Voicing the Role of Sales in Japanese Society
With the end of the last call yesterday, my sales experience in Japan has officially topped two and a half months. Even though I am still without a single success to my belt, it feels as if, at least from a socio-cultural standpoint, I am starting to see what exactly is the role of a salesman here in Japan. In an IT company whose success is largely defined by aggressive sales rather than technical innovation, understanding the place of sales and its practitioners in Japanese society would be not only necessary but fundamental.
In a previous post, I already established that sales skills are obviously not a cookie-cutter ability applicable in the same way to every country out there. But I am coming to realize that what is more important for the difference in sales across countries is social status and function rather than sheer approach and methodology. People would tend to listen to salesmen if the salesmen are perceived to carry more of a social significance, rather than just someone aggressively pushing for some product or service for which there is no demand.
Yet, what really is interesting is that the Japanese general public is actually very open to having salesmen convince them that they do indeed need something. While in the US, people who want certain things simply go get it because they want that thing, it seems that the Japanese are waiting for someone to show them enough respect and deference before buying. It is as if the Japanese customers are saying, "alright, the salesman did great job making me feel good, so I will buy this thing from him as a reward."
In other words, the salesman is mainly selling an attitude that pleases the client, and the act of the client buying the product is just a display of success is showing the attitude. So, as long as the salesman is not selling something ridiculously expensive or unnecessary, the so-called "sales skills" demanded from a Japanese salesman is indeed easily applicable in any company at a short period of time. As a colleague mentioned over a dinner the other day, "salesmen in Japan are like mercenary soldiers, capable of applying their skills in any company." Indeed.
And the main tool that allows the salesman to "sell a good attitude" is their speaking voice. Especially in a company where sales is primarily done through phone conversation, appearing "attractive" (from a personal standpoint) just by projecting a over-the-phone voice becomes the difference maker between a good and bad salesman. And given that, it is hardly surprising to see our sales people trying their best to "sound cute" when speaking on the phone, in ways completely different from their normal ways of talking.
And to be honest (just a personal opinion, but), the more successful people in sales seem to be have a common trend toward "creepiness" when doing sales-talk. For both girls and guys, "innocence" need to be seeping through their voices when apologizing and demanding an audience. They sound like elementary school kids begging their teachers for forgiveness yet at the same time pretending that its not their fault...Apologize early and apologize often, but filling the apologies with obviously fake sincerities to appease the other side and get them to listen...
But at the same time, the successful salespeople are also highly "patronizing," if thats the correct descriptive word. Whenever they explain something to the interested audience, they do so in the way the elementary school teacher does to the dumbest student in the class. All details, however minor and obvious, are repeated and reworded several times, lacing the conversation with frequent (condescending, if you ask me) checks for understanding.
So, what I am saying here is that, while the Japanese salespeople fulfill a social role of making the laymen feel good about themselves (and they are culturally expected to do so), they must do so in a way that is, well, highly annoying and illogical for the laymen. The above mentioned methodology for successful over-the-phone sales obviously would face refusal (and revulsion) among any newbie suddenly forced to do so. After analyzing all this, I feel like my respect has grown significantly for all those who systematically put aside their own pride and became very good at sales.
In a previous post, I already established that sales skills are obviously not a cookie-cutter ability applicable in the same way to every country out there. But I am coming to realize that what is more important for the difference in sales across countries is social status and function rather than sheer approach and methodology. People would tend to listen to salesmen if the salesmen are perceived to carry more of a social significance, rather than just someone aggressively pushing for some product or service for which there is no demand.
Yet, what really is interesting is that the Japanese general public is actually very open to having salesmen convince them that they do indeed need something. While in the US, people who want certain things simply go get it because they want that thing, it seems that the Japanese are waiting for someone to show them enough respect and deference before buying. It is as if the Japanese customers are saying, "alright, the salesman did great job making me feel good, so I will buy this thing from him as a reward."
In other words, the salesman is mainly selling an attitude that pleases the client, and the act of the client buying the product is just a display of success is showing the attitude. So, as long as the salesman is not selling something ridiculously expensive or unnecessary, the so-called "sales skills" demanded from a Japanese salesman is indeed easily applicable in any company at a short period of time. As a colleague mentioned over a dinner the other day, "salesmen in Japan are like mercenary soldiers, capable of applying their skills in any company." Indeed.
And the main tool that allows the salesman to "sell a good attitude" is their speaking voice. Especially in a company where sales is primarily done through phone conversation, appearing "attractive" (from a personal standpoint) just by projecting a over-the-phone voice becomes the difference maker between a good and bad salesman. And given that, it is hardly surprising to see our sales people trying their best to "sound cute" when speaking on the phone, in ways completely different from their normal ways of talking.
And to be honest (just a personal opinion, but), the more successful people in sales seem to be have a common trend toward "creepiness" when doing sales-talk. For both girls and guys, "innocence" need to be seeping through their voices when apologizing and demanding an audience. They sound like elementary school kids begging their teachers for forgiveness yet at the same time pretending that its not their fault...Apologize early and apologize often, but filling the apologies with obviously fake sincerities to appease the other side and get them to listen...
But at the same time, the successful salespeople are also highly "patronizing," if thats the correct descriptive word. Whenever they explain something to the interested audience, they do so in the way the elementary school teacher does to the dumbest student in the class. All details, however minor and obvious, are repeated and reworded several times, lacing the conversation with frequent (condescending, if you ask me) checks for understanding.
So, what I am saying here is that, while the Japanese salespeople fulfill a social role of making the laymen feel good about themselves (and they are culturally expected to do so), they must do so in a way that is, well, highly annoying and illogical for the laymen. The above mentioned methodology for successful over-the-phone sales obviously would face refusal (and revulsion) among any newbie suddenly forced to do so. After analyzing all this, I feel like my respect has grown significantly for all those who systematically put aside their own pride and became very good at sales.
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