『The Sales Japan Series』のカバーアート

The Sales Japan Series

The Sales Japan Series

著者： 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 マネジメント マネジメント・リーダーシップ 経済学
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  • Our Personal Sales KPIs

    Our Personal Sales KPIs
    2025/12/02
    When sales feels chaotic, it's usually because we're "doing things" without a scoreboard. KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) fix that by turning revenue goals into the few activities that actually drive results—plus the behavioural discipline to keep going when we mostly don't win on the first try. Q1) What are sales KPIs, and why do we need personal ones? Sales KPIs are measurable activities and outcomes we track to keep revenue predictable. Companies sometimes hand us a dashboard, but plenty of roles don't come with clear KPIs—especially in smaller firms, new markets, or when we're building a territory from scratch. That's where personal KPIs matter: they give us "markers" for what we're doing and what we should be doing. The key is recognising we cannot do everything. We can only do the most important things—consistently. So we choose a handful of KPIs that reflect how our sales actually works (industry, deal size, sales cycle, channel), and we track them like a pilot checks instruments: not for perfection, but for control. Q2) Which KPIs actually move revenue (and which just make us feel organised)? A useful rule: track both leading and lagging indicators. Lagging indicators: results (revenue, closed deals, average deal size). They're essential, but they tell us after the period is over.Leading indicators: the activities that cause results (qualified leads worked, buyer conversations, meetings booked, proposals sent, follow-ups completed). The best personal KPIs are usually leading indicators that map to your funnel, like: How many qualified leads we work each weekHow many calls / outreach touches we makeHow many contacts turn into appointmentsHow many appointments convert into agreed dealsOur average value per appointmentHow many buyers become repeat buyers If a KPI doesn't link to a funnel stage, it's probably a "busy metric." Q3) How do we turn a big revenue target into weekly KPIs we can actually execute? We reverse-engineer the number. Start with the revenue target, then work backwards through the funnel using realistic ratios. Example logic (use your own numbers, then refine over time): Target revenue per monthAverage deal size → required closed dealsClosing ratio from meetings → required meetingsMeeting-set rate from conversations → required buyer conversationsContact rate from outreach → required outreach attempts This is exactly the discipline of breaking "big revenue targets down to activities," then setting targets for the ratios between steps. And we'll fail plenty at first. That's not a moral issue—it's just a data issue. After a few weeks, we'll have our conversion stats, not someone else's. Q4) What funnel ratios should we track—and what do we do when the ratios are ugly? Sales is a chain. If one link is weak, the outcome collapses. Track ratios between stages, for example: outreach attempts → conversations (contact rate)conversations → meetings (appointment rate)meetings → proposalsproposals → closed deals (close rate) Over time we build "reliable statistics" showing where we're strong and where we're leaking deals. If conversations aren't becoming meetings, that's usually messaging, relevance, credibility, or timing. If meetings aren't closing, that's discovery quality, stakeholder mapping, objection handling, procurement friction, or lack of urgency. The goal isn't to shame the numbers. The goal is to diagnose the system and improve one stage at a time—because a small lift in one ratio multiplies all the way down to revenue. Q5) How do we set KPI targets without kidding ourselves (and without burning out)? Use three levels: Comfortable range (you can hit this even on a rough week)Realistic stretch (hard but doable)Moonshot (for peak weeks, not every week) Then we attach KPIs to time management. If the target is 200 quality touches a week, we schedule them like a workout plan—because hope is not a strategy. Also: behaviour matters. Sales can be "a diabolical art" where we fail a lot, so we need "supreme discipline" to do the activities anyway. That means tracking basics like follow-up completion, pipeline hygiene in the CRM, and daily prospecting blocks—because motivation comes and goes, but systems stay. Q6) How do we adapt KPIs to reality (gatekeepers, Japan timing, and modern outreach)? Reality includes gatekeepers, voicemail, and the classic "they'll call you back" fantasy. We can have a long call list and still get nowhere, so we vary timing and channels. Practical KPI upgrades: Track attempts by time band (early morning, lunch, after 6pm) because contact rates change by industry and role. Track multichannel sequences (phone + email + LinkedIn + referral asks), not just "calls."In Japan, where trust and introductions often matter, track referral requests, warm intros, and second meetings as leading indicators—because relationship-building is a real part of the funnel, not "soft ...
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    10 分
  • Sales Attitude, Image and Credibility

    Sales Attitude, Image and Credibility
    2025/11/25
    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 分
  • Don't Sell The Prez

    Don't Sell The Prez
    2025/11/18
    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 分
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