{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"386 Pitchpeople vs Salespeople: Why Pitching Doesn\u2019t Work","description":"Why are annual sales targets \u201cirrelevant\u201d once they are set? Annual sales targets often feel like the main event, but this script argues they are already decided: \u201cThe targets for the year are already set or will be set shortly\u201d. Because the number is locked in, therefore obsessing over it does not change your daily behaviour, your sales conversations, or your results. What matters is what you will do to improve yourself this year so hitting those targets becomes \u201cmore certain and easier to do\u201d. The practical warning is about momentum without reflection. We \u201croll one year into the next\u201d and keep operating without \u201cinterventions to recalibrate what we are doing and why we are doing it\u201d. Because habits drive behaviour, therefore bad habits become \u201cthe enemy of progress\u201d. The next step is to identify the habits that reduce results and ditch them on purpose. Mini-summary: Targets do not create results. Habits and interventions create results. How does a \u201cvictim mentality\u201d form in sales, and why does it hold people back? The script frames a common pathway into sales: \u201cSales is the refuge of failures from other jobs.\u201d People lose a job, companies always need salespeople, and they \u201cfind themselves in a sales job\u201d. Because they \u201cget no training\u201d, therefore \u201cthe job is horrible\u201d, and confidence takes a hit. That is where mindset collapses into identity. The text describes \u201cchains of low esteem and low self confidence\u201d, and says it becomes hard to break free. This matters because sales is a communication profession. If you approach buyers with low self-belief, therefore you will avoid control, accept poor meeting structures, and fall back on pitching instead of diagnosing needs. The intervention is simple and direct: \u201cDecide you will become a professional.\u201d Mini-summary: No training creates pain, pain creates low confidence, and low confidence keeps you unskilled. Decide to be professional to interrupt the cycle. What does \u201cstudy sales and communication\u201d actually mean in practice? The script is specific: if you cannot read, \u201clisten to audio or watch videos\u201d. Because there is \u201cso much free content marketing pieces available out there today\u201d, therefore access is not the barrier. The barrier is the decision to take learning seriously and make it routine. It then pushes beyond free learning to paid training: \u201cGet yourself on a sales training course and even if you have to borrow money to go on that course, do it\u201d. The reason is outcome-based: \u201cthe investment will repay you a hundred fold and more\u201d. The text even offers a named option: \u201cNaturally I recommend a Dale Carnegie sales course for you, but at least get training.\u201d Because training upgrades skill and confidence, therefore the \u201cdifference is night and day\u201d and so is the \u201cmoney flow\u201d that comes back as a result. Mini-summary: Use any learning format you can sustain, then commit to structured training because skills change outcomes fast. What is \u201ckokorogame\u201d and why does \u201ctrue intention\u201d change sales results? \u201cKokorogame\u201d is translated as \u201ctrue intention\u201d and is treated as pre-performance preparation. The script uses Japanese cultural examples: in martial arts \u201cwe meditate\u201d, in flower arranging \u201cthe master strips the flower stems\u201d, and in shodo \u201cthe calligraphy expert rubs the ink stone\u201d. Because these rituals set the mind for the task, therefore they improve the quality of what follows. Sales is framed the same way. Before you sell, the fundamental question is: \u201cWhy are we selling? Is it to make ourselves money or make the client money?\u201d Because your intention shapes your behaviour, therefore the answer triggers \u201ca chain reaction of further decisions and actions\u201d. That chain defines whether you are \u201cprofessionals or transients in the world of selling\u201d. If your intention is client-centred, therefore your questions, pacing, and recommendations become more useful and more credible. Mini-summary: \u201cKokorogame\u201d is mental set-up. Intention drives decisions, and decisions drive behaviour in sales conversations. Why is buyer-controlled selling \u201cridiculous\u201d in Japan, and what should replace it? The script makes a strong claim: \u201cIn Japan, in 99% of cases, the buyer controls the sales conversation and this is just ridiculous.\u201d The reason is role clarity. \u201cThe salesperson\u2019s job is to help the buyer make the best decision to advance their business.\u201d Because buyers are busy and have blind spots, therefore leaving them to \u201cself-service\u201d produces weak decisions and weak outcomes. The corrective is also direct: \u201cDecide to control the sale conversation.\u201d That does not mean dominating the buyer. It means structuring the conversation so the buyer reaches a better decision faster. If the salesperson does not lead, the script says it \u201conly happens when the salesperson is inadequate and untrained\u201d. Training and professionalism therefore show up as meeting control: the ability to guide, clarify, and then present the right solution. Mini-summary: Buyer control leads to self-service and poor decisions. Sales leadership means guiding the decision process, not delivering a random pitch. How do you stop being a \u201cpitchperson\u201d and start selling with questions? The mechanism is permission and diagnosis. The script says we need to \u201cask questions of the buyer to find out (A) do we have what they need and (B) if we do have it, then present the solution\u201d so the client thinks, \u201cfantastic \u2013 this is just what we need\u201d. Because questions reveal needs, therefore you can match your solution to the buyer\u2019s real situation, not their surface request. The obstacle is cultural and behavioural: \u201cwe will be dragged into the mud and the blood of giving our pitch by the buyer unless we get their permission to ask them questions.\u201d It labels the pattern: \u201cJapanese salespeople are pitchpeople not salespeople.\u201d The logic is blunt: \u201cHow on earth do you know what the client needs unless you ask them questions first? Well you don\u2019t\u201d. Because \u201cthe buyer is God and God demands the pitch\u201d, therefore the salesperson must \u201cintervene and redirect the conversation.\u201d Once you have permission to ask questions, \u201clife gets good and you will get sales.\u201d Mini-summary: Permission to question is the turning point. Questions replace guesswork, and control replaces pitching. Why does pitching fail as a primary sales strategy? Pitching is described as luck: \u201ca very tenuous way of striking it lucky and happen to chance upon what the buyer wants.\u201d Because pitching is not diagnosis, therefore it depends on coincidence rather than clarity. You might hit a buyer\u2019s need by accident, but that is not a repeatable method for consistent sales performance. The script concludes that if you only focus on three things, you become \u201cmuch more professional and skilful\u201d: attitude, skill, then product knowledge on top. The three themes are: decide to become professional, train sales and communication, and control the sales conversation through permission-based questioning. Because these are foundational behaviours, therefore product knowledge becomes more powerful instead of being wasted in a generic pitch. Mini-summary: Pitching is guessing. Professionalism, training, and question-led control make selling repeatable. Author Bio The author writes about selling and communication in Japan, including \u201ckokorogame\u201d (true intention) and how salespeople can shift from pitching to professional, question-led selling. The author also wrote about these ideas in the book Japan Sales Mastery and recommends structured sales training, including a Dale Carnegie sales course, to lift skill, confidence, and outcomes. ","author_name":"The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan","author_url":"http:\/\/thecuttingedgejapanbusinessshow.libsyn.com\/website","html":"