The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show

Dr. Greg Story
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For succeeding in business in Japan you need to know how to lead, sell and persuade. This is what we cover in the show. No matter what the issue you will get hints, information, experience and insights into securing the necessary solutions required. Everything in the show is based on real world perspectives, with a strong emphasis on offering practical steps you can take to succeed.

  1. 3d ago

    Leaders Make Or Break The Firm

    Japan's shrinking pool of available workers is changing the leadership game. Cost control, quality, branding and competitive strategy still matter, but none will rescue a company whose people keep walking out the door. The real test is whether supervisors and middle managers create workplaces where employees feel valued, heard and keen to stay. Why are leadership and employee retention becoming inseparable in Japan? Japan's labour shortages make retaining capable employees a core leadership responsibility, not merely an HR administration task. For years, many Japanese employers assumed they could replace departing staff without much trouble. That assumption looks increasingly shaky as demographic pressure and competition for experienced workers make recruitment harder. Candidates can compare employers, speak to recruiters and investigate workplace reputations before accepting an offer. A strong corporate brand may get someone through the door; it will not persuade them to stay with a boss who treats them poorly. In a multinational, a Japanese conglomerate or a smaller local firm, employees experience the organisation through everyday decisions about workloads, recognition and respect. The old habit of treating turnover as an unavoidable personnel matter misses the commercial cost: vacancies, disrupted customer relationships and the time needed to bring replacements up to speed. Do now: Treat retention and manager behaviour as business performance indicators, alongside revenue and quality. Why do middle managers have so much influence over whether employees stay? Middle managers translate executive promises about culture into the daily experience that determines whether staff feel valued. The president can announce a wonderful people-first vision from the top floor. Wonderful. But the supervisor who allocates work, handles mistakes and responds to requests for help determines what that vision actually feels like. Employees judge the firm by whether their direct boss listens, recognises effort and applies rules fairly. A single dismissive manager can undo months of employer-branding campaigns. Conversely, a manager who understands the team's frustrations and ambitions gives people a reason to ignore recruiters' calls. This is particularly important when skilled employees have more than one employment option. Senior executives should not assume that a polished leadership presentation means their culture has arrived on the front line. They need evidence from the people being managed, not just reassurance from the managers themselves. Do now: Ask employees directly whether their immediate manager helps them succeed and makes them feel valued. How can Japanese employers make staff feel genuinely valued? Employees feel valued when their boss knows what matters to them, recognises specific contributions and follows through on support. A salary and a company badge are not enough. Managers need conversations that reveal professional goals, frustrations, hopes and obstacles. That does not mean prying into private lives. It means giving people room to explain the practical pressures that affect their work, including caring for ageing parents or children. In Japan, where some workplaces traditionally maintained a strict boundary between the office and home, this calls for judgement and empathy. Leaders should also connect each person's work to the wider purpose of the business. When someone suggests an improvement, respond seriously and explain what happens next. Nothing says 'we don't value your ideas' faster than asking for suggestions and then burying them. The credibility of an engagement message depends on consistent action, not the language of the annual staff survey. Do now: Schedule regular one-to-one conversations and close the loop on employee suggestions. What role should flexible working and HR play in retaining Japanese employees? Flexible working and supportive HR policies can help retain staff when managers apply them fairly and respond to real-life needs. The old image of HR as the rule police is a poor fit for a workforce managing family care, health appointments and different stages of life. Employees may need to arrive later, leave earlier or work remotely on suitable days. The pandemic accelerated acceptance of remote work, although the options still vary by occupation and company. A factory production role and an office-based consulting role cannot always operate under identical arrangements. Fairness therefore requires clear principles rather than pretending every job is the same. In Japan, a rigid refusal to consider reasonable flexibility can make a competing employer look considerably more attractive. HR should partner with operational managers to find workable arrangements, while managers must avoid quietly penalising people for using approved options. Flexibility is not a substitute for sound management; it is one way to demonstrate it. Do now: Review whether managers consistently support the flexibility your organisation officially offers. Why is specific and timely praise more effective than saying 'well done'? Specific, timely praise tells employees exactly which behaviour mattered and makes recognition believable. 'Well done' is pleasant, but what precisely was well done? Did someone rescue a difficult customer relationship, help a colleague master a new process or spot a costly mistake? Name the action and its impact. This is not about flattery or handing out gold stars for turning up. It is about reinforcing valuable behaviour so people understand how they contribute. Timing matters too. If a supervisor waits until the annual performance review to mention a brilliant piece of work completed months earlier, the moment has gone cold. A short, sincere conversation soon after the event can have far greater impact. In Japanese workplaces where employees may be reluctant to promote their own achievements, observant managers have an especially important role in making good work visible without embarrassing the recipient. Do now: Recognise one concrete contribution this week, explaining what the employee did and why it mattered. How can coaching and delegation help Japanese companies keep talent and generate ideas? Managers who coach and delegate meaningful responsibility develop employees, improve engagement and give new ideas a chance to emerge. Some bosses cling to every decision because they believe only they can do the job properly. That is not leadership; it is a bottleneck wearing a business suit. Delegation should help people stretch their capabilities, not simply dump unwanted tasks on them. Agree on the outcome, provide appropriate authority, check progress and coach rather than seize the work back at the first wobble. When staff gain confidence, they are more likely to suggest better ways to serve customers, improve processes and solve problems. Senior leaders in Japan often complain that too few innovative ideas rise from the front line. Before blaming the front line, they should examine whether middle managers invite suggestions or squash them. Development, recognition and the chance to contribute create reasons to build a future inside the organisation. Do now: Ask each manager to delegate one development opportunity and coach the employee through it. Conclusion The contest for talent in Japan will not be won by recruitment advertising alone. Leaders need managers who listen, coach, recognise achievement and treat flexibility with common sense. Measure how employees experience their bosses, train managers where the gaps appear and act before good people decide to leave. If your middle managers have not caught up with this reality, some remedial leadership training is in order. Being a leader is fun, isn't it! Author bio Dr. Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University. He is a two-time winner of the Dale Carnegie "One Carnegie Award" (2018, 2021) and recipient of the Griffith University Business School Outstanding Alumnus Award (2012). As a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, Greg is certified to deliver globally across leadership, communication, sales and presentation programmes, including Leadership Training for Results. He has written several books, including three best-sellers — Japan Business Mastery, Japan Sales Mastery and Japan Presentations Mastery — along with Japan Leadership Mastery and How to Stop Wasting Money on Training. His works have been translated into Japanese, including Za Eigyō (ザ営業), Purezen no Tatsujin (プレゼンの達人), Torēningu de Okane o Muda ni Suru no wa Yamemashō (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのはやめましょう) and Gendaiban "Hito o Ugokasu" Rīdā (現代版「人を動かす」リーダー). Greg also publishes daily business insights on LinkedIn, Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), and hosts six weekly podcasts. On YouTube, he produces The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show, Japan Business Mastery and Japan's Top Business Interviews, which are followed by executives seeking success strategies in Japan.

  2. Oct 18

    Salespeople To Avoid

    A long career in sales does not automatically make someone a professional salesperson. In Japan, I have met experienced representatives who launch into a polished product pitch without asking a single question about the buyer. That is not consultative selling. That is brochure delivery with a business card. How can you recognise an unprofessional salesperson in Japan? A salesperson who starts explaining a product before understanding your needs is displaying a serious gap in professional selling skills. The first test is simple: do they ask what you are trying to achieve, what constraints you face and why you are considering a purchase? Or do they reach for the brochure? In business-to-business sales and financial services alike, a presentation cannot replace discovery. I once met two experienced representatives from a major multinational insurance company in Japan. They had come to complete cancer insurance paperwork, but then moved straight into an annuity cross-sell. Neither asked about my investment objectives. Years of employment do not guarantee years of learning. A salesperson can repeat the same weak routine for two decades and still call it experience. Do now: Listen for thoughtful discovery questions before allowing a product presentation to begin. Why must salespeople ask questions before presenting products? Questions uncover the buyer's goals, risks and decision criteria, allowing a salesperson to recommend something relevant rather than simply available. The insurance representatives walked me through dollar-cost averaging, charts and a quiz about hypothetical investment returns. I answered correctly and received congratulations. Lovely. But where were the questions about retirement timing, family circumstances, existing investments and financial priorities? Nowhere. With an annuity, these considerations are central to suitability. In corporate sales, the equivalent questions concern business objectives, decision-makers, budgets and implementation risk. Japan's emphasis on relationships does not excuse weak diagnosis. In fact, careful questioning can demonstrate respect for the customer's circumstances. If the buyer has to do all the analytical work, the salesperson is not adding much value. Do now: Require discovery of objectives, constraints and decision criteria before recommending a solution. What should financial product salespeople know about fees and fund structures? Salespeople must understand the costs, underlying investments and limitations of the financial products they present. When I finally read the annuity brochure myself, I discovered a fund-of-funds structure and details of fees, including ongoing charges. I asked the two representatives about those costs. It became obvious they were unfamiliar with that section of their own brochure. That is astonishing when fees directly affect what a customer ultimately receives. The same principle applies beyond financial services: software subscriptions, training programmes and industrial equipment all carry costs and conditions buyers need to understand. Product knowledge means more than memorising the headline benefits. It includes being able to explain what the customer pays, what they receive and what might change over time. Do now: Test whether representatives can explain every material fee, condition and product limitation. Does twenty years of sales experience guarantee competence? No. Twenty years in a sales role may represent deep expertise, or merely one year of inadequate habits repeated twenty times. The representatives I met were seasoned, not newcomers. Their confidence and tenure could easily have reassured a buyer who did not ask detailed questions. Yet they skipped fundamental discovery and could not explain material charges. This distinction matters for sales directors across Japan, whether they manage multinational teams or domestic small and medium-sized enterprises. Seniority, loyalty and familiarity with the company are not substitutes for demonstrated ability. Nor should managers assume a long-serving salesperson has mastered consultative selling, negotiation or customer qualification. Skills must be observed, not inferred from age or length of service. Do now: Evaluate actual selling behaviour rather than using tenure as a proxy for capability. How can sales managers identify weaknesses in their teams? Short, realistic sales role-plays quickly reveal whether representatives ask useful questions and genuinely understand what they sell. Give a salesperson a realistic buyer scenario, then watch what happens. Do they begin with a product explanation or investigate the situation? Can they explain the commercial details without hiding behind marketing material? Can they handle an unexpected question about costs or suitability? A role-play need not become a theatrical production. Ten minutes of observation can expose habits that annual sales figures may conceal. Managers should also review discovery notes, coach after customer meetings and check whether the proposed solution matches the buyer's stated needs. If everyone is pushing brochures, the problem may extend beyond individual sellers to the coaching system itself. Do now: Run practical role-plays and give specific feedback on questioning, knowledge and relevance. What responsibility do sales leaders have for professional selling standards? Sales leaders must build and verify competence instead of assuming experienced staff already know how to sell professionally. The most troubling aspect of my insurance encounter was not simply the weak pitch. It was the question it raised about management. How could a major multinational allow representatives to sell a sophisticated product without apparently understanding the buyer or the brochure's fee section? I cannot know what training those individuals received, but the interaction warranted management attention. In Japan, sales organisations sometimes rely heavily on on-the-job observation. That approach can transmit excellent practices or perpetuate poor ones. Leaders need structured coaching, product checks and clear standards for needs-based selling. Otherwise, confident presentations can mask shallow expertise, damage trust and undermine long-term customer relationships. Do now: Make discovery quality, product mastery and coaching observable management responsibilities. Conclusion Professional selling starts with understanding, not explaining. Buyers should expect relevant questions and transparent product knowledge. Sales managers should test those capabilities instead of trusting job titles or years served. If your people are opening the brochure before opening a conversation, you have work to do. Author bio Dr. Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University. He is a two-time winner of the Dale Carnegie "One Carnegie Award" (2018, 2021) and recipient of the Griffith University Business School Outstanding Alumnus Award (2012). As a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, Greg is certified to deliver globally across leadership, communication, sales and presentation programmes, including Leadership Training for Results. He has written several books, including three best-sellers — Japan Business Mastery, Japan Sales Mastery and Japan Presentations Mastery — along with Japan Leadership Mastery and How to Stop Wasting Money on Training. His works have been translated into Japanese, including Za Eigyō (ザ営業), Purezen no Tatsujin (プレゼンの達人), Torēningu de Okane o Muda ni Suru no wa Yamemashō (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのはやめましょう) and Gendaiban "Hito o Ugokasu" Rīdā (現代版「人を動かす」リーダー). Greg also publishes daily business insights on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, and hosts six weekly podcasts. On YouTube, he produces The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show, Japan Business Mastery and Japan's Top Business Interviews, which are widely followed by executives seeking success strategies in Japan.

  3. Oct 4

    The Big Perspective Is Needed When Presenting

    The podium is a powerful place for powerful ideas. Your audience has no idea where you are going to take them. For thirty or forty minutes, you are effectively master of the universe, omnipotent over everyone seated before you. The question is: what are you going to do with that remarkable opportunity? Too many business presentations stay safe, practical and buried in detail. They inform, but they don't elevate. A powerful presentation should occasionally take the audience above the weeds and give them a bigger perspective on their company, industry, country or even the world. Why Do Business Presentations Need a Bigger Perspective? Great business presentations do more than transfer information; they challenge audiences to think more deeply and differently. Businesspeople are naturally pragmatic. We talk about revenue, customers, costs, market share, productivity, people and performance. Nobody expects the CEO to mount the podium and deliver a fiery call to storm the Bastille. The danger is that this practicality makes our presentations too safe. We report what happened, explain what is happening and perhaps predict what will happen next. Everything is locked down and neutral. That may be professionally safe, but intellectually it can be pedestrian. If we never challenge ourselves to think beyond the immediate details, we won't challenge the audience either. Do now: Ask yourself what larger issue sits behind your immediate business topic and whether your audience would benefit from seeing it. Why Do So Many Executive Presentations Get Lost in Detail? Executives often spend vastly more time arranging slides than developing the one or two big ideas their audience should remember. PowerPoint, Keynote and presentation templates encourage us to think sequentially: slide one, slide two, slide three. We become consumed by charts, graphs, bullet points, fonts and the order of the deck. The presentation then becomes a collection of information rather than an intellectual journey. This problem is particularly easy to encounter in complex organisations, where presenters need to satisfy numerous stakeholders and demonstrate command of the detail. Yet senior executives usually need more than detail. They need perspective. The speaker should be asking: What does this mean for our industry? What might happen next? What danger are we failing to see? What opportunity are we overlooking? Do now: Before rearranging another slide, write down the single biggest idea you want your audience thinking about after you finish. How Can Speakers Turn a Company Issue Into a Bigger Business Idea? Take the immediate company problem and deliberately elevate it to the industry, societal, national or international level. Suppose your company is struggling to recruit younger employees. You can certainly discuss your recruitment figures, retention rates and employer branding. But why stop there? The bigger issue might be demographic change, changing attitudes towards careers, competition for talent or the future relationship between employers and employees. The same applies to sales, technology, leadership and customer service. A declining sales number can open a discussion about changing buyer behaviour. A technology investment can raise questions about how artificial intelligence will alter the division of labour between humans and machines. You are still talking about the real world. You are simply viewing that reality from a higher altitude. Do now: Take one problem in your presentation and ask, "What bigger trend does this represent?" Does a Big-Picture Presentation Risk Becoming Too Philosophical? Yes, if you overdo it. One or two substantial insights are usually enough to elevate a business presentation without turning it into a soapbox performance. We don't need every presentation to whir off into some philosophical tangent far removed from commercial reality. Our audiences came for something useful, and we should give it to them. The key is proportion. Spend most of the presentation dealing with the practical subject at hand. Then, at carefully selected moments, pull the camera back. Show the audience the wider landscape. This is where a speaker can ask what the current issue means for the industry in five years, how developments overseas may affect the local market, or what an apparently small change tells us about a much larger transformation. Then return to the practical implications. Do now: Identify one or two moments where you can deliberately shift from the immediate issue to the wider significance and then come back. How Can Presenting Improve an Executive's Own Thinking? Preparing to speak about the bigger picture forces executives to escape the everyday problems that normally dominate their working lives. Everyday business can bury us in the everyday, every day. Emails, meetings, budgets, personnel issues, customers, deadlines and targets consume our intellectual bandwidth. The podium gives us an excuse to rise above all of that. Preparing a speech forces us to ask questions we may not normally have time to consider: Where is our industry going? What danger points are appearing? What assumptions are we making? What could change our business model? What will customers expect in the future? That process has value even before we deliver the presentation. We are forcing ourselves to think beyond immediate self-interest and develop a broader business perspective. Do now: Use presentation preparation as an intellectual exercise, not merely a slide-production exercise. What Should Executives Ask Before Their Next Presentation? Ask: "What can I say about this topic that will elevate the issue beyond today and beyond my small part of it?" That one question can fundamentally change the quality of a presentation. Instead of merely transmitting information, you start searching for meaning. Instead of describing only what has happened, you consider what it signifies. Instead of concentrating exclusively on your company, department or function, you consider the implications for customers, competitors, the industry and society. This is especially valuable for leaders because audiences expect leadership to involve perspective. They want senior people to see further ahead, connect seemingly unrelated developments and identify risks and opportunities that others have missed. You don't need six earth-shattering predictions. One memorable insight may be enough. Do now: Before finalising your next presentation, identify the one thought that could make your audience stop, reconsider an assumption and see the issue differently. The Bigger Purpose of the Podium The podium is not merely a place from which to deliver information. It is an opportunity to elevate thinking. Of course, we need facts, examples, evidence and practical recommendations. But somewhere in that thirty or forty minutes, we should take the audience somewhere they were not expecting to go. Challenge yourself to see the bigger picture first. Then challenge your audience to see it too. If they leave knowing a few more facts, you have informed them. If they leave seeing the issue differently, you have influenced them. That is a much better use of the podium. Author Bio Dr. Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University. He is a two-time winner of the Dale Carnegie "One Carnegie Award" (2018, 2021) and recipient of the Griffith University Business School Outstanding Alumnus Award (2012). As a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, Greg is certified to deliver globally across leadership, communication, sales and presentation programmes, including Leadership Training for Results. He has written several books, including three best-sellers — Japan Business Mastery, Japan Sales Mastery and Japan Presentations Mastery — along with Japan Leadership Mastery and How to Stop Wasting Money on Training. His works have been translated into Japanese, including Za Eigyō (ザ営業), Purezen no Tatsujin (プレゼンの達人), Torēningu de Okane o Muda ni Suru no wa Yamemashō (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのはやめましょう), and Gendaiban "Hito o Ugokasu" Rīdā (現代版「人を動かす」リーダー). Greg also publishes daily business insights on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter and hosts six weekly podcasts. On YouTube, he produces The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show, Japan Business Mastery and Japan's Top Business Interviews, which are widely followed by executives seeking success strategies in Japan.

  4. Sep 27

    Coach For Team Japan Excellence

    Japan's younger generation wants something different from the traditional boss. They need leaders who can explain the WHY behind the work, communicate persuasively, develop careers, build confidence and act as personal coaches. Sounds easy, doesn't it? We should be able to knock that lot off before lunch. Well, maybe not. The problem is that Japan no longer has the luxury of getting this wrong. The country's demographic decline means younger employees are becoming an increasingly scarce and valuable resource. As of March 2026, Japan had approximately 36.2 million people aged 65 and over but only around 13.3 million under the age of 15. For Japanese companies, retaining and developing young talent is moving from being an HR issue to becoming a business survival issue. Why do Japanese bosses need to become coaches? Japan's shrinking workforce means companies cannot afford to keep losing talented younger employees because their managers do not know how to lead, develop and coach them. Competition for younger Japanese workers will intensify as the population declines. The OECD continues to identify severe labour shortages caused by Japan's ageing and declining population, particularly among SMEs and non-manufacturing businesses. You can already see the impact in construction, retail, convenience stores, hospitality and food service, where companies increasingly depend on non-Japanese workers. This completely changes the role of the boss. Commanding people to do things may have survived in an era when labour was plentiful. It becomes considerably less effective when good employees have alternatives. The modern leader has to persuade people that staying, learning and developing within the organisation is worth their time. Do now: Stop thinking of coaching as an optional HR activity. In Japan's labour market, developing and retaining people is becoming a core management responsibility. Are young Japanese employees really leaving companies so quickly? Yes. Roughly one-third of recent Japanese university graduates leave their first employer within three years, making early-career retention a significant management issue. The latest Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare figures show that 33.8% of university graduates entering employment in 2022 left within three years. For high-school graduates, the figure was even higher at 37.9%. The rate also varies enormously according to company size. Among university graduates working for organisations with fewer than five employees, 57.5% left within three years. For companies employing 1,000 people or more, it was 27.0%. Money, job content, career opportunities and workplace conditions all matter, of course. But the immediate boss has enormous influence over an employee's daily experience. Young employees are constantly asking themselves: Am I learning? Am I progressing? Does anyone here care about my future? Do now: Treat retention as something managers influence every day, rather than something HR discovers during the exit interview. Why are many Japanese middle managers weak at coaching? Most Japanese middle managers were never systematically taught how to coach, so organisations often reproduce yesterday's management habits through OJT. On-the-job training is deeply embedded in Japanese corporate life. OJT itself isn't the problem. The problem is what happens when the person delivering the OJT has never received professional leadership or coaching training. The previous generation teaches the next generation what they themselves were taught. If you had a brilliant mentor, excellent. You were lucky. But hoping that every manager magically develops coaching capability through experience is not a management development strategy. The traditional Japanese boss was often expected to be technically competent, experienced and knowledgeable. The modern boss needs those qualities plus communication, persuasion, feedback, career development and coaching skills. That is a substantial shift. Do now: Companies should explicitly train managers in coaching rather than assuming that being promoted automatically equips someone to develop other people. How should a Japanese manager coach a younger employee? Effective coaching starts by identifying the skill required, agreeing on the desired outcome and making sure both the manager and employee own the goal. First, identify what capability is actually needed. There may be twenty possible things the person could improve, but trying to coach everything simultaneously is hopeless. Prioritise. Then picture the desired result together. What does good performance look like? What is the gap between current performance and that outcome? Next comes attitude. Different people are motivated by different things. What gets the boss excited may completely underwhelm a twenty-seven-year-old team member. This is where trust becomes critical. How well do you actually know the people working for you? What are their career ambitions? What interests them? What worries them? What skills do they want to develop? The more time leaders invest in knowing their people, the easier it becomes to find the individual triggers that encourage improvement. Do now: Diagnose before coaching. Agree on one important development goal and understand why achieving it matters to that individual. Why don't managers spend enough time coaching? The biggest constraint on coaching is often not knowledge but time, because many managers are trapped dealing with urgent operational problems. Coaching requires bandwidth. The boss needs time to identify the skill, explain it, demonstrate it, observe the employee practising it and then provide useful feedback. That is hard when every working day is dominated by emergencies. Using the classic time-management framework, many managers live almost permanently in Quadrant One: important and urgent. Coaching sits mainly in Quadrant Two: important but not yet urgent. The irony is that ignoring Quadrant Two often manufactures tomorrow's Quadrant One problems. If you never develop people, they remain dependent on you. If they remain dependent on you, more decisions and problems land on your desk. Now you are even busier and have even less time to coach. It becomes a vicious cycle. Do now: Put coaching time into the calendar before the week fills with emergencies. Developing capability today reduces management dependency tomorrow. What type of feedback do younger employees need? Young employees need immediate feedback on both what they are doing well and how they can become better, rather than recognition only when the final result arrives. Many organisations wait until the task has been completed before providing recognition. That is too late. Younger or less experienced employees are continually moving outside their Comfort Zones. They are doing things they haven't done before and often don't know whether they are succeeding. They need two forms of feedback. Good: What exactly are they doing well? Better: What specifically could they change to improve further? Recognising baby steps and partial successes is important because confidence grows through evidence of progress. If we simply throw young employees into difficult assignments and leave them to their own devices, failure can damage their confidence and reduce their appetite for taking risks in the future. Demonstrate. Let them practise. Observe. Coach. Encourage. Repeat. Then, when the result is achieved, provide recognition in a form that actually matters to that individual. Do now: Don't save feedback for performance reviews. Give specific "good" and "better" coaching while the employee is actually learning. The Japanese boss must become a super coach The modern boss in Japan has to give younger employees many of the things previous generations of managers should have received themselves but often didn't. Yes, that may seem unfair. Today's managers are being asked to communicate better, explain purpose, build trust, understand individual motivation, manage their own time, develop skills, provide continuous feedback and actively support careers. That is the job now. Japan's demographic situation makes continuing with the old model increasingly dangerous. There are fewer young people coming into the workforce, while companies still need talent to grow, innovate and compete. The organisations that develop strong coaching managers will have a major advantage. The question for every boss is therefore straightforward: Am I merely managing the work, or am I developing the people who will be capable of doing that work without me? The time for a new model of leadership in Japan isn't sometime in the future. It is now. Author Bio Dr. Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University. He is a two-time winner of the Dale Carnegie "One Carnegie Award" (2018, 2021) and recipient of the Griffith University Business School Outstanding Alumnus Award (2012). As a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, Greg is certified to deliver globally across all leadership, communication, sales, and presentation programs, including Leadership Training for Results. He has written several books, including three best-sellers — Japan Business Mastery, Japan Sales Mastery, and Japan Presentations Mastery — along with Japan Leadership Mastery and How to Stop Wasting Money on Training. His works have been translated into Japanese, including Za Eigyō (ザ営業), Purezen no Tatsujin (プレゼンの達人), Torēningu de Okane o Muda ni Suru no wa Yamemashō (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのはやめましょう), and Gendaiban "Hito o Ugokasu" Rīdā (現代版「人を動かす」リーダー). Greg also publishes daily business insights on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, and hosts six weekly podcasts. On YouTube, he produces

  5. Sep 20

    Sales Objection Handling Mastery

    Sales objections are a normal part of selling. The problem is not that clients object. The problem is how salespeople react when they hear the objection. There is often a moment of brain fog. Then the salesperson recovers and springs into action — usually the wrong action. They start arguing with the client about why the objection is wrong. That effort normally goes nowhere. Sales objection handling is not about winning an argument. It is about understanding what is really preventing the buyer from moving forward, deciding whether that obstacle is legitimate and then determining whether you can solve it profitably. How should salespeople respond when a client raises an objection? The first response to a sales objection should be to investigate it, rather than immediately trying to answer it. What the client initially tells us is often just the headline. There is usually a much longer explanation sitting underneath it. Think of the objection as the tip of an iceberg. We can hear the few words sitting above the surface, but we cannot yet see all the reasoning underneath. This is particularly important in B2B sales in Japan, where buyers may be cautious about expressing every concern immediately. If we jump in with our magnificent answer to the first objection, we may be solving something which isn't actually stopping the sale. Ask questions. Clarify what they mean. Encourage them to explain their thinking. Do now: Don't fight the objection. Expand it until you understand what the buyer really means. How do you uncover the real sales objection? Keep asking what else is preventing the client from proceeding until you have exhausted their list of concerns. One objection may conceal another. Price might be mentioned first, for example, when the real concern is risk, internal approval, confidence in the supplier or reluctance to change. After uncovering the objections, ask the client to rank them. Which issue is the most important? Which one really prevents them from saying yes? Now we have something useful to work with. At this point, make a judgement. Is the highest-ranked issue a genuine and legitimate objection? If it doesn't sound convincing, you probably haven't reached the real problem yet. Keep digging. Salespeople often feel pressure to start selling immediately. Resist it. Diagnosis comes before prescription. Do now: Uncover all the objections, rank them and work on the highest-priority genuine objection first. Should salespeople always try to overcome an objection? No. Some objections cannot — and should not — be overcome if satisfying them would make the business unattractive or unprofitable. Once we understand the genuine objection, we have another judgement call to make. Can we actually provide what the client wants? Can we deliver it in the way they want? Can we do it at a price which makes commercial sense? This is where sales discipline matters. Some buyers engage in what I call "sport negotiating". Winning the negotiation becomes almost as important as buying the product or service. They want to see how far they can push the salesperson, particularly on price. We don't have to play. I would rather build a long-term relationship with a repeat buyer than lock myself into a transactional relationship with someone who constantly bullies suppliers. Do now: Before overcoming an objection, decide whether winning the deal is actually worth winning. How should you handle price objections in Japan? Protect your pricing because once you lower a price in Japan, that reduced figure can quickly become the new ceiling for future negotiations. If you decide that some movement is possible, you then have to judge how far you are prepared to move. Never casually surrender your best price. If you immediately offer the lowest possible figure, you leave yourself nowhere to go when the buyer pushes again. And they may push again. The objective is not simply to close the transaction. The deal still has to make financial sense. This is particularly important where your pricing reflects local Japanese costs rather than a foreign headquarters' assumptions. We recently encountered this with a global automotive company. Their overseas headquarters wanted Japanese pricing reduced to fit their global model. Yet the programme involved was already heavily subscribed at the existing Japanese price. There was no compelling reason to surrender the economics. Do now: Establish your walk-away point before negotiating and preserve enough margin to negotiate without destroying the value of the deal. How can you overcome the objection that a client is happy with their current supplier? You need clear differentiation and a low-risk way for the buyer to experience that difference for themselves. This objection can be tougher than price. Japanese companies often stay with suppliers they know and trust. Changing introduces uncertainty, and the perceived consequences of making the wrong choice may outweigh the perceived benefit of making a faster choice. Simply telling the buyer that your company is better will not solve that problem. You need differentiation. Perhaps you offer better speed, quality, reliability or cost. More importantly, you need a way of proving it. A trial, test, pilot or limited engagement can allow the client to compare your performance with that of the incumbent supplier without demanding an immediate large-scale commitment. Don't expect the trial to move at your preferred speed either. The client may want to test, observe, test again and observe again. That's fine. Do now: Reduce the perceived switching risk by demonstrating your differentiation through a controlled trial or pilot. When should a salesperson walk away from a deal? Walk away when meeting the buyer's demands would undermine your profitability, quality standards or confidence in the value you provide. Salespeople sometimes become so emotionally committed to winning that every deal starts to look like a deal they must have. That is dangerous. In most industries there are multiple potential buyers. Losing one prospect does not mean losing the entire market. Our global automotive-company example illustrates the point. Their headquarters wanted local Japanese pricing forced into a foreign cost framework. But different countries have different salaries, overheads and operating costs. I asked whether their Japan HR employees would accept salaries adjusted downward to equivalent roles at overseas headquarters. Naturally, the answer was no. Exactly. So why assume a Japanese supplier should automatically adopt another country's cost structure? If you genuinely believe in the quality and value of what you sell, you need courage when facing unreasonable objections. Do now: Know your value, know your economics and be prepared to find another buyer who appreciates both. Conclusion: What is the key to sales objection handling? Great objection handling is not about becoming brilliant at clever rebuttals. It is about becoming brilliant at diagnosis. Question the initial objection. Find out what sits underneath it. Uncover all the concerns. Rank them. Determine whether the highest-priority objection is genuine. Decide whether it can be solved within your commercial boundaries. Then respond. Sometimes the right response will win the sale. Sometimes the right response will involve a test or pilot. Sometimes the right response will be to hold your price. And occasionally the smartest sales decision you can make is to walk away. That is not losing a sale. That is protecting your business and freeing yourself to find clients who genuinely appreciate the quality and value you provide. Author Bio Dr. Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University. He is a two-time winner of the Dale Carnegie "One Carnegie Award" (2018, 2021) and recipient of the Griffith University Business School Outstanding Alumnus Award (2012). As a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, Greg is certified to deliver globally across leadership, communication, sales and presentation programmes, including Leadership Training for Results. He has written several books, including three best-sellers — Japan Business Mastery, Japan Sales Mastery and Japan Presentations Mastery — along with Japan Leadership Mastery and How to Stop Wasting Money on Training. His works have been translated into Japanese, including Za Eigyō (ザ営業), Purezen no Tatsujin (プレゼンの達人), Torēningu de Okane o Muda ni Suru no wa Yamemashō (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのはやめましょう), and Gendaiban "Hito o Ugokasu" Rīdā (現代版「人を動かす」リーダー). Greg also publishes daily business insights on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, and hosts six weekly podcasts. On YouTube, he produces The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show, Japan Business Mastery and Japan's Top Business Interviews, which are followed by executives seeking success strategies in Japan.

  6. Sep 13

    The Mindset For Presentation Success

    Our mental approach to what we do has a huge influence on the result. We recognise this easily in sport and business, yet when it comes to presentations and public speaking, we often forget it. For many people, the problem starts long before they walk onto a stage or into a meeting room. We may carry old fears about speaking in front of others into adulthood. Then, as our careers advance and presenting becomes unavoidable, we focus immediately on slides, content and logistics rather than first getting our mindset right. That is a mistake. A presentation puts our personal and professional brand on public display. How we think about the presentation influences how confidently we deliver it, and confidence has an enormous impact on how the audience judges our credibility. Why is mindset so important for presentation success? Your presentation mindset affects how confidently you speak, how your audience perceives you and ultimately how much impact your message creates. Many professionals approach public speaking with negative self-talk. They imagine forgetting their words, being judged by the audience or making a mistake. Sometimes that fear may stretch back many years. I certainly experienced this myself. I successfully avoided public speaking until I was around 29 years old because I was fearful of it. Eventually, career progression makes avoidance impossible. Presentations, meetings, conferences, sales pitches and leadership communication all require us to stand up and communicate ideas. The danger is concentrating entirely on mechanics—slides, timing and logistics—while ignoring the mental preparation required to perform confidently. Confidence and credibility are closely connected when we present. We may feel nervous internally, but hesitation and uncertainty weaken the delivery of our message. Do now: Treat mindset preparation as part of presentation preparation. Before thinking about slides, decide how you want to think, feel and appear when you speak. Does confidence matter more than having great presentation content? Excellent content is important, but audiences also judge whether the speaker appears confident and credible enough to make that content worth listening to. I recently watched a speaker whom I initially thought was impressive. When I analysed the presentation afterwards, however, I realised he had not actually provided much breakthrough information or many particularly valuable insights. What impressed the audience was his confidence. He stood in front of everyone looking completely comfortable being there. The audience was buying his confidence as much as his actual message. This is an important warning for presenters who believe their content will somehow compensate for poor delivery. We sometimes tell ourselves, "My information is excellent, so the presentation technique doesn't really matter." That is rarely a sensible strategy. Most presenters are competing for attention. Their audience has other priorities, other thoughts and, increasingly, a device sitting directly in front of them providing unlimited alternatives. Do now: Never rely on content alone. Build both sides of the presentation equation: a valuable message and a confident delivery. How can presenters compete for the audience's attention? Presenters have to combine worthwhile content with engaging delivery because the audience can mentally—and digitally—leave the presentation almost instantly. Modern audiences are accustomed to multitasking. While supposedly listening to us, someone may be checking email, searching Google, scrolling through LinkedIn or looking at social media. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and countless other digital distractions are competing directly with the speaker. That means our presentation needs sufficient energy, confidence and value to hold attention. We have to sell two things simultaneously. First, our message is worth hearing. Second, we genuinely believe in what we are saying. Reading paragraphs of text from notes while barely looking at the audience makes both objectives much harder. Instead, know the material well enough to speak naturally from key points. Work the room. Look at people. Communicate the ideas rather than simply reading words. That becomes considerably easier when we have created the material ourselves or thoroughly adapted material someone else prepared. Do now: Know the content well enough to engage with the audience rather than hiding inside your notes. What is the best structure for preparing a confident presentation? Start with a strong opening, organise the presentation around three to five major points and deliberately design both your conclusion and your final close after questions. Presentation confidence becomes easier when the structure itself is clear. Begin with a powerful opening and introduce the central message you eventually want the audience to remember. Then isolate three to five key points that make your argument. Support those points with evidence, examples, stories or other material that gives the audience a reason to believe you. The close also needs planning. I recommend having your first close ready before the question-and-answer session and then a second close after the Q&A. Why? Because finishing with the final random audience question allows somebody else to determine the last thing everyone hears. Instead, answer the questions and then reclaim the room with your final message. A clearly organised presentation also reduces nervousness because you always know where you are going next. Do now: Build a visible presentation roadmap: opening, three to five key points, evidence, first close, Q&A and final close. How much should you rehearse a business presentation? Rehearsal is essential because knowing the information is different from being able to deliver that information confidently in front of an audience. One of the most common mistakes is spending nearly all the preparation time making slides. People adjust fonts, move boxes around, search for images and keep rewriting content until the presentation date arrives. Then they discover they have hardly practised actually delivering the talk. In effect, the first full rehearsal takes place in front of the audience. That is not preparation. That is experimentation. Rehearsing shows us whether the timing works. It identifies awkward transitions. It reveals sentences that looked fine on paper but are difficult to say naturally. We also discover where to pause, which words require stronger emphasis and where the energy of the presentation needs to change. Once we understand the cadence and flow, confidence increases because fewer elements of the presentation feel unpredictable. Do now: Protect rehearsal time in your schedule. Don't allow slide preparation to consume the time needed to practise the actual delivery. Can visualisation and positive self-talk improve presentation confidence? Mentally seeing yourself deliver the presentation successfully helps replace a fear-based starting point with an expectation of control and competence. In the weeks leading up to an important presentation, we naturally think about what we want to say. Use that process deliberately. Look for useful examples, quotations and evidence. Think about how you will explain the important ideas. Then play the presentation through in your mind. See yourself speaking confidently. Imagine the audience paying attention, nodding and responding positively. See yourself enjoying the presentation rather than enduring it. This is also where our internal language matters. If we repeatedly tell ourselves that public speaking is frightening and that we are terrible presenters, we reinforce exactly the mindset we are trying to escape. Change the conversation. Think instead about the professional opportunity. Every presentation allows us to strengthen our personal brand, demonstrate expertise and become better at communicating ideas. Do now: Rehearse physically and mentally. See the successful presentation before you deliver it and replace negative self-talk with purposeful preparation. Presentation success starts before you begin speaking The biggest change we can make may have nothing to do with PowerPoint, microphones or presentation technology. It starts with how we think. When we know the content, rehearse properly and understand the flow, we can relax. We know the timing. We know where to pause. We know which words deserve extra emphasis and how the argument fits together. Instead of dreading the presentation, we can start enjoying it. We should also actively look for opportunities to speak rather than avoiding them. Presentation confidence is developed by presenting. Change the mindset and you change the starting point. Change the starting point and you dramatically improve the possibility of producing the presentation result you need. Author Bio Dr. Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University. He is a two-time winner of the Dale Carnegie "One Carnegie Award" (2018, 2021) and recipient of the Griffith University Business School Outstanding Alumnus Award (2012). As a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, Greg is certified to deliver globally across all leadership, communication, sales and presentation programmes, including Leadership Training for Results. He has written several books, including three best-sellers—Japan Business Mastery, Japan Sales Mastery and Japan Presentations Mastery—along with Japan Leadership Mastery and How to Stop Wasting Money on Training. His works have been translated into Japanese, including Za Eigyō (ザ営業), Purezen no Tatsujin (プレゼンの達人), Torēningu de Okane o Muda ni Suru no wa Yamemashō (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのはやめましょう), and Gendaiban "Hito o Ugokasu" Rīdā (現代版「人を

  7. Sep 6

    The Boss Is Not Allowed The Luxury Of Reacting

    Leadership Emotional Control: Why Effective Bosses Must Respond Rather Than React Are you moody? We might immediately say no. We see ourselves as upbeat individuals, smoothly navigating our way through the workday. Good. The problem is that the workplace is roiling with confirmed, card-carrying boss watchers. They have their antennae out every time we appear, as they gauge the risk level of any interaction with us today. Should I raise that project possibility? Talk about the budget? Have that revenue-results discussion? They have been studying our body language, our gait, face and voice with such intensity that they can easily distinguish our mood on any given day — and sometimes throughout the day. This is why emotional self-control matters so much in leadership. The boss doesn't only manage work, deadlines, budgets and people. The boss also influences the emotional climate of the workplace. 1. Why Does A Boss's Mood Matter So Much? We radiate information to our team whether we intend to or not. If we are troubled, have we been sufficiently skilled actors to mask the emotions coursing underneath that bespoke suit? When everyone around us is losing their equilibrium, do we maintain ours? When people are panicking, are we an amplifier or a suppressor? We are the boss, so we set the tone for the day. If we are up, positive and composed, we have a much better chance of taking everyone else up with us. Conversely, if we are worried, concerned, irritated or down, we can drag the entire crew towards the bottom. The scary part is how hard it can be to draw people back up and how quickly we can sink their boat. Leadership presence is therefore not just what we say. Our face, posture, tone of voice, pace and behaviour are constantly signalling whether we are calm, accessible and in control. 2. Are Employees Really Watching Their Boss That Closely? Absolutely. The workplace is full of highly experienced boss watchers. They are trying to work out whether this is a good moment to raise a difficult issue, ask for a decision, discuss revenue results, flag a project problem or mention a budget concern. They read our body language. They listen to our voice. They notice whether we look rushed, irritated, distracted or relaxed. That has an important leadership consequence. If people conclude, "The boss is in a bad mood today, I won't mention it", important information may stop travelling upwards. The problem could be a customer complaint, a project delay, an underperforming employee or a commercial opportunity. Whatever it is, we need to know. A leader who cannot control their emotional signals may unintentionally train the team to avoid bringing them bad news. That is dangerous. Effective leadership requires the opposite: people need to feel able to tell us what is really happening. 3. Does A Leader Have To Be Positive All The Time? We need to be circumspect about what we say and how easily external events control our mood. Suppose we wake up and the look of the sky determines how we feel. Somber rain clouds, driving sleet or ice-cold snow might encourage us to complain about what a "lousy day" it is. Alternatively, crisp blue skies, fluffy white clouds and gorgeous warm sunshine might make us announce, "What a great day". Both statements can be dangerous for a leader. Why? Because both tell everyone that our mood can be randomly controlled by the weather. We have to be the sunny boss every day, regardless of the meteorological conditions. That doesn't mean pretending everything is wonderful when it isn't. It means controlling the emotional signals we transmit. We can note that it is raining and remember to take the brolly. That is enough. The weather doesn't get to run the boss. 4. What Does Mood Have To Do With Procrastination? There are other moods we need to be vigilant about. If the mood doesn't grab us, do we start procrastinating on certain unpalatable tasks? Especially the difficult ones. The boring ones. The time-consuming ones. The ones requiring us to really think hard. We scan our carefully considered priority list for today's assault on the workload and spy that one particular item has now crept towards the upper reaches of the "to do" pile. Do we inwardly wince? Then comes the frantic search for an escape route. Maybe a quick diversionary attack on email. Social media. Papers scattered across the transom. That telephone call we suddenly remember we need to make. In other words, every possible activity other than the irksome burden sitting directly in front of us. Leadership discipline means doing what needs to be done when it needs to be done, rather than waiting until we happen to feel like doing it. 5. What Should A Boss Do When Someone Lets Them Down? This is where emotional control becomes much harder. The news arrives that something hasn't been completed on time, on budget or to the required standard by one of the team. We were hurtling down the highway of happiness, fully charged and in control of the day, and suddenly this train wreck appears on the horizon threatening to derail our positive mood. The immediate reaction may be frustration. Anger. Disappointment. Disbelief. But the boss is not allowed the luxury of reacting. As the boss, we can only respond. That distinction is critical. Reaction is immediate. It is emotional. It allows the first impulse to take control. Response requires us to create some mental space between the event and what we do next. What actually happened? Why did it happen? What is the impact? What needs to happen now? That is leadership rather than impulse. 6. What Is The Difference Between Reacting And Responding As A Leader? Responding means engaging both the head and the heart. The head asks: What are the facts? What went wrong? What needs to be fixed? What is the business impact? The heart asks: What is happening with this person? Was the issue carelessness, lack of capability, unclear expectations, poor communication or circumstances outside their control? We are not pretending disappointment doesn't exist. We are controlling what we do with it. That matters because people learn very quickly how the boss behaves when things go wrong. If every mistake, delay or disappointment triggers an emotional explosion, people develop an obvious survival strategy: avoid bringing the boss bad news. Then the leader has created a much bigger problem. We need our people to tell us about mistakes, delays, risks and failures early enough for us to do something about them. Leadership emotional control is therefore not about being emotionless. It is about ensuring our emotions do not interfere with sound judgement, communication and trust. The Leadership Standard: Respond, Don't React The discipline is to exercise super control over our moods so that we intentionally influence both ourselves and our team. We need to do the things we need to do when we need to do them. Tasks will still irritate us. People will still disappoint us. Projects will still go wrong. The weather will continue doing whatever it feels like doing. None of that removes our responsibility as the boss. The boss is not perfect. But everyone attached to the oars on the galley deck is watching. That means we do not get the luxury of simply reacting. We respond. About the Author Dr. Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University. He is a two-time winner of the Dale Carnegie "One Carnegie Award" (2018, 2021) and recipient of the Griffith University Business School Outstanding Alumnus Award (2012). As a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, Greg is certified to deliver globally across all leadership, communication, sales and presentation programmes, including Leadership Training for Results. He has written several books, including three best-sellers — Japan Business Mastery, Japan Sales Mastery and Japan Presentations Mastery — along with Japan Leadership Mastery and How to Stop Wasting Money on Training. His works have also been translated into Japanese, including Za Eigyō (ザ営業), Purezen no Tatsujin (プレゼンの達人), Torēningu de Okane o Muda ni Suru no wa Yamemashō (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのはやめましょう), and Gendaiban "Hito o Ugokasu" Rīdā (現代版「人を動かす」リーダー). In addition to his books, Greg publishes daily blogs on LinkedIn, Facebook and X/Twitter, offering practical insights on leadership, communication and Japanese business culture. He also hosts six weekly podcasts, including The Leadership Japan Series, The Sales Japan Series, The Presentations Japan Series, Japan Business Mastery and Japan's Top Business Interviews. On YouTube, he produces three weekly shows — The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show, Japan Business Mastery and Japan's Top Business Interviews — focused on practical strategies for executives and professionals working in Japan.

  8. Aug 30

    Leads Are The Lifeblood Of Sales

    Salespeople cannot rely entirely on marketing to keep their pipelines full. Marketing may generate enquiries through search engine optimisation, online advertising, white papers, eBooks, webinars and social media, but sales professionals must also create their own opportunities. This is especially important in Japan, where gaining access to a new business-to-business buyer can be difficult. Receptionists and gatekeepers are trained to protect busy executives, unfamiliar suppliers are treated cautiously and salespeople often give up after one unsuccessful attempt. The solution is to understand your sales numbers, identify your ideal prospects, reserve time for prospecting and persist until you reach the right decision-maker. Why are sales leads so important? Leads are the lifeblood of sales because every new client, appointment and contract must begin with a potential opportunity entering the sales funnel. Marketing teams work hard to generate inbound leads. They segment databases, develop content marketing, improve SEO performance, purchase pay-per-click advertising and encourage potential buyers to download reports or submit enquiries. These activities are valuable, but they are rarely enough to support every salesperson's revenue target. Marketing controls the campaigns, budgets, timing and targeting. Individual salespeople cannot simply sit back and wait for qualified prospects to appear. Professional salespeople therefore take responsibility for generating additional opportunities through referrals, networking, cold calling, dormant-account reactivation, industry events and direct outreach. Do now: Calculate how many active opportunities you currently have and compare that number with what you need to achieve your annual sales target. What are Key Activity Indicators in sales? Key Activity Indicators, or KAIs, measure the controllable actions that eventually produce sales results. Revenue is a lagging indicator. By the time a salesperson discovers that sales are below target, it may be too late to recover. KAIs provide earlier warning signals by tracking activities such as telephone calls, prospecting emails, LinkedIn approaches, referrals requested, appointments secured, proposals submitted and follow-up conversations completed. The important step is to calculate the conversion ratio between each stage. For example, how many initial approaches produce a conversation? How many conversations produce a meeting? How many meetings produce a proposal? How many proposals become contracts? These ratios allow salespeople to replace hope with mathematics. They can work backwards from the revenue target and identify the prospecting activity required each week. Do now: Start recording your approaches, conversations, appointments, proposals and completed sales so you can identify your true conversion ratios. How can salespeople calculate the leads they need? Salespeople can calculate their required lead volume by working backwards from their revenue target, average deal value and conversion rates. Imagine that your annual target is ¥30 million and your average sale is ¥1 million. You therefore need approximately 30 completed sales. Suppose one out of every three proposals becomes a contract. You would need around 90 proposals. If half of your initial meetings develop into proposals, you would need approximately 180 meetings. If one meeting is secured from every ten meaningful prospecting conversations, you would need around 1,800 conversations. The actual numbers will vary by industry, territory, product complexity, brand strength and sales cycle. Enterprise software, professional services and capital equipment may require longer sales processes than lower-value transactional services. Nevertheless, the principle remains the same: your target should determine your activity. Do now: Work backwards from your target and convert the annual requirement into monthly, weekly and daily prospecting numbers. How can salespeople identify better prospects? The best prospects are companies that resemble organisations where you have already produced meaningful results. Salespeople often waste time approaching companies simply because they are large, famous or nearby. A more effective approach is to define an ideal client profile using industry, location, employee numbers, business model, growth stage, decision-making structure and likely business problems. Existing clients provide valuable clues. If you have helped one five-star hotel in Tokyo improve its sales performance, competing hotels may face similar challenges. If you have solved a leadership issue for one technology company, other firms expanding across the Asia-Pacific region may be experiencing the same problem. This does not mean revealing confidential client information. It means converting your experience into relevant insight. Buyers are more interested when you understand their sector, competitive pressures and likely operational difficulties. Do now: Select three successful clients and identify ten organisations with similar characteristics, challenges or commercial priorities. How do you get past a gatekeeper in Japan? To get past a gatekeeper, give a specific, credible and commercially relevant reason why the decision-maker should speak with you. Cold calls in Japan often fail because salespeople ask vaguely for "the person in charge" or "the sales manager". The receptionist does not know the caller, sees no obvious benefit and is expected to protect senior colleagues from unwanted interruptions. A stronger approach establishes credibility and relevance immediately: "Hello, this is Greg Story from Dale Carnegie Training Japan. We specialise in developing leadership, sales, communication and presentation capability. We have been helping companies in your industry improve new-business acquisition. Your organisation may be facing similar challenges, although I cannot be certain until we speak. Could you please connect me with the person responsible for sales development?" The objective is not to pressure the receptionist. It is to provide enough legitimate business context for the request to make sense. Do now: Prepare a 20-second opening that explains who you are, whom you help, the result you create and why the conversation may be relevant. How persistent should salespeople be? Salespeople should be professionally persistent without becoming aggressive, deceptive or disrespectful. Many prospecting attempts fail because the salesperson gives up after one call or email. The decision-maker may be travelling, attending meetings, managing a crisis or concentrating on an urgent deadline. A lack of response does not automatically mean rejection. Persistence requires a planned follow-up cadence. You might call again at a different time, send a brief email explaining the commercial relevance, share a useful insight or ask a mutual contact for an introduction. Each contact should add context rather than merely repeating, "I am following up." In Japan, patience and consistency matter because trust usually develops gradually. At the same time, repeated contact must remain respectful. Salespeople should never misrepresent relationships, invent referrals or harass employees. Do now: Create a follow-up sequence using several channels and give every contact a useful, business-focused reason to respond. How can salespeople make time for prospecting? Prospecting must be placed in the calendar as a protected appointment, not treated as something to do when everything else is finished. Salespeople usually protect meetings with existing clients because those appointments feel immediate and important. Prospecting is easier to postpone because the reward is uncertain and rejection is uncomfortable. As a result, administration, internal meetings and email consume the day. The answer is to block out recurring prospecting time. During that period, turn off unnecessary notifications, prepare a focused target list and concentrate only on creating new conversations. Some salespeople work best early in the morning, while others find decision-makers easier to reach later in the day. Managers should also measure the quality and consistency of prospecting activity rather than looking only at month-end revenue. Do now: Reserve a non-negotiable prospecting block in your calendar every working day and prepare the target list before the session begins. Conclusion A healthy sales pipeline is not created by optimism. It is built through disciplined activity. Marketing can provide valuable inbound opportunities, but salespeople must also create their own leads. They need to understand their Key Activity Indicators, calculate the prospect volume required, target companies that match their ideal client profile and develop a credible reason for decision-makers to engage. In competitive B2B markets such as Japan, reaching the right person may require patience and repeated effort. The salespeople who succeed are not necessarily the loudest or most aggressive. They are the professionals who consistently protect prospecting time, communicate relevant value and persist respectfully. Block the time. Make the approaches. Measure the results. Improve the ratios. Take command of your sales pipeline. Author Bio Dr. Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training and an Adjunct Professor at Griffith University. He is a two-time winner of the Dale Carnegie "One Carnegie Award" in 2018 and 2021 and received the Griffith University Business School Outstanding Alumnus Award in 2012. As a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, he is certified to deliver leadership, communication, sales and presentation programmes globally, including Leadership Training for Results. Greg is the author of the best-selling books Japan Business Mastery, Japan Sales Mastery and Japan Presentations Mastery, as well as Japan Leadership Maste

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For succeeding in business in Japan you need to know how to lead, sell and persuade. This is what we cover in the show. No matter what the issue you will get hints, information, experience and insights into securing the necessary solutions required. Everything in the show is based on real world perspectives, with a strong emphasis on offering practical steps you can take to succeed.

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