Episode #211: Outbound Calls To New Clients During COVID-19

Why is cold calling still essential for sales teams during crises like Covid-19?

When client acquisition stalls, sales pipelines dry up fast. During Covid-19, many companies found themselves unable to win new business, even when they had strong offerings. Decision-makers became harder to reach, and gatekeepers grew more protective.

Cold calling remains a vital tool because it creates direct access when emails go unanswered and marketing channels slow down. The difference between success and failure is not whether you cold call, but how skillfully you do it—especially in Japan’s high-barrier corporate environment.

Mini-summary: In difficult markets, cold calling is still necessary. High skill—not higher volume—is what breaks through.

Even in normal times, Japanese corporate structures often place strong buffers between vendors and executives. Gatekeepers are trained to screen out salespeople, and they risk criticism if they let the “wrong” call through.

During remote and hybrid work, decision-makers are even farther from view. Phones are answered by people who have little incentive to connect you. To succeed, you must sound credible, relevant, and immediately valuable—so the gatekeeper feels safe transferring you.

Mini-summary: Japanese gatekeepers protect leadership intensely. Your opening must reduce their risk and increase your value instantly.

Below is a practical four-step structure designed to help you break through the “steel wall” and reach the real decision-maker.

Step 1: How should you introduce yourself in a way that builds instant credibility?

Start with three elements in one short sentence:

1. your company name

2. your name

3. who your company is (your authority)

Example:
“Hello, my name is 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.”

The credibility keywords here are:

• “soft skills training”

• “globally”

• “108 years”

• “nearly 60 years”

These signals immediately position Dale Carnegie Tokyo as a trusted authority in leadership and sales development.

Mini-summary: Keep the intro short but packed with authority and proof.

Step 2: How do you explain why you are calling without sounding generic?

Go straight to a pain point that similar companies in their industry are facing. Use competitor framing, which works well in Japan where firms are highly aware of rival activity.

Example:
“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 a substantial drop in productivity.”

Then show that you already solved this problem for others:
“We have provided online training for leaders on how to lead effectively in this environment, and these companies have seen immediate productivity improvements.”

Mini-summary: Lead with their industry pain and prove you’ve already fixed it for peers.

Step 3: What wording helps the gatekeeper transfer you to the decision-maker?

Ask for transfer humbly but confidently, reinforcing that the decision-maker will want to speak with you.

Example:
“Maybe we can do the same for your company, so please transfer me to the person in charge of this area. I’m sure they’re frustrated by the difficulty of improving remote leadership right now.”

You are repeating three strategic ideas:

• they have a real problem

• they haven’t solved it internally

• you bring a proven solution

Mini-summary: Make transfer feel helpful, not pushy, and highlight the decision-maker’s unmet need.

Step 4: What do you say when they refuse to transfer you?

Expect rejection—this happens in almost every cold call. Instead of retreating, reinforce urgency and instruct them to pass on your message.

Example:
“Thank you, I understand. In your industry, your competitors suffered reduced performance until we trained their leaders to fix those issues. Now they’re doing well. Please write down my name and number and pass it to the person in charge so I can explain how we solved this for your competitors. If I don’t hear from them, I’ll call again the day after tomorrow.”

Key tactics:

• Don’t ask permission to leave a message.

• Direct them to write and pass it on.

• State you’ll call back in two days.

• Signal persistence in a professional tone.

This removes the gatekeeper’s ability to dismiss you and raises the perceived importance of your call.

Mini-summary: Re-state competitor urgency, leave no escape route, and commit to follow-up.

Here is the integrated flow:

1. Credible intro

2. Industry pain + competitor urgency

3. Humble transfer request

4. Assertive message-leaving if blocked

This structure helps you stay professional, persuasive, and harder to ignore—especially for Japanese firms and multinational clients in Tokyo (東京 / Tokyo).

Mini-summary: The four steps create a smooth, repeatable script that increases transfer and callback rates.

Many Japanese companies (日本企業 / Japanese companies) and multinational companies (外資系企業 / foreign-affiliated companies) are struggling with:

• leading remote or hybrid teams

• maintaining productivity

• keeping managers aligned under uncertainty

Dale Carnegie Tokyo provides proven programs in:

• Leadership Training (リーダーシップ研修 / leadership training)

• Sales Training (営業研修 / sales training)

• Presentation Training (プレゼンテーション研修 / presentation training)

• Executive Coaching (エグゼクティブ・コーチング / executive coaching)

• DEI Training (DEI研修 / diversity, equity & inclusion training)

Our methods are built to fit Japan’s cultural and corporate realities while maintaining global standards.

Mini-summary: The same credibility and pain-point logic in cold calls also reflects how we build training outcomes for Tokyo-based companies.

• Cold calling works when your opening is credible, industry-specific, and urgent.

• Gatekeepers in Japan transfer calls only when they feel safe and see value.

• Competitor framing increases relevance and curiosity for Japanese firms.

• Persistence with professionalism is a competitive advantage during slow markets.

Founded in the U.S. in 1912, Dale Carnegie Training has supported individuals and companies worldwide for over a century in leadership, sales, presentation, executive coaching, and DEI. Our Tokyo office, established in 1963, has been empowering both Japanese and multinational corporate clients ever since.