Episode #190: The Ubiquitous Meishi Exchange And Event Networking - Are They Now Dead?

As the President of my company in Japan, it is almost impossible for me to cold call Japanese companies. If a Japanese prospective client got a cold call from the President of another company, they would immediately be suspicious of that organisation. Why does the President have to make cold calls? What sort of company is this, they don’t sound very sizeable, stable or credible? Consequently my modus operandi, to date, has been to be the Tokyo King of Networking.

I would happily go off to many events, work the room, exchange meishi with as many people as I could get to, in the time available. I would get there early and visually scan all the name cards lined up outside the room to see who was coming. Who did I already know (so I wouldn’t forget their name) and who did I want to get to know? I would start early and stay late. I would ask one simple, subtle qualifying question in order to know how to approach this company representative.

Lockdown put the sword to that little niche sales play of mine. Everyone was at home, organisations who used to sponsor networking events, only hold their meetings online these days. Even in post lockdown Tokyo, there are still no networking events being held. Organisers are not confident enough they can secure the safety of their guests, to invite them to come to a room and mingle with potentially asymptomatic strangers. The punters themselves are not confident to go into a confined room, with a bunch of other people and potentially be exposed to the virus.

The online meetings being held are not networking events. They are information events, usually with speakers and a moderator and limited Q&A. There is no possibility for me to meet the other participants on the call. Is this going to change anytime soon? I don’t think so and even when meetings are held again, they will be quite different. Social distancing will place a physical limitation on how many people can attend the event, at any one time. Shaking hands, which is a well established business custom, designed to project reliability, confidence and trust, will be out of bounds.

Even exchanging meishi may not be allowed nor welcomed. You have to stand relatively close to the other person to do that exchange. Also our grubby fingers are touching the card. When we are on the receiving end, we are touching their grubby bit of paper as well. Maybe we don’t want to risk transferring the virus, via meishi exchange, any more. Is the meishi going to become a relic of the past?

Can we connect electronically instead? Anyone remember “Bump”, a discontinued app which electronically exchanged our business contact details on the spot at a networking event? Years ago, I remember offering my meishi to a young, thrusting American businessman. With a disparaging flourish, he whipped out his mobile phone and told me he doesn’t “do meishi anymore”. He explained to this old geezer, that he could connect with me via this cool West Coast app called Bump. I installed it, but I didn’t really warm to it.

The ceremony of receiving someone’s meishi is a tradition in Japan. I decided to stick with the accepted way of doing business around here. Bump is no more, discontinued in 2014, but several apps have surfaced such as iCheck, Camcard, PiQy, Eight, and Shoot. Some of the available apps are scanning technologies, which still require an actual meishi, but others do offer a real “no physical touch” information exchange. Thanks to Covid-19, these and other similar apps, may get a new lease of life now. By the way, if you know of something good for this old Luddite, please share the love around and let me know!!

For someone in my position, sadly, there is no real alternative for replacing networking as a niche activity, to tap into potential clients. I don’t think networking is no more, passed on, expired, dead or about to disappear forever. Until it comes back though, there are plenty of existing clients to contact. This is most likely going to continue to be by phone or video call.

It may be sometime before we are in a position to hightail it over to the client’s office for a physicaly distanced, face to face encounter. Unlike me, my sales team can continue to cold call potential clients. It works well, because you can go direct to the decision-maker. On some occasions though, we find the target company has turned the gate keeper loose in the office. They are still acting as an unreconstituted, cold call killer, so we get short shrift on that front. This sales life continues to be character building.