Selling Year In, Year Out (Part One)

What makes starting a new sales year mentally hard, especially in Japan?

Salespeople often treat January 1st as a reset, even if their fiscal year ends in March. That mental “new start” can be motivating — but also tough when the previous year felt exhausting or disappointing.

In Japan, the pressure to sell is usually softer than in full-commission markets. Many sales roles are base + bonus or base + commission. That means income doesn’t collapse if sales drop, and job security is relatively high because dismissals for poor performance are difficult.

This environment can feel like a lukewarm bath: safe, but not energizing. That’s why sales professionals need to consciously re-commit to the fundamentals each year.

Mini-summary: A new year feels like a fresh start, but Japan’s low-pressure sales system can reduce urgency — so recommitting to basics matters.

Legendary coach Vince Lombardi said football success comes from “blocking and tackling.” Sales is similar: the basics win games.

Two core fundamentals dominate:

1. Prospecting — finding new buyers.

2. Closing — converting interest into decisions.

Salespeople must operate as both farmers and hunters:

• Hunters go after new opportunities.

• Farmers nurture existing customers and encourage repeat purchases.

Without these two skills operating together, sales pipelines dry up.

Mini-summary: Sales success comes from mastering prospecting and closing — the core “blocking and tackling” of the profession.

Why are “know, like, and trust” the real engine of buying?

Buyers purchase from people and companies they:

• Know (認知 / ninchi = awareness)

• Like (好意 / kōi = positive feeling)

• Trust (信頼 / shinrai = confidence)

First, buyers must know you exist. Marketing and the internet help here by making your company visible when buyers search for solutions.

But visibility alone doesn’t win business. A buyer rarely likes or trusts a stranger instantly. Multiple interactions are usually needed to earn comfort and credibility.

Mini-summary: Marketing creates awareness, but repeated quality interactions build liking and trust — the real drivers of purchase.

Jan Carlzon’s concept of the “Moment of Truth” highlights that every interaction with a company shapes the customer’s decision. It’s not only the salesperson who creates trust — it’s the whole organization.

Even a single careless moment can weaken confidence in your brand, regardless of how strong your sales pitch is.

Mini-summary: Trust is built (or broken) through every touchpoint — not just sales meetings.

In many Japanese businesses, accountability (説明責任 / setsumei sekinin = responsibility to explain/own outcomes) is taught mainly to salespeople — not to everyone who interfaces with customers.

A common example:

• A buyer calls asking for a salesperson.

• The receptionist responds cautiously or unhelpfully.

• They might say only “They’re not at their desk now,” offering no follow-up help.

This creates a negative impression and quietly destroys like-and-trust progress the salesperson has built. Internal fear of being scolded for forwarding calls pushes staff to treat unknown callers as “guilty until proven innocent.”

Sales success requires training the whole team to treat customer contact as shared ownership.

Mini-summary: If the broader team isn’t trained in customer accountability, they can unintentionally sabotage trust.

Another key part of trust is communication integrity (誠実さ / seijitsu-sa = sincerity). If different people from the same company provide conflicting messages, trust collapses fast.

Example from experience:

• A Tokyo contact introduced a tool and explained it one way.

• The U.S. HQ rep explained it differently.

• The inconsistency destroyed trust in both sides, ending the deal immediately.

To maintain credibility, every handoff inside the organization must preserve truth, consistency, and clarity.

Mini-summary: Consistent, honest messaging across the organization is essential for maintaining buyer trust.

• Japan’s sales environment is stable, but that comfort can reduce urgency — revisit fundamentals each year.

• Prospecting and closing are the core skills that keep sales alive.

• Buyers choose partners they know, like, and trust — and trust takes repeated quality touchpoints.

• Every employee creates customer trust; internal training must include the whole organization.

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.