【Featured July, 2015】7 Useful Knacks for Your First English Sales Talk (NIKKEI）
On July 24th and 27th, 2015, Paccloa was featured in the NIKKEI newspaper column “Points of International Expansion for SMEs.”
(Full text below)
Here’s a little trick that can help you feel more confident when you’re first starting out in business with English.
1. Business card exchange Handshake
The Japanese business card exchange, which begins with a simultaneous exchange of business cards in the order of position, is actually not common overseas.
What is more important is to face each person you have just met openly, exchange a short self-introduction, and shake hands briskly with a “slightly stronger” handshake.
From there, you may exchange business cards, or you may start small talk without exchanging business cards.
Avoid a handshake that is merely touching or holding out a hand. If a woman does not offer her hand, men should refrain from asking for a handshake.
Business cards should be handled casually, and don’t be afraid to slip a business card like a shuriken, pass it to the person on the edge of the desk, or get carried away talking even if multiple cards fall at your elbow, which can be out of tune.
When asked, “Where should I send my mail? It is often a good time to hand over your business card when they ask you where they should send their mail after they leave.
2. Gaze, Reaction and Attitude
- Look the person in the eye and talk to them.
- Be fair about the good and the bad.
- Answer questions with sincerity
- Always show that you are willing to contribute to the other party
- Listen to the other party in a relaxed manner without being overly formal in meetings.
These are good impressions.
- Don’t make eye contact or avoid eye contact
- Keeping your hands on the desk
- Omission of humor or explanation
- Replies and facial expressions that can be taken either way
- Restless attitude that does not focus on the here and now
and the like are difficult to understand and unsupportable.
3. Speak from the conclusion
Start with the conclusion and then give reasons.
Start with what you want to say first, with words of praise or appreciation.
Be careful not to “explain” anything. Explanation requires serious English skills.
Here, focus on the conclusion or reason and make it a priority to convey the message with certainty.
4. Taking the initiative
Sometimes the speed of the conversation does not change much even if you request, “Please speak a little slower.
Before you get completely lost, interrupt the conversation and stop it for a moment by raising the end of the last word you heard and giving a “? expression to stop the conversation for a while and regain control of the conversation before it gets completely lost.
5. Presentation materials
- Use “excellent” and “poor” instead of “0” and “x”
- Match currencies and units
- Attach numerical data and test results
- Use illustrations and photographs to enhance intuition
- Maintain logic
6. Only three questions to be asked
Are you setting the bar too high for English?
In an actual sales meeting, you will be asked about three main topics: the company, the product, and yourself.
If you delve deeply into these three topics, you will be able to cover all the necessary interactions in a business meeting.
Even if you get sidetracked in the middle of a conversation, you can continue your sales talk without blurring the line by always returning to this point.
Specifically, the uniqueness of the president, corporate philosophy, industry and competitive trends, strengths, secret development stories, how you came across this job, your life’s work, and so on.
The participants are required to write down the things they usually talk about casually at the sales destination on the back of a letter size sheet (one for each theme), translate them into English, and memorize them all.
Once you have a little stock of what you can talk about, sales at AEGO will become much easier and more enjoyable.
7. Be confident
When I was still doing business in humble English, my boss gave me a word of advice that gave me courage.
He said,
“The person who knows this product best is you, the person who sells this product every day.
Your words will resonate with them and they will trust you.
You should be confident and proud to sell with your current ego.”
I would like to send the same words to you who are reading this now.