Japan is notoriously one the hardest markets for foreign companies to crack. But great rewards await those who commit to it!

Allan Teng, co-founder of Workato APAC and General Manager/VP of Workato Japan, to unpacks what it actually takes to win Japan as an outsider.

He breaks down why “speed comes after trust” isn’t just a cultural observation but an operational principle that should reshape how you build your go-to-market strategy, structure your sales team, and invest your resources.

He inherited an underperforming team, dismantled a culture of siloed processes, and led Workato Japan from 50% of target to 150%, without speaking a word of Japanese when he arrived. 

You’ll hear why Japan rewards long-game commitment over short-term hustle, how foreign leaders can actually use their outsider status as a competitive advantage, and why over-investing in customer success, not sales headcount, is what unlocks this market.

“Culture” and “cultivate” share the same root word. But culture just doesn’t appear overnight. It needs to thoughtfully cultivated.

So, what does it actually take to build a high-performing sales culture in Asia?

Charlene Tan, Head of Asia at Qualtrics and a 20-year veteran of Oracle, SAP, Workday and Splunk, doesn’t hold back. In this conversation, she breaks down the behaviors that silently make or break sales culture, why your top performer might be your biggest liability, and how leaders are “Thermometers, and not thermostat”.

Now, her reps are using AI to walk into negotiations sharper than ever, and why in Asia, no matter how good your tech is, trust is still the only currency that matters. Honest, direct, and packed with nuggets!

As a leader, your teams trust only what they see, feel and observe, not what they are told. Take it from someone who has scaled and led teams in Asia, not as an outsider but who sets examples by getting his hands dirty.

Charles Ferguson is a seasoned business leader, entrepreneur and growth advisor in Asia with an impressive 30 year career with Intel, Microsoft, SalesForce, SAP, ADP and GP. 

He gives his take on what the West gets wrong about leading in Asia, a time and battle tested framework for identifying and building leaders, and how “relationships in Asia aren’t a strategy, but the result!”

His journey was anything but conventional! An American boy who spent his formative years in Indonesia, went home to the US for University and returned to Asia to build a career in Tech (and owned a Jazz Bar in Shanghai along the way). 

What stands out isn’t just his experience, but his philosophy that he fully embraces as a citizen of Asia for more than 30 years.

Indonesia isn’t just a country. It’s an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands and is the world’s 4th most populous country.

Here, the B2B sales pipeline doesn’t operate as seamlessly as one would expect.

We unpack “The Sales Pipeline Illusion” featuring insights from Kidung Ajisurya, Sales Director (Industry) for South East Asia at Bureau Veritas.

We discuss why seemingly healthy pipelines often fail to convert, the mindset and culture behind it, and what sales leaders can do to change that.

He explains the multi-layered stakeholders and relationship-driven decision-making in Indonesia, and explains cultural nuances that unveil what selling in Indonesia is like. 

Here, activity doesn’t equal progress, a “polite yes” can mean “silent no,” and trust takes years to build.

Korea, the 14th largest economy in the world, the 4th in Asia. 

With boundless opportunities, the one-size-fits-all sales process doesn’t work here. That’s because B2B selling hits different with Chaebols, SMEs and foreign-led enterprises.

Professor JJ Song, a leading Sales Management expert, an entrepreneur and sales educator in Korea and around the world, reveals some secrets to navigate Korea. 

He dives deep into the unique complexities of B2B selling in this vibrant market, its evolution in Korea and why culture literally eats strategy for breakfast. 

He reminds us that companies that assume that a solid product and a standard sales process are enough are in for an unpleasant surprise

Sales has changed dramatically over the past decades. Buyers are more informed than ever, technology is reshaping how and what companies sell, but B2B selling is still very much a human to human engagement.

In this episode,  Philip Yim, Managing Director of Kärcher Singapore & Malaysia expounds on what has changed, what hasn’t and what it takes to succeed in the modern B2B environment.

He shares insights from his decades of experience selling, scaling and leading sales teams across South East Asia and China, turning businesses around. He explains why, despite rapid technological change, trust and human relationships remain at the heart of great selling and how translation isn’t localisation.

Startups need funds - to start, to grow and to sustain. But what makes a start-up Investable?

And why do founders' perception of their own value often exceed those of the investors?

Our guest Dr Yong Hsin Ning mentors and coach start-ups to help them more investable.

With more than 20 years in Change Management consulting, academia as a faculty and adjunct Professor and entrepreneurship, she shares a powerful framework and offers up wisdom to founders seeking investments.

Our guest this is week is KL Loh, the Country Head of Ricoh Singapore.

With over 30 years of industry experience, and more than 20 as a change leader. KL shares his journey, experience and advise in driving change.

We conclude our chat with Jeremy with his perspectives on "Start-up Sales in a Downturn".

Among them:

Is Sales a skill that Founders need to succeed? Do start-ups need a sales team? Can they afford one?

The easy money is gone and VC funds and investors are holding back and start-ups are under pressure to prioritize revenue despite the challenging climate.

How can they succeed?

Jeremy Au, VC and Chief of Staff at Monk's Hill Ventures shares a ton of great advice from his days as a Founder and "only sales person", an investor in and coach and mentor to numerous start ups in this 2 part series.