Episode #50: "I'm Listening". No You're Not!

Sales targets keep going up, but client trust is going down.
Many leaders in 日本企業 (Japanese companies) and 外資系企業 (multinational companies) in 東京 (Tokyo) are asking:

“Why do my salespeople push product instead of truly listening to the client?”

This page explains why that happens, what it costs you, and how sales training (営業研修 – sales training) and leadership training (リーダーシップ研修 – leadership training) can transform your sales culture from “quota-driven” to “value-driven.”

When monthly or quarterly targets dominate the conversation, salespeople often go “temporarily deaf.”
They know they should ask questions, listen carefully, and understand the client’s real objectives—yet pressure to hit a number overrides good habits.

Instead of exploring:

• What is the client really trying to achieve?

• What is the underlying business problem?

• What would success look like for them?

They focus internally on:

• Their target

• Their bonus

• Their job security

In this state, they miss hints, nuances, and opportunities to uncover value. The meeting becomes about the salesperson’s needs, not the client’s.

Mini-summary: Under pressure, even talented salespeople stop listening and start pushing. The result is poor understanding, weak trust, and missed opportunities.

How does client-centric questioning create more value than aggressive upselling?

Many salespeople are trained to ask questions—but not all are trained to listen for insight.
Well-designed questions can spark a powerful reaction from the client:

“We hadn’t thought of that.”

That moment is where value is created. It tells the client you understand their world and can bring fresh perspective.

However, when the salesperson is focused only on increasing deal size, upselling and cross-selling shift from value-creation to value-extraction:

• The client expresses a clear need.

• The salesperson inflates the scope to hit their target.

• The conversation moves away from outcomes and into “how to make this bigger.”

Upselling and cross-selling are legitimate—when they serve the client’s goals:

• Expand the solution because it will generate more ROI for the client.

• Introduce complementary services because they reduce risk or accelerate results.

• Offer higher-value options because they align with strategic priorities.

Mini-summary: Questioning plus genuine listening creates insight and trust. Upsell and cross-sell should be tools to expand client value—not just deal size.

Clients rarely see the full landscape:

• They do not know your entire solution line-up as deeply as you do.

• They do not sit in confidential meetings with your other customers.

• They do not see how various industries solve similar problems.

You do.

As a salesperson, you are:

• A collector of stories from many clients and sectors.

• A witness to problems, failures, breakthroughs, and best practices.

• Someone who can connect dots between industries, functions, and markets.

This is where ethical cross-sell and up-sell become high value:

• You help the client see options they didn’t know existed.

• You show them how other firms in their industry—or in completely different industries—have solved similar challenges.

• You expand their world, not just their invoice.

For executives in 日本企業 (Japanese companies) and 外資系企業 (multinational companies), this is the real value of working with a skilled, consultative salesperson: someone who brings market intelligence, not just a price list.

Mini-summary: Great salespeople act as insight partners, bringing cross-industry lessons and best practices the client cannot easily access alone.

Is “no budget” a financial issue—or a value issue?

Clients often say, “It’s not in the budget.”

Yet many leaders know from experience: budget is often an estimate, not a fixed law. Rows and cells on a spreadsheet can be reallocated when the perceived value is high enough.

In reality:

• If the project looks like “padding,” budgets become a barrier.

• If the project looks like strategic value, budgets become flexible.

• Leaders will “rob Peter to pay Paul” when they are convinced of ROI.

This is why listening is so important. When you deeply understand a client’s goals, you can:

• Recommend a solution that clearly links cost to outcome.

• Justify higher investment because the return is compelling.

• Help the client reframe the conversation from “expense” to “strategic investment.”

Mini-summary: Budget objections are often value objections in disguise. When value is clear and aligned to strategy, budget becomes negotiable.

If your salespeople are obsessed with “getting their number,” they will:

• Inflate scope just to increase revenue.

• Add unnecessary components to the proposal.

• Damage trust when clients feel manipulated.

Once clients sense that the salesperson is maximizing the salesperson’s benefit, not the client’s, trust evaporates—and the deal usually disappears.

Leaders in Tokyo who want high-performing, trusted sales teams need to:

1. Shift the mindset from “my target” to “the client’s success.”

   • Reinforce client outcomes in coaching conversations.

   • Reward value-creation behaviors, not just closed volume.

2. Invest in sales training (営業研修 – sales training) that builds listening and questioning skills.
   Dale Carnegie’s global methodology focuses on:

   • Empathic listening

   • Insightful questioning

   • Win–win negotiation

   • Long-term relationship building

3. Support sales teams with leadership training (リーダーシップ研修 – leadership training) and executive coaching (エグゼクティブ・コーチング – executive coaching).
   Managers who coach effectively help salespeople:

   • Stay client-centric under pressure

   • Navigate complex deals

   • Recover from setbacks without resorting to pushy tactics

4. Reinforce communication and presentation skills (プレゼンテーション研修 – presentation training).
   When salespeople can clearly present value—face-to-face or online—they:

   • Build confidence and credibility

   • Win internal buy-in from the client’s stakeholders

   • Drive decisions faster

5. Align with culture and values, including DEI研修 (DEI training – Diversity, Equity & Inclusion training).
   In Japan’s evolving workplace, inclusive communication and respect build stronger, more sustainable client relationships.

Mini-summary: Leaders build high-trust, high-performance sales teams by focusing on client value, equipping them with world-class training, and reinforcing ethical, consultative selling.

Zig Ziglar famously said:

“If you can help enough other people get what they want, then you will get what you want.”

This is the foundation of long-term, sustainable sales success:

• Focus on what the client wants and needs.

• Listen more than you talk.

• Bring insights, not pressure.

• Build trust, not short-term numbers.

When this mindset is backed by structured training—especially in markets like Japan where trust and long-term relationships are critical—sales performance improves in both quality and quantity.

Mini-summary: When salespeople consistently help clients win, they hit their own targets as a natural consequence—not by forcing the sale, but by earning it.

Dr. Greg Story is the President of Dale Carnegie Training Japan and a 30-year veteran of the Japanese market. His career spans:

• Academia

• Consulting

• Investments

• Trade representation

• International diplomacy

• Retail banking

• People development

He holds a Ph.D. in Japanese decision-making and has become a recognized thought leader in:

• Leadership

• Communication

• Sales

• Presentations

Through his English and Japanese content—articles, videos, and podcasts such as “THE Leadership Japan Series,” “THE Sales Japan Series,” and “THE Presentations Japan Series”—he supports executives and managers navigating the realities of business in Japan.

Since 1971, he has also practiced traditional Shitoryu Karate and is currently a 6th Dan. His mantra, 文武両道 (bunbu ryōdō – both pen & sword), reflects a balanced philosophy of discipline, humility, and continuous improvement—values that underpin his approach to business and training.

Mini-summary: Dr. Greg Story brings decades of on-the-ground experience in Japan, combining academic rigor, business leadership, and martial arts discipline to help leaders and sales teams succeed.

If you want to build engaged, self-motivated, and inspired employees who grow your business, Dale Carnegie Training Japan can help.

• 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研修 (DEI training – Diversity, Equity & Inclusion training)

To discuss how we can support your team:

• Contact: greg.story@dalecarnegie.com

• Explore resources and program details (in English and Japanese): www.japan.dalecarnegie.com

  • Free whitepapers, guidebooks, training videos, podcasts, and blogs

  • Public seminars, workshops, and course schedules in both languages

Mini-summary: Dale Carnegie Training Japan helps leaders and organizations in Tokyo and across Japan build inspired, high-performing teams with globally proven methods adapted to the Japanese business context.

• Listening beats pushing: Salespeople who truly listen and understand client objectives create more value and close better business.

• Value drives budget: When solutions clearly align to strategic outcomes, budget restrictions become flexible.

• Ethical upsell creates trust: Cross-selling and upselling are powerful when they expand client success—not just deal size.

• Training accelerates change: Targeted 営業研修 (sales training), リーダーシップ研修 (leadership training), プレゼンテーション研修 (presentation training), エグゼクティブ・コーチング (executive coaching), and DEI研修 (DEI training) help transform sales culture from quota-driven to client-centric.

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.