Episode #393: Missing The Real Needs When Selling In Japan

Why do long-term client pursuits suddenly stall, even when the relationship is strong?

If you’ve chased a client for years, built trust with the top leader, and still seen zero business, you’re not alone. Long-term pursuits often fail not because of the relationship, but because of handoffs—especially when the decision-maker delegates to HR or operating executives who don’t share the same context.

Mini-summary: A strong bond with the President isn’t enough if the internal stakeholders aren’t aligned or briefed.

After ten years of pursuit, you finally seemed to gain momentum. The President had postponed meetings repeatedly, then met in January and asked to continue in June. The surprising part: his assistant scheduled the follow-up before you even chased it—a positive signal.

But when June came, the President didn’t attend. Instead, three executives showed up—including a visiting leader from outside Japan. You assumed they were continuing the January strategic conversation, so you jumped straight into a solution.

That assumption was the turning point.

Mini-summary: The meeting changed shape, but your approach didn’t—so the conversation started on mismatched ground.

You discovered mid-meeting that:

• The President had not briefed them on your January discussion.

• Your solution was strategic, but their needs were tactical and basic.

• You were “above the clouds,” while they were “down in the mine shaft.”

Instead of checking their perspective first, you led with your own. That made early parts of the meeting feel confusing, slow, and misdirected.

Mini-summary: You solved the problem you thought they had, not the one they believed they had.

They wanted fundamentals—basic requirements you assumed a successful, multi-branch company would already have in place.

That mismatch shocked you, because your mental image of them didn’t fit reality. But once you understood their true needs, you realized you could absolutely provide what they wanted.

As a 112-year-old training company with deep resources in Japan since 1963, Dale Carnegie Tokyo can support everything from the most foundational skills to advanced transformation work—whether for Japanese companies (日本企業 / Japanese companies) or multinational firms (外資系企業 / foreign-affiliated companies).

Mini-summary: Their needs were simpler than expected, and your offering was more than capable once you reset your assumptions.

What should you do differently next time?

Here’s the rule you landed on:

Start every delegated meeting as if it’s the first meeting.

Even when a senior leader set the direction, assume:

1. The handoff was light or nonexistent.

2. The new stakeholders may see a different problem.

3. Your first job is diagnosis, not presentation.

Practically, that means opening with questions like:

• “What did you understand the President wants to change?”

• “What’s the current pain from your point of view?”

• “What would a successful outcome look like for you?”

Only after their view is clear should you propose solutions.

Mini-summary: Treat handoff meetings as fresh discovery conversations, then build upward.

In Japan, it’s common for a busy top executive to delegate to HR or functional leaders without full context. That makes perspective-checking essential in any sales meeting related to:

• 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, and inclusion training)

Your experience highlights a universal truth: sales basics beat clever strategy when alignment is missing.

Mini-summary: In Japanese business settings, role handoffs are normal—so discovery-first is non-negotiable.

• Don’t rely on a senior sponsor’s briefing—restart with discovery.

• Diagnose what they think the problem is before offering solutions.

• Assume tactical needs until proven otherwise.

• Alignment across stakeholders is the real gateway to progress.

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.