Starting as a 'Temporary Employee' doing 'Door-to-Door Sales.' The Reality of a Country Manager at a Foreign Company That Isn't Glamorous.
Today, I would like to write about the work of a Country Manager, a role I have experienced several times.
However, I must state from the beginning that in my case, I joined from the initial phase of market entry, not after things were already established, so it is completely different from the so-called glamorous president of a Japanese subsidiary of a foreign IT company.
Hiring a Country Manager
Needless to say, a Country Manager is hired as the local person in charge when a company based overseas (a so-called foreign company) launches in a new market.
I have held the position of Country Manager three times in the past, and almost without exception, I started as a temporary employee each time.
I have heard that in the past, when entering the Japanese market, there were incredibly troublesome operations involved, such as paying salaries via overseas remittance, requesting expense reimbursements via overseas remittance, or having to ask another company to handle accounting or doing it yourself.
By the way, my late grandfather was also a Country Manager for a Dutch foreign company in the 1950s, and I heard from my father that the administrative work was quite difficult.
Currently, there are several companies in Japan that provide employment agency services called EOR (Employer of Record), so they handle everything from payroll, insurance enrollment, and tax withholding to expense reimbursement.
Famous EOR companies include Deel and Remote, and in Japan, companies like GoGlobal have been expanding their market share over the last few years.
These companies become the employer, while in reality, you perform practical work according to the business orders of the overseas headquarters.
Once a certain level of sales is expected, the overseas headquarters decides to register a Japanese subsidiary.
Recently, there are cases where EORs also support this registration.
Once this registration is completed, you officially become the Representative Director and President of the Japanese subsidiary.
The Work of a Country Manager
Since I have mainly been a Country Manager for foreign IT companies, I would like to share what I have done there.
When a foreign company decides to enter Japan, in most cases, there is already some kind of transaction in Japan to begin with.
It is common for companies in the US or Europe to start doing business with a local Japanese subsidiary, and then the Japanese headquarters also wants to use it.
When a Japanese company is large, with over 100,000 employees, there are cases where they do not pass credit checks for transactions in Japan, even if they have been doing business overseas.
In such cases, the SI companies (system integrators) that the Japanese company works with, or sometimes consulting firms, often mediate the contract.
In this pattern, the SI company just needs to sign a direct reseller agreement with the foreign company and sell it as a reseller partner, so the hassle involved in contracting is significantly reduced.
However, since SI companies carry many other products, they cannot spare time for just one foreign company.
Once this phase is reached, the trend is often to hire a local person in charge in Japan.
Then, once hired as a Country Manager, one engages in the mission of expanding new sales channels while facilitating communication with existing clients and reseller partners.
Skill Set of a Country Manager
First, it goes without saying that being able to use English is essential.
And beyond that, a background of having achieved overwhelming results as a salesperson in the past, or having made a name for oneself as an evangelist in a specific field, such as AI development or system development like databases, is necessary.
In relatively early-stage foreign companies, Country Managers sometimes change frequently, and this is because there are patterns where they are hired simply because they graduated from a famous overseas university and can speak English, but are complete amateurs in practical work.
Since headquarters does not understand these nuances, even if one manages to slip in with smooth talk, it is possible to be fired immediately if results are not produced.
Recently, even foreign companies have gained a certain level of understanding of Japan, and it has become common to impose tests such as having candidates give an English presentation or create a strategy in a short period of time during the interview.
I also had this presentation assignment at two of my past three companies.
They judge whether this person has the aptitude for the practical work.
Recently, rather than backgrounds like academic history, they reach out based on work history and examine candidates through interviews and presentations.
I feel that in all cases, there is an increasing trend of hiring based on practical ability.
Practical Work of a Country Manager
What I did was mainly three things.
Securing new pipelines
Developing reseller partners
PR, and marketing as needed
Among these, it goes without saying that the most important thing is securing new pipelines.
It is no exaggeration to say that this is 95% of the work.
If you cannot create new pipelines, you cannot even see the prospects for sales.
Therefore, the practical ability I mentioned in the skill set section—in other words, your skills as a salesperson—becomes crucial here.
This skill set includes not just techniques for presentations or cold calling, but also how many weapons you have at your disposal, such as how much of a network you originally possessed.
A common mistake is trying to acquire new deals through resellers.
I made this mistake at first, too.
The order is reversed.
First, the country manager must secure a pipeline.
Then, you sign a reseller agreement with that pipeline as a gift.
As mentioned earlier, reseller partners are not idle.
First, as a country manager, you must prove that there is a business opportunity here.
Also, it is not too late to start marketing and PR once you have secured at least 200 to 300 million yen in sales.
What is essential at the beginning is whether or not you can do pavement-pounding sales with the weapons you have on hand without spending expenses.
If you misunderstand these points, American companies will often fire you or close the position immediately.
I have more material to add to this topic, so I will update it when I find the time.