The Japan Business Mastery Show

Normally when we give presentations, they tend to be pretty dry affairs.  We marshal the facts, relate what happened, tell stories perhaps but in a one dimensional way.  We are relating what happened, but are not making any attempt to bring it alive.  However, what do we seek when we are looking for entertainment or education – we are looking for dialogue.  Our television dramas, movies, novels, b...

"I would be able to sell a lot more except for all the 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.  Instead they bitch about the boss, the market, industry changes, currency movements, the...

Sometimes you see a confident leader really bomb their presentation.  It doesn't happen all that often, but when it does, the contrast is vast.  If they are totally hopeless and they bomb, well that is understandable.  But a competent leader shouldn't bomb their presentation.  He did and I was wondering why that happened?  It was only at the end, when it was too late to do anything about it, that...

I have often thought there are so many lessons from the martial arts for our businesses.  Here are my musings after 53 years of training in traditional 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 else.  In bu...

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 oft...

The hardest sales job in the world is selling something you don't believe in yourself.  The acid test is would you sell this "whatever" to your grandmother?  If the answer is no, then get out of there right now!  It is rarely that clear cut though. The more important test is whether what you are selling solves the client's problem or not.  Selling clients on things that are not in their best inter...

One of our problem areas is what to do with our hands when we speak.  Judging by most of the presentations I see in Japan, few speakers have worked this out yet.  Here are some common habits we can improve upon to make ourselves much more persuasive and professional. 1.  Hands in front of the body.   The arms and hands when held in front of the body create a subliminal barrier between the audience...

Okay, now its time for the show, Soredewa ikimasho, so let's get going. The hush has now swept across the room.  All eyes are fixed on the MC, breaths are being held, awaiting the announcement of this year's winner.  Amazingly, it registers that it is your name they are calling to the stage.  Emotion wells up.  Your team join you for handshaking, shoulder hugs, high fives and backslapping.  The pr...

If we are presenting a brochure, flyer, price list, hard copy slide deck or any other typical collateral item, then we should adopt best practice for greatest success.  Have two copies always, one for you to read and one for the client, unless you are a genius of reading upside down (which by the way seems to include all Japanese!).   At the start, put your copy to the side for later if you need i...

We are all pretty average on recalling events, people's names, locations, sequences, inanimate objects, etc., but we are geniuses on remembering feelings. We are especially good on how people made us feel and what super memories we have developed in this particular department. Business is deemed to be logical – cool, balanced, unswerving on the road to greater efficiencies. Ironically, we are such...

The Master of Ceremony (MC) goes to the microphone to get the programme underway but the audience are simply oblivious, caught up in their own riveting conversations.  The situation is much worse at receptions where alcohol is already flowing and the people down the back are generating a roar, a positive din, that drowns out the speakers. Here are seven ideas that will shut down the noisy rabble a...

Usually this isn't even a question for most presenters, because the organisers have already set up the room when you arrive. Our speaking spot has been designated for us.  But have we been designated a spot by experts in public speaking or by the venue crew who usually just haul chairs, lug tables around and set up the stage?  Sadly the coalescence between expertise in public speaking and membersh...

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 got...

There is an old truism in sales, "sales is nothing more than the transfer of the enthusiasm of the seller for the product or service to the buyer".  What are we doing when we are speaking?  We are selling!  "Hang on a minute there Greg.  I am a professional, I am not a car or vacuum cleaner salesman", you might be saying to yourself.  That sort of self-talk is dated and dangerous.  Make no mistake...

Having a buying need and doing something about it can often be quite disparate ideas.  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....

Sadly, not everyone is like us – wonderful, charming, amusing, attractive.  Despite our best efforts to be a role model of perfection, setting them a good example, others persist in being a major pain.  Here are some selective tips on negotiating with the difficult amongst us. 1. Meet on mutual ground Try to meet, rather than engage in a protracted email war or discuss complex issues over the phon...

The chances of speaking to a 5000 person business audience happening and happening regularly in Japan are remote for most of us.  Nevertheless, in case you find yourself in front of a very large audience, here are a few hints on how to adjust to the increased size of the event. Get there early and go and sit in some of the most far-flung locations.  It might be the last row at the back or the rear...

In sales in Japan we chill, cruise and take the foot off the pedal.  We get lazy.  We start cutting corners.  We get off our game.  The temptation is when we get to a certain level of success we think well, we have done enough.  We have  to facedown "average is good enough" self-talk.  We need to make sure we are doing the basics like a demon on fire.  The pipeline tells no lies.  We need good bas...

The classic movie half-time locker room Churchillian oratory from the coach, whipping the team into a frenzy for the coming onslaught is now gathering dust in Hollywood's archives.  Today's most successful coaches are masters of human psychology, combining insight with superb communication skills.  What about leaders in business in Japan?    In my experience, the Japanese model of sports leadershi...

When we stand in front of an audience, we are representing our personal brand and our firm's brand. People evaluate us and our companies based on how we perform. Think back to the presentations you've seen and I'm sure you'll agree that many speakers are missing passion and commitment to the topic.  Don't be like that. Typically, we speakers enter a room full of pre-occupied people with microscopi...

Often the first reaction to hearing no from the buyer is for the salesperson to panic and go harder.  They somehow imagine they can force the buyer to buy.  The immediate impulse is to go straight to the answer to counterpoint the objection.  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...

Bosses are often oblivious to the idea of diversity.  I don't mean diversity as mainly considered in Japan, which is usually about lack of inclusion of women in the workplace.  Diversity here means variations amongst the team in terms of communication preferences.  Here are two decisions to determine the best communication style to deal with your boss. Picture a horizontal scale of assertion, low...

The usual frequency for most people for giving formal presentations is once in a blue moon.  In other words, we don't do so many in a year.  This presents a problem, because as we know, repetition is key to learning and improvement.  Instead of hanging around waiting for someone to invite you to speak, you need to get out there and beat the bushes for opportunities to present.  What can you speak...

Buyers should buy and not quibble, hesitate or question.  That at least is what salespeople hope for. The reality is we want buyers to object.  If we don't get a commitment to buy right then and there, the next best case is they give us an objection.  No objection then no sale. Let me explain why. If we are giving our presentation and at the end the buyer doesn't have any objections but are also n...

You are at an event, it could be internal presentation or an industry event and you are been chosen for a prize or recognition.  Award awarded and now you have to speak.  This is where we are genius at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, as we make a dog's breakfast of our remarks.  Very depressingly, we go from hero to zero in rapid order.  It doesn't have to be like this if we do a little...