The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show

"I would be able to sell a lot more except for all the extraneous, external factors over which I have zero control".  Actually, you have never heard this line of argument before from a salesperson.  This is because this statement is an honest appraisal of what they see as the problem, but they don't express it that way.  This comes from not having sufficient self-awareness to realize this is what...

Suddenly you hear your name being called upon and you are being requested to make a few remarks.  Uh oh.  No preparation, no warning and no escape.  What do you do?  Extemporaneous speaking is one of the most difficult tasks for a presenter.  It could be during an internal meeting, a session with the big bosses in attendance or at a public venue.  One moment you are nice and comfy, sitting there i...

The hero's journey is for the very, very few.  I did it my way, I slaved away in a garret and got to the top, I realised the American dream – all good stuff, but an illusion for most.  The reality is there are more of us who need the cooperation of others, than those who can succeed despite others.  The age of the "one" has been taken over by the age of the "many".  Hero teams are more powerful th...

The object of a sale is to exchange a good or a service for money.  The degree to which that money can exceed the variable and fixed costs associated with delivering it, determines the success and longevity of the company.  We all know that nothing happens in business without a sale.  If that is the case then salespeople have a critical role to produce as much revenue as possible for the firm.  Th...

Questions in general are powerful tools for speakers.  They bring focus to key points we want to get across.  They are particularly useful in getting our audience engaged.  They also have danger within them.  Knowing when to use questions and what types of questions to use are things which must be worked out in the planning of the presentation and shouldn't be done on the fly.  If you want to get...

We love acronyms!  Our workplaces are thriving with them such that we can hold extended conversations composed entirely of seemingly impenetrable codes.  They are handy though and this one R.E.AL. is short and serviceable to describe best practice leadership attributes.  It always good to have evidence around pontification. This summary of the great and the good tendencies amongst leaders is based...

Proof, data, evidence, facts alone are not enough in selling.  The first thing a buyer buys is us.  We have to stand out amongst our competitor rabble.  We have to bring enormous energy and belief to what we sell to convince the buyer that they should buy from us. Today, we will delve into how we do that.   Often in business, we will hear a sales presentation and receive a lot of information from...

Pizazz is one of those unusual words, that sounds kind of cool, but is a bit vague.  In presenting terms, we are really looking at being more interesting and engaging and doing that in a sparky, non-anticipatory way.  Droning on when presenting is a pretty strong norm for many people.  They talk at us, not with us.  They are lifeless and low energy.  This may be fine for having a cup of tea with y...

Projects are too common.  Because of this we take them for granted, seeing them as part of everyday work, but we don't approach them properly.  We usually gather the team together and then dive straight into the details of the project, without really applying a professional approach.  We certainly don't apply as much planning expertise to the task as we should, as we wade straight into the mechani...

Tricky area in sales, showmanship.  The word has a certain odor about it that reeks of fake, duplicity, con game, spruker, carnival barker, etc.  Yet, like storytelling, this is an important part of the sales professional's repertoire.  Clients are card carrying members of the Great Guild Of Skeptics.  They are highly doubtful about salespeople's claims. We need to bring some powerful persuasion t...

Zen study is a way to strip out all of the non-essentials in life.  The noise, the distraction, the things that are not so important.  People sit around concentrating on their breath cycle or one word or any number of other methods to quiet the mind. They are seeking to get more clarity about themselves and what are their real priorities.  As presenters, this is a good metaphor for when we are in...

Projects have been around for a long time of course and in the modern era we have accumulated a vast amount of best practice on how to manage them.  It isn't usually that we don't know what to do, it is that we don't actually do it.  We get into trouble when we just leap in and dig straight into the logistical entrails,  without giving enough thought to a macro 360 degree view of what is involved....

Great service is so fleeting and  illusive. You encounter it and then like the morning mist, the next minute it is gone.  One company representative is so spectacularly helpful and then next one is seemingly possessed by evil spirits and demonic. As companies how do we get the angels inside our staff to engage with the clients, rather than having reputation destroying devils intrude.  Good service...

I have often thought there are so many lessons from the martial arts for our businesses.  Here are my musings after 50 years of training in traditional Shitoryu Karate.     Stepping on to the floor The dojo is the ultimate equalizer.  Whether you arrived by chauffeur driven Roller or took Shanks's mare, once you step on to that dojo floor only your ability and character separates you from everyone...

Sales is a tough enough job without having additional complications.  Clients can be very demanding, often we depend on logistics departments and production divisions, to get the purchase to the buyer.  We can't control the quality, but we have total responsibility, as far as the client is concerned. There is the constant pressure of producing revenue results, with bosses always pushing hard on th...

My eyes are slowly closing.  I am sitting in the front row but I am struggling to stay awake.  There is something about this presentation that is not working.  I thought, it must be me.   I must be tired.  Later however I realized the problem.  I was being lulled into sleep by the monotone delivery of the presenter.  Now there was no excuse for this, because the language was English.  We know that...

Sport is a popular source of inspiration for corporate leadership.  Coaches attend off-sites and make good money telling business executives how to be better people motivators.  Sports journalist Simon Kuper made an interesting observation in his column in the Financial Times about famous football coaches falling into decline, supplanted by younger, more innovative rivals. These superstar coaches...

Cold calling always creates a debate amongst the sales community.  Some say it has seen it's day, others defend it as part of the sales resource bank for getting leads.  I don't think anyone suggests it has a high rate of success.  Yet, there are occasions when we need to call someone we have never spoken to before and who has never heard of us.  Why would we be doing that?  We may have spun the s...

When you are on the executive floor, the carpet is thick, the mood is quiet and the décor is sumptuous.  It is a world removed from the scramble going on floors below.  Maybe you are in your own President's office, shielded from the fray outside the door.  The further you place yourself away from the troops the harder it is to influence the mood of the team.  Of course, you have direct reports ove...

It sounds so obvious that we should have structures for doing our project planning.  Projects are part and parcel of the fabric of work life and they constantly arise.  It is surprising though that so many teams are busily working away with no structure whatsoever.  The project team jumps straight into arranging the details of the project, without giving any thought to how the project should be ap...

When we are haggling over the price with the buyer and they say, "this price is too high", "that is out of our budget", "we can't afford it at that level, can't you drop the price", "we never pay that much", "we can get it for less", etc., we are in a bind.  We want the sale, we want to make our sales targets, so we immediately go into discount mode. This is a big negotiating mistake.    I heard t...

Pricing is usually set by the boss and salespeople are just there to get out and sell at that designation.  The provenance of that price point can be quite varied.  In some cases, there is a careful calculation involved. It determines the necessary return to cover direct and indirect costs, plus make a specified margin of profit.  In other cases, a moist index finger is lofted skyward and a price...

We can speak to a group. Then there is another level, where we try to totally captivate our audience.  What makes the difference?  The content could even be the same, but in the hands of one person it is dry and delivered in a boring manner.  Someone else can take the same basic materials and really bring it to life.  We see this with music.  The same lyrics, but with a different arrangement and s...

Projects are simply too common.  Because of this we take them for granted, seeing them as part of our everyday work, but we don't approach them properly.   We certainly don't apply as much planning expertise to the task as we should, as we wade boldly straight into the mechanics of the execution.  Why is that?   Poor leadership and a lack of skills make for dangerous dance partners, as the team la...

Sales people are always under pressure to meet their targets.  In high pressure situations, this creates certain behaviours that are not in tune with the client's best interests.  We know we should listen carefully to what the client wants, before we attempt to suggest any solution for the buyer's needs.  We know that by asking well designed questions, we can possibly come up with an insight that...