Well, I told you so; http://real-o-cating-japan.blogspot.com/2009/08/dpj-government-and-prime-minister.html. I could never see Prime Minister Hatoyama lasting. I called him a puppet 8 months ago, and I believe I was correct.
First impressions in the relocation industry, and any service industry for that matter, are vitally important. What our organization seems like or feels like when we send that first email, make the first phone call or meet a person for the first time, is a big deciding factor in the remainder of the client interaction. If we get off on the wrong foot, it is hard to get back on track. You must make a good first impression. Did Mr. Hatoyama give you a good first impression?
I attended a seminar of a Japanese "morning group" who get together from 6:30am- 7:30am every Tuesday, last week in Nagoya. The main presenter was a very impressive Japanese "Training Coach" that obviously did a lot of consultations with high level Japanese shachos and other executives. What were the things that he pointed out as being the keys to success?
1. Aisatsu. He measures the success of organizations if they can say "Good Morning" to each other, or not. Do employees say "thank you" for things.... (funny thing here is I hear this all the time in Japanese companies as being the key)
2. First impressions. He believes 90% of sales is decided by first impressions. This is actually related to one above. You greet people when you make a first impression.....
3. Engagement with the people you work with. ie. Client engagement; treating them as a person and not a figure or the next sales target
He told a great story about the secret of a "House Salesman". A young gentleman that sold 50 houses in one year. Almost unheard of, as most house sales people are doing well to sell 1 house per month. What did this sales person do? Basically 2 things. After he got the sale, he would go back to the site of the house, before it was built, while it was being built and after it was built and he would take photos. He would put all the photographs together in the album and once the house was built and the owners moved in, he would present them with the album he put together. The second thing he did was from the point he gave the album, he would go back to the house once a month and ask if everything was OK. That was it. His clients introduced him to all the next business; either through showing the album to others, or just through word of mouth. Think about it. He engaged like not other house salesman you or I have heard of.
Of course, he probably made a good first impression to get the business initially......
I have never really been moved by Japanese speakers in the past (as they tend not to be good presenters of information), but those 3 points above really stuck. And then I heard Prime Minister Kan speak on the TV last night.
I think Japan, finally, could have picked the Prime Minister to make it work. He is down to earth. He doesn't appear to have the arrogance of Koizumi, but there is an "awe" surrounding his speech. He selects his words, but speaks with authority. He appears relaxed in his speech, which means he is being himself in front of everyone; he is not forcing something he doesn't believe in, nor trying to be someone he is not. You can't do this if you are not confident, and his confidence admist the job ahead is something to be praised. My first impression is the Mr. Kan is a genuine leader. He is there for the right reasons, and he has the charisma lacking in the last 3 prime ministers in Japan. Watch this space, my gut tells me he is the man for the job.
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