Widen That Buyer Gap Or Else

Having a buying need and doing something about it can often be quite disparate ideas. There are many things we would all like to do in business to grow our companies. The constraints are usually money and people. The lack of resources holds us back and so we persevere, always hoping that somehow, we will be able to bridge that gap between where we are now and where we want to be.

At the CEO level, we are always focused on the strategy for the company and the future goals. This is something that occupies a lot of thinking time. Once you get below that level, the intensity drops off. The CFO is thinking about this quarter or this year. Worried about the finances, the cash flow, the ability to find the funds to invest, the analyst reports, etc.

If we are talking about line managers, they are concerned with meeting their targets and keeping their good people and getting rid of the not so good people. HR has a very curious take on all of this. Basically, they don’t care all that much. They have a functional role here in Japan and are the rule police. Sometimes they have to respond to internal demands and go and source resources in the form of people or training, but generally they are passive.

When the buyer is looking at the gap between where they are now and where they want to be and they judge it is pretty close, they don’t feel any urgency or need to buy. They will have certain drivers pushing them along in their role in the business, but this gap perception component is key in selling to buyers. If we can’t show that the opportunity cost of no action is too high, then they are not inspired to do anything. Doing nothing or doing what you have always done are the easiest decisions for any buyer.

They are always time poor and a purchase decision usually comes wrapped in other tasks that will need attention, as a consequence of making that buying decision. Not buying isn’t always about the money. Often it can be hesitancy around the Pandora’s Box of extra workload this buying decision will trigger. It could be the lack of resources to make the most of the benefits of the purchase and this is what is also holding them back.

We have to draw out the implications of taking no action, of doing nothing. When and how do we do that? In the questioning stage, we can draw attention to the size of the gap. Now if we say “that is a pretty big gap you have there and you should fix that”, they doubt us. We are salespeople, so the buyer is always mentally dismissing everything we say as fluffy sales talk. We need them to tell us the gap is big and needs attention. Also that it needs attention right now.

When we are discussing the Should Be question - where they want to be in the future we need to add a little question to this process. We ask where they want to be and then we follow up their answer by asking them, “What happens if you can’t get there fast enough?”. It is not useful to ask them what happens if they cannot get there, because as far as they are concerned, they can get there by themselves. No, instead we draw their attention to the speed factor. No one ever gets there as fast as they want, so it automatic opens up the idea of a gap that needs addressing. Also the current speed they are traveling at, will always be their maximum speed, so we are there to help them speed things up.

When we are asking about the Barrier Question along the lines of “if you know where you are now and you know where you want to be, why aren’t you there yet”, we have another chance to emphasise that they need our help to achieve their goals. We find out what is the obstacle holding them back and then we ask the gap widener - “What happens if you cannot clear that obstacle?” Again we are trying to demonstrate that maybe they cannot do it all by themselves or do it fast enough and they need us in that equation to make it work. When we ask about the personal payoff for them if we are successful, after their answer we need to get them to reflect on the downside for them personally if it doesn’t happen or happen fast enough. We ask, “so if the targets are not met, what does that mean for you personally?”. In Japan, buyers rarely ever attach any personal gain to success and will talk in general terms of the group. In this case, we need to reference what will it means to the team if the goals are not met? It is the same idea but just asked in a different way.

If we try to point out these aspects which won’t work we won’t be believed. We have to get them to tell us it won’t work, under their own steam, at the current pace, with the current resources and investment. Once we get them thinking about that gap we can start suggesting when we present the solution that we are the cure for all their ills. We have the ability to help them get where they want to be faster and more smoothly.

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", 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.

Handling Buyer Objections

None of us like to hear “no”. We are raised with this word from our parents and we didn’t like getting it then and we don’t like getting it now. We have something in our mind about how things should go and this little word means we are going to be denied. The irony is that in sales this is a very common answer to our offer. For something so prevalent, you would think that salespeople would be real experts in dealing and overcoming this comment. Not true.

Instead, often the first reaction to hearing no on the part of the salesperson is to go harder. They somehow imagine they can force the buyer to buy. They imagine that if they have some tricky technique they can reverse that declaration. The immediate impulse is to go straight to the answer to counterpoint the objection. This is exactly the opposite of what we should do but that doesn’t stop salespeople from trying it. This is mainly an emotional reaction based on the adrenalin flooding the brain with the fight response. We need to stop that process.

How do we do that? We need a circuit breaker. We need an interruption between our hearing the word “no” and going in for the rebuttal. That is where the cushion comes in. A cushion is a short sentence which is quite neutral and won’t inflame the situation with the negative buyer. We are told no because it is too expensive. Instead of plumbing the thousand good reasons why it is in fact not too expensive, we go to a cushion such as: “It is important to get the budgeting process working well in any company”.

The 5 or 6 seconds which it takes us to say that sentence gives us time to mentally regroup before we try to respond to the client. We have to override the chemicals pushing us to fight, to engage the brain before we speak. The only thing we should have running through our mind while using the cushion is “ask why it is too expensive?”.

Answering straight away exposes us to a big danger. That occurs because we are possibly not answering the right question. We hear “it is too expensive” but this is a headline. We need to read the full article the get the background before we are in any position to respond. The headline may be a fake news headline as well. Perhaps they say that initial response to us, just to hide the real reason. We do this when retail shopping, don’t we. We can’t afford the item we are looking at when we see the price tag. Do we tell the clerk we are paupers who can’t afford such an expensive good. No, we say something else, such as the colour isn’t to our taste, or we are not sure about the size.

When we hear that headline from the buyer we need to ask why that is a problem. We also cannot just go down one layer. We have to dig right in for the deeper reasons. We also need to get these out and even when we think we have exposed them all we should ask, “are there any other reasons why you wouldn’t go ahead?”. We need to uncover the hidden objections. Once the list is completed we now need to have the buyer prioritise which one is the main deal breaker for them. Funnily enough, if we can answer this one to their satisfaction the other objections fade away.

Once we hear the main reason holding them back we have to check if this is a legitimate objection or not? It might be constructed on false information. When I was selling Australian products into the market here, I found that Japanese competitor salespeople would have no hesitation in spreading false rumours about the rival Australian supplier. They would say the supplier was in financial trouble and would be going out of business shortly. None of this was true but that didn’t seem to matter. In such cases where there is a misunderstanding or some incorrect information floating around we have to go in hard and show why that is absolutely not the case.   A statement to that fact is not enough – we have to come armed with proof to have any real credibility.

If the objection is true, then we should admit it. It may be that our delivery time is slow because it takes longer to create that level of quality. We explain the background and try to find a way around the timing of supply issue. It may be that we reverse the objection. If they say they cannot afford to buy because business is bad, we can point out that we are the solution to turning the business around. They are where they are today because they didn’t have us as a partner helping them improve their business.

We can answer the objection but we need to know we have our ladder up against the right wall before we embark on a reply. We need to have the breaker in there to get us to a series of why questions to dig down to the highest priority item worrying them. If we can solve their objection then fine, if we can’t fine. We just move on a find another client we can serve.

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", 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.

Buyers Please Object

Buyers should buy and not quibble, hesitate or question. That at least is what salespeople hope for. That may happen, but the frequency is not high and you certainly wouldn’t want to be banking your career arc on the odds of that occurring. The reality is we want buyers to object. If we don’t get an commitment to buy right then and there, the next best case is they give us an objection. No objection then no sale.

If we are giving our presentation and at the end the buyer doesn’t have any objections but are also not ready to purchase then we are in trouble. In the sales call we have to get the buyer excited. We also need to have them mentally commit to implementing or consuming whatever it is we are selling. That triggers a future state where they have to anticipate that certain things need to happen. This future state throws up questions. If they are a non-buyer then there is no trigger to go into anticipation of potential problems.

We are all raised to be risk averse. Watch carefully when you cross the road. Don’t dive into the river before you check what is under the surface. Don’t sign contracts without reading the fine print. Our parents do their best to ensure our survival and a big part of that effort is to make sure we avoid doing risky things. This carries over into our role as the buyer. We have to anticipate issues which may arise in the future and make sure they are covered off at the point of purchase. This is the due diligence of business.

Now if we have no intention to make a purchase there is no point wasting any energy on the due diligence component. The buyer will just sit there, listen inertly and then end the meeting. Everyone is time poor today, so we will not invest that valuable resource in things which are going nowhere. Such as talking with a salesperson who has nothing of interest for us.

When we get an objection, it indicates interest. Getting very poor questions is also another warning signal. If the sale is expensive or complex then we want a lot of questions. We know that those questions are the buyer running through a mental checklist to make sure they can buy. If the issues are dealt with then, it is a deal. No mental checklist and no questions means no sale.

Sometimes the person we are presenting to may not be the final decision maker. This is usually the case in Japan.   There will be various stakeholders scattered around the company who have to agree. We will never get to meet them or will not even be aware of many of them, but they are there and they have to say yes. The famous ringi system of affixing their hanko or stamp to the recommendation to purchase is typical of big companies. They need to coordinate across divisions and sections. They value having a common understanding of what is going to happen. Your stamp on the document and it is usually a physical document, indicates you are aware of this and you agree that this project can move forward from the point of view of your area of responsibility.

The person sitting across from us is a catcher of data and information to relay to others within the system. They will not have many objections, because they are probably not going to be the end user. They may not have enough information to know what risks should be taken care of in this sales presentation stage. We had a meeting with a financial institution recently and the size of the deal was 10x. that means the scope of the solution was probably ten times what they were expecting. The investment amount was in line with that scope and also 10 x what they probably expected.

At the end of the meeting, I noted to my colleague that they didn’t have enough objections. If the scope was that much bigger than they were initially thinking there should have been more issues raised. Our interlocutor was a catcher of information not a decision maker. We need to get together with the decision makers and go through this idea for them again. We need to get some solid objections if we are going to make this sale.

No objections is a bad sign. We haven't shown enough value or time urgency to inspire then to take our offer seriously. So contrary to what we salespeople all want, which is a sale with no objections, in fact we need them to make the sale. Remember our objective is not to make the sale, it is to get the reorders and to do that the buyer has to be 100% convinced this is the best thing to help them build their business. We need to partner with the buyer because we bring so much value to them. To establish that fact we have to show that we are providing more value than we are asking for in terms of their investment in our product or service. The way to do that is run through their mental checklist of potential problems and cross them all off so that there are no longer any barriers to making a buy and continue to by decision.

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", 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.

Stop Cutting Corners

Life is full of various rhythms and flows. We have a set piece most mornings. Arise, eat, get ready for work, head out the door. We work, finish, go to the gym, hobby, etc., or go straight home. Saturday we have a certain flow going on and it is usually different to our Sundays. We like certainty, predictability, constancy. That is all fine, because we are all deep in our Comfort Zones. This is the cuddly place where we have reduced as much risk as possible and we feel safe. All of this is bad for the sales life.

Sales is chaos. It is fragile, uncertain, unpredictable, unreliable. We have to learn how to ride the tiger not how to dismount. I laughed when watching the movie Kung Fu Panda with my son, when the chubby panda says “my old enemy – stairs”, as he contemplates the long climb to the top of the temple. In sales, we have an old enemy too and it is called “comfortable”.

When we get too comfortable, we stop hustling, pushing, striving, reaching. We get into a routine because we have built up enough repeater clients to make our numbers or keep our jobs. Sales should be the ultimate meritocracy, because it is all metrics, easily and constantly measureable – how much have you sold today? That should mean that people in sales are all high performers but they are not. There are many average producers in sales, who still keep their jobs. They are not totally hopeless enough to get fired, but they don’t shoot the lights out either.

Pareto came up with the 80/20 split concept and in any sales organization there are going to be roughly 20% of the sales folk accounting for 80% of the revenue. That means that 80% of the team are only coughing up 20% of the revenue. If the raw amounts being generated in total are sufficiently large enough then it all works. Sales managers often tend to be spending their time trying to put a better shade of lipstick on the pigs, who are not producing enough. They should be spending their time on the top producers trying to encourage them to produce more, because their contribution will be at a significant scale.

Top producers are human too and they get into rhythms where they don’t grow. They are getting enough money now and don’t feel motivated to go for more. Japan is especially like this. Incentive schemes are hard to get to work properly in Japan because the individual hunger is not strong. The society rewards people who fit it in, rather than want to stand out. Being super hungry and motivated to succeed and make a lot of money seems anti-social in Japan and is punished from an early age. People grow up knowing that if they stand out they will be ostracised and put back in their place pretty quickly.

You hardly ever see “leader boards” of individual sales production in offices. The numbers get counted of course but it is all kept demure and polite. It gets interesting when that new boss just jetted in from some foreign clime, gets religion about individual production and wants to incentivise and recognize people. Often the people don’t want it. Those getting recognised don’t like it because they know the knives will be coming out immediately and they are going to become uncomfortable with all this boss approbation and attention. The rest of the crew don’t like it because it makes them look bad and they have lost face publically. Japan is the country of don’t stand out and well meaning expat bosses always struggle to understand why the sales people are not motivated by money and glory like at home.

I was coaching a client who was having trouble getting production out of the sales team. The problem was instantly obvious. They were paying a base of 10 million yen and a commission on top of that. No one was motivated by the additional commission, because the base was already high enough. Very few salespeople in Japan are on commission structures, because they all prefer safety and a defined salary with a regular bonus. They know they could earn more on commission, but they are risk averse and prefer to earn less but with more certainty.

How can we motivate salespeople? Recognise top performing salespeople privately. Take them out for a very nice swanky meal, make it personal, unique, special. Theoretically, we should try to adjust the salary structure so that the base salary is as low as possible and the “at risk” part is as high as possible. Now in Japan, at the moment, that is not easy because of the shortage of salespeople. So we have to start paying them higher base salaries and lower commissions to get them on board. We have to increase their commissions to keep them with us. Having said that, we need to try to up the ante on the rewards when they hit their targets.

It is better to keep a base salary you feel is too high to retain people and really crank up the upside, rather than risk losing staff. For example, in Japan, in this market, if the annual base salary was 5 million yen and the commission 10%, you will have trouble getting people to take a drop to a 4 million yen base for a higher 15% commission. It will be better to swallow the 5 million base and offer 20% - 30% commissions when they hit a certain target numbers.

Take another look at how you reward salespeople? It has to be motivating for them or why would they bother? Don’t be mean with the upside rewards. Remember, your top 20% brings home the bacon for the 80% of sales. This is the group you need to get out of their Comfort Zone and get going to go higher, go harder. This is how you can get scale in production in Japan.

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", 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.