353 Build Relationships That Last: Get Your Re-Order Mojo Happening
The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Release Date: 06/01/2025
377 Curiosity, Then Context: The Smart Short Pitch
The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Why use a one-minute pitch when you dislike pitching? Answer: In settings with almost no face-to-face time—especially networking—you cannot ask deep questions to uncover needs. A one-minute pitch becomes a bridge to a follow-up meeting rather than a full sales push, avoiding the “bludgeon with data” approach. Mini-summary: Use a short bridge pitch when time is scarce; aim for the meeting, not the sale. When is a one-minute pitch most useful? Answer: At events where you are filtering many brief conversations to find prospects worth a longer office meeting. You do not want...
info_outline
376 In Japan, Should Presenters Recycle Content Between Talks?
The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Yes—recycling is iteration, not repetition. Each audience, venue and timing change what lands, so a second delivery becomes an upgrade: trim what dragged, expand what sparked questions, and replace weaker examples. The result is safer and stronger than untested, wholly new content. Mini-summary: Recycle to refine—familiar structure, higher quality. How can you create opportunities to repeat a talk? Answer: Negotiate for tailoring rather than exclusivity. Many hosts want “unique” content; offer contextualised examples, revised emphasis and organisation-specific language...
info_outline
375 Mentoring Under Pressure: How Bosses in Japan Make Change Work
The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
In Japan, why is “capable and loyal” no longer enough? Answer: Technology, the post-1990 restructuring of management layers, and globalisation have reshaped how work moves in Japan. Because hierarchies compressed and expectations widened, teams now face faster cycles and more frequent transitions. AI will add further disruption, so stability must be created by leadership rather than assumed from tenure. Mini-summary: Hierarchy compression + globalisation + AI = persistent change; leadership provides the rhythm that tenure used to provide. In Japan, what should managers do first...
info_outline
374 Selling in Japan: Why Two Out of Six Is a Win
The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Salespeople worldwide use frameworks to measure meeting success, but Japan’s unique business culture challenges many Western methods. Let’s explore the BANTER model—Budget, Authority, Need, Timing, Engagement, Request—and see how it fits into Japan’s sales environment. 1. What is the BANTER model in sales? BANTER is a simple six-point scoring system for sales calls. Each letter stands for a key factor: Budget, Authority, Need, Timing, Engagement, and Request. A salesperson assigns one point for each element successfully confirmed. A perfect score means six out of six, showing a...
info_outline
373 From Scripted to Authentic- How Leaders Win on Stage
The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
In high-stakes business events, especially in Japan, executives are often forced to deliver presentations crafted by others. This creates a dangerous disconnect between speaker and message. Let’s explore how leaders can reclaim authenticity and impact, even when the material is not their own. Why is speaking from a borrowed script so risky? Executives frequently inherit content from PR or marketing teams. These materials may be polished, but they are rarely authentic. Japan’s perfection-driven corporate culture magnifies the stress, where even a small misstep can harm reputations. When...
info_outline
372 From Ritz-Carlton to Pasona: What Leaders Can Learn About Mood Making
The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
What does it mean for a leader to be the “mood maker”? A mood maker is someone who sets the emotional tone of the team. When leaders stay isolated in plush executive offices, they risk losing contact with their people. Research and experience show that a leader’s visibility directly affects engagement, loyalty, and performance. Leaders who project energy and conviction, day after day, create the emotional climate that shapes culture. Mini-summary: Leaders set the emotional temperature—visibility and energy are non-negotiable. Why does visibility matter so much? Japanese business...
info_outline
371 Why Clients in Japan Rarely Call Back – And What Salespeople Can Do About It?
The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Why don’t clients in Japan return sales calls? Because the gatekeepers are trained to block access. In Japan, the lowest ranked staff often answer the phones, but without proper training. Their mission is to protect managers from outside callers—especially salespeople. Instead of being helpful, they come across as cold, suspicious, even hostile. This is your client’s first impression of your business. If you test it by calling your own company, you’ll likely hear the same problem. Mini-summary: Gatekeepers in Japan are defensive, not welcoming. This blocks callbacks from the very...
info_outline
370 Why New Salespeople Struggle In Japan – And How To Fix It
The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Why New Salespeople Struggle New hires, whether they are brand-new to sales or just new to the company, almost always take time before they start delivering results. Yet leaders in Japan often expect immediate miracles. The reality is that ramp-up takes time, especially in a culture where relationships drive business. Even experienced people entering a new organisation need months to learn internal systems, client expectations, and industry nuances. When unrealistic expectations are placed on them from day one, they start their career already on the back foot. Mini Summary: Unrealistic day-one...
info_outline
369 Corporate Ninjas of Concealment: How Leaders Lose Control
The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Why Japanese Corporate Scandals Keep Happening — And What Leaders Must Do To Prevent Them Why do corporate scandals keep repeating in Japan? Japan has been hit again and again by revelations of non-compliance — from Nissan’s faulty vehicle inspections in 2017 to Kobe Steel’s falsified data and beyond. In some cases, these practices stretched on for decades before discovery. On the surface, companies chase the mantra: “reduce costs, increase revenue.” The Board applauds, shareholders smile, and quarterly reports look sharp. But behind the curtain,...
info_outline
368 The Cure for Corporate Cancer: Rethinking Sales Outreach
The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Let’s talk about sales, and why the new year always feels like a repeat performance. Greek myths rarely have happy endings. They are mostly cautionary tales, reminders of how the Gods treated humans like toys. One myth, in particular, perfectly captures the life of a salesperson: the story of Sisyphus. He was condemned to push a massive rock up a hill, only to watch it roll back down again, forever. That is exactly what we face in sales. We push that giant rock—the annual budget—up the hill every year. We grind, we hustle, we celebrate the results at year’s end, and then what happens?...
info_outlineHere is an important mantra: We don’t want a sale, we want the re-orders.
That task however is getting harder and harder. Customers today are more educated, better prepared and have more alternatives than ever before. Satisfying a customer is not enough – we have to exceed their expectations and provide exceptional customer service. Customer service has only one truth – how the customer perceives the quality of the service. Forget what we think is good customer service. We have to be really clear about what is the customer’s perception of good customer service. This is a totally subjective idea on the part of the customer, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have influence on that perception.
Here is a quick audit on your understanding of the customer. How well do you know the customer’s perception of high quality customer service? When was the last time you asked about how well you were doing with serving that customer? Are you assuming that because there are no claims, that the customer is fully satisfied? Do you have a clear idea of the level of service your competitor is providing in terms of customer service?
The building of a strong fan base amongst your clients is a key step to becoming more successful. We all know the acquisition cost of finding a new customer is many times more expensive than deepening the scope of the relationship with an existing customer. That is fine but we need to also expand our numbers of customers. We always need more good customers, but how can we create new fans? How do we do that when there are so many rivals? Here are four approaches to consider.
- Have broad product knowledge
Whenever we ask a salesperson a question and they cannot answer it immediately, we doubt their value to us. Often however, we salespeople can become concentrated on just a few products and lose touch with the broader perspective. We need to keep studying our total product line-up, so that we have broad knowledge to show we are professionals in our business. Prove that we can be trusted to serve the customer. So ask yourself, how well do you know your own product line-up?
- Have an extreme desire to help
So many times, as customers, we are told “no” by salespeople. Are we ever happy about that response? Buyers are looking for salespeople who they feel are really motivated to serve. The way to prove that is to show your strong desire to serve at every customer face to face meeting, on every phone call and in every response. Great in theory but are you really doing that now?
- Have a sincere interest in the customer’s situation
We have targets to achieve, pressure to perform and so often we can become totally focused on our own situation. By the way, here is a newsflash - the client only cares about their own situation and how dedicated you are to helping them. Are you really sincere about helping the customer or are you focused on yourself, your numbers, your deadlines? Don’t be in any doubt - customers can feel the difference.
- Understand the customer’s expectations
Customer expectations change, but often salespeople are not changing with them. Business moves and what was enough some months ago, may not be suitable enough now. We have to really monitor the customer’s situation to see what has changed. That means we have to keep asking them about their expectations of service from us. Are we serving them in the way they want to be served. Most salespeople never want to ask this type of question because they are scared of the answer. We have to be brave and ask and if we do, we will be delivering exactly the type of service the customer wants and expects. When we do that, we differentiate ourselves from our competitors
So what percentage of your customers would you count as your loyal fans? What are you currently doing to drive that percentage score much higher? Customers will become someone’s loyal fan. We have to make sure that is us and not our competitor. Assume that the customer’s expectations and perceptions of what they consider outstanding service will keep changing. We have to keep up with the change but are we doing it?