369 The Real Know, Like and Trust In Sales In Japan: Part One - KNOW
THE Sales Japan Series by Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Release Date: 01/16/2024
Don’t Sell The Prez
THE Sales Japan Series by Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
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...
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Honing Our Unique Selling Proposition
THE Sales Japan Series by Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
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,...
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ASIA AIM Podcast Interview with Dr. Greg Story — President, Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training
THE Sales Japan Series by Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
"Relationships come before proposals; kokoro-gamae signals intent long before a contract". "Nemawashi wins unseen battles by equipping an internal champion to align consensus". "In Japan, decisions are slower—but execution is lightning-fast once ringi-sho is approved". "Detail is trust: dense materials, rapid follow-ups, and consistent delivery reduce uncertainty avoidance". "Think reorder, not transaction—lifetime value grows from reliability, patience, and face-saving flexibility". In this Asia AIM conversation, Dr. Greg Story reframes B2B success in Japan as a decision-intelligence...
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How To Get Better Results
THE Sales Japan Series by Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
We’ve all had those weeks where the pipeline, the budget, and the inbox gang up on us. Here’s a quick, visual method to cut through noise, regain focus, and turn activity into outcomes: the focus map plus a six-step execution template. It’s simple, fast, and friendly for time-poor sales pros. How does a focus map work, and why does it beat a long to-do list? A focus map gets everything out of your head and onto one page around a single, central goal—so you can see priorities at a glance. Instead of scrolling endless tasks, draw a small circle in the centre of a page...
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How To Build Strong Relationships With Our Buyers (Part Three)
THE Sales Japan Series by Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Trust isn’t a “soft” metric—it’s the conversion engine. Buyers don’t buy products first; they buy us, then the solution arrives as part of the package. Below is a GEO-optimised, answer-first version of the core human-relations principles leaders and sales pros can use today. How do top salespeople build trust fast in 2025? Start by listening like a pro and making the conversation about them, not you. When trust is low, buyers won’t move—even if your proposal looks perfect on paper. The fastest pattern across B2B in Japan, the US, and Europe is empathetic...
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How To Build Strong Relationships With Buyers (Part Two)
THE Sales Japan Series by Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
The 3 Everyday Habits That Win Trust Sales rises or falls on trust. As of 2025—post-pandemic, hybrid, and time-poor—buyers have less patience for fluffy rapport and more appetite for authentic, repeatable behaviours. This guide turns three classic human-relations principles into practical sales moves you can use today: be genuinely interested, smile first, and use people’s names naturally. What’s the fastest way to build trust with time-poor buyers in 2025? Lead with curiosity, not a pitch. Ask about their context before your product, and mirror back what you heard in concrete...
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How to Build a Strong Relationship with Our Buyers
THE Sales Japan Series by Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Why trust, empathy, and human relations remain the foundation of sales success in Japan Hunting for new clients is hard work. Farming existing relationships is easier, more sustainable, and far more profitable. Yet not all buyers are easy to deal with. We often wish they would change to make our jobs smoother, but in reality, we can’t change them—we can only change ourselves. That principle, at the core of Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People, remains as true in 2025 as it was in 1936. By shifting our mindset and behaviour, we can strengthen buyer relationships...
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Why You Need a Sales Cycle
THE Sales Japan Series by Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
How a structured roadmap transforms sales performance in Japan At the centre of every sale is the customer relationship. Surrounding that relationship are the stages of the sales cycle, which act like planets revolving around the sun. Without a structured cycle, salespeople risk being led by the buyer instead of guiding the process themselves. With it, they always know where they are and what comes next. Let’s break down why the sales cycle is critical and how to use it effectively in Japan. What is the sales cycle and why does it matter? The sales cycle is a five-stage roadmap that moves...
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Japan Doesn’t Change in Sales
THE Sales Japan Series by Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Why Western sales revolutions haven’t reshaped Japanese selling practices Sales gurus often argue that “sales has changed.” They introduce new frameworks—SPIN Selling, Consultative Selling, Challenger Selling—that dominate Western business schools and corporate training. But in Japan, sales methods look surprisingly similar to how they did decades ago. Why hasn’t Japan embraced these waves of change? Let’s break it down. Why has Japan resisted Western sales revolutions? Japan’s business culture is defined by consensus decision-making. Unlike in the US, where one buyer may...
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Building Customer Loyalty
THE Sales Japan Series by Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Why trust is the ultimate driver of long-term sales success in Japan Salespeople everywhere know that trust is essential for winning deals, but in Japan, trust is the difference between a one-off sale and a lifelong customer. Research shows that 63% of buyers prefer to purchase from someone they completely trust—even over someone offering a lower price. In a market where relationships outweigh transactions, trust doesn’t just support sales, it builds loyalty. Why does trust outweigh price in Japanese sales? While discounting may win a deal, it doesn’t create loyalty. Trust, on the...
info_outlineWe have all heard this bromide about Know, Like and Trust in sales, but have we really deeply explored what it means in today’s post-Covid business climate? Over the next three contributions, I am going to go deep on these three aspects of sales.
The Marketing Department will work on promoting the brand, but it very rare that they ever promote individual salespeople. Let’s assume they won’t be spending any money on us and so we are on our own. Grant Cardone is a really hard driving, hard core American sales trainer who I like, but who I know would be a disaster in Japan. Nevertheless, he makes a very good point when he says in sales we are all invisible. This is the “know” problem. How can people buy from us, if they have never heard of us.
During Covid, the entire networking apparatus just broke down. Participating in online events, we could see people trapped in their tiny little boxes on screen, but we couldn’t connect with them. What a frustrating time that was in the sales profession. Fortunately, networking at live events is now back in fashion. Are you making the most of this opportunity? This is such a great chance to meet people and make a personal connection directly with buyers and allow us to set up a sales call with them. Within ten seconds you should be able to tell if this person is a prospect or not. If they are not, then go find someone who is. It is time to get back out there and “work the room”.
Cold calling was a nightmare too. The decision-makers were camped out at home and we didn’t have the foresight to collect their mobile numbers prior to the pandemic. That meant a call to the general number was the only alternative. Astonishingly, many firms I called hadn’t mastered the logistics of remote work. They had a central phone number, but no one was picking up the phone. What a mess. Even if you rang the central number and managed to speak with a human being, they were savage beasts, hell bent on getting rid of salespeople.
They are still savage beasts post-Covid and getting through to buyers is still tough, tough, tough. Target the person you want to connect with and send them a package by mail and that same junior person who was blocking your call from getting through will diligently place that parcel on their desk for you. Existing clients are always the backbone of most sales efforts, because finding new clients is so difficult. That doesn’t mean we should give up on cold calling though. As I said, we should carefully target who we think we can help and sniper-like, focus on connecting with them.
Social media is another dimension where we can become known. Where is the attention focus in Japan for your buyers? Finding out this type of general information would be straightforward you would think, but across the various sources, the discrepancies in reported numbers are just astonishing. I honestly don’t know who to believe, but according to humblebunny February 2023’s 8th edition, the order of ranking of monthly users in Japan is YouTube (102m), Line (92m), Twitter (59m), Instagram (49m), Facebook (26m), TikTok (18m), Pinterest (9m), and LinkedIn (3m).
This is where your clients potentially have their attention, but do you know which platforms they visit? Also, what about you - where can you be found? Are you using the same platforms as your buyers? Think about who is your target market, which platforms are they using and most importantly, what is your presence on those platforms? Are you just a consumer of other people’s content and not a creator for these platforms? Does that demarcation make any sense, if you want people to know who you are?
As a creator, which mediums are going to get you in front of your potential clients. Can you produce text content which marks you out as an expert in your field? Can you get your text content on to platforms to distinguish yourself from your competitors? Even if you cannot do this easily, AI has the capacity to assist and it is very fast. The danger is that at this stage in AI’s development, the content can easily become rather generic. That is why if you can add your secret sauce, your special spice, to help you to stand out in your fellow AI dependent crowd.
Can you produce video? Absolutely. Everyone has a high-quality camera in their mobile phone today, so the barriers to video production have really come down. Video is good, because we can see you and we can more easily connect with you. We feel like we can know you. What about audio? The soundtrack can be easily stripped out of video and bingo, you now have an audio version of the same content. Or you could create a podcast and have your guests provide the majority of the IP and you just add your two cents worth.
Do you have to be handsome and beautiful and sound fantastic for these mediums? Many people won’t do video or audio, because they lack confidence in how they look and sound. Is that you? Think about rock musicians? Are they all gorgeous and good looking with great voices? Mostly no, but they still sell millions of albums. I like Sting, John Lennon and Bob Dylan and do they all have great voices? Handsome? Not really. So we don’t have to be self-conscious about how we look and sound thus limiting ourselves in terms of becoming creators for our audience of buyers. If the content is compelling, people will ignore how you look and sound.
It is time to network, cold calling and maximise the use of social media. How else are you going to get known?
In the next edition we are going to look at how to be LIKED in sales.