Episode #82: People Harden Up

We think sales is tough and we are sick of clients saying no. We want to quit. When you consider this story of Toshiya Kakiuchi, you will realise you have nothing to complain about.

Salespeople are world class whiners and whingers. They are the most creative group amongst all professions for coming up with excuses about why they can’t meet their targets.

Salespeople everywhere are delicate blossoms. They get a rocket from their boss about their poor results and try to cold call potential clients over the phone. They get total, irreversible rejection and quit phoning after the third call. There is a variety of cold calling which is even more debilitating and that is tobikomi eigyo (飛び込み営業). The tobikomi eigyo salesperson, is someone who just drops by unannounced and devoid of an appointment, always unceremoniously shown the door.

Imagine if you were so short, that the receptionist can’t even see you unless she stands up and peers well over the counter. Or, that the typical unmanned reception phone and organisational chart are at such a height and depth, that you can’t even use them. This presumes you can even get into the building, in the first place.

Toshiya Kakiuchi was born with a brittle bone crippling disease that confined him to a wheelchair. He applied for jobs, found the going tough, then one day a firm which built websites, accepted him as an employee. His boss told him to head off to the sales department. “You have to get out there and cold call offices door to door, tobikomi eigyo style, looking for companies who need a website”.

Seated in his wheel chair, he was only 106 centimeters tall, found that most buildings were difficult to access because of vertiginous stairs. His sales comrades were seeing 40 or 50 companies a day and he was only seeing 5, if he was lucky. Yet, in a short space of time, he became the top salesperson in that company.

I asked him about how he managed it. With only a limited number of calls he could make in a day, he had to really make every post a winner. He found a way to turn his disadvantage into an advantage. Kakiuchi san was definitely memorable, distinct, differentiated. You are not going to forget him turning up to you office.

So, for all those able bodied salespeople out there whining in their suds about how tough sales is, stop it right now – you have nothing to complain about. Kakiuchi san found a way through by differentiating himself, by having grit and stick-ability to keep going back despite being constantly rejected. He was physically weak but mentally tough. How about you?