Episode #385: Body Language In Sales In Japan

Body language is just that, a silent language, which communicates meaning. We can get verbal communication confused and make incorrect judgements and assumptions and body language is the same. There are some constants though and we should always be looking for giving clues and receiving clues through our and the buyer’s body language.

When we are the seller, we want to present with an open posture. Most of the time, we will be seated. I often meet buyers in meeting rooms and these can vary from sofas to seats around a table. Personally, I don’t like the sofa situation in Japan much, because invariably they are set very low for my height. We cannot do anything about fluffing up the pillow to give us height, but we can sit up very straight and high.

I recommend we don’t lean back into the rear cushion and we don’t allow our spine to touch the rear cushion. Sit forward on the cushion edge and try to position yourself as close to the buyer as you can manage. If there is a client facing situation on sofas across a low table, that is usually bad. They are far away and it is hard to take them through our materials.

I would ask permission to the buyer to move to the corner next to them and explain that it will help to take them through the documents. If I am showing a corporate brochure or product flyers, then I want to be in control of the promotional material. It can be done upsidedown of course, across the table, but often with sofas the distance is hard to manage. The corner positioning is a much better idea. I have never had a buyer tell me I couldn’t relocate to the corner near them, so this is an acceptable request.

If we are seated at a table, usually the chair heights are set low in Japan. I always search for the height adjustment lever on chairs and most have them. I then ratchet the chair height up to the maximum. I do this because I want to be able to reach across the table easily and gracefully, when I am showing my supporting materials. I also always bring multiple copies of my materials, because usually in Japan you meet more than one person, and it is best to give everyone their own copy.

Having said that, I will take the material I want to explain and upside down to me, go through it with the people sitting across from me. I use my nice Mont Blanc pen to be a pointer to direct their eyes to the parts of the materials I want to highlight. By the time we get to this stage, I will have already asked them a lot of questions about what they need and where they are now and why they aren’t there already, etc. That helps me to select the bits from the documents which are going to be the most help to drive home the points which align with what they want to know. There will be about 30% of information on any page which will be relevant. I don’t want their eyes on anything other than those sections and the pen helps me to keep them paying attention to what I want them to look at.

If I ask a closing question to take the temperature on what I am proposing, there is a degree of inherent tension there. I will lean back in my chair to not appear to be putting any pressure on the buyer. The question itself has sufficient pressure. If I ask a closing question and then lean forward close to them, it can feel too much for a Japanese buyer.

Very importantly, I don’t ever speak immediately after asking the closing question. This takes discipline, because the temptation is to keep going piling on the value and the reasons they should buy. Instead, shut up and do not speak! If I add something, it just dilutes the tension I have created. If you have a colleague with you, make sure you tell them to not speak when you create some tension with the buyer. Often, they can’t take the pressure either and will want to say something and the whole pressure equation flies out the window. We don’t want to let the buyer escape. That closing question tension is usually enough tension for a Japanese buyer and they don’t handle additional physical pressure very well.
If I am zeroing in on a key point in my materials or in my explanation, I will do the reverse and lean in and get as tight as I can when sitting across the table to really support the message. If it is a big table and I have to half stand to get my hand on their copies in front of them, then I will half stand and lean across the table. I must control what they are looking at.

When I am presenting, I am watching the Japanese buyer like a hawk for any telltale signs of concern or resistance. They may have a worried frown on their face, be crossing their arms across their chest or they may lean back to think about what they are hearing or all three. If they start sucking air in through the back of their teeth, that is a particularly bad sign which signals they are having trouble with what I am saying. If I see any of these reactions, I stop immediately and ask them if they can see some issue with what we are proposing. There is no point proceeding until you deal with whatever is troubling them. If they are leaning in, that is a good sign of interest and I will ask them what they like about what I am saying. It may be different to what I expect and that is always a good thing to double check.

If there are a number of buyers in the room, I split my attention across all of them rather than just focusing on the most senior person or the person sitting directly across from me. Japan has a collective decision-making system, so it is rare that there would be one decision-maker, so we need to cover all the bases.

We sell with our voice, but also with our eyes and our body language, and buyers do the same from the buying end, so we need to heighten our sensitivities to uncover subtle signs of acceptance or disagreement.