362 Sell The Reaction To Your Client

<p>We have products and services to sell and there are key details about their features which we need to explain to the buyer.  Clients need to know what they are getting for their money, so fair enough.  In Japan, the client will lead you down the road of morbid detail about the ins-and-outs of the purchase, as they suck you dry for all the information you have.  This is a defence mechanism to make sure they are not making a mistake.  It is also tedious and over the top from the salesperson’s point of view.  We know we should supply just enough information for them to make a buying decision without adding unnecessary data.  Our mindless throw away comment can often lead to deal assassination, as we have triggered something that we shouldn’t have.</p> <p>We <span lang="EN-AU" xml:lang="EN-AU">n</span>now have to balance out the detail with explaining the benefits of the purchase.  Buyers buy benefits no<span lang="EN-AU" xml:lang= "EN-AU">t</span>features except in Japan they focus on the features and keep dragging more and more detail out of <span lang="EN-AU" xml:lang="EN-AU">us</span>.  Japan is special.  This is not a business-like culture.  Companies are not interested in doing business.  Japanese buyers attending a networking event are not thinking, “today, I might meet someone who will add a lot of value to our company and my job is to find as many people like that as possible, in the time I have available at this event”.  They don’t want to meet people they don’t already know. Because unknown people are dangerous and there is risk involved.  If their friend or acquaintance introduces someone new, that is acceptable because there has already been a filtering process in place to get to this point.  The unfiltered person is to be feared.</p> <p>Don’t believe me?  Try walking up to Japanese businesspeople at an event and introduce yourself.  Watch their face very carefully and you will see them react with shock and trepidation.  They are not thinking “great, a potential business opportunity has just presented