Podcasts about greg story

Previously Akiko was a Commentator for Fuji TV; Co-Founder of Women In Action; Partner, Strategy &; Division Head at Japan Post; Vice-President Calyon Securities; Associate McKinsey & Company; Vice-President and Associate, General Counsel J.P. Morgan. She graduated with a JD in Law from Tokyo University and has a Master Of Law from Columbia Law School “Culture is an accumulation of behaviors—what you say and do becomes the culture.” “If the ownership is there, it's really easy to engage with them.” “Listen more than you speak—especially in Japan, silence often hides valuable insight.” “You can't have a single leadership approach—it's person by person.” “Deliver, manage expectations, and be transparent—that's how you build trust.” Akiko's leadership approach is deeply rooted in clarity of direction, respect for individuality, and adaptive engagement. Her philosophy is shaped by diverse experiences in legal, consulting, and advisory roles, and it centres on fostering ownership within her teams. She emphasizes the importance of building a shared vision and selecting people whose strengths and motivations align with that direction. For her, engagement begins with recruiting the right individuals and then shaping an environment that supports their ownership of outcomes. Whether inheriting a team or building one from scratch, she focuses on identifying key issues, defining areas of impact, and matching people to those missions. She acknowledges that leadership today demands flexibility, as people differ in how they want to be led—some thrive with autonomy while others need close collaboration. Her leadership style is not one-size-fits-all; instead, it's adaptive and rooted in an appreciation of diversity—not only in personality but in professional backgrounds. Akiko credits the richness of ideas within her organization to this diversity, noting that innovation emerges from intentional dialogue across disciplines. However, she is clear that shared goals are the foundation for extracting those ideas meaningfully. Without common purpose, even diverse teams can become fragmented. Trust-building, in her view, requires consistent delivery, expectation management, and transparency. She strives to keep her promises, communicates constraints openly, and balances optimism with realism. She views culture as the accumulation of behaviour, underscoring the importance of consistent actions and clear communication in shaping a cohesive and connected team identity. Akiko also makes intentional efforts to keep her Japan-based office plugged into the global organization by fostering English-language meetings and inter-office collaboration. She believes that inclusion means not only being open to new ideas but actively drawing them out, especially in Japan where silence is often misread by Western leaders. Her advice for foreign leaders in Japan centres on listening more than speaking, respecting the local communication style, and recognizing that lack of feedback doesn't imply satisfaction. For aspiring female leaders, her message is one of encouragement—step forward, trust those who support you, and don't be deterred by fear. Her leadership is marked by resilience, clarity, and a deep commitment to enabling others to lead and succeed in their own right. Master the Art of Persuasion In today's business world, persuasion is essential. Yet most professionals lack this critical skill, watching their ideas go nowhere. What if you could command attention and have your recommendations consistently adopted? This game-changing ability isn't just for "natural communicators"—it's a skill you can master. There is a perfect solution for you- to LEARN MORE click here (https://bit.ly/3VhvR2B) To get your free guide “How To Stop Wasting Money On Training” click here ( https://bit.ly/4agbvLj ) To get your free “Goal Setting Blueprint 2.0” click here (https://bit.ly/43o5FVK) If you enjoy our content, then head over to www.dale-carnegie.co.jp and check out our Japanese and English seminars, workshops, course information and schedules and our whitepapers, guidebooks, training videos, podcasts, blogs. About The Author Dr. Greg Story, President Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training Contact me at greg.story@dalecarnegie.com Bestselling author of “Japan Sales Mastery” (the Japanese translation is "The Eigyo" (The営業), “Japan Business Mastery” and "Japan Presentations Mastery".  He has also written "How To Stop Wasting Money On Training" and the translation "Toreningu De Okane Wo Muda Ni Suru No Wa Yamemashoo" (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのは止めましょう) and his brand new book is “Japan Leadership Mastery”.   Dr. Greg Story is an international keynote speaker, an executive coach, and a thought leader in the four critical areas for business people: leadership, communication, sales and presentations. He leads the Dale Carnegie Franchise in Tokyo which traces its roots straight back to the very establishment of Dale Carnegie in Japan in 1963 by Mr. Frank Mochizuki. He publishes daily blogs on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter Has 6 weekly podcasts: 1.     Mondays -  The Leadership Japan Series, 2.    Tuesdays – The Presentations Japan Series Every second Tuesday - ビジネス達人の教え 3.    Wednesdays - The Sales Japan Series 4.    Thursdays – The Leadership Japan Series Also every second Thursday - ビジネスプロポッドキャスト 5.    Fridays - The Japan Business Mastery Show 6.    Saturdays – Japan's Top Business Interviews Has 3 weekly TV shows on YouTube: 1.     Mondays - The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show Also every Second Thursday - ビジネスプロTV 2.    Fridays – Japan Business Mastery 3.    Saturdays – Japan Top Business Interviews In the course of his career Dr. Greg Story has moved from the academic world, to consulting, investments, trade representation, international diplomacy, retail banking and people development. Growing up in Brisbane, Australia he never imagined he would have a Ph.D. in Japanese decision-making, become a 40 year veteran of Japan and run his own company in Tokyo. Since 1971, he has been a disciple of traditional Shitoryu Karate (糸東流) and is currently a 6th Dan. Bunbu Ryodo (文武両道-both pen & sword) is his mantra and he applies martial art philosophies and strategies to business.    

  “If you want to impact people, first, you need to trust them—and then give them space.” “You forget about collective decision-making in Japan—you build consensus privately, one by one.” “The best execution comes from ideas people believe are their own.” “I listen first. Then I discuss. Then I decide. But always, I listen first.” “Leadership is not about being the hero—it's about helping the team become the heroes together.” Previously for Societe Generale, Bruno was Head of Risk on Capital Market Activities and ALM, Co-Head of Market Risk, Risk Assessor on Capital Market Activities; Head of Market Risk for Natixis, Head of Market Risk on Capital Market Activities ENGIE, Head of Market Risk On Credit Derivatives Credit Agricole CIB; Head of UK Market Risk for LCL. Bruno emphasizes that trust is the foundation of leadership—both giving it and earning it. He believes in creating space for team members to voice their ideas, as people are most committed when implementing their own suggestions. When he arrived in Japan, he made it a priority to listen first. Recognizing that he was new to the local context, he relied heavily on the insights of his team, who had decades of experience. His role, as he sees it, is to synthesize their ideas into a clear strategy, advocate for it at headquarters, and ensure it gets the green light. He highlights the cultural difference in decision-making between France and Japan. In France, decisions emerge through open challenge and brainstorming. In Japan, consensus must be built privately through one-on-one discussions before any meeting. He adopted this approach, understanding that Japanese professionals are less likely to speak up in group forums but are open and candid in private. These individual conversations are time-consuming but essential for building alignment and trust. Bruno also sees leadership as deeply tied to authenticity and leading by example. His background in risk management taught him that courage—especially the courage to stand up for what's right, even against pressure—is critical. His teams observe whether he is willing to defend their ideas and protect their interests. That credibility is what earns their loyalty. He's learned that new ideas are more likely to succeed when they come from the team, not top-down. Japanese staff often hesitate to share ideas if early feedback is lukewarm, so Bruno takes care to signal encouragement and patience, giving them time and space to think creatively. When they do, the results are powerful—his team's strategic proposal was not only approved by Paris but became the only strategic initiative for Japan in the region. Bruno's approach is to listen deeply, guide gently, champion ideas effectively, and push for change when it makes sense locally. He believes culture is not something to impose, but to live consistently. By modelling respect, patience, courage, and transparency, he creates an environment where trust grows and leadership becomes a shared endeavour. He calls this collective success—not about being the hero himself, but about helping the team become successful. Unlock Your Leadership Potential: Be the Leader Everyone Wants to Follow Are you tired of watching your team struggle while you figure out leadership through trial and error? Wish you could inspire genuine commitment and achieve remarkable results? You're not alone—and there's a better way. There is a perfect solution for you- To LEARN MORE click here (https://bit.ly/43sQHxV) At Dale Carnegie Tokyo, we've helped thousands of professionals transform into confident, effective leaders who drive real results. Our proven methodology eliminates the guesswork and accelerates your leadership journey. To get your free guide “How To Stop Wasting Money On Training” click here ( https://bit.ly/4agbvLj ) To get your free “Goal Setting Blueprint 2.0” click here (https://bit.ly/43o5FVK) If you enjoy our content then head over to www.dale-carnegie.co.jp and check out our Japanese and English seminars, workshops, course information and schedules and our whitepapers, guidebooks, training videos, podcasts, blogs. About The Author Dr. Greg Story, President Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training Contact me at greg.story@dalecarnegie.com Bestselling author of “Japan Sales Mastery” (the Japanese translation is "The Eigyo" (The営業), “Japan Business Mastery” and "Japan Presentations Mastery".  He has also written "How To Stop Wasting Money On Training" and the translation "Toreningu De Okane Wo Muda Ni Suru No Wa Yamemashoo" (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのは止めましょう) and his brand new book is “Japan Leadership Mastery”. Dr. Greg Story is an international keynote speaker, an executive coach, and a thought leader in the four critical areas for business people: leadership, communication, sales and presentations. He leads the Dale Carnegie Franchise in Tokyo which traces its roots straight back to the very establishment of Dale Carnegie in Japan in 1963 by Mr. Frank Mochizuki. He publishes daily blogs on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter Has 6 weekly podcasts: 1.     Mondays -  The Leadership Japan Series, 2.    Tuesdays – The Presentations Japan Series Every second Tuesday - ビジネス達人の教え 3.    Wednesdays - The Sales Japan Series 4.    Thursdays – The Leadership Japan Series Also every second Thursday - ビジネスプロポッドキャスト 5.    Fridays - The Japan Business Mastery Show 6.    Saturdays – Japan's Top Business Interviews Has 3 weekly TV shows on YouTube: 1.     Mondays - The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show Also every Second Thursday - ビジネスプロTV 2.    Fridays – Japan Business Mastery 3.    Saturdays – Japan Top Business Interviews In the course of his career Dr. Greg Story has moved from the academic world, to consulting, investments, trade representation, international diplomacy, retail banking and people development. Growing up in Brisbane, Australia he never imagined he would have a Ph.D. in Japanese decision-making, become a 40 year veteran of Japan and run his own company in Tokyo. Since 1971, he has been a disciple of traditional Shitoryu Karate (糸東流) and is currently a 6th Dan. Bunbu Ryodo (文武両道-both pen & sword) is his mantra and he applies martial art philosophies and strategies to business.      

Primacy refers to the beginning of something, as it enters our brain. This new entity has a powerful impact on our memory and our concentration.  To muscle itself into our existing brain thought stream, takes a lot of mental energy. If successful, the new direction grabs us more powerfully than continuing with the same existing thought pattern.  Recency is focused on the last thing we have heard.  One of the narky criticisms of some people is that the thoughts we share with you are the result of our most recent conversation. We tend to remember the last thing we heard.  That makes a lot of sense doesn't it, but what does this mean for speakers? Are we only able to have our audience remember our openings and closings of our speechs?  Yes, the audience will certainly most easily recall the first and last pieces of information.  They will also strike an impression of us, on the basis of our first and last visual and vocal touches.  Obviously, we need to plan for and control the delivery of all of this opening and closing business, but we can go beyond that.  There will also be numerous other opens and closings going on during the audiences' busy day. How do we shove all of those completely aside and dominate the minds of our audience.  We want them to absorb our message and to exclude all other competing thoughts? Why do we have only one opening and one closing?  Could we break the talk up into chapters?  Each chapter is given a gangbuster opening and closing for that particular thought or point we want to convey.  Could we bring some physical action to the fore to differentiate the chapters and lift the audiences' engagement with us?  This is only possible if we switch up our thinking about what is achievable with a talk.  The speaker's normal fare is the same as everyone else's normal fare.  We are immediately at a disadvantage to stand out from the crowd.  Sadly, we are at one with the speaker push, fitting in with standard operating procedures and methodologies.  We become another grey automaton lined up with all the other robot speakers.  Let's stop doing that. In a forty minute talk, there will be room for around seven to eight chapters, an opening and the first close before the Q&A, then the final close.  Let's change up the opening at both the mental and physical levels.  We want an opening statement, question, quote, testimonial or story that rocks the audience back into the folds of their seat and makes them take note that they are strapping in for a major ride here today.  This shatters everything that came before for them up until that point. We must extinguish their previous thoughts and proclivities.  This is especially so, if you are one of a number of speakers tumbling along one after another, launching forth on some worthy topic. Let's organise some crew, instead of always going solo. If there is a switch between you and the MC or the previous speaker, there is always some dithering around with the tech to get the laptops exchanged and your slides up.  This drains the lifeblood of your first impression and the energy in the room simply tanks.  The MC roars, “Ladies and Gentlemen, the incomparable, the amazing, the stupendous Dr. Greg Story. Please welcome him to the stage, because he is going to totally rock our world today”.  You scramble up on stage and are immediately bent over like an old, old man, head down, trying to get the laptop hooked up to the projector.  This unwanted intrusion into the opening segment continues while you are zipping around with your mouse, looking to boot that slide show up.  This lull in proceedings has cratered the impact of that powerhouse MC introduction. It has now effectively been driven down to a pathetic whimper.  People have whipped into scrolling through their Facebook, LinkedIn or email, ignoring you while you get your act together.  The opening's marvellous, magical momentum has melted away. Why not get someone else to handle the logistics, so that you can get straight into your talk?  They set it all up while you are already speaking to the audience.  At the right moment they leave the slide advancer for you on top of the laptop, gracefully glide off stage and leave you to continue solo.  This way we float directly onto the power stream of the MC and then take the audience even higher with our own energy.  Yes, we need to have a lot of energy at the start, because remember there are two bodies on stage. We want to monopolise the audience's attention for ourselves.  We purposely stand on the far side of the stage, to draw everyone's looking line away from the tech God and have the audience focus on us instead. In Part Two, we will go deeper with our entry and exit points of the chapters and then how to choreograph the big crescendo for our polemic's sparkling conclusion.  

Previously, Orjan was Director of Sales, Japan at iPoint Systems gmbh, Area Sales Manager Thule Group, Director of Sales & Marketing Asia-Pacific, BA Bags/President Thule Japan, Directeur des ventes VB Autobatteries S.A.S., Regional Sales Manager East & SEA Optima Batteries, Johnson Controls, Import and Export Coordinator Aichi Sangyo. He has a Masters Degree in east Asian studies from Stockholm University Orjan Pettersson's leadership journey in Japan is shaped by his deep understanding of the local culture, his ability to build trust, and his belief in the importance of personal connection. Having lived in Japan for over 27 years, Pettersson has navigated diverse roles, from working in a small Japanese company to leading major international businesses. His leadership philosophy centers around empathy, responsibility, and fostering a collaborative work environment. Pettersson highlights the significance of cultural adaptation, emphasizing that foreign leaders must learn how Japanese businesses operate, particularly in terms of hierarchy, loyalty, and long-term stability. He believes that understanding the unwritten rules of Japanese corporate culture—such as respect, obligation, and group harmony—is essential to gaining trust and credibility. One of his key leadership approaches is maintaining open communication with employees, valuing their expertise, and empowering them with greater responsibility. A major factor in Pettersson's leadership success is his commitment to authenticity and relationship-building. He fosters a work environment where employees feel personally invested in their roles, rather than merely following orders. By insisting on working in Japanese and immersing himself in the local business culture, he has gained the respect of his teams and counterparts. Pettersson also stresses the need for adaptability and resilience. From the Lehman shock to the 2011 earthquake and the COVID-19 pandemic, he has faced numerous challenges, but his ability to stay grounded, make decisive decisions, and support his employees through uncertain times has strengthened his leadership. His belief that leadership is about "innovation with empathy" reflects his approach to balancing strategic direction with human-centered management. Additionally, he recognizes the importance of fostering creativity within his teams. While Japanese employees may be hesitant to take risks, he encourages idea generation through open discussions and structured brainstorming sessions. His introduction of informal team-building activities, such as a weekly coffee break, has helped create a culture of trust and collaboration. For foreign leaders in Japan, Pettersson advises learning the language, engaging directly with employees and clients, and demonstrating an understanding of Japanese business values. He acknowledges that bridging the gap between headquarters' expectations and local realities is an ongoing challenge, requiring both cultural sensitivity and strategic negotiation. Ultimately, Pettersson's leadership style is defined by his ability to balance Western efficiency with Japanese business traditions, fostering an environment where both innovation and long-term stability can thrive.   How can you become a leader people actually want to follow? How can you be the leader whose team gets results? Do it yourself trial and error wastes time and resources.There is a perfect solution for you- To LEARN MORE click here (https://bit.ly/43sQHxV ) To get your free guide “How To Stop Wasting Money On Training” click here ( https://bit.ly/4agbvLj ) To get your free “Goal Setting Blueprint 2.0” click here (https://bit.ly/43o5FVK) If you enjoy our content then head over to www.dale-carnegie.co.jp and check out our Japanese and English seminars, workshops, course information and schedules and our whitepapers, guidebooks, training videos, podcasts, blogs. About The Author Dr. Greg Story, President Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training Contact me at greg.story@dalecarnegie.com Bestselling author of “Japan Sales Mastery” (the Japanese translation is "The Eigyo" (The営業), “Japan Business Mastery” and "Japan Presentations Mastery".  He has also written "How To Stop Wasting Money On Training" and the translation "Toreningu De Okane Wo Muda Ni Suru No Wa Yamemashoo" (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのは止めましょう) and his brand new book is “Japan Leadership Mastery”. Dr. Greg Story is an international keynote speaker, an executive coach, and a thought leader in the four critical areas for business people: leadership, communication, sales and presentations. He leads the Dale Carnegie Franchise in Tokyo which traces its roots straight back to the very establishment of Dale Carnegie in Japan in 1963 by Mr. Frank Mochizuki. He publishes daily blogs on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter Has 6 weekly podcasts: 1.     Mondays -  The Leadership Japan Series, 2.    Tuesdays – The Presentations Japan Series Every second Tuesday - ビジネス達人の教え 3.    Wednesdays - The Sales Japan Series 4.    Thursdays – The Leadership Japan Series Also every second Thursday - ビジネスプロポッドキャスト 5.    Fridays - The Japan Business Mastery Show 6.    Saturdays – Japan's Top Business Interviews Has 3 weekly TV shows on YouTube: 1.     Mondays - The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show Also every Second Thursday - ビジネスプロTV 2.    Fridays – Japan Business Mastery 3.    Saturdays – Japan Top Business Interviews In the course of his career Dr. Greg Story has moved from the academic world, to consulting, investments, trade representation, international diplomacy, retail banking and people development. Growing up in Brisbane, Australia he never imagined he would have a Ph.D. in Japanese decision-making, become a 39 year veteran of Japan and run his own company in Tokyo. Since 1971, he has been a disciple of traditional Shitoryu Karate (糸東流) and is currently a 6th Dan. Bunbu Ryodo (文武両道-both pen & sword) is his mantra and he applies martial art philosophies and strategies to business.  

The latest FocusCore Salary Guide is here: 2025 Salary Guide Welcome back to the FocusCore podcast with host Dr. David Sweet. This week we are talking about leadership and business mastery with Dr. Greg Story, President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training Japan. Greg is an author of a suite of books focusing specifically on mastering various aspects of doing business in Japan. He also releases multiple podcasts weekly and is a certified master trainer in all of the major Dale Carnegie training courses. So join us for this enlightening conversation about leadership, communication and the unique dynamics of doing business in Japan.In this episode you will hear:How Greg started Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training JapanWhy on the job training is not working for Japanese companies anymoreAbout Greg's books teaching mastery in business and leadership in JapanThe importance of middle management in retaining quality talentHow technology like AI is changing recruitment in JapanThings mentioned in the episode:Dale Carnegie Tokyo WebsiteDr. Greg Story's author page on AmazonDr. Greg Story's podcast page on Apple PodcastsAbout Dr. Greg Story:A Ph.D. in Japanese organisational decision-making, and a 40 year veteran of Japan, he has broad experience, having been Country Head of four organisations in Japan.He launched a “start up” in Nagoya, and completed “turn-arounds” in both Osaka and Tokyo for Austrade.In 2001 he was promoted to Minister Commercial in the Australian Embassy and the Country Head for Austrade.In November 2003, Dr. Story joined Shinsei's Retail Bank, which interestingly was a special combination of “start-up” and “turn-around”. He had 550 staff in his Platinum Banking Division, responsible for two-thirds of the revenue of the Retail Bank, eventually becoming the Joint CEO of the Retail Bank.In July 2007, Dr. Story became the Country Head for the National Australia Bank in Japan.In October 2010, he became President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training Japan. He is a Master Trainer and an international award winning Sales Leader with Dale Carnegie. He is a thought leader and has written eight books: Japan Sales Mastery, Za Eigyo (The 営業), Japan Business Mastery, Japan Presentations Mastery, Anata mo Purezen Tatsujin (あなたもプレゼンの達人), Stop Wasting Money On Training, Toreningu de Okane Wo Muda Ni Suru No Wa Yamemashoo (トレニングでお金を無駄にするのわやめましょう) and Japan Leadership Mastery.He is an Adjunct Professor in the International Business Faculty of Griffith University. A 6th Dan in traditional Shitoryu Karate, he applies martial art philosophies and strategies to business issues.Connect with Dr. Greg Story:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregstory/Connect with David Sweet:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drdavidsweet/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/focuscorejp Facebook: :

About the Guest:You may know him as the illustrious host of the Take Command podcast and the CEO of Dale Carnegie & Associates, but today, you can meet the “Average Joe” behind his story. Joe says, “My ambition as a high school and college person was to go to law school, become a lawyer, join a large firm, become very successful, and do that for 40 years. And I was on that track.” But Dale Carnegie would come to pull him repeatedly in a new direction throughout his life.From lawyer to real estate mogul to owner of an eLearning company to CEO of Dale Carnegie, Joe's life path has been anything but straightforward. The throughline? Joe is wholly passionate about everything he does—including maximizing the value of everything he spends money on. He says, “Six months after I took the course, I was thinking about all these Dale Carnegie principles that I was not applying. So I said, ‘You know, I spent $890 on this program. I want to maximize my value. So I developed a calendar, and every day I started to practice Dale Carnegie principles.”Learn how the practice of these principles has led Joe to where he is today.What You Will Learn:A plea in why AI is a technology to be engaged with, not threatened byLessons in how to make real connections, not the pseudo-connections of social mediaStories on why it's better to be the “man with ideas” than the “man with the plan”Reasons behind the changes in the ways employees see leadershipJoe Hart has truly embraced a life of purpose, and he teaches you how to do the same in this episode of the Take Command podcast, featuring host Dr. Greg Story from the podcast Japan's Top Business Interviews. Tune in if you want to hear about how agility leads to resilience, why being happy is better than rotely following a plan, and where trust really comes from (hint: it's based in one-to-one relationships!). Your future is awaiting. Listen in today. Please rate and review this Episode!We'd love to hear from you! Leaving a review helps us ensure we deliver content that resonates with you. Your feedback can inspire others to join our Take Command: A Dale Carnegie Podcast community & benefit from the leadership insights we share.

I have been coaching a founder client here for quite a while now and his emotional reaction to his clients not buying on his schedule always surprises me.  I keep telling him, “it is business; it is not personal”.  We know that there are some customers who will just never buy, some who will buy now and some who will buy in the future.  We just don't know which is which until we get rejected.  When I get rejected in a deal, they are not rejecting Greg Story.  They are rejecting my offer, in its current construction, at this point in their cash flow cycle, within the bounds of their strategic direction, in relation to what my competitors are offering and a whole bunch of other stuff I will never even know about. Does it still hurt?  Yes, of course it does.  I get super annoyed and upset like everyone else.  The difference between me and my client, who I am coaching, is I never pass that emotional reaction on to the client, who said “no” to my stupendous offer.  He does pass it on because he feels so upset and frustrated. I keep telling him to chill.  Write the email if you must, to get your hurt feelings out, just never send it.  My advice isn't working as yet, but I will continue to counsel him to not take it personally. I had my own rejection case the other day.  I was doing an RFP for a client and they came back and said they went with a rival firm who specialises in sales in their industry.  What was my initial thought?  “They are idiots” was the first reaction. This was followed by “why are they just doing what all of their competitors are doing? Why not use another more differentiated approach with something more fresh?”.  What did I reply?  I didn't mention any of that.  By the time the decision has worked its way through their internal decision-making system, there is no going back. Telling them they are stupid may make me feel good, but it won't alter their course of action.  I wrote what I always write, “thank you for letting me know” and that is that.  I don't bother with appeals for consideration in the future. I just accept their idiotic decision and move on to find someone smarter, taller, better looking and who bathes and who can do a deal with us. Now I also put them on my follow up list, because not every deal works out. Their situation can change and maybe my competitor is useless and what they provide doesn't work.  So I keep in touch and ask them if they have any needs that we can help them with, and I do this regularly.  The initial interval is around six months.  That is long enough for them to realise they made a huge mistake by using my competitor and that they got nothing from that ridiculous solution they chose instead of mine.  After that, I follow up every three to four months, because business is fluid and what wasn't on the table is now in play.  How long should you follow up for?  Ryan Serhant, who I follow and who started his own successful real estate brokerage in the US, says “keep following up until they die”.  I am not that pushy, because I figure there are reputational costs to being too pushy and too insistent in Japan.  Tokyo is big, but it is also a small village in many ways.  We sell to Japanese domestic firms and foreign multi-national companies.  Our reputation as Dale Carnegie, a business based on being able to get on well with all different types of people, has to be careful how we are perceived in the market.  If we say one thing, but do another, then our brand consistency will suffer and so will our sales. Where is the line between persistence, which is admirable, and being too pushy, which is frowned upon here?  It is not always clear, but if I feel that there is no interest, then after about four follow-ups with no reaction stretched over a twelve-month period, I will shelve that firm for a while.  The people may change in the future and maybe someone smarter will be the person to talk to or maybe their business has changed and they are now more open to our solutions. Regardless of what the client does, we can control how we react and we must keep cool, calm and collected in the face of failure and rejection.  Is that easy?  No, but the choices are few.  My client hasn't quite gotten to the point of handling the rejection in a calm, non-emotive manner yet, but I will keep working on him until he gets there. I am constantly working on myself, too. I have found that no one is a clear genius with this stuff and we are all a work in progress.    

I meet a lot of CEOs in Japan.  I am always out there networking and looking for clients.  If they cannot become a client, then I try to encourage them to be a guest on my podcast Japan's Top Business Interviews.  I get two groups in particular who will refuse the offer – women and Scandinavians.  They say that women are more reticent about putting themselves forward than men and my own unscientific survey would seem to bear that out.  If a man only has 60% of the qualifications for a job, he will raise his hand whereas a woman will only do so, if she has 90%.  This is what I guess is happening with my invitation to come on the podcast and talk about one topic - leading in Japan.  The women are lacking in confidence to talk about the subject, because they are not feeling they are perfect enough. The Scandinavians I know here tell me that their culture is to not push yourself forward and to stay in the background.  Their podcast guest refusal rate stands out, so I guess this is what is happening with their thinking.  So far, 213 leaders have managed to spend an hour with me talking about leading in Japan for the weekly podcast, so I am finding enough of those in agreement.  It isn't as if I cannot get guests, because no one wants to join me on video and audio to talk about leadership. I think both groups reflect a misunderstanding of what their leader role is in Japan.  The leader here is the face of the business and particularly in this social media age, we need to be masters of this new universe.  I get it.  Taking your photo or even worse – video – is not something we all welcome.  We are very self-conscious about how lacking we are in terms of being photogenic or how awkward we look on video and when we hear our own voice, we shudder.  In life, I have found I am particularly unable to be photogenic, so I totally sympathise.  You know when you take that group shot and when you get it back you look for yourself – it is always a disappointment for me. In this modern world of work, however, we are all in a life and death struggle to attract a declining demographic of young people and mid-careers hires to join us.  We must be competitive, and that means we need to be getting some clear messages out into the world about who we are and what are our values. We need to be good communicators and also add our image to go with the words.  If we can speak the words on video and audio even better. I have been told by numerous guests on my podcast that they found that they were successful in attracting new staff who had checked them and seen the video interview.  I can believe that, because the nature of the interview is very authentic and no one so far has succeeded in pushing forth a fake version of themselves to fool the masses.  I don't say much during the interview and just let the guests talk. Occasionally, I will dig down on a point to go a bit deeper, but the bulk of the time is theirs.  People watching the interview get a very clear picture of the boss and then can decide if this is the type of place where they want to work. Clients also check us out and they are making decisions about us too in terms of do they want to have a relationship with our company.  They want to know who we are and what we stand for.  This is an important chance for the CEO to become active and provide the content the buyers are looking for.  They want to know who the boss is and what they are like. Hiding in the background is not a clever option.  It is much better to work on mastering the medium.  Looking straight down the barrel of the camera lens is not that easy and for many people, it is a formidable obstacle.  Video is difficult to come across naturally, I find.  Using teleprompters is not easy either and getting the right rhythm is a challenge for me. I always have trouble with photo shoots because I manage to look like a dork more often than not.  I was watching something on TikTok where a male model was demonstrating how to move and stand, to get the right shot and I realised I have no ability to do that. Fortunately, Tia Haygood, who is my local photographer here, manages to make me look presentable enough to squeak by. What I have found is that the more you do it, the better you become, and refusing to participate is a guarantee that you will never master the medium.  The CEO shouldn't be hiding. Instead, they should be pushing their message forward at every opportunity.  So find Tia if you are in Tokyo and work on your official portrait shots to use on social media and on your website.  Get a videographer like Rionne McAvoy, who I use from Japan Media Services, involved to help you with creating quality videos.  I have been using Tia and Rionne for years and I trust their work, which is why I am mentioning them if you are looking for help locally here in Japan. The point is the leader has to lead from the front and be the face of the business.  We need to break down any potential barriers to getting staff or clients.  Get the photos, the video, the audio, go on podcasts, do the interviews – do every possible thing you can to control the image you are projecting.  If you can't speak confidently or coherently, then come and do some training with us and we will fix that for you.  There are no excuses anymore because there are plenty of people around to help. Be honest – are you a great leader or are you a mediocre leader? How can you become a leader people actually want to follow? How can you be the leader whose team gets results? Do it yourself trial and error wastes time and resources.There is a perfect solution for you- To LEARN MORE click here (https://bit.ly/43sQHxV ) To get your free guide “How To Stop Wasting Money On Training” click here ( https://bit.ly/4agbvLj ) To get your free “Goal Setting Blueprint 2.0” click here (https://bit.ly/43o5FVK) If you enjoy our content then head over to www.dale-carnegie.co.jp and check out our Japanese and English seminars, workshops, course information and schedules and our whitepapers, guidebooks, training videos, podcasts, blogs. About The Author Dr. Greg Story, President Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training Contact me at greg.story@dalecarnegie.com Bestselling author of “Japan Sales Mastery” (the Japanese translation is "The Eigyo" (The営業), “Japan Business Mastery” and "Japan Presentations Mastery".  He has also written "How To Stop Wasting Money On Training" and the translation "Toreningu De Okane Wo Muda Ni Suru No Wa Yamemashoo" (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのは止めましょう) and his brand new book is “Japan Leadership Mastery”. Dr. Greg Story is an international keynote speaker, an executive coach, and a thought leader in the four critical areas for business people: leadership, communication, sales and presentations. He leads the Dale Carnegie Franchise in Tokyo which traces its roots straight back to the very establishment of Dale Carnegie in Japan in 1963 by Mr. Frank Mochizuki. He publishes daily blogs on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter Has 6 weekly podcasts: 1.     Mondays -  The Leadership Japan Series, 2.    Tuesdays – The Presentations Japan Series Every second Tuesday - ビジネス達人の教え 3.    Wednesdays - The Sales Japan Series 4.    Thursdays – The Leadership Japan Series Also every second Thursday - ビジネスプロポッドキャスト 5.    Fridays - The Japan Business Mastery Show 6.    Saturdays – Japan's Top Business Interviews Has 3 weekly TV shows on YouTube: 1.     Mondays - The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show Also every Second Thursday - ビジネスプロTV 2.    Fridays – Japan Business Mastery 3.    Saturdays – Japan Top Business Interviews In the course of his career Dr. Greg Story has moved from the academic world, to consulting, investments, trade representation, international diplomacy, retail banking and people development. Growing up in Brisbane, Australia he never imagined he would have a Ph.D. in Japanese decision-making, become a 39 year veteran of Japan and run his own company in Tokyo. Since 1971, he has been a disciple of traditional Shitoryu Karate (糸東流) and is currently a 6th Dan. Bunbu Ryodo (文武両道-both pen & sword) is his mantra and he applies martial art philosophies and strategies to business.      

Elements Of Outstanding Customer Service In Japan (Part One) Customer service in Japan is pretty good by comparison with most other countries.  To me, it is polite yet impersonal.  The status gap between those serving and those being served is quite rigid.  In my own country of Australia, those serving are quite happy to have a conversation with the customer. They don't see themselves as inferior in status and treat customers as equals.  In Japan, there is no such equality.  The language and the culture both reinforce the buyer as God, and those serving are mere mortals there to do God's bidding. Let's look at some elements of excellent customer service over a three-part series. The sad aspect here is that what I am going to describe is totally obvious and will garner a “so what” reaction.  I urge you to go beyond that initial first blush and use this as a measuring rod to calibrate how your organisation deals with customer service problems and check if you are operating at the right level of service or not.    1.    Totally professional This is fairly obvious, but that professionalism comes from a combination of attitude, experience and training.  Even if you don't have much experience, if your attitude is that you want to provide the highest level of service, then good things will flow from that starting point and we gain experience over time.  If properly trained, then the whole process gets sped up. 2.    Knowledge Surprisingly, a lot of people in the service sector have very little knowledge of the inventory, systems, ethos and values.  When you ask a clarifying question, their face fills with panic and they have to go seek the answer from someone else.  This is a failure of leadership.  If they were properly invested in, then they would know the answer without having to run off and find the answer. 3.    Highly personalised service  Manualised or formulistic service is the norm in Japan.  Companies try to reduce all complexity down to one way of doing things and for the majority of clients, that will be fine.  To lift above the great unwashed competitors, we need to be able to provide a more personalised service. I was reminded of this recently when I brought a pocket square online from Massimo Pirrone in Antwerp. The item arrived in a nice box and additionally, he included a short note and a very nice pen as well.  It felt very personalised and I became an instant fan. 4.    Take Ownership Japan is very good when order and harmony prevail.  Chaos, the unexpected disasters – not so much. The nature of customer service is that there is always going to be a high frequency of the unexpected occurring.  The key is how we react to the changing situation.  When things go wrong, customers want the issue solved and solved instantly.  They expect the person they are interacting with to make it happen, regardless of the degree of difficulty.  Japan has a nasty edge to it when customers exploit their expectations too far and start bullying staff, because the customer is God. If the person serving the customer takes ownership of the problem, they will keep pursuing the solution until resolution.  That is the mentality the supervision and training need to reinforce. 5.    Anticipatory Omotenashi is the high point of Japanese service and a big element is the person serving the customer to anticipate what the customer needs before they voice that request.  On a hot day, being served some iced water as you enter the business is a nice touch, completed without you have to place an order. This is an attitude of service that drives behaviour.  With the right leadership, this can be taught. 6.    Proactive This is similar to anticipatory, in the sense that we are not adopting a passive stance. We try to arrange things well before the need arises by being well prepared.  We are always looking for faster and better ways of doing things.  We are making suggestions for the client, for their best interests, rather than expecting them to have complete knowledge of what we can do for them.  They will never know our business to the depths that we do and so we have to be thinking ahead and bringing up possibilities which wouldn't necessarily occur to them. We will keep going with our list of things to think about in terms of the service we currently supply and how we supply it in parts Two and Three. Do you need to sell more?  Is your sales manager stressing you about making your monthly sales quota? Do it yourself trial and error wastes time and resources. There is a perfect solution for you- to LEARN MORE click here (https://bit.ly/43kQpsN ) To get your free guide “How To Stop Wasting Money On Training” click here ( https://bit.ly/4agbvLj ) To get your free “Goal Setting Blueprint 2.0” click here (https://bit.ly/43o5FVK) If you enjoy our content then head over to www.dale-carnegie.co.jp and check out our Japanese and English seminars, workshops, course information and schedules and our whitepapers, guidebooks, training videos, podcasts, blogs. About The Author Dr. Greg Story, President Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training greg.story@dalecarnegie.com Bestselling author of “Japan Sales Mastery” (the Japanese translation is "The Eigyo" (The営業), “Japan Business Mastery” and "Japan Presentations Mastery".  He has also written "How To Stop Wasting Money On Training" and the translation "Toreningu De Okane Wo Muda Ni Suru No Wa Yamemashoo" (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのは止めましょう) and his brand new book is “Japan Leadership Mastery”. Dr. Greg Story is an international keynote speaker, an executive coach, and a thought leader in the four critical areas for business people: leadership, communication, sales and presentations. He leads the Dale Carnegie Franchise in Tokyo which traces its roots straight back to the very establishment of Dale Carnegie in Japan in 1963 by Mr. Frank Mochizuki. He publishes daily blogs on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter Has 6 weekly podcasts: 1.     Mondays -  The Leadership Japan Series, 2.    Tuesdays – The Presentations Japan Series Every second Tuesday - ビジネス達人の教え 3.    Wednesdays - The Sales Japan Series 4.    Thursdays – The Leadership Japan Series Also every second Thursday - ビジネスプロポッドキャスト 5.    Fridays - The Japan Business Mastery Show 6.    Saturdays – Japan's Top Business Interviews Has 3 weekly TV shows on YouTube: 1.     Mondays - The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show Also every Second Thursday - ビジネスプロTV 2.    Fridays – Japan Business Mastery 3.    Saturdays – Japan Top Business Interviews In the course of his career Dr. Greg Story has moved from the academic world, to consulting, investments, trade representation, international diplomacy, retail banking and people development. Growing up in Brisbane, Australia he never imagined he would have a Ph.D. in Japanese decision-making, become a 39 year veteran of Japan and run his own company in Tokyo. Since 1971, he has been a disciple of traditional Shitoryu Karate (糸東流) and is currently a 6th Dan. Bunbu Ryodo (文武両道-both pen & sword) is his mantra and he applies martial art philosophies and strategies to business.      

The premise of tonight's theme is how we position ourselves for the client before we even meet them. With the advent of social media, people will know they are going to meet you and will check you out. That wasn't possible before, but it certainly is now. So, how do we put ourselves in the best light, in the best position before we meet the buyer or the client? That's what I'll be looking at tonight. A bit about Dale Carnegie: we're a very well-established company, 112 years old, originating in New York, and we've been in Japan for 61 years. We have 200 offices around the world and are quite well known. These are our locations, so wherever you're coming from, we're probably there. We have eight million graduates and 100,000 in Japan. Warren Buffett is a graduate, as is Chuck Norris, one of my favourites, and the current president of Shiseido, Uotani san, is also a graduate. These books are very well known: How to Win Friends and Influence People, Hito Wo Ugokasu, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, Michi Wa Hirakeru, all very well-known books. They sell well. Dale Carnegie's book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, is consistently in the top ten business books in every language every year around the world. In the publishing industry, they say there are two massive long-sellers: one is the Bible, and the second one is Dale Carnegie's book, which is just incredible but true. So it does very well. My theme here is that in business, know, like, and trust are some fundamentals. People have to know you to do business with you. They have to like you, generally speaking. While we might do business with people we don't like, it's not our preference, and they have to trust us. Now, I'm not going to deal with like and trust tonight. That's too much, but I'll deal particularly with getting to know you, and we'll look at that. So, how do I build credibility before I meet the buyer? How do I establish that remotely? That's what we'll be looking at. In 2010, I was scared of social media. I wasn't on any social media at all, and these are the themes I was worried about. It was an unknown thing to me. I didn't understand it. I thought, oh, my identity will be stolen. They're going to hack my credit card. Trolls will hammer me if I post something. I was scared. At that time, social media was fairly limited. LinkedIn was the longest-running, but it was really a recruiting site for people posting their resumes. Facebook was mainly in America. Twitter was only four years old by that time, and Instagram was only one year old. It was all very new, and I was scared of it. Then something happened. I met Jeffrey Gitomer, an American, a very famous author on sales, and an interesting character. He attended our Dale Carnegie International Convention in San Diego, which, by the way, is a beautiful place. I was very impressed by San Diego. He said to the convention delegates, all Dale Carnegie people, "How many people are on Twitter?" Nobody was on Twitter. Trust me, nobody. At that stage, he had 30,000 followers on Twitter, and he basically said to us, "You are all idiots." He didn't say that directly, but that was the message. "You should get onto social media." I thought, well, okay, he's probably right. I should check this out. So that's where I started. I also got into a thing called content marketing. I had never heard this expression before, and there was a very good podcast with Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose called This Old Marketing, which was really pioneering and promoting the whole concept of content marketing. I started listening to these guys and learning about content marketing, which was a revolutionary idea at the time: you put your best stuff out there for nothing. At that time, people were protecting their IP, hiding their details, their data. But they said, no, you put it out there. That was not a typical idea at that time. So I was studying that. Today, I have 27,680 followers on LinkedIn and 3,383 articles and blogs published on LinkedIn. On Facebook, I have 4,200 friends. I'm not really big into Facebook, to be honest. On Instagram, I have 536 followers. I only started Instagram recently. On Twitter, I don't have many followers. I've never quite come to grips with Twitter myself. I post on it but never look at it, basically. As mentioned by Jeff, we started YouTube in 2013 and called it Tokyo Japan Dale Carnegie TV. Now, we have 1,920 subscribers. It has taken a long time to get over 1,000 and close to 2,000. Very hard work. We have 2,500 videos on YouTube, which is a lot. And of course, we're a training company, so we have lots of content in the areas we cover. Another big influence on me was Grant Cardone, another American, a very famous hardcore sales guy, very successful. He makes this point: we are all invisible. I was talking about know, like, trust. But if you're invisible, how do you build a business? People don't know you, and that's what he's on about. People don't know you. You have to make a big effort to get out there and be known. So I took that on board and said, okay, I have to become more visible. I have to work on that. Social media is one of the big content marketing delivery mechanisms. We're trying to get attention. Where is the attention on social media? Are we where the buyer's attention is found on social media? Are we where they're looking on social media? In Japan, YouTube kills everything with 102 million. Next is Line, of course. X, formerly known as Twitter. Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. LinkedIn has very low numbers, just three million. But if you're in the expat community, it would be an incredibly high proportion of people on LinkedIn. My personal main target is expat leaders because I have all these Japanese working for them who need training. If I can get to the expat leader, maybe I can get the whole company. So that's one of my targets. Yes, it's true. Facebook is basically Japanese. The comment was that Facebook is like LinkedIn for Japanese, and very true. I post all my stuff on Facebook. I post on all these things except for Pinterest. I don't do Pinterest, and I can't work out how to use Line. If I could work it out, I'd probably do something there, but I haven't yet. We are trying to dominate our niches as a training company. This gets tricky because we have three main curriculum areas: leadership, presentation, and sales. If we were only doing leadership, that would be one level of content we need to produce. But we're not just doing leadership, so we have to produce a lot of content to compete with others who specialise in leadership. We have to produce a lot of content to compete with people who specialise in presentations and the same for sales. So we are tripling what would be a normal company's requirement, which is why we're pumping out so much content. What about AI? You might think, "No problem, AI will produce this presentation for tonight." In thirty seconds, you've got it. How easy is this? AI will write some posts for LinkedIn, and bingo, out comes the content. We are redundant as content creators because AI will do it all for us. Well, maybe. Your rivals might be using it. Maybe you're using it. But how can we differentiate our content? Here are some ideas. First of all, it doesn't know your stories. It hasn't been able to scrape those. Your personal stories are only known to you. You have a hundred percent control of that. When you write LinkedIn posts, AI tends to be a bit generic in the way it creates content. You look at the outputs, and they all have a similar style. But if you write as you speak, in the vernacular, that's very much you. Very authentic, very individual, and with your own point of view. AI will scrape all of the world's viewpoints on a topic, but you have your own individual viewpoint. That's unique. You must become highly skilled in presenting. You can get the best content from AI, but you still have to stand up here and deliver it. AI might do this online with an avatar, but in the real world, no. It can't do it. Have your own personal style, which is hard to duplicate. Some of my differentiation approaches include using my title, Dr. Greg Story. I have a PhD, and I use that distinctly because I'm in the training business. You'd rather be taught by Dr. Story than someone with just a basic degree, right? So I use that as a differentiator through my education as branding. I use a lot of alliteration when I write: "super sushi service." It's alliteration. I use that style for my writing and use words in unexpected ways, normal words but in slightly unexpected ways. When you're reading, it feels a bit different because it's me. Others won't do it. AI certainly won't do it. I try to use unusual words to differentiate and have a style that's recognisable. I hope that when you see my stuff, you'll say, "Oh, that's written by Greg Story" as opposed to anyone else. I also try to include personal stories to connect with my audience and make the content relatable and memorable. So, AI is a tool we can use, but to truly stand out and make our content unique, we have to infuse it with our personal touch, experiences, and style. That's something AI can't replicate.   Again, to differentiate, to have a style that's recognizable. I hope that when you see my stuff, you'll say, oh, that's written by Greg's story as opposed to it could bewritten by anybody. And then try to include personal storiesto connect with my Now, I I avoided that. And I broadcast, as Jeff said, video. I broadcast audio. And then, what's your message? And then, you can have a story with a lesson, a parable, something that you've learned. Something happened. You've learned a lesson from that and you share that lesson. So these are some typical storytelling themes we can use when we're putting together our content. But I finally broke through as a presenter. I started sharing my personal information. I found I could connect with people in a way I wasn't able to connect so well before. But we have these self limiting beliefs. The point is we've got to get over those. If we're going to project ourselves into the market and be credible with clients before we meet them, they've got to know us. We've got to get out there.So let's work on that. But we've got some self limiting beliefs. For example, I had a meeting with the president. I had a meeting with Suzuki Taro, the president. I hate being recorded on camera. I'm an introvert. I knew where to hit certain words and phrases, key ideas,and bring my energy to that point in the sentence. Very hard for AI to know how to do that. So these are things that differentiate. I think the name Story, someone can correct me here, but it's actually originally a Scandinavian name. I try to make the client the hero. I try to use my own cadence, my own rhythm. When I'm highlighting key ideas and phrases, which again, it's going to be very hard for AI to replicate that because it's my definition. For example, I've recorded one of my books,Japan Sales Mastery, whichn just about killed me, I've got to tell you. I can't believe how hard narrating your own damn book is. I used to be scared of the camera, but I've managed to get over that and I am an introvert, actually. So this is very taxing for me tonight to have all these people in the room with me. I'll have to go home later and lay down for quite along time to recover. I'm a very private person, Jeff. I don't share much. If you look publicly online, you find very little about me personally.You will find a lot of stuff about presentations, leadership, sales, not a lot about Greg's story. I'm not beautiful enough or handsome enough to appear on video. I'm not photogenic at all. I always look terrible in photographs. I'm not photogenic. I'm the guide. I've got a very raspy voice from ten million kiais in the karate dojo, actually. In this room, we put a green screen set over there. We set up the camera here and I will record myself on green screen video. Include the names. Even if you have a code name for someone, include the names. It automatically sent to my YouTube channel with the audio podcast and also, the podcast video goes to YouTube. It was and I didn't do anymore after that. It's exhausted me. But someone else could narrate it. But I wrote it, so I knew where to put the emphasis. It wasn't planned. It's out there about a very small amount. Much better. There's got to be a context. Something'shappening in the background. Something's going on. What is it? Bring out that background. My Saturday mornings are writing every week. Saturday morning, I write. I write one on presentations, one on sales, one on leadership. My voice sounds terrible. Now I'm not handsome. So I can multipurpose my one piece of content very, very effectively. So I start, in my case, always with a blog text. So include the people in the story. So my copywriting structure looks like this. So that text gets turned into podcast audio. So this is multipurposing of content. So we have different stories. We have the warning story, we can writeabout that. Bad things are coming. So we're going tell some stories. Now, someone said to me tonight, oh, your name's Story. That's handy if you're gonna be in the storytelling business. So, we need, I believe, to master video and audio and text in this modern age. So, who are we according to what does Google say about you? Who are you when you look up Google? Story, which got anglicized in the great Viking invasion of England, I believe in the eighth century. So there we go. That audio will go to the podcast and will go to a place called Libsyn, Liberated Syndication, which hosts podcasts on Apple Podcasts.  It's got a huge list of different podcasts they get my content out to. That's what all those little green arrows mean. But it also turns up on my YouTube channel as audio. The opportunity cost of no action because in a lot of cases, people think no action means no cost. That's not true. The plan, let's get rid of the villain. Let's fix thatproblem. The villain, client's problem. Then I'll record those for my podcast. Then, this is important. Then, we have the narrative arc. There'll be certain characters in the story. There'll be some conflict, some problem, or a big opportunity. What is that? Set the context with the opportunity. Then there's gonna be a resolution. Could be good, could be bad, but there'll be a resolution one way or another. There's a teleprompter behind here and I'll be reading theteleprompter of what I've written and I'll take that text and I'll turn it into video. There's an opportunity cost there. And then finally, the solution, the happy outcome. We talk about that. We can have the success story, hey, we did well. We can have a humorous story, something amusing. We can have a branding story, talking about your company and how great you're doing and how you're helping save the world, etcetera. What's the learning? What's the thing you want to get across to people? So that's an arc in the narrative. When you're writing a story, you're putting stuff together to think about. What do you find? Yahoo, Bing, ChatGPT, YouTube, Amazon. If you search yourself on these items, what does it tell us about you? Who are you? I'm possibly going to be your client. I want to know about you. This is where I'm going to look. This is where I'll go. And what will I find? Now, a lot of Americans have said to me that they can't use Facebook for business because there are a lot of embarrassing frat house photographs of them in very compromising positions, drinking very exotic-looking drinks with umbrellas in them, in very bad locations with very dodgy people. So they are excluded. But I said I was terrified of social media. I came late to the party. What you'll see on these mediums is me in business all the time. You're not going to see me casual very often. I control it. So if you look up Greg Story, there are seventy-one entries on Google, forty-four on YouTube, ninety-one on Bing. I stopped at page ten. Chat GPT, one entry. I did a presentation last December for the American Chamber Sales Committee. At that time, I wasn't even existing on Chat GPT. So finally, I made it. I'm there. And it's actually correct. It wasn't hallucinating. I'm actually there. And then YouTube, there are fifty entries. I stopped at fifty. There's a lot more. And then Amazon, one entry. What's going on here? I've got, well, seven books already published, and the eighth one is with Amazon right now. So Amazon's search engine is not very good. So anyway, I don't know how that works. So what has been useful for me to become known and credible with my potential buyers? LinkedIn is my main medium for business, and this is what my front page looks like. You see lots of me in action. I'm running a soft skills training company. So what am I doing? I'm teaching or I'm speaking, naturally. And then, here I am. My name is not Dr Greg Story. The name in LinkedIn is Dr Greg Story, franchise owner, master trainer, executive coach, leadership sales, presentations, Tokyo, Japan. That is what's in my name bracket on LinkedIn, not just Dr Greg Story. And then, it talks about global master trainer, executive coach, three-time best-selling author, global business expert, leadership, sales, presentations and communication president. There's a lot of propaganda about me on that one page, and then you have all of my postings would come after that. Massive numbers. In this case, on LinkedIn, three thousand three hundred and fifty of them. And then, as I said, twenty-seven thousand six hundred and eighty followers. Post impressions, seven thousand thirty-two in the last seven days. In the last ninety days, seven hundred and sixty-four people looked at my profile. Eight hundred and seventeen people searched for me. How many people are searching for you? You go to your LinkedIn, have a look at your number. How many people are searching for you? When I see that number's high, I'm happy. It says that what I'm doing is working. They're searching for me. I'm trying to find them, of course, but they're looking for me. I may not know who they are, but I'm giving them what I want them to find. I'm packaging it up. I'm saying, this is me. I'm credible. I can do everything on leadership, everything on sales and presentations. I've got it. That's what I'm saying. So Roberto DeVito was the editor of the American Chamber Journal, and I used to submit articles to the journal. I made a big mistake. When I first submitted them, I thought, you've got Dale Carnegie on the wall over there. I thought, well, Dale Carnegie, he's the icon. I can't compete with the icon. So I never put my name and photograph with the articles, only my name. Until one day, I was at an event. I gave someone my card. “Are you the guy that writes those articles in the American Chamber Journal?”,  I said, yes. I realised, you idiot. You should have put your own face and name, so people could recognise both instead of just the name. Trust me, my face and name is on everything I can find now, to catch up. But I met, actually, I bumped into Roberto across the road in front of the Ark Hills building one day just by accident. I'm having a quick chat, because he's editing my articles. I'm putting them up there. He said, “Greg, why don't you start a podcast?” Here's my response. “What's a podcast?”. I'd sort of heard of it. In the 1990s, there were podcasts, and they sort of disappeared, and they came back in the mid-2000s, right? 2013. So and I thought, wow, a podcast. Okay. So I'll take that on board. So this was a re-creation, but this would have been me back in 2013, 2014 actually, with this exact mic recording my podcast. I had zero idea. I was clueless. I didn't even think about the mic, you know. I didn't know the quality. But now, for the techy people here, and I'm sure there's a lot of techy people here. I use a Shure SM58 microphone. I use a Zoom H6 handy recorder, which actually is recording this presentation right now. I use Adobe Audition for the editing, and I use Libsyn to host my Apple podcasts. So that's some of the tech. Now, I'm not going to discuss what we do for the videos because there's a lot of lighting and camera and stuff for that, but we have a lot of gear for all that stuff. So I'm better organised now. So what did I learn about podcasting? First of all, don't be an idiot like me. Spend the money and get a good quality microphone. Straight up. Don't muck around. Get the right gear. Find a platform which can upload your content to multiple areas like Libsyn. You need something like that. If you're gonna do interviews, the guest provides the IP. Jeff has been a guest on my podcast, Japan's top Business Interviews, and he provided all the IP. But if you're doing it yourself, then you need to have content. And I have a lot of content, as I'll talk about in a minute, because I can do that because we're in the business of doing training. So we know about leadership, presentations, sales, communication. And you got to be like clockwork. We say weekly. It's got to be weekly. You can't miss. And if you're going to do it, commit to it. There are so many podcasts that fail within the first ten episodes and they quit. Don't be one of those people. If you're going to commit to it, keep going with it. Don't worry about the numbers. Keep going with it. You'll eventually get the numbers you want. So, this is my first podcast, August the second, 2014. Every Thursday, Leadership Japan Series. This is where I started. So now, we've got nearly seventy-four thousand five hundred ninety-nine downloads. Five hundred and fifty-nine episodes weekly. Now, in 2016, I'm following this content marketing. The guru says, niche down. Right. But, get ready to ride the tiger's back. Because what I thought was, okay, niche down, I am going to break them out. The Leadership Japan series had content about sales. It had content about presenting. I know, I'll break them out and separate them. I'll niche down. “How hard could that be”,  I said to myself. Well, once you jump on to the tiger's back, as soon as you jump off, you get eaten. So you have got to be careful what you do here. So I started with one and then I presented this one. This is November third, 2016. Every Tuesday, this has twenty-three thousand nine hundred and fifty-two downloads. We're up to episode three eighty-five on this one. And then I did this one, which was the Sales Japan series. It's every Wednesday, three thirty-one thousand three hundred and sixty-seven downloads, three hundred and eighty-five episodes. But the work to produce these additional two was much bigger than I expected. But remember, we are a training company. We are doing all of these areas, so we have to have content in each of these areas to compete with companies who only do sales, only do leadership, only do presentations. So we just triple our workload immediately and we're prepared for that. Now, in 2018, Google said, we are going to now do voice-based search as well as text, and I believed them. And I thought, bingo. Because how many blogs were there in the world in 2018? Major, major, major number of blogs around the world. How can you compete with so many millions of people producing billions of people producing blogs? And I thought, ah, audio. I have a lot of audio. Maybe I can win in the audio market. It's hard to win in the text market. So I know, I know, I got a great idea “Why don't I create more audio?”, I said to myself and try and dominate that voice-based search. Well, guess what? You Google Greg Story, you're not going find much in the vocal department from Google. Thank you very much. Where's my voice-based search, Google? Still not there. So anyway, but I didn't know that. I believed them. So I was inspired by, some people might remember the show, Tokyo on Fire from Tim Langley. It was a very good program on politics. So, yeah, I was inspired by this. I said, “you know what? I'm going do video”. So this is how I got started. The first one, my weekly podcast. So December 28th, 2018, I started doing my weekly podcast, and then I converted it into a video and put it on YouTube. So now we've got nine hundred and ninety-three videos, nine hundred and twenty-four subscribers, not a big number, nine hundred ninety-five episodes weekly. So if you look at this, I'm doing six podcasts a week, fifty-two weeks a year. I'm doing three videos a week, fifty-two weeks a year. It's a machine. I've got a machine behind me. It wasn't there when I started. I was terrified of social media. My colleagues, who were twenty years younger than me, had social media. I said, yeah, it's a fad. I was wrong. I was wrong. Now, I don't have twenty years to play catch up, so I have to run hard. And these are some of the lessons I learnt from all this. So first, don't be afraid of social media. Second, repurpose content. So once I created all this, I realised the power of having all this content. So I turned it into books, as Jeff mentioned. These were the four books that were done. These three were audiobooks and Kindle. This is the latest one, done on audiobooks and Kindle. It's a lot of work, but you can turn it into other things. So what I did was, I took the content from the podcast. The podcasts are turned into transcriptions. The transcriptions are turned into books. And I've done, as I said, seven books like that. This is an example of repurposing the content. Take the content and put it everywhere. Don't be afraid of social media. It is a gold mine. Don't worry about the numbers. Don't worry if you have no viewers, no followers. Keep producing, because people will start to come to you. But be like clockwork. Every week, deliver. Don't be afraid to get on social media. Don't be afraid to put your face out there. And, very importantly, get a high-quality microphone. It makes all the difference.  Then, I wrote this one, Japan Presentations Mastery because we teach presentations and we want to get more business. So, we wrote this and then we did Anata Mo Purezen No Tatsujin. We translated it, so we have a Japanese version. I rewrite the books for a Japanese audience. I write it for a foreign audience first, for the expats, the CEO, who's going to buy training, and then I rewrite it for a Japanese audience. Then I wrote this book. Stop Wasting Money On Training. I think that's a bit counterintuitive for a training company.Subtitle, “how to get the best results from your training budget in Japan” because I realized you couldn't find any books on on how to pick a training company. We are experts in training. So I wrote a book, a neutral book. It's not a propaganda piece for Dale Carnegie. If you read it, it's not like that at all. It's very, very neutral,very objective, but it talks about the things you need to think about. When I go to see the client, I've got two books.This is one of them. Now, theres presentation and sales and very shortly leadership and I give them both. Do I care if they read them? No. This says, we are expertson training. That's enough for credibility. Okay? This is my new book. I say, we're waiting for Amazon to give us the thumbs up. Could be tonight. Could be tomorrow morning. It's that close. I have never seen any books in English about leading in Japan written by foreigners. If you can find one, let me know. I couldn't find any. I believe this is the first book ever written on this topic. And the target audience are expat CEOs who are leading here to help them because these are the people who pay for our training, who have the decision making power or at least get me in front of the HR team to try and convince them to take us on as a training company. So very, very fresh. Very, very fresh. And I call it your complete leadership toolkit and it is a very complete book. So now, I have soon to be eight books, right? Coming up will be eight books. Then, I will rewrite that leadership book for a Japanese audience and we'll translate that. That'll be number nine. So everyone's heard of Gary Vaynerchuk, I presume. He's a legend. He's an amazing business person, incredible entrepreneur. He took reality TV, combined it with motivation, and he combined it with education. And he has another trading name as Gary Vee. He had a guy following him around, video him all day long, which they cut up and brought out. He's unbelievable volume producer. But Gary Vee or Gary Vaynerchuk has thirty people working in team Gary, chopping all this stuff up. He's a legend. He says, I heard this recently, you have got to post twelve times aday. I'm like, “that's ridiculous”. How could you do that? Well, guess what? I'm posting twelve times a day. I counted them up. The blog goes to LinkedIn. It automatically goes to Facebook and Twitter. Now, purists would say,you're a very bad boy, Greg. You should be recrafting that for Facebook and you should be recrafting that for Twitter instead of sending in the same stuff. Hey. Do I have that sort of time? No. I've got three areas, presentation, sales, and leadership to cover. I'm busy. So I just flick a switch and bingo. It's there. Done. I upload something I'll talk about in a moment called Fare Bella Figura. I'll talk about that shortly. It goes to, to LinkedIn and I share it also to Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram. I upload video shorts to LinkedIn, then they get switched over to TikTok, threads, and Instagram, which is actually twelve a day. So I'm actually doing what Gary Vaynerchuk said to do. I thought it was impossible, but I'm actually doing it. Amazed me. So we need a mindset shift here. We need to be agnostic about the funnel that brings the client to us. But we got a brace for trouble. We're doing something new. We should try it anyway. And if it doesn't work, well, you know, retreat if you have to and don't say no for the buyer in terms of trying something new. And if it works, go all in and ignore the critics and hammer it. So this is something that I was thinking about. There are some fundamental business truths. People judge us when they first meet us based on our bodylanguage, how we're standing, how we move. The second thing they judge us on is how we're dressed. They look us up and down. They're checking us out. They're making judgments. We haven't even opened our mouth yet, but they're making judgments, first impressions about us. So we have to control that first impression and we mustbecome more knowledgeable about image control in business. So I had some innovation considerations. I found people often complimented me about the way I'm dressed. I thought, can I drive that as a differentiator against my competitors in the training industry? Can I take that and drive it harder? I didn't see any businessmen blogging about what they wear except for people who are in the clothing business.They got their own boutiques or whatever. I didn't see any business people blogging about men's clothing. So I needed to execute though in a very light low touch manner, because I'm pretty busy and I have to have the guts, right, to court trolls, mockery, derision, abuse and hatred by putting myself out there and I was scared to do it. I thought, you know, if I put out what I'm wearing, man, I'm going get hammered by these people. Well, I'm just going to be abused all day long. So I took a deep breath. I said, okay, I'll go for it. Here's my premise and every one of my blog starts like this. I run my own soft skills training franchise business here in Tokyo. And many years ago, I decided to dress for success. Each day, I consult my schedule and that day's work content drives my sartorial choices. Before I head out the door every day, I check myself in the mirror and ask, do I look like one of the most professional people in my industry? That's the premise, okay? Then, this comes up. This is the Fare Bella Figura.  In Italian, it means make a good impression. I use Italian because I think it's pretty cool. Sounds better. Fare Bella Fugira. Sounds pretty good in Italian,bright? So, master your first impressions. Be a sharp dressed man. Now, which is the band we know about being a sharp dressed man? ZZ Top. You know that song, Be a Sharp Dressed Man. I thought, that's pretty cool. I'll use that. So I put in Be A Sharp Dressed Man. Now, this is what they get. I put in very detailed comment on what I'm wearing. You can see all the stuff on LinkedIn. This is just what I'm showing you. It's like wallpaper. And I have a photograph of me. But guess what's in the background? Nineteen twelve. Dale Carnegie. I'm taking it right here. So, I'm promoting the company and the longevity of the company at the same time I'm promoting what I'm wearing. Right? So, I'm getting double value there. So, now, here's the distressing part. Here's the results. My handcrafted, really carefully written blogs, which I work really hard on every Saturday morning and come up with these eight hundred thousand word pieces, I get two hundred impressions on LinkedIn. The first Fare Bella Figura,  when I put up, sixteenhundred impressions. I felt like crying.I couldn't believe it. Like, just show me in a suit and I get sixteen hundred. I'm writing all this stuff on leadership and presentation and sales and I get two hundred. And it continues to outrank my other blogs. Still. So, at the end of my blogs, there's a sales funnel. There are three lead magnets and then the description about my podcasts and my books and about me and all the propaganda is there. Guess what? On the end of all these posst, that same propaganda is there.It's there. It's a funnel to get people to come to our websitethrough these lead magnets. So here's some takeaways. Observe trends. I've noticed, and this audience is not very good representation of that, but suits are coming back for men. Suits are coming back for men. Ties are going to come back for men. Shoes, serious shoes, not sneakers. It's coming. Check me in five years to see if I'm right. But I feel it'smoving in that direction. I might be an early mover maybe in this trend. I don't know. I don't know. I might be totally wrong. Let's see. There's a gap in the market. No men are putting themselves out there talking about what they wear every work day. I only do it five days a week. I only do Monday to Friday when I'm at work. Right? So what's my point of view and experience here? Got to embrace that, some new ways to engage an audience.   How do I differentiate myself from my rivals? Try something new and stop if it doesn't work. So these are some ideas for you on how to control your image, your message, your content to hook into the client's mindset before they meet you. So you're crafting their expectations about who you are and what they can do with you before you even meet them. Now, I don't know everything about digital marketing. This is only what I've done myself and I'm sure there are many things I can improve which I don't even know about. So if you see something tonight and you say, what are you doing, you idiot? You should be using this and you should be doing that and don't you know about this? Tell me, because I'm still educating myself about this stuff. I'm a boomer, but in here, I'm still nineteen. So with that, I'd like to invite you, who has the first question? Thank you.  

There is a debate about whether Japan is any different from anywhere else when it comes to leading the team.  Intellectually, I can appreciate there are many similarities because people are people, but I always feel there are important differences.  One of the biggest differences is how people are trained to become leaders in Japan.  I should really clarify that statement and say how they are not trained to become leaders. The main methodology for creating leaders in Japan is through On The Job Training (OJT). I can see there is a crisp logic to the idea of OJT back in the day, however it is now a flawed system in the modern world of Japan.  In the West, leadership training is a given, because the value is recognised and so the investment is made to better educate the leadership cohorts through each generation. The first problem with Japan OJT is it presumes your boss knows about leading.  There is very little formal leadership training going on in Japan.  I don't believe it just about investing the money.  There is no great tradition here for corporate leadership training.  Before we dive into this subject, I believe we should clarify what is a leader in Japan and what is a manager and what is different.  Japan, in my observation, is full of managers, and there are few leaders. A manager runs the machine on budget, on quality, and on time. The leader does all of that and two very important additional tasks.  The leader persuades the team that the direction they are advocating is the correct one and, secondly, they build up the capabilities of their staff through one-on-one coaching.  By the way, barking out orders like a mad pirate captain doesn't qualify as coaching. OJT probably made a lot of sense up until about fifty years ago, when it started to be disrupted by technology.  By the 1980s, desktop computing became common in Japan and gradually the boss lost his (and they were mainly men) typist and had to start doing his own typing on the computer.  The advent of email in the mid-1990s was the real death blow to the boss's time management.  Now the boss had become super busy and time availability for coaching staff became much diminished. What this means is that we have had been through multiple generations of staff mainly educated through OJT and who have been short-changed on the leadership modelling by their “manager” boss.  Each corporate generation passes on how to be a manager to the next generation and unless there is some intervention through formal leadership training, there is no real progress.  Of course, there will always be exceptions who prove the rule and some managers who make it out of that gravitational pull of OJT and become real leaders.  This is the lightning strike theory of leadership development and isn't a great proposition to ensure that the firm's leadership bench is stacked with professionals. The key plank in leadership is no longer task experience.  The old model was the boss had done all the tasks of their subordinates and knew their jobs inside out.  Today, there is much more speciality and technology is making sure it isn't experience alone which will carry the day for the boss.  Many companies in Japan are moving away from the old model of age and stage and instead promoting people based on ability.  Just rotating through various jobs in the machine won't be enough anymore. Leaders have to become expert communicators and masters of environment building, such that individuals can motivate themselves.  How many leaders receive any training to assist their communication and people skills?  Very, very few and everyone else had to work it all out through trial and error. That hit and miss approach is very expensive. The younger staff want different things to their parents and the modern boss in Japan has to adjust.  The bishibishi or super strict model of leadership is now cast out on to the rubbish tip of leadership history in Japan.  Bosses still using this model will see their younger staff departing in droves.  Already 30% are leaving after three to four years of employ and that number will only get worse as we run out of people to hire and the younger generation all become free agents. The younger generation wants a psychologically safe environment and a lot of personal encouragement by the boss. One of the greatest elements to gaining engagement from staff is that they feel the boss cares about them.  The way they know that is through the boss's communication skills.  If you believe that given people are getting paid, they should be engaged, then there is bound to be a lack of the needed communication of “I care about you” going on. If you don't have well-developed communication skills, then being the boss is only going to get harder and harder.  How much communication training do bosses get?  Very little and they certainly don't get much value through OJT, because their own bosses were crap communicators, as were their bosses, and back we go through the generations. Japan needs to raise its white-collar worker productivity and investing in boss leadership and communication training makes a lot of sense.  OJT is a dead duck and won't work as the vehicle to get the needed progress on the leadership front.  We need a change in thinking about leadership here in Japan to take us forward. Be honest – are you a great leader or are you a mediocre leader? How can you become a leader people actually want to follow? How can you be the leader whose team gets results? Do it yourself trial and error wastes time and resources.There is a perfect solution for you- To LEARN MORE click here (https://bit.ly/43sQHxV ) To get your free guide “How To Stop Wasting Money On Training” click here ( https://bit.ly/4agbvLj ) To get your free “Goal Setting Blueprint 2.0” click here (https://bit.ly/43o5FVK) If you enjoy our content then head over to www.dale-carnegie.co.jp and check out our Japanese and English seminars, workshops, course information and schedules and our whitepapers, guidebooks, training videos, podcasts, blogs. About The Author Dr. Greg Story, President Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training Contact me at greg.story@dalecarnegie.com The bestselling author of “Japan Sales Mastery” (the Japanese translation is "The Eigyo" (The営業), “Japan Business Mastery” and "Japan Presentations Mastery" and his new books "How To Stop Wasting Money On Training" and the translation "Toreningu De Okane Wo Muda Ni Suru No Wa Yamemashoo" (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのは止めま Dr. Greg Story is an international keynote speaker, an executive coach, and a thought leader in the four critical areas for business people: leadership, communication, sales and presentations. He leads the Dale Carnegie Franchise in Tokyo which traces its roots straight back to the very establishment of Dale Carnegie in Japan in 1963 by Mr. Frank Mochizuki. He publishes daily blogs on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter Has 6 weekly podcasts: 1.     Mondays -  The Leadership Japan Series, 2.    Tuesdays – The Presentations Japan Series Every second Tuesday - ビジネス達人の教え 3.    Wednesdays - The Sales Japan Series 4.    Thursdays – The Leadership Japan Series Also every second Thursday - ビジネスプロポッドキャスト 5.    Fridays - The Japan Business Mastery Show 6.    Saturdays – Japan's Top Business Interviews Has 3 weekly TV shows on YouTube: 1.     Mondays - The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show Also every Second Thursday - ビジネスプロTV 2.    Fridays – Japan Business Mastery 3.    Saturdays – Japan Top Business Interviews In the course of his career Dr. Greg Story has moved from the academic world, to consulting, investments, trade representation, international diplomacy, retail banking and people development. Growing up in Brisbane, Australia he never imagined he would have a Ph.D. in Japanese decision-making, become a 39 year veteran of Japan and run his own company in Tokyo. Since 1971, he has been a disciple of traditional Shitoryu Karate (糸東流) and is currently a 6th Dan. Bunbu Ryodo (文武両道-both pen & sword) is his mantra and he applies martial art philosophies and strategies to business.    

Prior to her Japan posting Simone was VP Marketing International Business Unit in Indianapolis, VP and General Manager Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Chief Marketing Officer Japan, Managing Director Austria, International Marketing Leader Cardiology Indianapolis, National Sales Director Germany, Austria and Switzerland, New Product Planning Manager Germany, Head of corporate Communications.  Prior to Eli Lilly with Fresenius Kabi she was Head of Area Management Japan, Head of Corporate Communications, Group Product Manager Anaesthesia, and an International trainee. Be honest – are you a great leader or are you a mediocre leader? How can you become a leader people actually want to follow? How can you be the leader whose team gets results? Do it yourself trial and error wastes time and resources.There is a perfect solution for you- To LEARN MORE click here (https://bit.ly/43sQHxV ) To get your free guide “How To Stop Wasting Money On Training” click here ( https://bit.ly/4agbvLj ) To get your free “Goal Setting Blueprint 2.0” click here (https://bit.ly/43o5FVK) If you enjoy our content then head over to www.dale-carnegie.co.jp and check out our Japanese and English seminars, workshops, course information and schedules and our whitepapers, guidebooks, training videos, podcasts, blogs. About The Author Dr. Greg Story, President Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training Contact me at greg.story@dalecarnegie.com The bestselling author of “Japan Sales Mastery” (the Japanese translation is "The Eigyo" (The営業), “Japan Business Mastery” and "Japan Presentations Mastery" and his new books "How To Stop Wasting Money On Training" and the translation "Toreningu De Okane Wo Muda Ni Suru No Wa Yamemashoo" (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのは止めま Dr. Greg Story is an international keynote speaker, an executive coach, and a thought leader in the four critical areas for business people: leadership, communication, sales and presentations. He leads the Dale Carnegie Franchise in Tokyo which traces its roots straight back to the very establishment of Dale Carnegie in Japan in 1963 by Mr. Frank Mochizuki. He publishes daily blogs on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter Has 6 weekly podcasts: 1.     Mondays -  The Leadership Japan Series, 2.    Tuesdays – The Presentations Japan Series Every second Tuesday - ビジネス達人の教え 3.    Wednesdays - The Sales Japan Series 4.    Thursdays – The Leadership Japan Series Also every second Thursday - ビジネスプロポッドキャスト 5.    Fridays - The Japan Business Mastery Show 6.    Saturdays – Japan's Top Business Interviews Has 3 weekly TV shows on YouTube: 1.     Mondays - The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show Also every Second Thursday - ビジネスプロTV 2.    Fridays – Japan Business Mastery 3.    Saturdays – Japan Top Business Interviews In the course of his career Dr. Greg Story has moved from the academic world, to consulting, investments, trade representation, international diplomacy, retail banking and people development. Growing up in Brisbane, Australia he never imagined he would have a Ph.D. in Japanese decision-making, become a 39 year veteran of Japan and run his own company in Tokyo. Since 1971, he has been a disciple of traditional Shitoryu Karate (糸東流) and is currently a 6th Dan. Bunbu Ryodo (文武両道-both pen & sword) is his mantra and he applies martial art philosophies and strategies to business.  

Here is a handy success equation which is easy to remember: our mindset plus our skill set, will equal our results.  This is very straightforward and unremarkable, but we get so embroiled in our day to day world, we forget to helicopter above the melee and observe the lay of the land.  A great mindset coupled with lacklustre skills, won't get us very far.  A poor mindset with great skills won't do it either, so we need both. What is our mindset composed of?  How we think is critical.  Are we operating with a positive mindset?  If we are deep in depression about the circumstances of the business, we are stuck in a hole from which it can be hard to emerge.  We are what we think, so control over what we think becomes so important. That also means being strict about what we put into our minds.  Stay away for fluff, endless scrolling on social media and negativity.  Find the useful, positive and valuable and make that the diet for our mind. Our opinions influence how we see the world.  Where do these opinions come from?  They are usually the product of our access to quality, correct information.  There is a tricky balance here because a lot of the news we need to consume is laced with negativity and that can pollute our positive attitude.  So we need to curate the information we take in, to help us make informed decisions, based on correct data. Our beliefs are similarly formed from data, personal experience and what we hear from people we trust.  Our degree of success can be impacted by our self-belief. It can be a drag on our progress if we are limiting how we see our potential. We believe we are operating logically, except we often make decisions based on emotion rather than logic. Being in control of our emotion is a fundamental first step to getting ourselves into a position to be successful. Wild mood swings make us a difficult person to work with or get close to.  A short temper can have us explode in haste and repent at leisure, after we have created havoc all around us. We are all drowning is a sea of information today as the internet propels constant updates and new content at us.  When I was at University we went to the stacks in the library to find the few books available there and if someone else had that textbook you needed you dipped out. Microfiche was the big innovation to access information in a non-paper format. For the younger generation out there, microfiche was an ancient method of taking microphotographs of physical pages and putting it on to film you could scroll through, using a special microfiche reader. I noticed with my son's education, his problem is the constant assault of data and the difficulty of working out which information was valuable amongst the flotsam and jetsam battering his attention everyday. Getting insight becomes the game of success because we don't lack for content anymore. Once we have the mindset correct then we have to take action.  This is often easier said than done. We are so busy and translating insight into outcomes is not a given in this constant rabid struggle against the demands on our time. Behaviour determines outcomes and the formation of good habits is the key here. If we form the right habits then we take the right actions and we form the right default behaviour which adds to our success. The way we communicate flows from these habits and behaviours and we should be seeking inclusivity.  Business is too complex for relying on the hero worker who can do it all by themselves – that ship has sailed.  We need to be persuasive and able to garner collaboration in the workplace today.  There is so much technology available today and it spews out endless choices.  How do we get others to follow our ideas and adopt our suggestions? Our degree of cooperation from others is a compilation of our interactivity.  If we have good people skills then we can interact with other in a constructive and positive way which adds to our success. Often technical people struggle in this area because their education hasn't focused on the human interaction dimension.  Communication and people skills are new sets of complexities they need to master otherwise they will always be soldiers and never become generals. Our mindsets and skill sets combine to offer us opportunities to influence others and to direct the way forward. That is what it means to lead.  If we are busily working in our business, we may neglect to work on ourselves, so that we can work on the business.  It always good to step back and regroup around the fundamentals and refocus on where we need to put our energy and passion. Be honest – are you a great leader or are you a mediocre leader? How can you become a leader people actually want to follow? How can you be the leader whose team gets results? Do it yourself trial and error wastes time and resources.There is a perfect solution for you- To LEARN MORE click here (https://bit.ly/43sQHxV ) To get your free guide “How To Stop Wasting Money On Training” click here ( https://bit.ly/4agbvLj ) To get your free “Goal Setting Blueprint 2.0” click here (https://bit.ly/43o5FVK) If you enjoy our content then head over to www.dale-carnegie.co.jp and check out our Japanese and English seminars, workshops, course information and schedules and our whitepapers, guidebooks, training videos, podcasts, blogs. About The Author Dr. Greg Story, President Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training Contact me at greg.story@dalecarnegie.com The bestselling author of “Japan Sales Mastery” (the Japanese translation is "The Eigyo" (The営業), “Japan Business Mastery” and "Japan Presentations Mastery" and his new books "How To Stop Wasting Money On Training" and the translation "Toreningu De Okane Wo Muda Ni Suru No Wa Yamemashoo" (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのは止めま Dr. Greg Story is an international keynote speaker, an executive coach, and a thought leader in the four critical areas for business people: leadership, communication, sales and presentations. He leads the Dale Carnegie Franchise in Tokyo which traces its roots straight back to the very establishment of Dale Carnegie in Japan in 1963 by Mr. Frank Mochizuki. He publishes daily blogs on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter Has 6 weekly podcasts: 1.     Mondays -  The Leadership Japan Series, 2.    Tuesdays – The Presentations Japan Series Every second Tuesday - ビジネス達人の教え 3.    Wednesdays - The Sales Japan Series 4.    Thursdays – The Leadership Japan Series Also every second Thursday - ビジネスプロポッドキャスト 5.    Fridays - The Japan Business Mastery Show 6.    Saturdays – Japan's Top Business Interviews Has 3 weekly TV shows on YouTube: 1.     Mondays - The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show Also every Second Thursday - ビジネスプロTV 2.    Fridays – Japan Business Mastery 3.    Saturdays – Japan Top Business Interviews In the course of his career Dr. Greg Story has moved from the academic world, to consulting, investments, trade representation, international diplomacy, retail banking and people development. Growing up in Brisbane, Australia he never imagined he would have a Ph.D. in Japanese decision-making, become a 39 year veteran of Japan and run his own company in Tokyo. Since 1971, he has been a disciple of traditional Shitoryu Karate (糸東流) and is currently a 6th Dan. Bunbu Ryodo (文武両道-both pen & sword) is his mantra and he applies martial art philosophies and strategies to business.  

I recently launched a new project called Fare Bella Figura – Make a Good Impression.  Every day I take a photograph of what I am wearing and then I go into detail about why I am wearing it and put it up on social media.  To my astonishment, these posts get very high impressions and a strong following.  It is ironic for me. I have written over 3000 articles on hard core subjects like sales, leadership and presentations, but these don't get the same level of engagement. Like this article, I craft it for my audience and work hard on the content and yet articles about my suit choices get a lot more traction.  What I take away from this is people are interested in how we present ourselves in business. The thesis of Fare Bella Figura is that first impressions are so important.  In sales, people judge us hard based on how we look, before we even have a chance to open our mouths.  If we don't get that initial visual interaction correct, then we can be playing catchup to correct an unhelpful first take on us.  “Clothes maketh the man” is an old idea and is related to this first impressions equation.  The other thesis of Fare Bella Figura is that I dress for the meetings I am going to have that day, rather than some random selection of what is back from the dry cleaners. We are going to make an impression with the buyer one way or another, so I want to be in control of that impression as much as is humanly possible.  I believe there is a direct link between how we present ourselves and the degree of credibility we can instil in the client.  If we make a mess of the fabric and colour combinations, we are screaming “unsophisticated”.  I do not recommend for men to ask their wives for advice.  Study this “dress for success” topic for yourself and become the master of your own universe. If we are turning up with ancient stains on our tie, or our suit, it is interpreted as sloppy and there is now a strong doubt about our quality consciousness. If our shoes are scuffed or not displaying a high shine finish, it says we are lazy, not detail oriented and unreliable.  The term “down at heel” means “poor” and it comes from the fact that the back of the heel of the shoe has worn down and has not been repaired.  Either we are too poor and obviously not a success in the sales profession to be able to repair it, or too indifferent and either way, it is a bad sign for the buyer. If we are wearing a brown or tan belt with black shoes or vice versa, it says “hick” and someone who lacks common sense.  The exact matching tie and pocket square colour combination is another faux pas these days.  Would we want to accept these types of salesperson as our “trusted advisor”?  I doubt it.  I certainly wouldn't take their advice on anything if they can't even dress themselves correctly. Suits too large or too small are another bad indicator.  They have either lost a lot of weight, but haven't bothered to get their suit taken in, or they are getting chubbier and haven't had the suit taken out, because they won't spend the money.  It isn't that expensive to alter an existing suit, and the difference is total. If the suit trousers are too long or too short, it looks off – go and get them altered or replace them. Style and fashion are difficult to navigate.  Suit jacket lapels get skinnier, ties get wider and then get narrower, trousers get slimmer and then get fuller, socks get discarded when wearing shoes – all sorts of temporary fashion trends take over the dictates of what is appropriate.  Suits can last more than one fashion trend and you have to debate with yourself whether that wide lapel is still going to present the right image with the client when everyone else is wearing a narrower lapel these days.  I struggle with this.  I have a favourite double breasted Versace suit from years ago and because the style is dated; I don't get to wear it much or at all and that seems a waste.  However, if I am dressing for my client, then the answer is simple – leave it in the wardrobe for a day in the future when that trend makes a comeback. My mantra when I leave the house every day is to check my look in the mirror and ask myself, “do I look like one of the most professional people in my industry?”.  If I don't, then I go and make a few changes, until I am satisfied I can pass that test.  Here is a caveat. For a lot of men in Europe, they will be wearing a jacket and trouser combination, rather than a suit and the American trend is to much more casual clothing.  In certain industries, like IT, you will hardly see anyone wearing a suit.  Now I sell in Tokyo and everyone here wears a suit.  I remember I was so surprised when met the President of a gas stand and he was wearing a suit, so men's suits are predominant here. Therefore, I dress for this business environment and you should do the same for your reality. There is a correlation between the quality of our clothing and our personal financial success.  Buyers judge us based on what they see.  If we look cheap and nasty, they won't want to trust us with their business because we don't look successful.  On the other hand, if we are overdressed, it can have a negative consequence.  It can make them feel inferior, so the balance is important.  If we roll up in our expensive Brioni or Kiton suits and Rolex watches, and they are just a salaryman tasked with purchasing goods and services for the company, they can feel inferior and experience some discomfort.  We look a bit too sharp to them and they don't want to get cut.  As I say, getting the balance right is the key. We will make an impression on the buyer based on what we wear, so we need to determine what that impression will be. We don't leave it to luck or chance. We make sure it is the right choice – the one that leads to the deal getting done. Do you need to sell more?  Is your sales manager stressing you about making your monthly sales quota? Do it yourself trial and error wastes time and resources. There is a perfect solution for you- to LEARN MORE click here (https://bit.ly/43kQpsN ) To get your free guide “How To Stop Wasting Money On Training” click here ( https://bit.ly/4agbvLj ) To get your free “Goal Setting Blueprint 2.0” click here (https://bit.ly/43o5FVK) If you enjoy our content then head over to www.dale-carnegie.co.jp and check out our Japanese and English seminars, workshops, course information and schedules and our whitepapers, guidebooks, training videos, podcasts, blogs. About The Author Dr. Greg Story, President Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training greg.story@dalecarnegie.com The bestselling author of “Japan Sales Mastery” (the Japanese translation is "The Eigyo" (The営業), “Japan Business Mastery” and "Japan Presentations Mastery" and his new books "How To Stop Wasting Money On Training" and the translation "Toreningu De Okane Wo Muda Ni Suru No Wa Yamemashoo" (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのは止めま Dr. Greg Story is an international keynote speaker, an executive coach, and a thought leader in the four critical areas for business people: leadership, communication, sales and presentations. He leads the Dale Carnegie Franchise in Tokyo which traces its roots straight back to the very establishment of Dale Carnegie in Japan in 1963 by Mr. Frank Mochizuki. He publishes daily blogs on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter Has 6 weekly podcasts: 1.     Mondays -  The Leadership Japan Series, 2.    Tuesdays – The Presentations Japan Series Every second Tuesday - ビジネス達人の教え 3.    Wednesdays - The Sales Japan Series 4.    Thursdays – The Leadership Japan Series Also every second Thursday - ビジネスプロポッドキャスト 5.    Fridays - The Japan Business Mastery Show 6.    Saturdays – Japan's Top Business Interviews Has 3 weekly TV shows on YouTube: 1.     Mondays - The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show Also every Second Thursday - ビジネスプロTV 2.    Fridays – Japan Business Mastery 3.    Saturdays – Japan Top Business Interviews In the course of his career Dr. Greg Story has moved from the academic world, to consulting, investments, trade representation, international diplomacy, retail banking and people development. Growing up in Brisbane, Australia he never imagined he would have a Ph.D. in Japanese decision-making, become a 39 year veteran of Japan and run his own company in Tokyo. Since 1971, he has been a disciple of traditional Shitoryu Karate (糸東流) and is currently a 6th Dan. Bunbu Ryodo (文武両道-both pen & sword) is his mantra and he applies martial art philosophies and strategies to business.    

Where is the line between referencing our experiences and insights and just talking about ourselves?  I attended a talk recently where the speaker had a perspective to share with the audience, to add value to their careers and businesses.  What surprised me was how much of the talk was cantered on the speaker rather than the audience.  I was thinking about this later and wondered what the better balance would be?  When we go on about ourselves, we are getting further away from points of relevance for the listeners.  We have to remember that people are unapologetically 100% focused on themselves and their own interests and don't care all that much about our story. As the speaker, the closer we can align what we are saying to the listener's interests, the greater the acceptance of what we are saying and the bigger the impact we will have as the presenter.  That is fine in theory, but we can't just make a series of pompous statements about how things should be and not back them up with evidence.  Often that evidence is coming from our own experiences and that can be the most convincing variety.  Unveiling a lot of sexy data during the talk is interesting, but a mud and blood rendition of what happened to us in the trenches, is always more gripping and compelling. This speaker, in my mind, strayed across the line and was wallowing in too much self-indulgence about what they had been doing. How do we balance our story with the audience's need for alignment with their benefit?  What the speaker could have done was better draw out how to transfer their learnings into concrete examples, where the listeners could apply them to their own circumstances.  Instead of just saying this is what I did, and this is how it worked for me, they could have gone a bit deeper on the application for others who are not them.  When the example is too idiosyncratic, the agency for others becomes diminished or diluted. We could say, “I did this and got this result.  Now here are three ways you could take this same idea and apply it to your situation”.  We have now crossed over to the audience's application of the knowledge. By giving more than one opportunity, we are more likely to hit on what the majority of audience members are looking for.   Importantly, by prior analysis of who is showing up the talk, we can anticipate common needs and circumstances. This allows us to get closer to the mark of listener reality when we explain our examples. A simple rule of thumb should be 20% of what happened to us and 80% of the time on explaining why this will work for our audience.  Our speaker, in this case, reversed those percentages and spent the majority of the time talking about what happened to them. The problem with this is we in the audience are not them and we have to parse out what we can apply from their story.  It is much better of the speaker saves us that drama and they tell us what we can apply.  We draw out the key points we want to make for the audience, align our war stories with the points and then add a significant section in the talk on explaining why doing this is a great idea and specifically why it is a great idea bolstered with concrete cases and options.  This is an unbeatable combination.  We demonstrate in words that because we did it, they can, too.  We draw out how it will work for the audience and convince them that it has a broader application than just working for us alone.  We have to marshal the benefits of taking our advice, and the more concretely we can do that, the better. Our speaker convinced us that it worked for them, but failed to make the case that it would work for us.  They hinted at it, but statements are cheap and we sceptical folk want more evidence.  We are all risk averse, so we want chapter and verse and solid provable details. When constructing the talk, keep that 20%-80% dichotomy in mind.  Certainly use ourselves as proof, but don't rely on it exclusively.  If we can talk about others doing marvellous things with our advice, that is the icing on the cake.  We love to hear case studies and then draw our own conclusions on how much we can take from the example and apply it in our world. That idea is something we need to be constantly hammering away at too.  Keep telling them to think how they can adapt it, and apply it for themselves.  In this way, we can keep switching the focus back to the audience away from us and we will get the balance right.   Would the people who know you or meet you describe you as persuasive? Do you think you are persuasive enough? Persuasion power is the most important, but the most commonly lacking skill in the business world. Do it yourself trial and error wastes time and resources. It is time to change things up and get that key skill.  There is a perfect solution for you- to LEARN MORE click here (https://bit.ly/3VhvR2B ) To get your free guide “How To Stop Wasting Money On Training” click here ( https://bit.ly/4agbvLj ) To get your free “Goal Setting Blueprint 2.0” click here (https://bit.ly/43o5FVK) If you enjoy our content, then head over to www.dale-carnegie.co.jp and check out our Japanese and English seminars, workshops, course information and schedules and our whitepapers, guidebooks, training videos, podcasts, blogs. About The Author Dr. Greg Story, President Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training Contact me at greg.story@dalecarnegie.com Bestselling author of “Japan Sales Mastery” (the Japanese translation is "The Eigyo" (The営業), “Japan Business Mastery” and "Japan Presentations Mastery" and his new books "How To Stop Wasting Money On Training" and the translation "Toreningu De Okane Wo Muda Ni Suru No Wa Yamemashoo" (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのは止めま Dr. Greg Story is an international keynote speaker, an executive coach, and a thought leader in the four critical areas for business people: leadership, communication, sales and presentations. He leads the Dale Carnegie Franchise in Tokyo which traces its roots straight back to the very establishment of Dale Carnegie in Japan in 1963 by Mr. Frank Mochizuki. He publishes daily blogs on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter Has 6 weekly podcasts: 1.     Mondays -  The Leadership Japan Series, 2.    Tuesdays – The Presentations Japan Series Every second Tuesday - ビジネス達人の教え 3.    Wednesdays - The Sales Japan Series 4.    Thursdays – The Leadership Japan Series Also every second Thursday - ビジネスプロポッドキャスト 5.    Fridays - The Japan Business Mastery Show 6.    Saturdays – Japan's Top Business Interviews Has 3 weekly TV shows on YouTube: 1.     Mondays - The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show Also every Second Thursday - ビジネスプロTV 2.    Fridays – Japan Business Mastery 3.    Saturdays – Japan Top Business Interviews In the course of his career Dr. Greg Story has moved from the academic world, to consulting, investments, trade representation, international diplomacy, retail banking and people development. Growing up in Brisbane, Australia he never imagined he would have a Ph.D. in Japanese decision-making, become a 39 year veteran of Japan and run his own company in Tokyo. Since 1971, he has been a disciple of traditional Shitoryu Karate (糸東流) and is currently a 6th Dan. Bunbu Ryodo (文武両道-both pen & sword) is his mantra and he applies martial art philosophies and strategies to business.      

To succeed in our own business, we need three critical skills:  the ability to master our time, to clone ourselves and to be persuasive. Time: Poor time control leads to inefficiency, wasted efforts, stress and missed opportunities.  Entrepreneurs are geniuses at trying to do too much. This means they are run ragged with time demands and no good solutions. This has to be turned around and time gotten under firm control. Follow this mantra:  “I can't do everything on this list everyday but I can do the most important thing”.  Each day decide the number one priority for your business and complete that, then start number two, and so on. Delegation: Being so busy is a result of not having trusted people around us to whom we can delegate.  We must get leverage through our team.  But we don't.  We cannot find the time to develop them, so we are stuck like a rat on the treadmill.  Getting a better grip on your time will create space to spend on training your key people.  Don't fluff the delegation process, because you are clueless on how to do it.  Don't just dump stuff on people, expecting them to magically get it and somehow be able to come back with excellent work.  Stop dreaming, it won't happen.  Have a meeting with the delegatee, where you explain the task in terms of how this is designed to help them grow and succeed in the business.  Talk in terms of their interests not yours.  Inspire: Investors, potential new staff, valuable existing staff, clients, all need your persuasive ability to impress and keep them happy.  If you are an unclear, unimpressive speaker, it is hard to get people to believe in you and follow you.  You can be a tyrant, but let me know how that is working out for you?  Honey does better than vinegar, when it comes to communicating with people.  You will never work it out on your own.  Get the necessary speaking training and stop kidding yourself.  Master time, grow the leverage throughout your team and learn how to inspire people.  Get on to it. Be honest – are you a great leader or are you a mediocre leader? How can you become a leader people actually want to follow? How can you be the leader whose team gets results? Do it yourself trial and error wastes time and resources.There is a perfect solution for you- To LEARN MORE click here (https://bit.ly/43sQHxV ) To get your free guide “How To Stop Wasting Money On Training” click here ( https://bit.ly/4agbvLj ) To get your free “Goal Setting Blueprint 2.0” click here (https://bit.ly/43o5FVK) If you enjoy our content then head over to www.dale-carnegie.co.jp and check out our Japanese and English seminars, workshops, course information and schedules and our whitepapers, guidebooks, training videos, podcasts, blogs. About The Author Dr. Greg Story, President Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training Contact me at greg.story@dalecarnegie.com The bestselling author of “Japan Sales Mastery” (the Japanese translation is "The Eigyo" (The営業), “Japan Business Mastery” and "Japan Presentations Mastery" and his new books "How To Stop Wasting Money On Training" and the translation "Toreningu De Okane Wo Muda Ni Suru No Wa Yamemashoo" (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのは止めま Dr. Greg Story is an international keynote speaker, an executive coach, and a thought leader in the four critical areas for business people: leadership, communication, sales and presentations. He leads the Dale Carnegie Franchise in Tokyo which traces its roots straight back to the very establishment of Dale Carnegie in Japan in 1963 by Mr. Frank Mochizuki. He publishes daily blogs on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter Has 6 weekly podcasts: 1.     Mondays -  The Leadership Japan Series, 2.    Tuesdays – The Presentations Japan Series Every second Tuesday - ビジネス達人の教え 3.    Wednesdays - The Sales Japan Series 4.    Thursdays – The Leadership Japan Series Also every second Thursday - ビジネスプロポッドキャスト 5.    Fridays - The Japan Business Mastery Show 6.    Saturdays – Japan's Top Business Interviews Has 3 weekly TV shows on YouTube: 1.     Mondays - The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show Also every Second Thursday - ビジネスプロTV 2.    Fridays – Japan Business Mastery 3.    Saturdays – Japan Top Business Interviews In the course of his career Dr. Greg Story has moved from the academic world, to consulting, investments, trade representation, international diplomacy, retail banking and people development. Growing up in Brisbane, Australia he never imagined he would have a Ph.D. in Japanese decision-making, become a 39 year veteran of Japan and run his own company in Tokyo. Since 1971, he has been a disciple of traditional Shitoryu Karate (糸東流) and is currently a 6th Dan. Bunbu Ryodo (文武両道-both pen & sword) is his mantra and he applies martial art philosophies and strategies to business.  

Public speaking spots are a great way to get attention for ourselves and what we sell.  This is mass prospecting on steroids.  The key notion here is we are selling ourselves rather than our solution in detail.  This is an important delineation.  We want to outline the issue and tell the audience what can be done, but we hold back on the “how” piece.  This is a bit tricky, because the attendees are looking for the how bit, so that they can apply it to fix their issues by themselves.  We don't want that because we don't get paid.  We are here to fix their problem, not for them to DIY (Do It Yourself) their way to a solution. All selling is public speaking and presentations skills.  However, very few salespeople are trained as speakers or presenters.  This is incongruous, isn't it?  We need to be able to present to the one person in front of us or to hundreds of prospects all gathered together at an event. First of all, we are selling our personal brand and then by extension the solution we are representing.  That is the correct order and just jumping to the solution won't work.  Buyers buy us first and then what we sell.  We all know we can't do good business with a bad guy or gal and our talk is a due diligence process to see if we can be trusted. The dumb way to sell from stage is to provide all of the content up front and then come in at the end with the shiny sales pitch.  There is a discernable break in the flow and the audience braces themselves for the pitch.  This isn't the way to do it.  We need to be interspersing our pitch throughout the talk, so there is no discernable shifting of gears by the speaker.  This way, there is nothing to brace against or push back on. The way to do this is to determine what are the key problems and fears confronting the audience.  We have the fix for these and can be a trusted partner for them.  Once we have determined what are the key problems, we construct our talk to address all the most high priority needs in the time allotted. The talk is broken up into specific chapters, rotating around the key issues.  We need to create hooks, which will grab the attention of the listeners. In each chapter, we outline the downside of not doing anything about fixing the problem we have raised.  We also talk about what needs to be done to fix it, but we don't reveal how to fix it.  To get the point to register with the buyers, we pose rhetorical questions about what will happen if they don't take action to deal with it.  We are painting a dismal picture for them of the future ramifications of leaving the mess as it is. The fact that we understand the problem in detail tells the audience we are an expert in this area.  If we have some visible proof of our expertise, all the better.  We might point them to our books, blogs, podcasts or our video shows.  Today, all of these things are much easier to pull off than ten years ago.  For example, Amazon prints my books one at a time if I request it and so no garage is full of unsold books, which used to be the reality for most authors. Today, creating blogs and pushing them out through social media gives us credibility at almost no cost.  The same with podcasts and videos.  There might be some small cost to recording the shows and hosting podcasts on a platform like I use with LibSyn, but really the cost is marginal.  YouTube hosts my videos and it is free.  Our mobile phones provide amazing quality for recording video and video editing software is not prohibitively expensive. Editing things yourself is possible in a way it wasn't before. This means we can project our expertise beyond the physical limits of the stage.  Let me give you a case study. Please go to LinkedIn and find my page.  You will see I am posting all the time on three subjects – leadership, sales and presentations.  If you scroll down through the feed, you will just see over three thousand posts.  My prospective buyers don't need to read them all, but they can see there is a substantial collection of my expertise there. They can read what I publish and check it for themselves, whether it is good enough or not. This substantially bolsters my personal brand.  It also allows the buyers to follow up after the talk, to check me out further before they buy what I am selling.  For risk averse buyers, this is very important. By incorporating the key hooks into the talk itself, using well-crafted questions to create fear that they may have trouble if they don't fix a problem we have flagged, we eliminate any resistance against what we are selling.  When there is an obvious transition from sharing information to now selling, there is a large barrier created between the speaker and the audience.  They are thinking, “I love to buy, but I hate being sold. Now I am getting the hard sell by this speaker”. Doing it the way I have outlined, we never have any barrier, because we have been working the crowd all the way through the talk.  If our questions hit the mark, they will want to know the “how” from us, after we have sold them the “why” and the “what”. We are aiming to create two concerns: 1. We haven't considered that possibility and 2.  We have not prepared for that possibility.  If we are successful in doing this, then we will get sales. We have caused them to self-discover their own needs without us forcing it down their throats. This is ideal in sales. Would the people who know you or meet you describe you as persuasive? Do you think you are persuasive enough? Persuasion power is the most important, but the most commonly lacking skill in the business world. Do it yourself trial and error wastes time and resources. It is time to change things up and get that key skill.  There is a perfect solution for you- to LEARN MORE click here (https://bit.ly/3VhvR2B ) To get your free guide “How To Stop Wasting Money On Training” click here ( https://bit.ly/4agbvLj ) To get your free “Goal Setting Blueprint 2.0” click here (https://bit.ly/43o5FVK) If you enjoy our content, then head over to www.dale-carnegie.co.jp and check out our Japanese and English seminars, workshops, course information and schedules and our whitepapers, guidebooks, training videos, podcasts, blogs. About The Author Dr. Greg Story, President Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training Contact me at greg.story@dalecarnegie.com Bestselling author of “Japan Sales Mastery” (the Japanese translation is "The Eigyo" (The営業), “Japan Business Mastery” and "Japan Presentations Mastery" and his new books "How To Stop Wasting Money On Training" and the translation "Toreningu De Okane Wo Muda Ni Suru No Wa Yamemashoo" (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのは止めま Dr. Greg Story is an international keynote speaker, an executive coach, and a thought leader in the four critical areas for business people: leadership, communication, sales and presentations. He leads the Dale Carnegie Franchise in Tokyo which traces its roots straight back to the very establishment of Dale Carnegie in Japan in 1963 by Mr. Frank Mochizuki. He publishes daily blogs on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter Has 6 weekly podcasts: 1.     Mondays -  The Leadership Japan Series, 2.    Tuesdays – The Presentations Japan Series Every second Tuesday - ビジネス達人の教え 3.    Wednesdays - The Sales Japan Series 4.    Thursdays – The Leadership Japan Series Also every second Thursday - ビジネスプロポッドキャスト 5.    Fridays - The Japan Business Mastery Show 6.    Saturdays – Japan's Top Business Interviews Has 3 weekly TV shows on YouTube: 1.     Mondays - The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show Also every Second Thursday - ビジネスプロTV 2.    Fridays – Japan Business Mastery 3.    Saturdays – Japan Top Business Interviews In the course of his career Dr. Greg Story has moved from the academic world, to consulting, investments, trade representation, international diplomacy, retail banking and people development. Growing up in Brisbane, Australia he never imagined he would have a Ph.D. in Japanese decision-making, become a 39 year veteran of Japan and run his own company in Tokyo. Since 1971, he has been a disciple of traditional Shitoryu Karate (糸東流) and is currently a 6th Dan. Bunbu Ryodo (文武両道-both pen & sword) is his mantra and he applies martial art philosophies and strategies to business.    

Prior to starting the Swiss Prime Brands company in Japan, Luca was an Assistant Manager at Masuda Infinity Japan, a Junior Associate at Goldwyn Partners Group AG, a Consultant at Het Buitenhuis. Be honest – are you a great leader or are you a mediocre leader? How can you become a leader people actually want to follow? How can you be the leader whose team gets results? There is a perfect solution for you- To LEARN MORE click here (https://bit.ly/43sQHxV ) To get your free guide “How To Stop Wasting Money On Training” click here ( https://bit.ly/4agbvLj ) To get your free “Goal Setting Blueprint 2.0” click here (https://bit.ly/43o5FVK) If you enjoy our content then head over to www.dale-carnegie.co.jp and check out our Japanese and English seminars, workshops, course information and schedules and our whitepapers, guidebooks, training videos, podcasts, blogs. About The Author Dr. Greg Story, President Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training Contact me at greg.story@dalecarnegie.com The bestselling author of “Japan Sales Mastery” (the Japanese translation is "The Eigyo" (The営業), “Japan Business Mastery” and "Japan Presentations Mastery" and his new books "How To Stop Wasting Money On Training" and the translation "Toreningu De Okane Wo Muda Ni Suru No Wa Yamemashoo" (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのは止めま Dr. Greg Story is an international keynote speaker, an executive coach, and a thought leader in the four critical areas for business people: leadership, communication, sales and presentations. He leads the Dale Carnegie Franchise in Tokyo which traces its roots straight back to the very establishment of Dale Carnegie in Japan in 1963 by Mr. Frank Mochizuki. He publishes daily blogs on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter Has 6 weekly podcasts: 1.     Mondays -  The Leadership Japan Series, 2.    Tuesdays – The Presentations Japan Series Every second Tuesday - ビジネス達人の教え 3.    Wednesdays - The Sales Japan Series 4.    Thursdays – The Leadership Japan Series Also every second Thursday - ビジネスプロポッドキャスト 5.    Fridays - The Japan Business Mastery Show 6.    Saturdays – Japan's Top Business Interviews Has 3 weekly TV shows on YouTube: 1.     Mondays - The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show Also every Second Thursday - ビジネスプロTV 2.    Fridays – Japan Business Mastery 3.    Saturdays – Japan Top Business Interviews In the course of his career Dr. Greg Story has moved from the academic world, to consulting, investments, trade representation, international diplomacy, retail banking and people development. Growing up in Brisbane, Australia he never imagined he would have a Ph.D. in Japanese decision-making, become a 39 year veteran of Japan and run his own company in Tokyo. Since 1971, he has been a disciple of traditional Shitoryu Karate (糸東流) and is currently a 6th Dan. Bunbu Ryodo (文武両道-both pen & sword) is his mantra and he applies martial art philosophies and strategies to business.    

I am very active networking here in Tokyo, scouring high and low for likely buyers of our training solutions.  I attend with one purpose – “work the room” and as a Grant Cardone likes to say, find out “who's got my money”.  I have compressed my pitch down to ten seconds when I meet a possible buyer at an event. My meishi business card is the tool of choice in this regard.  Most people here have English on one side and Japanese on the other.  I was like that too until I got smarter about selling our services. Typically, I would hand over my business card - Dr. Greg Story, President Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training.  The recipient would then ask me “what do you do?”. I realised I needed to have a better organised approach to that frequent question.  Knowing that we do better remembering things we hear and see at the same time, I created two cards – one for English and one for Japanese.  On the front of my card is all the logistical information – title, location and contact details.  On the rear of the card is the pitch deck. On that side, I note we are experts in “soft skills”  training, we have been here in Japan for 61 years and around the world for 112 years and that we cover five main areas – communication, sales, leadership, presentations and diversity, equity and inclusion.  At this point I ask them which one of these they need the most at their firm and then I shut up.  In ten seconds, I have them telling me their needs. This opens up the opportunity to visit them after the event and go through what we might be able to do for them. It is not the right occasion to attempt to have that conversation in a busy networking event. By the way, if they say, “all of them”, I still ask them which one is of the most interest. I need to get them to prioritise otherwise, it is left too vague and the conversation cannot advance. Naturally, I write to them immediately and try to set up the appointment.  Most people ghost me and don't reply.  I know everyone is busy, so I also know I have to keep following up until they consent or tell me to buzz off.  Those who agree to meet will answer my questions and listen to what we have.  At this point, things slow down as they work their way through the labyrinth behind the meeting room wall, where their decision-making colleagues sit – out of my sight and touch.  They need to reach a consensus internally, to do the training and pay the dough. The problem is they are never on my timetable with their decision-making.  Don't they know I have a monthly target to hit?  Don't they know we need money now, not later?  Aren't they aware we don't like 60 and 90 day payment terms, because that is grossly unfair to the little guy?  So often when we complete a deal and I look back at the spark of that deal, going from the initial ten second pitch deck networking event chance encounter, to the time of payment, it can be six months or more.  If you have a cash flow issue in your firm, that is a big problem.  Yes, you can discount fees to speed up payment and you get less, but you get it faster. The better approach is to keep stacking your funnel with deals, so that if one is slow to fruition or falls over, you are not wiped out.  Deals falling over is super painful.  You have spent a ton of time marshaling this payday through their elaborate and baroque system. Everyone is ready to go, the contract is agreed by their legal beagles and then “someone” intervenes and scuppers the entire enterprise.  That payday may happen or it may not happen, but if that is all you have on the go, then you are naked and alone in a harsh world of pain. I am reminded of watching a show on television when I was a kid.  A performer was keeping plates spinning on top of cane sticks.  As one would falter, they would leap in and wobble the cane stick to get the plate back to maximum speed.  It was always fast-paced and frantic. I am sure it must have been incredibly stressful for the artist.  That is the sales life to me.  We are busily spinning the plates to make sure none fall and we get a deal done and get paid. Too many plates and the things start to go awry or too few plates and you don't get fed.  Finding the balance is difficult, but I reckon we should always err on the side of too many deals rather that not enough.  We can always work harder to make the deals happen.  There is a contradiction between being so busy we can't prospect and being able to spend a lot of time prospecting, but not getting paid yet. This is the plague of coaches and consultants.  If they are in the act of coaching or consulting, they are getting paid but are not prospecting.  You don't get paid for prospecting. So no earner there while you search for the next client. There is never a balance and we have to live with that inequity, because that is the sales life. The key is to keep in mind the buyer is never on your timetable. You need to stack the funnel all the time, no matter how busy you become.  If you don't, you enter the Valley Of Sales Death as the deal flow evaporates and you have no clients in the funnel and therefore no money coming in for months. To keep those plates spinning, we need to be out there finding new clients, prospecting, following up, being ghosted with monotonous regularity, but never giving up is the answer.  Ryan Serhant says he keeps following up with potential clients until they die and he never gives up.  Let's be like Grant and find out who has our money and be like Ryan and never give up chasing them down.  

Discover the art of mastering public speaking, enhancing your presentation skills, and unraveling the secrets to impactful storytelling. Join Dr. Greg Story, the esteemed president of Dale Carnegie Japan and bestselling author of "Japan Sales Mastery" and "Japan Business Mastery," as he shares invaluable insights into successful sales techniques, post-COVID sales process shifts, and a myriad of topics explored in his books.In this engaging conversation, we delve into the question of whether Greg's six podcasts might be considered "too much content." He regales us with true-life experiences that beautifully complement his business tips, insights, and advice, drawing from his rich background as a 6th-degree black belt in Karate with 38 years of experience in Japan. The episode unfolds as a captivating discussion on how actions and choices can profoundly impact one's life and career. Other topics covered are:The significance of public speaking skills in advancing your careerTips to ease nerves before a public presentationStrategies to "bullet-proof" yourself against challenging audience questionsGreg's simplified four elements of a successful presentationThe rationale behind his decision to "niche-down" with six podcasts instead of oneGreg's biggest "pet-peeve" when listening to other presentersIn-depth exploration of the contents and background of his bestselling booksThe transformative influence of Karate on Greg's life, perspective, and careerThe profound meaning behind his favorite untranslatable Japanese word, "Zanshin."Greg Story: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregstory/Dale Carnegie Japan: https://www.dalecarnegie.com/ja/locations/japanJapan Dale Carnegie TV: https://www.youtube.comJapan Adventures via Camper Van = Dream Drive: https://www.dreamdrive.lifeMore Now and Zen Japan Episodes HERE 

Cold calling is dead!  No cold calling is not dead!  Lots of debate and advice on this subject and many a fortune funded as a result no doubt.  For Japan it is not dead but it is diabolically hard.  We need to select ideal prospects who are not presently clients.  We need to list companies up who are look-a-likes for current clients or fit into our sweet spot.  We have what they need, they just don't know it yet.  It is our duty to help them solve their problems with our help. Step 1.  Expect resistance, barriers, fear, timidity, non-cooperation from the young lady (it is always a young lady!) who has been designated to answer the phone.  Her job is to get rid of you and she doesn't want to get balled out by her boss by letting you slip through the protective wall.  You know this, so you must design a killer opening to woo her to let you speak to her boss. Step 2.  Introduce your name and company, very, very slowly and tremendously clearly.  It doesn't matter what language you are speaking. All that katakana is a total brain whiteout for her.  “This is Greg Story, from Dale Carnegie Training Japan”.  She was freaking out from the get go that it was a foreigner calling and all she can think about is that she can't speak English well and then you hit her with all those unfamiliar strange sounding names. Step 3.  Slowly explain what you do and include a massive hook in there to get interest.  “We are global experts in corporate soft skills training.  We recently worked with XYZ company, your competitor, to increase their revenues by finding new clients.  It was a great success and they have seen a 35% jump in new business sales already.  Maybe we could do the same for you, I am not sure.  Please transfer me through to your Sales Director, so that he can make a judgment about whether this is something your company would like to know more about or whether you are okay for your rival to grab greater market share?  If you are not getting the new business, then that will have a big impact on your business survival. I know your Sales Director won't want to see that happen, so please let me discuss this with him.  If you don't allow me to speak with him, then my next call will be to another one of your competitors and so the problem will just get worse won't it.  We don't want that do we?  Please put me through to him”. Yes it is a bit hard core for Japan you might be thinking, but in cold calling here you need dynamite to blow up that defensive wall. If they won't put you through,  call you back or answer your email, then keep approaching their competitors and one of them will want to hear what you have to say. So the three steps are: One, mentally brace for getting the bum's rush. Two, introduce your name and company name very slowly and clearly.  Three, explain why you can help them and put a big hook in there to get them to bite.  

Content marketing has been around for many years now and is an accepted way of appealing to clients.  Thought Leadership and Intellectual Property are given away for free to establish our credentials with the buyers.  If we show how knowledgeable we are, prospective clients will choose us over our rivals.  So for many years now, blogs, books, podcasts, magazine and newspaper articles, videos, Medium articles, social media posts, white papers, surveys and numerous other tools have been at the vanguard to prove we are experts in our fields.  This has required a lot of hard earned experience and an ability to communicate that experience to others.  Then ChatGPT turns up and opens up a floodgate of content for people who are vying with us for the client's attention.  ChatGPT is a vast curator of knowledge from the entire world and it is unbelievably fast at churning it out.  How can one person compete with that?  Our rivals can go to ChatGPT, then tweek the content and pass it off as their own efforts.  Our clients probably cannot tell the difference.  In a lot of cases, perception is everything. If the buyer sees you are pumping out vast quantities of content, they will conclude that you are an expert in this area, even though the chances are strong that they will never even read the content or not very much of it.  ChatGPT can become the great equaliser between competing firms in the content marketing department.  This is real for me.  I have 6 books published, 1779 Podcasts and 652 Video show episodes released, over 3000 articles on LinkedIn, etc. I am sure others will also have substantial resources released out into the wild to prove expertise in certain areas. What can we do about all of this? The answer is differentiation. ChatGPT and other similar engines are good at collecting and synthesising information.  At this point, it is generated in a quite recognisable style and tends toward the generic.  ChatGPTso far, is not great at distinguishing the quality of the content.  It also makes things up and lies, which the industry has cleverly marketed as “hallucinations”. I quite like “bald faced lies” as the preferred descriptor.  How can you trust a machine which cannot differentiate between fake and real content and can only collect and collate it? Because it is synthesising vast amounts of content, the style tends to be a bit utilitarian and dull.  This is where we have an advantage still.  We have examples, stories, happenings we have witnessed first-hand from our specific component of the industry and we can include these in our content. The specificity means it is hard for ChatGPT to collect the information as this is personal to us and we have never published it anywhere as yet, to be swept up and homogenised by the machine. There is also a gap between when we publish it and when ChatGPT can get its hands on it.  There is also our style.  A competitor telling ChapGPT to write something in the style of Dr. Greg Story is certainly possible, but all they are doing is reinforcing my content and my expertise.  Dr. Greg Story also has 100% control over his style and he can vary it as well with no qualms or permissions. I try to write my content such that someone reading it will recognise the style as mine.  I write in a very informal style, often using slang and I quite like idioms and alliteration.  These are not complete moats which will deny people from copying me, but how many people in my industry are going to try and reproduce me?  You have to be interested in Japan, leadership, sales, communication, presentations and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.  That is an incredibly small circle of rivals. For most of us in business, this will be the case - we will have relatively few rivals in the content marketing world in our specific area of expertise. Even for famous authors and influencers, there have always been copycats and people trying to rip their stuff off and yet they are still going.  For all of us, we see so many attempts to fool us with social media spewing out constant phishing attacks, deep fakes, etc., but we want the real McCoy.  We get upset when we are fooled into buying something that is not what it is supposed to be.  If we get a ChatGPT fake version of a favourite writer or thought leader's content, are we going to be happy?  Are we going to be satisfied with an avatar or a deep fake trying to pass itself off as someone we admire in an attempt to fool us? If you cannot write and have a limited intellect or parsimonious business experience, then ChapGPT will certainly be of help.  The problem is after people meet you, they find you cannot write and that you have limited intellect or parsimonious business experience.  You get the meeting through subterfuge of clever repackaging, but the reality is still the reality.  Either you have the real goods or you don't.  If you have them, then you don't bother with ChapGPT fakery and trying to pass yourself off as something you are not. Will ChapGPT and all of the other machines out there get much better?  Of course they will, but for most of us in business, this won't detract from the hope I have offered in this article. We can be more confident about what we are doing in content marketing, because what we are doing is the real thing, in real time.

The front row of sales training courses will often have the best salesperson sitting there trying to get even better.  The salesperson who is failing or is a mediocre performer is nowhere to be found or is there, but is solidly resisting the content and approach.  I read this many years ago and decided I would attend all sales training I could get and that I would be in that front row because I wanted to meet the top performers.  I walk the talk and recently I attended a webinar on sales for a Chamber of Commerce being run by my competitor.  I wasn't there to spy but there to learn.  In the same vein, I read books on sales and listen to podcasts of the subject.  I was listening to one recently where the guest being interviewed mentioned four excellent attributes in salespeople.  He noted Coachability, Urgency, Resilience and Curiosity. You would say that is pretty obvious and fair enough, but still these are not always present in salespeople.  Coachability is an interesting one.  At the superficial level people say they are ready to learn, to improve but the rubber meets the road when it comes to changing habits and shaping behaviours.  In fact, they are not really coachable because they resist change, even though they are not doing well in sales and have in fact never done especially well in sales.  You would think their numbers would inform them that they need to try a new approach, but that doesn't seem to be the case.  They are in their Comfort Zone and they don't want to emerge from there, to do what is needed to improve.  Sales has a big accountability aspect to it.  Sales leaders only take a certain amount of responsibility for their salespeople, because they see the individual has to be accountable for their inputs and effort and really, it is up to them to do the work themselves.  There isn't a lot of hand holding going on in the world of sales management, because the exit door is the preferred mechanism to solve problematic salespeople who won't change or can't improve. There is no great appetite to rescue them.  For Japan, this won't work anymore though and the rescue part or the amelioration part is becoming more needed.  Declining population, in particular declining youth population, means there is a shortage of staff and especially salespeople.  We can't expect even competent people anymore and have to take what we can get.  That also means we have to pump more energy into getting them to be effective in sales.  Urgency is about speed of taking action and having excellent time management methods in place.  There is a lot to do in sales. As we get deals we get busier and when there aren't any deals, we get busy trying to get clients – it doesn't stop.  Disorganised people get into sales and they stay disorganised making it hard to be successful. I will bet that if you peel back the factors behind why a salesperson is struggling, their poor time management skills will be a prominent factor.  This is not complex though.  The Time Management Quadrant Two – Not Urgent but Important is where the planning has to get done and the Urgent and Important is where we live for the rest of the time. Planning means setting out our goals and then matching our priority schedule against the time required to get them completed.  The key is to plan first and then follow the plan, which seems to defeat the vast majority of salespeople.  We have to work with a sense of time poor urgency to make sure we can get everything done, which needs to get done and we need to know what is the order in which it should be done. Resilience is all about self-belief in the face of rejection and failure.  I have to keep in mind they are not rejecting Greg Story.  They are rejecting my offer in this business cycle, at this point in the financial year, at this point in their internal planning, in this offer's current  format, at this particular price point, with their sense of relative value, etc.  Winston Churchill's great quote is needed for salespeople about “going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm?”. Most of the time we fail in sales.  Most of the time the client doesn't make a decision or goes with a competitor or rejects our offer.  There is a fine line between learning from failure and being overwhelmed with self-doubt.  Of course, we have to reflect on what we could have done better without beating ourselves up, such that we can't get back in the saddle after having been thrown.  It is easy to spiral down further when things are not going well, but we have to dust ourselves off and keep going.  We need to do more study of the industry, the firm, the techniques of sales, do more role play practice, make a bigger effort to find prospects, make more calls and see more buyers. Curiosity is about really trying to understand the buyer's needs.  If all you are doing is blabbing on endlessly about the features of your widget, then this idea has no meaning for you.  If we have a genuine desire to fully understand what is driving the buyer's problems, we are on the right track to find a solution.  Or we will quickly discover they are not a buyer, because we don't have what they need. We don't waste any further time and we move on and find a real buyer.  There is no point in manufacturing a “fake” desire to understand the client's problems.  If you are going to go to the effort at all, you may as well go deep and be sincere. The point is we are looking to solve their problems and to do that we need to be driven to analyse what is going on in the client's world. We are not looking for a sale - we are looking for the re-order, because we bring such value to the buyer, that we become their trusted partner. Each of these aspects of coachability, urgency, resilience and curiosity are obvious, but like many things in sales, obvious but not adopted and not actually applied in our everyday work.  Tugging our forelock and genuflecting in the general direction of these truths is meaningless, unless we do something about mastering each aspect.  How do you measure up on all four fronts and where can you do better?  This is the mindset of the top performer sitting in the front row – how can I do more, better, easier, faster?  If you are not the top performer, then here is a four point roadmap to employ and you can start right now – no signups needed and no waiting required.

Knowing where to find potential clients is one of the core skills of salespeople.  Yes, marketing drives activity and we have our networks, but we need to keep that sales funnel full.  That means we need a healthy flow of new prospects to talk to.  Where will these new buyers come from?  Often we have to create them out of thin air.  Cold calling has become so much more difficult with remote work, as our buyers are hiding out at home.  They are protected by a steel wall of blockers making it impossible to get to them.  In this case, we need to re-group and re-think how we need to go about connecting with potential clients. Identifying the perfect client is a good way to start because this will mean we are only focused on buyers with the highest potential, rather than spraying our efforts everywhere without any great focus.  Let's look at some markers we can use to locate these ideal clients. Company size This could be the number of people or the size of the revenue.  Some operations may be too small to worry about and others may to big.  A very large client can often be a problem, because they have so many resources they may not need our help, particularly with regard to our provision of services. Age bracket The staff of the company may be a target for us and this may vary depending on the age range.  Are they newbies who have just started and are in their twenties?  Or are they seasoned staff on their thirties and forties.  Gender Are we focused on a particular gender for our product or service?  Some industries are very heavily weighted toward one gender over the other.  What is your situation? Years in business The maturity of the business can make a difference.  Are they a start up, thrusting and growing or a mature company heading toward a gradual decline?  Are they in peak condition and thriving with substantial volumes of business and substantial war chests available to be spent growing the business even further? Our Champion's profile We need a champion inside the company to push for us, but who would they be?  Are we after a C-suite executive, a middle manager or maybe a very specialized technician? How we found them Referral – this is a warm call, because we can leverage the name of the person they trust who is connecting us. This is not a perfect blocker antidote, but it is certainly a big help in that regard. Networking is a bit of a hit and miss process. They may not be the right client, but it will take at least one meeting to find that out or not and the time and effort is committed first, as opposed to knowing if the time is worth it or not. Cold calling is similar to networking, as we are uncertain if this buyer is actually going to lead to any business, so we are taking a guess on the outcome. Getting a meeting though from someone who doesn't know you is a good indicator that there may be some business here. Contact changed company. Often people take us with them to their new employer.  We have built up a relationship and the trust is there, so this is a very valuable champion to have. Introductions are similar to referrals, but the strength of the association may be weaker. They know you and if they just mention you it might be helpful without doing much more than that. For example, “you should talk to Greg Story”. Websites have a lot of money spent on them to yield SEO outcomes through getting buyers to contact us, so this is a good sign, because they are actively looking for what we have. Nikkei (Japanese domestic companies) and Gaishikei (foreign multi-nationals) are quite distinct categories, requiring separate approaches.  Does your offer work better with one, more than the other.  Do you need rapid decision-making, in which case Gaishikei companies will be a better focus. Profitability Being profitable is a great indicator of the capacity to invest in your solution.  Companies losing money or just breaking even, may love to buy what you sell, but they honestly cannot do it. Recession proof We are about to leap out of the frypan of Covid into the fire of a global recession, so which industries and sectors look like they can withstand that likelihood? Product or service fan We will manufacture fans of our solution and they are great supporters inside the buying organisation.  They may not even be our direct contact or in a related section, but behind the scenes they are supportive. Going through organisational change Change forces new options and new perspectives.  When everything is smooth sailing, it may be hard to get buyers to make a change of supply arrangements.  There is nothing like a good crisis to spark an interest in improving the current situation and being open to new possibilities. So when you are thinking about where to find good clients cast your eye over this list and remind yourself where they are hidden away.  

Salespeople don't set the price of what they sell.  This is usually an obscure outcome decided by someone else inside the machine.  It might actually be an elaborate process, where multiple variables are carefully calibrated, mathematical formulae are applied and a price is arrived at.  Or, it might be a slightly moist index finger boldly thrust skyward to come up with a number.  The latter is often the case when arriving at pricing for services. Regardless, the salespersons task is to sell at that price.  This is where we get into trouble.   Salespeople are total wimps when it comes to price.  We have learnt that getting a sale is what counts and price is an obstacle in that process.  If we are on a fixed salary and bonus or base salary and commission, the two usual cases in Japan, we get paid when we make a sale.  Do we know the profit margin attached to each sale? Usually no and actually we don't often care either, as long as we get paid.  We are just happy to (A) not get rejected by the buyer and (B) get a win, however small. Our self-esteem is totally tied up with getting sales, modest in size or otherwise.   The instinct of the salesperson then is to make the price as malleable as possible.  Offering a discount seems to get the buyer in a good mood and more likely to give us a yes.  This reduced price immediately impacts our commission and if we keep doing this, will also impact our bonus and job security, as we don't bring in enough revenue relative to the target.   The key problem is that the salespeople often don't believe in their own product or service.  Because of this they can discount with gay abandon.  This is a short-term gain for long-term pain.  The ability to meet the price requirement is a critical piece of the salesperson's skill set.  Dropping the price may be easy, but we never build the skills to really succeed in this profession.  It usually is a path to our removal by the sales manager, who understands we are unable to sell.   Amateur salespeople, when they don't believe in the price, start right off the bat with a discounted price. They say stupid things like, “normally the price is x but I am going to offer it to you for y”.  Or, “if you buy two, I will drop the price by x”.  The client hasn't even requested a discount, begun haggling, attempted to massage the ask and yet lo and behold, a miracle has just popped up without warning.  This tactic may be misinterpreted by salespeople, who don't know what they are doing, as building trust and a good relationship with the client. That is a false dawn of hope on the part of our intrepid hero or heroine.   Thanks to volunteering an unprompted price cut, the client now understands that your firm are a bunch of liars who say one thing, but do another.  They also know you are a tricky bunch who are trying to snow buyers with your fiction pricing magic.  They don't see the gratuitous lower price as a bargain.   They see that as the starting point in a negotiation to drive the price even lower.  By having a listed price and immediately offering a lesser price, the buyer feels you cannot be trusted because you cannot even defend what you say is the value of your offering.     By dropping the price so quickly, the whole question of perceived value is brought into fundamental disrepute.  There is no fixed price for this sale and therefore no equivalent particular value attached to it either.  We are now in the Wild West of selling, where there the only rule is the right of force and the buyer has the Gatling Gun and we have a water pistol.   The salesperson's job is to pour on the value explanation and show why this pricing is fair and reasonable, fully justified and easily defensible.  If they do need to meet the client's restricted budget or need to allow the buyer to save face with their bosses, then any discounting should in the first instant be attached to volume purchases.  If they buy more then the price can be adjusted.  The amount reduced should be as smallish amount, as part of the first offer.  Remember, we are now off the paved highway and are hacking our way through the dense brush of a negotiated agreement, where there are no maps, no signposts and no 5th Cavalry about to come to the rescue over the sand dunes.   If the price point is to be assaulted, then the reductions should be small and fought heroically all the way.  Do not go for round number drops or large number drops, go down in dribs and drabs.  The client will feel much better knowing that they got a legitimate discount against the usual price, because they extracted that right out of the salesperson's hide, rather than the salesperson rolled over right from the get go.  When that happens, they doubt everything about you and your company because your pricing seems bogus.   Never drop your price.  Defend your price with value.  Resist reductions all the way down and extract some form of quid pro quo against volume purchases.  If you buckle, you will be destroying the brand, the brand positioning and the credibility of the firm.  You may lose some sales.  These are usually people who cannot afford you anyway.  If you believe in the value of what you are selling don't give in, defend, show value, fight, fight, fight.   Engaged employees are self-motivated. The self-motivated are inspired. Inspired staff grow your business but are you inspiring them? We teach leaders and organisations how to inspire their people. Want to know how we do that? Contact me at greg.story@dalecarnegie.com   If you enjoy these articles, then head over to www.japan.dalecarnegie.com and check out our "Free Stuff" offerings - whitepapers, guidebooks, training videos, podcasts, blogs. Take a look at our Japanese and English seminars, workshops, course information and schedules.     About The Author Dr. Greg Story: President, Dale Carnegie Training Japan In the course of his career Dr. Greg Story has moved from the academic world, to consulting, investments, trade representation, international diplomacy, retail banking and people development. Growing up in Brisbane, Australia he never imagined he would have a Ph.D. in Japanese decision-making and become a 30 year veteran of Japan.   A committed lifelong learner, through his published articles in the American, British and European Chamber journals, his videos and podcasts “THE Leadership Japan Series”, THE Sales Japan Series and THE Presentations Japan Series, he is a thought leader in the four critical areas for business people: leadership, communication, sales and presentations. Dr. Story is a popular keynote speaker, executive coach and trainer.   Since 1971, he has been a disciple of traditional Shitoryu Karate and is currently a 6th Dan. Bunbu Ryodo (文武両道-both pen & sword) is his mantra and he applies martial art philosophies and strategies to business.

My guest in this episode is Greg Story, founder and CEO of sustainability proptech My Greener Planet. Greg has 35 years experience in the energy sector, most recently running solar and wind farms and prior to that specialised in energy infrastructure mergers, acquisitions and financing running infrastructure projects of $5b plus. My Greener Planet is a digital platform that allows businesses and consumers to buy fractional ownership in functioning renewable energy farms, accessing both shareholder dividends and carbon credits. MyGreener Planet was a winner in the 2022 Proptech Awards in the Smart City category as a startup. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/theproptechpodcast/message

DALE CARNEGIE This comprehensive episode is a true "memoir" with Greg's Story of the Dale Carnegie Institute of Japan. His recount of the past, family lineage, academic achievements, karate mastery, and career path is remarkable, with illustrative stories abound. Childhood in the Australian bush built resilience as Greg worked hard beside his father. In his teens, he became hooked on karate and accomplished an unheard-of ascension (from white to black belt) in 19 months! Karate and learning Japanese drew him to Japan, where Greg assiduously worked towards his Ph.D. During his stint with Austrade, Greg and his partners placed a bid for the Dale Carnegie franchise in Japan (Greg is now the sole owner). Greg views Japan as the best place to age, with its safety, convenience, efficiency, and respectful people.

Marketing plays a key role in generating leads.  They are trying to maximise the accuracy of the segmentation of the data base, to make offers that resonate specifically with different segments.  They are producing content marketing pieces that will spark leads through the SEO route.  Buying ad words to get pay per click activation from buyers, who are searching for your specific good or service is another channel.  Potential buyers raise their hand when they download a white paper or an eBook from the website or leave an inquiry.  However this is never enough from a sales point of view.   Salespeople want to fill the top of their funnel of leads.  They know they have certain ratios which will unveil the KAIs or Key Activity Indicators.  If we try to email or phone a certain number of prospects, then we will get a certain amount of replies or contacts.  By tracking how many we make contact with we can get a ratio of our activity relative to our success.  The next stage is converting those contacts into face to face or online meetings.  In Japan, for the vast majority of B2B sales, face to face has been required, especially if you are a potential new supplier.  Online meetings with new clients just pushes the degree of difficulty right up. Regardless, there will be a ratio of success here counting appointments achieved against attempts to get a meeting.  Then obviously we can count how many of those meetings led to a deal being done.  That is another key ration.    We can calculate the value of all the deals we did against the number of deals and work out our average sale value.  If our average deal size is 1 million yen and our annual sales target is 30 million yen then we can work backwards and nominate how many original client contacts we need to be making to generate our target number.  The problem is very few sales people have any clue what their KAI is and they just ramble around thoroughout the year.   When we know our KAI we know we need to put aside what marketing is doing because we can't control that process.  We can control though, how many networking events we go to, how many cold calls we make, how many reactivation calls to orphan clients we need to make.  We have a clear idea of what an ideal client looks like.    We have clients in an industry who have rivals in the same business. The chances are high that the problems and issues facing one five star hotel in Tokyo will probably be shared by other similar hotels.  Our insights derived from dealing with one can provide us with a battering ram to break into the other hotels.   Commonly, cold calls fall on stony ground in Japan unless you know the exact name of the person you need to talk to.  The lowest placed young woman on the totem pole is always designated to pick up the phone.  Despite her tender years she has become a hardened, ego demolishing, expert at keeping her bosses protected against pesky salespeople.  “Who are you”, “Why are you calling, “We will call you back”, then crickets is usually how it goes.   Most salespeople just ask to speak with the sales manager, false promises are made to get rid of them and deafening silence on the return call front is all they ever experience.  The Sales Manager never contacts you and you are never ever confident that young Ms. Call Killer even passed your message on to the boss in the first place.   Now, based on our insights gained from working with similar companies in the same industry, we can try a different angle.  “Hello, this is Greg Story from Dale Carnegie Training Japan, we are global soft skills training experts.  We have been working with your direct competitors here in Japan. What you will find interesting is how we have been having great success helping their sales teams to win new business for their Hotels. These rival sales managers have loved seeing their teams going after new business, succeeding and so substantially expanding their sales. Maybe we could do the same for you.  I am not sure. Please allow me to discuss this possibility with your sales manager, to see if we can help your firm achieve similar success.  Would you please transfer me to the sales manager?”.   Invariably the Sales Manager “isn't there”, even if they actually are there.  At this point Ms. Call Killer often goes stone motherless silent.  She will not offer to take a message, as she is hoping you will crack and say “I will call back later”.  That makes her feel good about getting rid of you, because experience has taught her that most salespeople don't try again and she won't get a call back.  She will not tell you the name of the sales manager if you ask.  If you don't give up so easily and you ask to leave a message, she will take down your name and number - maybe. You have to rely on her tender mercies for your message to be passed across.  Here is a key tactic.  You should keep calling back every few hours, until you get to talk to the sales manager.  You have to be that persistent to break through the wall.   Making these cold calls needs discipline, guts, a thick hide and time.  Every single day you need to make a key appointment.  That is the one with yourself, to hive off time to get on the phone and hammer against these protective walls.  Think about it.  You will always defend the time to meet with a client and you have to apply the same rigour to the time you need to make these calls.  Get it into your schedule and BLOCK that time out.   This is one way we can take control of our own destiny and make our own leads.  It is tough, but persistence and conviction that what you have is what they need and the time to make the calls, are the prerequisites.  Block out the time and get on the phone.  Take command of your priorities.

Marketing plays a key role in generating leads.  They are trying to maximise the accuracy of the segmentation of the data base, to make offers that resonate specifically with different segments.  They are producing content marketing pieces that will spark leads through the SEO route.  Buying ad words to get pay per click activation from buyers, who are searching for your specific good or service is another channel.  Potential buyers raise their hand when they download a white paper or an eBook from the website or leave an inquiry.  However this is never enough from a sales point of view.   Salespeople want to fill the top of their funnel of leads.  They know they have certain ratios which will unveil the KAIs or Key Activity Indicators.  If we try to email or phone a certain number of prospects, then we will get a certain amount of replies or contacts.  By tracking how many we make contact with we can get a ratio of our activity relative to our success.  The next stage is converting those contacts into face to face or online meetings.  In Japan, for the vast majority of B2B sales, face to face has been required, especially if you are a potential new supplier.  Online meetings with new clients just pushes the degree of difficulty right up. Regardless, there will be a ratio of success here counting appointments achieved against attempts to get a meeting.  Then obviously we can count how many of those meetings led to a deal being done.  That is another key ration.    We can calculate the value of all the deals we did against the number of deals and work out our average sale value.  If our average deal size is 1 million yen and our annual sales target is 30 million yen then we can work backwards and nominate how many original client contacts we need to be making to generate our target number.  The problem is very few sales people have any clue what their KAI is and they just ramble around thoroughout the year.   When we know our KAI we know we need to put aside what marketing is doing because we can't control that process.  We can control though, how many networking events we go to, how many cold calls we make, how many reactivation calls to orphan clients we need to make.  We have a clear idea of what an ideal client looks like.    We have clients in an industry who have rivals in the same business. The chances are high that the problems and issues facing one five star hotel in Tokyo will probably be shared by other similar hotels.  Our insights derived from dealing with one can provide us with a battering ram to break into the other hotels.   Commonly, cold calls fall on stony ground in Japan unless you know the exact name of the person you need to talk to.  The lowest placed young woman on the totem pole is always designated to pick up the phone.  Despite her tender years she has become a hardened, ego demolishing, expert at keeping her bosses protected against pesky salespeople.  “Who are you”, “Why are you calling, “We will call you back”, then crickets is usually how it goes.      Most salespeople just ask to speak with the sales manager, false promises are made to get rid of them and deafening silence on the return call front is all they ever experience.  The Sales Manager never contacts you and you are never ever confident that young Ms. Call Killer even passed your message on to the boss in the first place.   Now, based on our insights gained from working with similar companies in the same industry, we can try a different angle.  “Hello, this is Greg Story from Dale Carnegie Training Japan, we are global soft skills training experts.  We have been working with your direct competitors here in Japan. What you will find interesting is how we have been having great success helping their sales teams to win new business for their Hotels. These rival sales managers have loved seeing their teams going after new business, succeeding and so substantially expanding their sales. Maybe we could do the same for you.  I am not sure. Please allow me to discuss this possibility with your sales manager, to see if we can help your firm achieve similar success.  Would you please transfer me to the sales manager?”.   Invariably the Sales Manager “isn't there”, even if they actually are there.  At this point Ms. Call Killer often goes stone motherless silent.  She will not offer to take a message, as she is hoping you will crack and say “I will call back later”.  That makes her feel good about getting rid of you, because experience has taught her that most salespeople don't try again and she won't get a call back.  She will not tell you the name of the sales manager if you ask.  If you don't give up so easily and you ask to leave a message, she will take down your name and number - maybe. You have to rely on her tender mercies for your message to be passed across.  Here is a key tactic.  You should keep calling back every few hours, until you get to talk to the sales manager.  You have to be that persistent to break through the wall.   Making these cold calls needs discipline, guts, a thick hide and time.  Every single day you need to make a key appointment.  That is the one with yourself, to hive off time to get on the phone and hammer against these protective walls.  Think about it.  You will always defend the time to meet with a client and you have to apply the same rigour to the time you need to make these calls.  Get it into your schedule and BLOCK that time out.   This is one way we can take control of our own destiny and make our own leads.  It is tough, but persistence and conviction that what you have is what they need and the time to make the calls, are the prerequisites.  Block out the time and get on the phone.  Take command of your priorities.

Presentations have a cadence.  Notices are sent out to the mailing list or promoted through some form of media.  Interested people sign up and attend the event.  There is a hosting organisation representative delegated to get proceedings underway. I went into detail on that component last week, so if you have missed it, please go back and listen to that episode #280 on “How To Introduce A Speaker”. When the presentation is over the host organisation has to wrap things up. Usually, in well organised events the role of the MC and the person thanking the speaker are separated.  The MC will call on the person designated to give a vote of thanks to the speaker and then conclude the event once that part is completed. If that is you, it is important you do a good job, because all of this is coming at the end of the event and this is contributing to people's final impressions.  Those final impressions will also include how they think about you and this will be one of the last things they remember.  Last impressions can be deadly, if we don't plan for them to succeed.   If we have been given that task to thank the speaker, we need to pay careful attention to what the speaker says, so that we can refer to it at the end.  If we can get hold of the slides or the speech outline before the presentation, this will make our job that much easier. We have to remember that we are in the public eye, when we carry out this role.  This is like a mini-presentation of our own.  Again, these are our personal and professional brands on show, so people are judging how well we can do it.   However, it shouldn't become a complete summary of the speech, so that we come across as wanting to compete with the speaker.  Have you ever seen that?  The person thanking the speaker decides to take this opportunity to promote themselves and they try to hog the limelight. People are mentally heading for the door and their next appointment and here is some windbag raving on, wasting everyone's time. We need to keep it short, sharp and terrific.  I didn't pay much attention to the final thanks to the speaker because most of them were very pedestrian or they were a self-centered rendition of this person's own views on the subject.   That changed when I heard Thierry Porte, then President of Morgan Stanley Japan, give the thank you speech at an event I attended.  The actual presentation was a disaster.  The banker giving it had put up his actual text document on screen and was scrolling through it.  The font was abysmally tiny and basically he was reading to us what was on screen.  It was a dagger in the heart of his firm's brand at that point, because this guy was obviously clueless about giving presentations. Then Thierry, who later became my boss at Shinsei Bank, gave his comments thanking the speaker for his talk.  Actually his short comments were a lot more impressive than the actual presentation.   I didn't know Thierry at that point, so it was my first exposure to him and today I cannot remember the detail of the points he made years earlier, but what I do remember was that I thought they very intelligent and concise.  It was impressive and I recall thinking, “this guy is really smart” and I made a point of exchanging business cards with him. It also showed me the power of being able to thank the speaker in an intelligent way and make an impression with the audience, promoting your personal and professional brands at the same time. The point is to think like that – “this activity is going to add to or subtract from my personal and professional brands”.   So how should we carry out this important role?  We have a formula for this we can rely on called the TIS model. T-Thanks. We might thank the speaker using their personal name if appropriate. This degree of familiarity will vary depending on our personal relationship with the speaker and the culture we are in.  Japan is a very formal country, so it is more likely we will be using their title or highly polite forms of address like sama instead of san.  So I would say “thank you Suzuki sama” rather than “thank you Suzuki san”.  There is a world of difference in Japan between those two polite forms.  Recently, I attended an online webinar and the person giving the presentation was a bengoshi or lawyer and the person giving the final remarks addressed him as “Sensei”, which is a very polite reference taking into account his prestigious line of work.   I-Interest. We pick up one area of the talk which we think would have been of most interest to the audience. This is an important decision because there are probably a lot of fascinating things the speaker was able to cover in the 40 minutes of their talk. We have to be listening carefully to the content and at the same time making a judgement about which particular aspects we think will have resonated most with the audience.  We don't have that much time, because as soon as the applause dies down, we are up on our feet making our contribution to the event.   F-Formal Thanks. If the MC is doing their job, then they will take over from us and wrap things up. In this case, we would just thank the speaker and then hand over the baton to the MC.  If it is down to us however, to bring things to a close, then we make a formal statement of thanks for the speaker, using their title and full name.  We ask the audience to join us in applause, thanking the speaker for their presentation.  For example, “May I ask everyone to join me, to again express our warm appreciation for Dr. Greg Story, giving us this wonderful presentation today”, at which point we start applauding to signal to everyone that they should now start applauding too.   There are always different levels of understanding of simple roles in a presentation event and the thing I notice is how few people actually understand how to do them properly.  From now on, pay careful attention to how the MC opens and closes proceedings and to how the person designated to give the thanks, carries out their role.  You quickly realise it is very easy to get into the top 1% of professionalism in these areas, because most people are not much good.  What a great opportunity to build our personal and professional brands!

Listen to Dr. Greg Story's interview with William Farmer, Managing Director of Dale Carnegie Australia on “Business: The Art of Winning Podcast!” In the interview, Dr. Story shares valuable insight on leading in Japan, surviving COVID-19 as a training company, building lifelong partnerships with clients, and developing one's personal and professional brand.   Dr. Story shares his three guiding values as a leader. First is to have “kokorogamae” – meaning true intention. Having the “kokorogamae” to build lifetime partnerships, build a good reputation, and achieving success is an important starting point. Secondly, being reliable and accountable is key in a conservative, risk-averse business environment like Japan. Thirdly, building helpful relationships and seeking support through mentors and resources like podcasts is crucial in continuous growth and success.   In addition to being President of Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo and a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, Dr. Story has written several Amazon #1 Bestsellers books: “Japan Sales Mastery”, “Japan Business Mastery” and “Japan Presentations Mastery” and most recently “Za Eigyo” on how to sell in Japan.   All of Dr. Story's books and online content are true accounts of his experience doing business and leading in Japan which he hopes will help Japanese people and those working in Japan to improve their professional sales, presentation, and leadership skills.   Dr. Story advises other business professionals to design their personal and professional brand carefully and consistently. He explains that by doing so, “when people find you in business, they find the best you that you want to put forward, and they will ascertain whether they want to do business with you.”

Om Prakash is the current CEO of Northrop Grumman Japan, a position he has been in since 2019. Prior to this he was Northrop Grumman's Director for Corporate Strategy and had also served in the United States Air Force where he performed numerous roles including a test pilot with over 3 000 flying hours in 60 aircraft and as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for Manufacturing and Industrial Base Policy before retiring with the rank of colonel. Mr. Prakash has a bachelor's degree in engineering from the US Air Force Academy as well as master's degrees in aeronautical and astronautical engineering (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), and national security strategy (National War College).   In his interview with Dr. Greg Story, Mr. Prakash describes how his background in the military and involvement in many leadership transitions has helped his civilian career by being able to make decisions based on limited information. When discussing the topic of new leaders introducing change, Mr. Prakash is a supporter of author Simon Sinek's philosophy to “start with the why” and believes that if a leader is clear, open and willing to listen to their team, they are more likely to succeed. When describing his own leadership style, Mr. Prakash says it is important for him to get to know his team as individuals and encourage them to grow to their full potential, even if that means them moving on to something bigger and better. As Mr. Prakash says, a good leader does not keep talented people under them to make their own job easier.   To help foster creativity Mr. Prakash believes incentives are needed not only at a team level but across an organisation.  These incentives can take a variety of forms including financial, recognition, or as promotions depending on the recipient, organisation, and context. An incentive that may motivate one person to come forward with a creative idea may not motivate another person. To understand what motivates people, Mr. Prakash points to the need for leaders to know their people and their desires and suggests leaders can simply ask their teams what they want as incentives.   Recounting a story from when he was in Japan in the late 1990's, Mr. Prakash recalls seeing people sending text messages and thinking it was a strange concept that would never catch on in America. He highlights the point that there are different mediums of communication preferred by different people for a variety of reasons, such as age and background, so it is important to experiment with different communications media. Similarly, he believes it is important to have team meetings not always run by himself, but have the meeting led by different members of the team as they will bring other qualities to the meeting.   When discussing the topic of work delegation, Mr. Prakash describes some important factors that good leaders need to consider when delegating work.  These factors include the comfort and skill level of the people who are taking on the work, discussing the deadline and time-management including leaders expressing how much time is to be spent on a task, as well as feedback. Mr. Prakash talks about how it is important for leaders who delegate work, not to delegate any criticism that arises from the work or to withhold praise.   In his first piece of advice to newcomers to Japan, Mr. Prakash suggests not assuming that they were understood just because they received a positive response (Hai). People assuming that they were understood when they in fact were not can lead to difficult situations that can be avoided by checking for understanding. He also believes learning Japanese has been very useful to him including making friends that he probably otherwise would not have made. Lastly, Mr. Prakash acknowledges that in a business setting, people may get in to trouble if their Japanese is not proficient enough to pick up all the subtlties and nuances.

In sales, we definitely need a Credibility Statement.  Buyers are always worried about buying what they don't need or paying too much for what they do buy.  The subterranean vibe is one of distrust toward salespeople.  So we have to work hard to overcome that fundamental doubt.  Salespeople without a solid sales process won't have this valuable persuasion tool at their disposal.  In fact, they will be like lemmings leaping off a cliff, running headlong into the explanation of the features of their solution.  We need to create an atmosphere of trust, before we start asking questions to understand buyer needs.   We may love our solution, we may know about it in-depth and we may know we are a great company, but the buyer doesn't have a clue about any of this.  They are sceptical, uncertain, doubtful, cautious and basically afraid of being conned.  Early in the sales conversation, we need to put all of that to rest and set up for permission to ask questions.   The Credibility Statement is needed when we make the first contact with the client and this may be in person, by email, phone call, Zoom call etc.  It is sometimes called our Elevator Pitch because it has to be concise, clear and attractive.   How do you start when you introduce yourself?  What can you say about your company in one sentence, so that the buyer is very clear what you do?  Do you have a set formula for this to build trust with the client or are you winging it every time?  When you have a well thought through structure, it takes a lot of stress off the sales process.  How does this work in reality?   In my case, I would say, “Hi my name is Greg Story.  I am the President of Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo.  We are global soft skills training experts and masters of delivery and sustainment.  Do you have a moment to talk”.    This tells the client who I am and gives them some insight into the intention of the call by telling them what I do.  Next we need a strong hook to grab their interest.  We need something that will strike a nerve with them, something that will grab their attention and tell them it is worthwhile continuing this conversation with us.   “We have heard from our clients that salespeople are really struggling with virtual selling and getting through to their buyers.  Have you found the same thing?”.  This is currently a very common problem for sales teams, so the listener can immediately relate to this being an issue.  Because the solution is so difficult, there is also a strong probability they have not been able to solve this issue by themselves, so they will be curious to hear how to fix the problem.   Now we need some evidence of what we have done for other clients which is relevant for this buyer.  Ideally, the other client referred to should be as similar as possible to the client we are now discussing business with. “Recently, we worked with a large service provider like yourself and focused on helping their salespeople make the adjustment to selling online.  They reported that their appointment rate went up by 25% after the training and their closing rate tripled”.  When we quote these numbers and we should quote numbers, they have to real and provable.  If the client asks for proof and it becomes obvious we are using spurious data, then the whole trust comes apart and the relationship is dead.   We need to suggest we can help and we do that in a special way.  We say, “maybe, we can do the same for you.  I am not sure, but if you will allow me to ask a few questions, I will know if we are in a position to help you or not?”. This is a very important bridge, because we want to receive permission before we start digging into all of their problems and strife.  As human beings, we normally would never share our troubles with a stranger, so this is a critical step. If they have the time during the call, we will begin asking our quailifying questions right there and then.  If not we will ask for the appointment, which could be face to face or it might be a Zoom call.  We ask for the appointment in a simple but effective way by offering an alternative of choice.   I would say, “Shall we get together?  Is this week fine or how about next week?  I see ‘next week', then how about Wednesday or Friday.  I see ‘Thursday is better'.  How are you suited at 10.00am in the morning?  Great, thank you, I look forward to speaking with you then”.   Salespeople who miss this vital step of the Credibility Statement make life hard for themselves unnecessarily.  It is simple and effective.  We should all be drawing on its power to set us up for the questioning stage of the salesnmeeting.  If you are not asking any questions and just jumping into the features explanation, then we need to talk!!    

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In the last episode we looked at the first three of the human relations principles we can apply when interacting with our buyers. Sales is all about trust.  Trust is built up through what we say and what we do.  It is also a function of our behavior with buyers.  We face a tricky equation of getting on with all types of buyers with different outlooks, communication and personality styles.  There are some universal aspects of our control over what we say and how we say it, which will serve us well in order to serve the largest scope of buyers possible.  We know all of these things. The only problem is we don't do them! Become genuinely interested in other people. We are all severely time poor and focused on what we need to do.  We have little mental bandwidth for what other people are thinking or need.  It is very hard to build up trusting buyer relationships with a time poor, highly transactional approach.   If we don't build trust, then what sort of relationship will we have with the buyer?  The way to build trust is to get to know people and get them to get to know us.  The more things we share in common, the easier it is to get on with each other.  This is not manipulation, trying to get to know others, so that we can use them.  People are not stupid and they pick up on this immediately.    What we are talking about here is genuine interest.  Each one of us has areas or experience or interests which others would genuinely find interesting.  It is often amazing to learn things about buyers you have worked with over many years, that you had no idea about.  It makes for a richer happier interaction.  With new clients, it breaks the ice and makes the relationship building go so much smoother.   You might be thinking: “but even if I start to be genuinely interested in them, it's difficult to start a conversation about things other than the products”.   The first step is to use Principle number 5. Smile.   As we smile, we start to develop a relationship with the buyer. It sounds so simple – smile, how hard can that be?  Well take a good look at people's faces at work and in business.  Most are looking stressed, concerned, pressured and very, very serious.  Not too many smiles being shared around.  That is the way of the modern world.  We are supposed to be getting more time thanks to technology, but in fact, it is making us busier and more stressed as a result.   So keep this in mind, that every time you face a buyer to speak, crack a big smile first before you say anything.  They will feel better about you and much more likely to cooperate with you and be pleased to see you every time you turn up.  They will feel it is easier to speak with you and you can bridge into conversations beyond just the lineup in the products catalogue.   Remember that a person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language. It is unthinkable that we would forget the name of our buyer. However, we might be dealing with a number of people on the buying side and we may not meet all of them each time. If we meet them again or pass them on the way to the meeting room or meet them at a networking event, we had better be able to remember their name.    They may not be able to remember ours by the way, so we should eliminate any potential embarrassment.  Here is an iron rule. Whenever we meet anyone, always start with offering our name first.  For example, “Hi, Greg Story, good to meet you again”.   If we start packing the conversation with the buyer's name every few minutes it sounds weird and will have the opposite effect than that which we desire.  It has to have a natural cadence.  We need to get the personalisation balance right and common sense should be determining when to use their name.   How well can we apply these three simple, yet effective, principles with buyers?  None of these ideas are new, complex or difficult.  The secret is having the discipline to change how we currently communicate with our buyers.  We get into ruts, get stuck in fixed patterns of interaction.  Try to break out of those confines and make the buyer, the human being, the center of the conversation.  Our competitors won't be doing this, so it is an excellent and simple way to differentiate ourselves from the competition.

Dr. Greg Story, President of Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan and master trainer in sales, presentations and leadership provides further insight into his extensive career in sales in Part Two of his interview with Andrew Hankinson.   “I love the fact that sales makes the wheels of commerce turn. Without sales, there's no business…it's such an important role” explains Dr. Story. Yet he points out many companies do not invest in their sales team. Realizing a need for training, in 1939 Dale Carnegie pioneered a series of public sales training courses with Percy Whiting. Dr. Story himself struggled starting as a salesperson at 16 years old selling Britannica encyclopedia door to door and reciting a 25-minute pitch. He claims: “it was only later when I got the training that I realized I could do this because before that I had no confidence.”   Dr. Story has released over 250 episodes of sales-focused podcasts titled The Japan Sales Series and has published two books, Japan Sales Mastery and Japan Business Mastery, in addition to 5 more podcast series. The Japan Sales Mastery breaks down the sales techniques taught in the Dale Carnegie sales training programs and how they can be used in the Japanese business culture. In Japan, Dr. Story claims, one needs to get permission to ask questions to understand client needs in order to persuasively sell a suitable product or service. In reality, he has seen many salespeople waste valuable client-facing time by creating a one-way presentation. The Japan Business Mastery provides an overview of the Japanese business landscape for senior-level leaders who are planning to work in Japan yet do not know about the unique business culture. Dr. Story's new book, Japan Presentations Mastery will be coming out soon in 2022.   Networking is also a key event for salespeople, but Dr. Story has seen many people in Japan not maximizing on the business opportunities networking provides. He explains it is vital to talk to as many people in such events as one never knows who can turn into a potential client. When attending networking events with his team, Dr. Story is usually the one to walk up to other attendees, handing out his business card. Afterwards, he introduces his staff and encourage them to connect. As the President of Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo, Dr. Story also uses the opportunity to gain access to other executives which his staff do not have.   Dr. Story notes connecting with decision-makers and clients in the post-COVID world will become more and more complex. Doing cold calls, getting referrals, networking and even meeting existing clients will become more difficult in the virtual environment. Dr. Story asks, “the problem though, is how do you engage the buyer in that limited environment?” He suggests using small talk before going into the main topic in order to have a human connection, even through online meetings. He adds: “And that's why that trust is so critical. Your capacity to understand the client's needs being very precise, about expectations management, about follow-up, about keeping in touch. These things are critical. Japan in a sense it's very demanding, but if you know what is demanded, then you can supply that demand.”   When telling a story, Dr. Story advises to use the CIR formula – context, insight, and relevance. He says: “you start with the background and then pull out an insight from that and why that would help us as a relevancy…you can disagree with my conclusion, but you can't disagree with my context because my context will come from my experience. It's based on my reality…If I tell my story well, enough, you are leaping ahead of me. As you hear the background, as you hear the context, your brain is going well, we should do X. And when I get to the point where I say, we should do X…you already got there ahead of me.”   Dr. Story's favourite Japanese word is zanshin残心 – zan means to “remain” and shin means “spirit” or “presence.” He further explains: “when you strike your opponent, you are 100% concentrated even after the blow. That alertness of spirit, that is zanshin…so that spirit of karate remained with me my whole life. The zanshin of karate training took a very shy young man who had nothing going for him…the spirit to fight and to challenge…it's like a reverberation of your spirit that goes beyond the striking of the bell. So when I'm gone, I'm in another place, I hope I have left something on this planet that will be good and help people reverberate beyond my life.”

Dr. Greg Story, President of Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan, sits down with Andrew Hankinson, Senior Managing Director at ZWILLING J.A. HENCKELS Japan Ltd. and podcast host of Now and Zen to talk about his valuable insight in leading in Japan, with a focus on presentations in Part One. Part two will focus on sales.   Dr. Greg Story has been working in Japan for 36 years in various leadership roles. He has written two books, Japan Sales Mastery and Japan Business Mastery, hosts six different podcasts, and is a master trainer in soft skills development including sales, presentation, and leadership.   Dr. Story calls himself a perpetual student with a constant thirst for learning. As someone that struggled during his early years to get his career started, Dr. Story finds joy in helping people maximize their professional careers.   Dr. Story explains that public speaking skills are essential if you want to have influence on people – from leading projects, making financial decisions, or even deciding what to eat for lunch. Dr. Story admits, he himself had been fearful of public speaking and avoided it until his early thirties. But nobody is born a natural public speaker and the skill can be developed through training. The High Impact Presentation course delivered by Dale Carnegie Training takes two days for people to dramatically improve their presentation skills. Dr. Story explains that with two instructors and massive coaching in an incredibly safe, critique-free environment, this is made possible   Dr. Story claims nerves due to public speaking can also be controlled through techniques like deep breathing and burning off energy. He recommends having the first few minutes of the presentation well-organized with a strong beginning. He adds to never apologize and keep one's composure and audiences will not notice any minor blunders. When facing a hostile audience during Q&A sessions, Dr. Story recommends paraphrasing the question before answering it. He also advises to take a few seconds before answering the question and make eye contact with individuals in the crowd for six seconds each. In this way, the focus is not on the individual asking the question but the entire audience.   Being clear, concise, and valued are some of the top qualities people want to achieve in the High Impact Presentation course. In order to have a clear key message in presentations, Dr. Story asks people “if we could write the punchline of your talk on a rice grain, what would we say?.” Once the main point is determined, he advises to work backwards to design the context, background, evidence, and opening of the speech. Dr. Story highlights the importance of having a strong opening and enthusiasm to get the audience engaged and excited.   Even when attending other people's talks, Dr. Story recommends being prepared to talk and ask questions to the speaker to be ready to speak on the spot.   Next week we will continue to Part Two of Dr. Story's interview in the Leadership Japan Series!

Are you planning to do business in Japan? Then you need to listen to this interview with Dr. Greg Story.Dr. Greg Story, President of Dale Carnegie Training Japan, talked about studying, living, speaking Japanese, and doing business in Japan. A Ph.D. in Japanese decision-making, and a 36-year veteran of Japan, he is a leadership expert with broad experience. Among his impressive business accomplishments are:• Launching a "start-up" in Nagoya• "Turning around" companies for Austrade in both Osaka and Tokyo• Acting as Commercial Minister in the Australian Embassy • Leading as Country Head for Austrade• Progressing to the role of Co-CEO at the Shinsei Retail Bank• Becoming the Country Head for the National Australia Bank in Japan• And more recently, managing, coaching, training, and consulting at Dale Carnegie Training Japan Global, #8 in revenues in 2020. A 6th Dan in traditional Shitoryu Karate, he applies martial art philosophies and strategies to business issues. He is so energetic and enthusiastic! An excellent and engaging communicator! You will learn a lot about cultural adaptationand Japan. Don't miss it!

This episode is #40, and the content is a little different  from the past 39 episodes in that today's guest is . . . myself.   It's actually a re-purposed podcast from Dr. Greg Story's "Japan's Top Business Interviews" podcast. I was a guest on his show in early 2021 and took that content and edited it to use for this Now and Zen's 40th episode.  The original podcast (thus this episode) we discussed my 30 year journey from department store buyer to  helping  everybody in love with culinary, achieve their ultimate kitchen lifestyle. We talk about leadership in Japan and my numerous experiences doing business in Japan, since the 1990's. Other topics of interest:My three key aspects of leadershipThe sales conference story where I proved to my staff they could default to the opportunity vs the riskWhy "engagement" is low in JapanThe family influence which got me interested in JapanHow I was able to study Japanese in university as a high school student3 pieces of advise for any new foreign leader coming to JapanDelegation in JapanEarly days in Japan and struggles working at a large Japanese companyGaining trust as a new leader in JapanMore Now and Zen Japan episodes: https://www.nowandzen.jp/Japan's Top Business Interviews: https://podcasts.apple.comGrow website traffic = Zo Digital: https://www.zodigital.jp/Great Sleep Starts Here = gugu Sleep Company: https://gugu.jpJapan Adventures via Camper Van = Dream Drive: https://www.dreamdrive.lifeUse the code word "ZEN" to receive discounts

Primacy refers to the beginning of something, as it enters our brain. This new entity has a powerful impact on our memory and our concentration.  To muscle itself into our existing brain thought stream, takes a lot of mental energy. If successful, the new direction grabs us more powerfully than continuing with the same existing thought pattern.  Recency is focused on the last thing we have heard.  One of the narky criticisms of some people is that the thoughts we share with you are the result of our most recent conversation. We tend to remember the last thing we heard.  That makes a lot of sense doesn't it, but what does this mean for speakers? Are we only able to have our audience remember our openings and closings of our speechs?  Yes, the audience will certainly most easily recall the first and last pieces of information.  They will also strike an impression of us, on the basis of our first and last visual and vocal touches.  Obviously, we need to plan for and control the delivery of all of this opening and closing business, but we can go beyond that.  There will also be numerous other opens and closings going on during the audiences' busy day. How do we shove all of those completely aside and dominate the minds of our audience.  We want them to absorb our message and to exclude all other competing thoughts?   Why do we have only one opening and one closing?  Could we break the talk up into chapters?  Each chapter is given a gangbuster opening and closing for that particular thought or point we want to convey.  Could we bring some physical action to the fore to differentiate the chapters and lift the audiences' engagement with us?  This is only possible if we switch up our thinking about what is achievable with a talk.  The speaker's normal fare is the same as everyone else's normal fare.  We are immediately at a disadvantage to stand out from the crowd.  Sadly, we are at one with the speaker push, fitting in with standard operating procedures and methodologies.  We become another grey automaton lined up with all the other robot speakers.  Let's stop doing that.   In a forty minute talk, there will be room for around seven to eight chapters, an opening and the first close before the Q&A, then the final close.  Let's change up the opening at both the mental and physical levels.  We want an opening statement, question, quote, testimonial or story that rocks the audience back into the folds of their seat and makes them take note that they are strapping in for a major ride here today.  This shatters everything that came before for them up until that point. We must extinguish their previous thoughts and proclivities.  This is especially so, if you are one of a number of speakers tumbling along one after another, launching forth on some worthy topic.   Let's organise some crew, instead of always going solo. If there is a switch between you and the MC or the previous speaker, there is always some dithering around with the tech to get the laptops exchanged and your slides up.  This drains the lifeblood of your first impression and the energy in the room simply tanks.  The MC roars, “Ladies and Gentlemen, the incomparable, the amazing, the stupendous Dr. Greg Story. Please welcome him to the stage, because he is going to totally rock our world today”.  You scramble up on stage and are immediately bent over like an old, old man, head down, trying to get the laptop hooked up to the projector.  This unwanted intrusion into the opening segment continues while you are zipping around with your mouse, looking to boot that slide show up.  This lull in proceedings has cratered the impact of that powerhouse MC introduction. It has now effectively been driven down to a pathetic whimper.  People have whipped into scrolling through their Facebook, LinkedIn or email, ignoring you while you get your act together.  The opening's marvellous, magical momentum has melted away.   Why not get someone else to handle the logistics, so that you can get straight into your talk?  They set it all up while you are already speaking to the audience.  At the right moment they leave the slide advancer for you on top of the laptop, gracefully glide off stage and leave you to continue solo.  This way we float directly onto the power stream of the MC and then take the audience even higher with our own energy.  Yes, we need to have a lot of energy at the start, because remember there are two bodies on stage. We want to monopolise the audience's attention for ourselves.  We purposely stand on the far side of the stage, to draw everyone's looking line away from the tech God and have the audience focus on us instead.   In Part Two, we will go deeper with our entry and exit points of the chapters and then how to choreograph the big crescendo for our polemic's sparkling conclusion.

Sales is always a tough job, but not being able to get any new clients during Covid-19 just takes the degree of difficulty right to the top of the scale.  Every company I speak with says the same thing – they cannot get any new clients at the moment, so they are stuck.  Even when the target decision-maker is in the office, it is diabolically difficult to get through the steel wall erected to keep out salespeople.  Today many buyers are safely tucked up at home, just placing them at that even more distant point away from us.  The person who answers the phone when we call, has not the slightest interest in connecting us, in fact, they are hell bent on getting rid of us altogether.  We know they will get scolded by the boss, if they put through a pesky salesperson.  So we have to make sure that we are bringing so much value, that the boss won't get upset. Here is a Four Step approach to deal with this conundrum.   Step One is give your company name, your own name and who your company is.  The who you are part must be brief and overflowing with credibility at the same time.  For example, “Hello, my name if Greg Story from Dale Carnegie Training Japan.  We are experts in soft skills training, globally for the last 108 years and here in Japan for nearly 60 years”.  Key words are “soft skills training”, “global”, “108 years” and “nearly 60 years”.  In one short sentence the key unique selling points have been highlighted.   Step Two is why we are calling.  We need to go straight to the pain point facing similar competitors in their industry.  “Recently, we have had many of your competitors calling us asking about leadership training for leaders dealing with remote teams.  The new Covid-19 situation has made leading teams much harder and companies are noticing the substantial drop in productivity. Despite their best efforts they have not been able to find any answers internally.”  Japanese companies are often paranoid about what their competitors are up to, so it is always good practice to frame things such that this company is missing out on what their rivals all know. Now we explain that we have been able to fix that problem.  “We have been able to provide on-line training for leaders on how to lead effectively in this new environment and these companies have seen immediate improvements in productivity across the board”.   Step Three is where we go for connecting with the decision-maker.  We suggest that this company can also enjoy all the advantages of other companies we have helped.  We approach this is a humble way, by saying, “Maybe we can do the same for your company, so please transfer me through to the person in charge of this area of the business. I am sure that they are really frustrated by now with being unable to improve the leaders' ability to lead remote teams”.  We need to reiterate that they have a major problem, they are not fixing it themselves and the decision-maker will be really glad to hear from us.   Step Four is for the 99.9999% of cases when they won't transfer us to the decision-maker.  They give us the brush off by saying, “They are not available at the moment” and expect us to crawl away, slip under a rock and disappear out of their lives forever.  We again repeat the key pain point with a sense of urgency.  “Thank you, I understand. In your industry, your competitors had initially suffered from reduced performance outcomes until we gave them the training to totally fix those issues.  Now they are doing really well. I am sure the person in charge of these results will really want to know how we fixed that issue for your rivals. Please write down my name and number and pass that information to them, so that I can explain how we fixed the issue for your competitors.  My name is Greg Story from Dale Carnegie Training Japan and my number is 080-1106-2328.  If I don't hear from them, I will call back again the day after tomorrow.  I know you are busy, so thank you for passing on the message.”   We have done a couple of things here.  Importantly, we don't ask them for permission to leave a message.  We are instead instructing them to write down our name and number and pass it on to the boss.  We also mention we will be calling back in two days if we don't hear from them.  It signals they cannot get rid of us so easily and that we are going to keep calling back, until we get to speak to the person we need to help.   So altogether, it sounds like this: “Hello my name if Greg Story from Dale Carnegie Training Japan.  We are experts in soft skills training, globally for the last 108 years and here in Japan for nearly 60 years. Recently, we have had many of your competitors calling us asking about leadership training for leaders dealing with remote teams.  The new Covid-19 situation has made leading teams much harder and companies are noticing the substantial drop in productivity. Despite their best efforts they have not been able to find any answers internally. We have been able to provide on-line training for leaders on how to lead effectively in this new environment and these companies have seen immediate improvements in productivity across the board. Maybe we can do the same for your company, so please transfer me through to the person in charge of this area of the business. I am sure that they are really frustrated by now with being unable trying to improve the leaders' ability to lead remote teams” .   “They are not available at the moment”.   “Thank you, I understand. In your industry, your competitors had initially suffered from reduced performance outcomes until we gave them the training to totally fix those issues.  Now they are doing really well. I am sure the person in charge of these results will really want to know how we fixed that issue for your rivals. Please write down my name and number and pass that information to them, so that I can explain how we fixed the issue for your competitors.  My name is Greg Story from Dale Carnegie Training Japan and my number is 080-1106-2328.  If I don't hear from them, I will call back again the day after tomorrow.  I know you are busy, so thank you for passing on the message”.   We all know that cold calling has a low success rate, but it is part of the tool box and this is the moment when we need to be wielding every tool at our disposal.  If we are going to get anywhere, then we have to doing cold calling at the highest level of skill.  Your competitors will either not be doing it at all or will be making a mess of it.  This is the chance to go for it, because you have nothing to lose and all to gain.

The first story in our new mini series "Praying Wives." Keene shares the Lord's constant faithfulness in her life no matter the ups or downs. We also hear how God used Keene to bring her husband, Greg (Story 193 and Podcast #2), to the Lord and the impact this had on their life as well as so many others! Enjoy!

The customer is Kamisama (God) in sales in Japan.  We hear this a lot here across all industries and sectors. Sometimes however, the buyer can more like an Oni (Devil) when they deal with salespeople.  Bad behavior is bad behavior regardless of the source, but when you are trying to sell a company on your product or service, do you just have to suck it up?  Actually no! Unless you are in a very small market segment, where there are only a limited number of buyers, then as salespeople we have choices.  If the former is the case, then I suggest changing industries and getting out of that negative bad behavior environment.  Life is short and good salespeople have highly transferable skills.  If you know what you are doing, you can probably work in almost any business, as long as there is no requirement for highly technical knowledge. The Japan winner of the worst sales environment is the pharmaceutical industry selling to doctors.  Unlike the rest of the advanced world, where patients use the internet to educate themselves about medical conditions, before they see the doctor, Japan is still stuck in the pre-1990s. Japanese doctors consequently, still consider themselves vastly superior to everyone else, from patients on down.  At the absolute bottom of the pile are drug salespeople.  Being forced to wait around for hours, fawning over the doctor, being spoken to like dirt, cleaning their Mercedes, arranging all types of incentives to get them to buy your drugs, have been the fodder for legendary poor buyer behavior forever.  Conflicts of interest have emerged recently as a concern and there are many more restrictions now on entertaining doctors.  The flow of goodies is being restricted and so the salesperson doesn't have as much in the way of ame (sweets) to offer anymore. They still get plenty of muchi (whip) from the buyer though.  Japan has a powerful hierarchical system in place in society.  You have been busily networking, creating new opportunities.  The company President you have just met tells one of the staff to get together with you the salesperson.  You might be thinking, this is looking good.  Not necessarily. What often surprises me about HR people and other underlings in Japan is how they run their own show, regardless of what the President may want.  Recently, I had lunch with a multi-national company President here running the Japan operation.  The President is dynamic, articulate and a great presenter.  After the lunch, as promised, the President sent an email to the HR person instructing them to get together with me to discuss training for their company.  I follow up with the HR person many, many times, but never get an answer.  It has become obvious they do not care what the President said, they have their own views on how to run the training and we are not going to fit into that plan.  On another occasion, I had met the Japanese President at a networking event, followed up, got a meeting and in the process he introduced me to the HR people.  In the meeting, the President suggested they take a look at what we offer.  Many, many emails and attempted contacts later, no response from the HR team for  follow-up meeting. Going back and telling the President who introduced you that, in fact, they have no power within their own organization is a bit of a delicate conversation.  Even if you raise it, you have just said that the Emperor has no clothes.  They do not thank you for pointing out their underlings are in rebellion and they themselves are impotent.  I am still working on a solution for this contradiction. Another annoying activity is being asked to spend time to put together a proposal and quote on a product or service, but there is absolutely no intention to buy from you.  This is often driven by internal compliance regulations that require three quotes. They have already secretly selected the provider and your job is to provide the paperwork to make sure that happens and the compliance box is ticked.  We were contacted by a large company recently asking for a proposal on a particular piece of training.  Efforts to meet the client to discuss the needs etc., were rebuffed because they said they were so busy – just send the proposal, it will be fine (!).  This is a tricky one, because you don't know if you are the patsy here or if they are in fact so very busy that is why they need your help.  To test the system in these specific doubtful and dubious cases, I never follow up from my side after sending over the proposal.  I know, I know. This sounds like a very bad sales effort on my part and I should be fired, but it is a technique to reveal who we are dealing with here, time wasters or genuine buyers.  If they are really interested, then they will get back to me with either more questions or an order.  If stony silence is all we get, we know we have been royally used to assist a competitor's sales effort.  That is a double ouch right there, isn't it! It is not always black and white though.  In another case the President was a graduate of our programme and told his HR Director to get us to put together a proposal  on some training.  This is exciting and you think “we are looking good”.  The President knows the quality and the results from first hand experience and has the authority to make this happen. Or so it seems.  In this example, I actually get to meet the HR people and their internal client.  I followed up to present the proposal to them.  “No, we are very busy, just send it”.  Warning signal right there.  I pushed back, “actually I need to explain it for you”. Further stalling, “No, just send it”.  The pricing by the way, was very close to their indication.  Eventually you send it, but now you begin to suspect this is revenge on the President for daring to enter their world of authority.  What looked like an inside track to a positive decision, gets derailed as the internal buying entity flexes muscle to show their independence.  Applying my standard rule, I do not follow up further and just wait to see what happens.  There was no response from their side, so again few options available, other than to tough it out. These things happen in business, but the key point is do not take it personally.  Sales is a roller coaster ride of ups and downs and your emotions are always under attack.  Accept that sometimes you will get played by the buyer, but keep a record of the incident.  Every six months give that company  a call to see if your nefarious counterpart is still working there.  People are much more mobile in Japan, compared to many years ago and there is a good chance the evil, malicious puppeteer has moved on.  We should not deal with that particular buyer again, but we can try to deal with the company. There are usually many buyers in your market and many who you have had no contact with as yet, so there is little need to deal with bad buyer behavior.  As the old saying goes “fool me once it's your fault, fool me twice it's my fault”. Action Steps if you are in an industry where buyers habitually treat salespeople very badly then switch industries Just because the people at the top like you, don't think that means anything in Japan. Keep working on those who actually execute the work. If the buyer just says “send it to me” get worried, you may be the patsy for unknowingly assisting a rival's offer Keep in touch with the company, the “problem child” may have moved on Never forget “fool me once it's your fault, fool me twice it's my fault” Engaged employees are self-motivated. The self-motivated are inspired. Inspired staff grow your business but are you inspiring them? We teach leaders and organisations how to inspire their people. Want to know how we do that? Contact me at greg.story@dalecarnegie.com If you enjoy these articles, then head over to www.japan.dalecarnegie.com and check out our "Free Stuff" offerings - whitepapers, guidebooks, training videos, podcasts, blogs. Take a look at our Japanese and English seminars, workshops, course information and schedules. About The Author Dr. Greg Story: President, Dale Carnegie Training Japan In the course of his career Dr. Greg Story has moved from the academic world, to consulting, investments, trade representation, international diplomacy, retail banking and people development. Growing up in Brisbane, Australia he never imagined he would have a Ph.D. in Japanese decision-making and become a 30 year veteran of Japan. A committed lifelong learner, through his published articles in the American, British and European Chamber journals, his videos and podcast “THE Leadership Japan Series”, he is a thought leader in the four critical areas for business people: leadership, communication, sales and presentations. Dr. Story is a popular keynote speaker, executive coach and trainer. Since 1971, he has been a disciple of traditional Shitoryu Karate and is currently a 6th Dan. Bunbu Ryodo (文武両道-both pen & sword) is his mantra and he applies martial art philosophies and strategies to business.

Ever think about taking your sales career international but don't know where to get started?  Greg Story, President of the Dale Carnegie Sales Training in Japan, comes to Sell Or Die to add a few stamps to your sales passport. Greg expounds on the mistakes that some sales people in Japan make, are you making those same mistakes? Find out why some of the best languages in sales are absolutely universal and if you can translate them can make you money. Greg is also the author of Japan Sales Mastery: Lessons from Thirty Years in Japan This episode is brought to you by, The Why and The Buy, hosted by Jeff Bajorek and Christie Walters. They interview entrepreneurs and sales experts to find out the why behind their success. Listen on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. On today's show... 02:56 - Who was Dale Carnegie and why is he still influential today? 10:22 - Selling Enyclopedia Brittanica's door to door 16:53 - Adjusting to the differences between being a student in Japan and running a business 21:14 - Paying attention to the subtle clues in a sales meetings makes you money 26:42 - "The fundamentals of sales are not being applied here (in Japan) by salespeople because they're fundamentally untrained." -Dr Greg Story 30:33 - Are there enough qualified sales people in Japan? 32:10 - Greg reveals how to waste a 50 minute sales pitch? 39:09 - Are you missing any of the non verbal cues during sales pitches?   Join our Exclusive Sell or Die Facebook Group, where our members are already discussing the latest episode. Submit your sales question and we will answer it on the show!   FREE E-BOOK For a limited time, get Jennifer Gluckow's FREE EBOOK: 27 Winning Strategies That Will Take You From Sales Slump to Sales Streak   Need more sales help? Jeffrey's website: https://gitomer.com Jennifer's website: https://salesinanyminute.com Subscribe to the Gitomer Learning Academy: https://go.gitomer.com/gitomer-learning-academy   NEW BOOK Order your copy of Jeffrey's new book Sales Manifesto TODAY! Imperative actions you need to take and master to dominate your competition and win for yourself...for the next decade.   SEE JEFFREY LIVE It's time to skill-up. Learn from Jeffrey Gitomer, the King of Sales. He'll be giving a seminar in a city near you. Be there!

Every Friday we present a supercut of the most insightful, most inspiring, most useful pieces of sales wisdom from the week that was. And in case you missed it, click the links below to listen to the full episodes.   This episode is brought to you by the Selling with Soul podcast, hosted by Meredith Messenger and produced by the Sell or Die Podcast Network. Selling with Soul discussed new sales and revenue growth strategies, demystifies sales concepts and develops sales skills through master classes and expert interviews. Listen today on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.   On today's show... 02:02 - Gina Trimarco unveils her "Yes, And.." strategy to the Sell Or Die Universe 05:27 - Dr. Greg Story tells a story of the most boring sales presentation alive 08:26 - On Motivation Monday, Jeffrey and Jen address what Diehards must do if their biggest sales rivals are their coworkers.   GET MORE SELL OR DIE Join our Exclusive Sell or Die Facebook Group, where our members are already discussing the latest episode. Submit your sales question and we will answer it on the show!   Need more sales help? Jeffrey's website: https://gitomer.com Jennifer's website: https://salesinanyminute.com Subscribe to the Gitomer Learning Academy: https://go.gitomer.com/gitomer-learning-academy   NEW BOOK Order your copy of Jen's new book Sales in A New York Minute today! 212 pages of real world and easy to implement strategies to make more sales build loyal relationships and make more money.   SEE JEFFREY LIVE It's time to skill-up. Learn from Jeffrey Gitomer, the King of Sales. He'll be giving a seminar in a city near you. Be there!

Our guest this week is Hal Elrod, author of The Miracle Morning. Hal has not one incredible story but TWO. At age 20 his car was hit head-on by a drunk driver at 70 miles per hour, his heart stopped beating for 6 minutes, he broke 11 bones and woke up after being in a coma for 6 days to be told by his doctors that he would probably never walk again. Well, not only did Hal walk, he ran a 52-mile ultra-marathon and went on to became a hall of fame business achiever, international keynote speaker, author, and grateful husband & father—all before he turned 30. Then, in November of 2016, Hal nearly died again—his kidneys, lungs, and heart were failing, and he was diagnosed with a rare, and very aggressive form of leukemia. After enduring the most difficult year of his life, battling cancer, Hal is now cancer-free and furthering his mission as the host of the Achieve Your Goals podcast, creator of the Best Year Ever [Blueprint] LIVE event, and Executive Producer of The Miracle Morning MOVIE—a documentary featuring Lewis Howes, Robert Kiyosaki, Robin Sharma, Mel Robbins, James Altucher, Dr. John Gray, Laila Ali, Pat Flynn, John Lee Dumas, Marci Schimoff, Joe Polish, and more. This episode is brought to you by "Japan Sales Mastery" the newest book by renowned international business expert Dr. Greg Story. If you need help with your international sales in Japan, this is a MUST read. Dr. Story heads Dale Carnegie Japan and hosts his own podcast "Sales Japan Series”   On today's show...  11:44 - How Hal Elroid kept his spirits high even after the accident 16:40 - What is Hal Elrod's 5 - Minute Rule? 27:17 - What disconnects people from living up to their full potential 29:50 -  What are the Six Practices Of The Miracle Morning?  Are YOU a Sell-or-Die-Hard?

Our guest this week is a certified Sell or Die regular, Jeb Blount, author of a new book, Objections: The Ultimate Guide for Mastering the Art and Science of Getting Past No.  This episode is brought to you by "Japan Sales Mastery" the newest book by renowned international business expert Dr. Greg Story. If you need help with your international sales in Japan, this is a MUST read. Dr. Story heads Dale Carnegie Japan and hosts his own podcast "Sales Japan Series” We're starting a Sell or Die Book Club and you can join! Our first book is Stop Selling and Start Leading. Here's what to do: Buy the book using promocode SSSLP for 20% off! Join us on our Facebook Live group book discussion on May 10th! Subscribe to the Sell or Die Podcast! It only takes 7.5 seconds

Our guest this week is Jacob Baadsgaard, founder of Disruptive Advertising. He's here today to talk to us about how to be disruptive with your marketing and what he learned transitioning from founder who sells everything to running a team of sales people. The lessons he learned and the culture he's established will help you become an amazing sales leader.  This episode is brought to you by "Japan Sales Mastery" the newest book by renowned international business expert Dr. Greg Story. If you need help with your international sales in Japan, this is a MUST read. Dr. Story heads Dale Carnegie Japan and hosts his own podcast "Sales Japan Series” We're starting a Sell or Die Book Club and you can join! Our first book is Stop Selling and Start Leading. Here's what to do:  1. Buy the book using promocode SSSLP for 20% off! 2. Join us on our Facebook Live group book discussion on May 10th! Subscribe to the Sell or Die Podcast! It only takes 7.5 seconds

Have you ever had trouble selling to someone that made WAY more money than you? Ever hesitated before revealing price. This episode will help you tremendously. Our guest this week is Richard C. Wilson, CEO of the Family Office Club.  Richard C. Wilson helps $100M+ net worth families create and manage their single family offices and currently manages 14 clients including mandates with three billionaire families and as the CEO of a $500M+ single family office and Head of Direct Investments for another with $200M+ in assets. Richard literally wrote the book on the family office industry, The Single Family Office: Creating, Operating, and Managing the Investments of a Single Family Office and a recently released book called How to Start a Family Office: Blueprints for Setting Up Your Single Family Office. This episode is brought to you by "Japan Sales Mastery" the newest book by renowned international business expert Dr. Greg Story. If you need help with your international sales in Japan, this is a MUST read. Dr. Story heads Dale Carnegie Japan and hosts his own podcast "Sales Japan Series." Subscribe to the Sell or Die Podcast! It only takes 7.5 seconds