253: Japan Doesn't Change In Sales

<p>I listen to a lot of sales gurus because I am a permanent student.  I have noticed there is a consistent theme which comes up.  Because being a guru is quite competitive, they have to draw a line between themselves and the rest.  The way they do this is to make the point that “sales has changed”.  They then go through introducing their version of the new sales methods for the new era.  I was reflecting on this and thinking about sales in Japan.  SPIN Selling, Consultative Selling, Challenger Selling etc., reflect waves of change in the West.  I haven’t seen any waves of change much in Japan.  So what is going on here?</p> <p> </p> <p>The Japan model reflects some specialties in selling here.  The core difference with the West is the decision making system in Japan.  There are tons of books in English on “overcoming objections” and the “100 closes you need to succeed” type of thing.  Generally they come across as quite aggressive and they try to force the buyer into buying.  Tricky closing tactics won’t work here in Japan for the vast majority of sales.  Of course, if the person we are talking to is the owner of the business, then “yes” they can make the buying decision.  More likely we are talking to a salaried employee of the organisation. They are not the sole decision maker in most cases and in fact are more like an influencer. </p> <p> </p> <p>Wrangling them to the ground and extracting a “yes” out of them just won’t happen.  There are bound to be a number of Division or Section Heads in the company, who need to give their agreement.  This is a bottom up system.  It is frustrating to meet the President and think you have the golden entry point to a buying decision, only to find out that is not the case.  The President will push the proposal down the ranks to the person at the bottom, whose job is to do the due diligence on you and your offer.</p> <p> </p> <p>That person will consult with all of those leaders whose sections will be impacted by the buying decision and whom we will never meet and may never ev