From Market Targeting to Sales Execution

1. 01

   01. Discovery

   We start with your company, your product, and the value proposition as you describe it today. We ask who already buys from you and why, what you want Japan to produce commercially, and how quickly you want to move.

   • A working session covering your product, your pricing logic, and how you position against alternatives
   • Review of your existing customers: who they are, what triggered the purchase, who signed it off
   • Your commercial objective for Japan stated plainly, whether that is meetings, partners, or a first reference customer
   • Materials you already have collected in one place: deck, website, product documentation, example engagements
   • Anything already attempted in Japan, including what did not work and why you think it stalled
   • Constraints we need to respect: existing partners, exclusivity, regions, or sectors to avoid
2. 02

   02. Japan Market Review

   We look at the Japanese landscape for what you sell: who the comparable players are, how buyers in that category tend to purchase, which routes to market exist, and what is likely to slow things down.

   • A view of who else is visible in the category in Japan, including domestic providers
   • Whether the category is typically bought direct, through distributors, or through integrators
   • The likely buyer type: an operational owner, an engineering function, a procurement lead, or a partner
   • Barriers worth knowing early, such as certification, language, local support expectations, or incumbent relationships
   • A written summary in English that you can circulate internally before committing further
3. 03

   03. Target Definition

   We turn the market view into criteria. Company size, sector, business model, technology in use, region, and role are agreed with you in writing, so that everything researched afterwards is defensible rather than assumed.

   • Written target criteria covering industry, company profile, and the signals that make a company relevant
   • The functions and job titles to approach, and which ones are not worth opening with
   • Explicit exclusions: current customers, existing partners, competitors, or accounts you handle directly
   • Priority tiers, so the strongest fit is contacted first rather than last
   • Your sign-off on the criteria before any list building begins
4. 04

   04. Research

   We build the account universe by hand from Japanese-language sources: company sites, corporate databases, industry associations, exhibitor lists, and public filings. Each account is checked against the agreed criteria before it enters the list.

   • Accounts identified from Japanese sources rather than translated foreign directories
   • Company name in Japanese and English, website, sector, location, and the reason it qualifies
   • A contact route noted per account: corporate inquiry form, direct email, or representative line
   • Named function or role recorded where it is publicly available
   • Duplicates, closed businesses, and out-of-scope entities removed before delivery
   • The list shared with you for review, removals, and additions
5. 05

   05. Outreach Strategy

   We decide how each account should be approached. Inquiry forms, email, phone, partner introductions, and event touchpoints suit different buyers, and the mix depends on company size, sector, and how that kind of organisation usually accepts contact.

   • A channel assigned per account segment, with the reasoning stated rather than assumed
   • Sequence and spacing agreed, including how many touches before an account is set aside
   • Use of corporate inquiry forms where direct addresses are often not published
   • A view on whether representative phone contact is appropriate for that sector and role
   • How inbound replies will be routed, and who answers them on which side
6. 06

   06. Messaging

   We write the outreach in Japanese rather than translate it. Structure, level of formality, and what is claimed are adjusted for the reader, and your positioning is checked back with you in English before anything is sent.

   • Japanese outreach copy written for the role being contacted, with an English back-translation for approval
   • Your company and product described so it reads naturally to a Japanese business reader
   • Variants by segment where the value differs between buyer types
   • Reply-handling notes so common questions are answered consistently in Japanese
   • Supporting material identified where a reply is likely to ask for it: a one-page document, a site page, or specifications
   • Your written approval recorded before outreach begins
7. 07

   07. Execution

   Outreach runs in Japanese across the agreed channels. Inquiry forms are completed individually, emails are sent and tracked, and phone contact is made where appropriate. Activity is logged so you can see what was contacted and when.

   • Contact attempts recorded per account with channel, date, and outcome
   • Replies handled in Japanese, including questions that arrive before any meeting is discussed
   • Follow-up touches sent on the agreed cadence rather than ad hoc
   • Bounced, redirected, and gatekeeper responses corrected and re-routed to the right function
   • Activity updates sent to you in English as the campaign runs
8. 08

   08. Qualification

   Not every reply is an opportunity. We read responses in Japanese, ask the follow-up questions needed to understand fit, and separate genuine interest from politeness, information requests, and companies that fall outside the agreed criteria.

   • Each response classified: interested, information only, not now, or not relevant
   • Follow-up questions in Japanese covering current situation, timing, and who else may be involved
   • An indication of the contact's role, and whether other functions will need to be consulted
   • Reasons for declining recorded, since they often say more than the acceptances do
   • A translated summary of each live conversation passed to you rather than a raw reply dump
9. 09

   09. Meetings

   We coordinate meetings between your team and interested companies, handling scheduling in Japanese, time zones, and the practical arrangements. Before each meeting you receive a briefing on the company, the contact, and what has been discussed so far.

   • Scheduling handled in Japanese with the contact, then confirmed against your calendar
   • A written brief per meeting: company background, contact role, conversation history, and open questions
   • Japanese-speaking attendance or interpretation where the contact would prefer to speak Japanese
   • Agenda and materials agreed with you beforehand, including anything to send in advance
   • Notes and next actions captured afterwards and shared in English
10. 10

    10. Follow-Up

    Interest in Japan often fades in the gap after a first meeting. We keep contact in Japanese, answer questions that arise internally on the buyer's side, and support the steps that follow, whether that is documentation, a trial, or another meeting.

    • Post-meeting follow-up sent in Japanese, referencing what was actually discussed
    • Questions from stakeholders who were not in the meeting answered in writing
    • Support for material that may need to circulate internally before a decision can be made
    • Longer-term contact maintained with companies whose timing is not yet right
    • Handover to your team, a partner, or a distributor when the relationship moves beyond outreach

Actual scope varies by engagement. Not every engagement uses every step, and the order can change depending on your objective, your existing presence in Japan, and how the market responds.