🌸Management Future Notebook No. 188: Why Overseas Sales Approaches Feel 'Too Fast' in Japan—It's Not About Speed, But Different Assumptions in Sales Culture
🌸Management Future Notebook No. 188
Why Overseas Sales Approaches Feel 'Too Fast' in Japan
—It's Not About Speed, But Different Assumptions in Sales Culture
(Written by Akifumi Yasumura / Business Capability Development Co., Ltd.)
Today is Tuesday. I post the Japanese version on note and the English version on LinkedIn. I decode the psychological characteristics of Japanese (executives) and the decision-making structures of Japanese organizations.
■ Introduction
From the perspective of overseas companies, Japanese firms can appear to have 'slow responses' or 'take too long to make decisions.' Conversely, the Japanese side often feels that overseas sales approaches are 'too fast' or that they are being sold to before a relationship has been established.
This is not a question of who is right. It is not an evaluation of fast versus slow. It is that the time horizons and methods of building trust assumed by their respective sales cultures are different.
What is important for companies entering the Japanese market is not to label Japan as a slow market, but to understand where to spend time and where to accelerate speed.
■ Japanese companies are not slow to decide, they are 'front-loading'
In Japanese companies, before a formal meeting, explanations are given to stakeholders, concerns are heard, and areas where opposition might arise are adjusted. This is what is known as 'nemawashi' (laying the groundwork).
From overseas, this might look like taking a detour before reaching a conclusion. However, from the Japanese perspective, this is a risk-avoidance process to reduce confusion and rework after a decision is made.
Therefore, a meeting can become less of a 'place to make a decision on the spot' and more of a 'place for everyone to confirm an already formed consensus.' The work necessary for a decision is front-loaded before the meeting.
■ The first 'Yes' may be slow, but it is fast thereafter
In transactions with Japanese companies, it can take time to get the first 'Yes.' However, once an agreement is reached, execution accelerates significantly.
Once roles are clearly defined and stakeholders are aligned, the sense of responsibility for quality, delivery, and accuracy becomes extremely high. In other words, it is easier to understand the time horizon of Japanese companies by viewing it as follows:
Slow preparation. Strong consensus. Reliable execution.
If you only look at the speed at the entrance, it looks slow. However, if you look at the total time including after the decision, it is sometimes more stable and faster.
■ Why do overseas-style immediate sales feel 'too fast'?
The other day, when I followed someone from overseas on LinkedIn, I received a newsletter subscription request almost instantly. It was likely an automated mechanism triggered by the follow.
In some overseas markets, the movement of 'followed = prospect,' 'immediate contact,' and 'guiding into the sales funnel while hitting numbers' is established as an efficient sales method.
On the other hand, among Japanese LinkedIn users, there is a relatively common behavior of first observing the other party, reading their posts several times, gauging the distance, and verifying if they are a trustworthy person.
Therefore, automated guidance immediately after a relationship begins is sometimes perceived not as efficient, but as 'shallow,' 'suspicious,' or 'being sold to.' The method itself is not bad. It just does not match the order of trust formation in the Japanese market.
■ What is needed in the Japanese market is not to slow down
What is needed for sales targeting Japan is not to slow everything down. It is to allocate time to trust formation until the other party can feel secure enough to give the first 'Yes.'
Instead of moving straight to product descriptions or subscription requests, read the other party's posts, understand their challenges, repeat short dialogues, and continuously show your company's track record and philosophy. Just by following this order, the way you are perceived will change significantly.
In the Japanese market, speed is not simply moving fast. It is also the ability to discern 'when to move.'
■ What I want to convey to overseas companies regarding the Japanese market's time design
When capturing the Japanese market, it is important to base your timeline on the premise that 'it takes time to get the first Yes. However, once you cross that wall, things move fast, accurately, and for a long time thereafter.'
If you only chase short-term response rates, the Japanese market looks inefficient. However, if you include the continuity, referrals, contract renewals, and loyalty to quality after trust is formed, you will see a different landscape.
What overseas companies need is not to endure the speed of Japan. It is to translate and understand the structure from which Japan's speed is born.
■ Editor's Note
When I received an immediate subscription request from someone overseas, I was surprised and at the same time realized the difference in sales culture. Even if it is a rational mechanism overseas, in Japan, taking a little time can lead to trust.
Rather than 'selling quickly,' it is 'approaching at a speed the other party can accept.' In the Japanese market, this sense might be more important than one thinks.
■ Today's Question
Does your company's sales team understand the order of trust formation required by the other party's culture?
Before increasing speed, try thinking about 'what is the other party trying to verify right now?'
■ Cat's Mutterings
'Sometimes, you can become better friends by spending time quietly in the same room rather than approaching immediately, meow.'
■ Conclusion
In the Japanese market, it can take time to reach an initial decision. However, this is not time spent doing nothing. It is time spent establishing consensus, peace of mind, and the location of responsibility.
If overseas companies can understand this structure and design the sequence of trust-building, their relationships with Japanese companies will begin to move quickly, accurately, and for the long term after the decision is made.
I quietly accompany you in entering the Japanese market, translating sales culture, and building relationships with Japanese companies.
■ Today's Conclusion
In the Japanese market, before moving fast, build a relationship that allows you to move.
“A place where tired executives can leave their words for a while.
―The Executive's Midnight Diner”
■ About this article
This article is based on an English draft created for overseas corporations, with content added and restructured for Japanese executives and business professionals.
Part 4 🌸 “For First-Time Readers | 3 Recommended Articles by Purpose”
https://note.com/quiet_gnu5848/n/n2dc0707c09b3
🌸 Click here for the 40 selections chosen by the Editor-in-Chief of the Management Future Notebook
―A 'Structural Map' for executives to read the future
https://note.com/quiet_gnu5848/n/n3596a857d755
■ Please send us your feedback
yasumura@biz-noukai.com I will definitely reply.
■ Next issue preview: July 15th
“Why does 'sense of distance' determine trust in the Japanese market?
―What is being observed before a contract”
■ Akifumi Yasumura
Management Future Notebook
Advisor for organization and management (a role of quietly accompanying you)
#TheExecutiveMidnightDiner