Episode #403 Rationalising Failure In Sales In Japan

“There are no excuses for failing in sales”, is a common ideological position. However, is this really true? There is no doubt that sales is a very macho environment for men and women. There are set quotas, targets, numbers to be hit and if they are not hit, then that person is deemed to be failing. There are no hiding places in sales. You make your target or you don’t. Now, if we fired every salesperson who failed to hit their target, we wouldn’t have many people in sales. Japan makes this especially fraught because the declining population translates into a shortage of salespeople. This also means that the quality of salespeople in the market is only going to decline. Whether we like it or not, we will be looking for anyone with a pulse to hire because we need warm bodies. Targets smargets in this case.

In sales anywhere, we know a couple of things. The majority of people in the business are untrained. Companies want off the shelf top earners who they can cut loose and let them go forth and bring in the dough. That is an epic delusion in this day and age in Japan. People who can sell are not moving because the company is doing its best to keep them. That means the ones who are mediocre, or worse, are mobile. Even this supply will dry up as companies become more and more desperate for salespeople and will keep their underperformers because they at least know something about the product lineup and have met a few customers.

We also know that at any point in time, a third of people we meet who we hope will become clients will never buy from us. There may be many reasons for this, to do with budgets, decision-making, ideology around self-sufficiency, stupidity, etc. Another third will buy, but unfortunately not according to our monthly sales quota driven schedule.

In Japan, especially, it is exceedingly rare to meet someone and then immediately get a sale. The dispersed decision-making process in business here ensures that there are many voices to be consulted about a new decision to buy from an unknown supplier. This internal harmonisation can take a long time to come to fruition. The best way to think about is like this: “the buyer is never on your schedule”.

The remaining third will buy, and the question becomes why will they buy from you? The “you” is important here because firms don’t buy from other firms. They buy from the individual they meet, who is sitting across from them in the meeting room. They make their decision on that basis. Is the chemistry there between buyer and seller emanating from a solid foundation of trust? Where does this trust come from?

The biggest part of the trust equation is from the seller’s kokorogamae. This Japanese word can be variously translated, but in this context, “true intention” is the best version. True intention means what is really driving the salesperson? Is it desperation to keep their job by making their monthly sales target? Is it greed to score a big commission or a promotion? Is it to do the right thing which is best for the buyer? If it isn’t the latter, then we have a problem.

Correct kokorogamae is often defeated by the culture of the firm. Doing the best thing for the buyer is not a smash and grab activity designed to yield immediate returns. The focus of correct kokogamae is to get the repeat order, not a single sale. That mentality is very specific and the time frame is long. If the sales manager is pushing everyone for immediate sales revenues, then the needs of the buyer get tossed out the window and the salespeople will do and say anything to get the sale. In fact, everyone is working hard to dismantle the brand and destroy the client trust for short-term gains and this is driven by the leadership. Is it the fault of the salespeople that they are working for idiots?

Companies have to do much better by their salespeople. Target expectations need to be realistic and have attached timelines which make sense. Training is an absolute requirement, in particular, how to ask questions in order to fully understand what the buyer is trying to achieve. Pitching a solution makes no sense if you have no idea what the buyer needs, and this activity has to be replaced by intelligent questioning skills. The aim has to become the repeat order, because farming is a lot less expensive and more efficient than hunting all the time.

Just hiring people and then firing them is an option that is no longer able to be enjoyed by companies in Japan. Given that the quality of those recruited will just keep going down, these individuals have to be encouraged and developed. That requires time and treasure, but there is no alternative.