TND West

While businesses often focus on the technical elements of their company, they can often neglect other elements, such as an excellent background in cultural education, an important fundamental that slowly evolves into increasing significance with the growth of globalization.  Sales training is not enough anymore: it must also contain lessons in cultural etiquette.

Though business in Japan has increased more and more through the years, not everyone in corporate culture considers such important features of their culture, such as the fact that it tends be a high context society.  This is particularly important since networking is the backbone of businesses these days.  A relationship within the Japanese culture is not only about legal contracts and duties.  It is something a person must take great effort and work to cultivate and maintain.

Other factors to consider are how business groups in Japan are formed.  Financial factions are referred to by the name Zaibatsu, whereas factions in industry are Keiretsu.  The Keiretsu was once a larger part of Japanese business culture, but due to economic problems and mergers, the importance of this faction has reduced in importance.  Originally, a group centered about banking corporation and a trading business with the other lesser companies that were satellites to them.  These companies could include construction, insurance, and various factories.  Any organizational development considered must know and understand how the Keiretsu works in order to be successful since some businesses simply will not expand outside the Keiretsu they are located in.

Though a very traditional approach that is not always conducive to managing the best prices, it is still important.  It is a very loyal approach that most Westerners might not understand without the proper training.  Even in the technical attributes of a business, traditional cultural habits and customs still maintain a fierce hold, not only in Japan but even in the United States.  In order to be a successful business, a company culture must work other cultures into their more conventional training schemes.

No matter which side of the team one is one, be it in the sales department or on the marketing team, one can not do well without the other.  The marketing department will communicate with sales teams as to what it takes, to help them understand what is necessary for success.  Through valuable sales training, and using the skills of organizational development will understand the different levels of courting and collecting new customers and/or clients.  When the steps are well known and practiced, and when the teams are knowledgeable about the various aspects and materials that work specific to their products, this creates an operation that is both effective and efficient. 

Potential clients are usually not concerned with just how long a company has been in operation.  The exception to this is when they may be comparing one’s company with another, and when all other aspects measure up the same, the deciding factor may be the length of the life the business has lived so far.  In this case that may cause a client to go one way or another, but what is more important to most people in general, is the relationship that one creates. 

If the salesperson has fostered a trusting relationship, the factor of the age of the business is a mute point.  When considering marketing and advertising, it is generally believed that the stress should be on that aspect of good business.  A one line sentence in regards to how long one has been in business is sufficient.  What makes a company different from the rest is what will lead to future clients and successful returns.  Clients need to know good reasons that one’s product or service is the best possible option.  If these are outlined in the marketing campaign, the salespeople will have an outline, a tool that will help them to confirm that yes, this company is different, this company is the one for them.