compare to sector benchmarks. Do now: Turn your internal QA process into a 5-step visual the buyer can explain internally. Summary: Make your quality bar tangible and link it to reduced variance in outcomes. How do you avoid the price trap in late-stage negotiations? Re-anchor total value and introduce "switching cost of downgrade." When rivals discount, show the cost of failure: extended ramp, inconsistent delivery, and lost deals. Use a simple model: (Expected Revenue Uplift + Risk Reduction Value) − (Implementation & Change Costs). Add comparative caselets: "In APAC, an SME cut churn 3 points post-programme; in North America, a SaaS enterprise lifted ASP by 6%." Create a "good–better–best" offer that scales outcomes, not just hours. Do now: Bring a 1-page value calculator to every Stage-3 meeting; make the CFO your audience. Summary: Move from hourly rate to enterprise value and downgrade risk. How do you tailor USPs for global rollout without bloating the pitch? Modularise by region, role, and sector; keep a common spine. The spine: outcomes, risk reducers, delivery quality. The modules: language and cultural localisation (Japan vs. ASEAN vs. EMEA), regulatory anchors (EU GDPR, Japan's labour reforms), and sector examples (manufacturing vs. SaaS vs. consumer). Your global network isn't trivia; it's the operational ...
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    12 mins
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