Getting a buyer interested in our solution is only the beginning of a B2B sale. In many organisations — and particularly in Japan — the person sitting across from us may have very little authority to make the final decision.
Instead, we need that person to become our internal champion.
They have to take our idea back into their organisation, explain it, defend it, overcome resistance and put their own reputation behind recommending us.
That creates an important responsibility for salespeople. We are not merely asking someone to help us win a deal. We are asking them to take a professional risk on our behalf.
What is an internal champion in B2B sales?
An internal champion is someone inside the buyer organisation who believes in your solution strongly enough to advocate for it when you are not in the room.
Usually, we meet our initial contact through a cold call, referral or networking. We explain what we do, perhaps mention another client we have helped and then ask permission to explore their situation.
If we are doing professional consultative selling, we ask questions and go deeply into the issues facing the organisation.
Eventually, we start suggesting solutions matched to those needs.
That is often when reality appears.
Our contact may be enthusiastic about solving the problem but discover that managers, executives, Finance, Procurement or other divisions are not nearly as enthusiastic.
We cannot personally attend every internal conversation.
Our contact therefore becomes our representative.
They have to carry the sale forward for us.
Do now: Identify who inside the client genuinely wants the change to happen. Interest alone isn't enough — you need someone willing to advocate internally.
Why are internal champions particularly important when selling in Japan?
Japanese corporate buying often involves multiple stakeholders, so the salesperson's original contact may be only one participant in a much larger decision-making process.
In traditional Japanese organisations, a proposal can move through several layers of internal review.
Divisions affected by the purchase may conduct their own due diligence. Section Heads may approve the proposal before it moves to Division Heads. Depending on the scale and nature of the decision, senior executives may then become involved.
The traditional ringi process illustrates why internal consensus matters so much in Japan.
That can mean a tremendous number of people are involved.
Meanwhile, we may only know one of them.
The person sitting opposite us may not even have final approval authority, yet we depend upon them to help navigate the proposal through the organisation.
This is why Japanese B2B selling cannot simply be about persuading one individual.
We need to help that individual persuade everyone else.
Do now: Ask, "Who else will be involved in evaluating or approving this decision?" Then help your champion prepare for each stakeholder's concerns.
What risk does an internal champion take when recommending a supplier?
Your champion puts their credibility and sometimes their career reputation behind your solution, because if your company fails, they may be blamed for recommending you.
This is something salespeople can easily underestimate.
We naturally think about our own risk.
Will we win the contract?
Will we achieve our sales target?
Will we earn the commission?
The buyer's champion is considering something completely different.
"If I recommend these people and it goes badly, what happens to me?"
Their colleagues are unlikely to say, "Well, that supplier made an unfortunate operational decision."
They may say:
"Why did you choose them?"
That makes trust central to the sale.
Our champion has to believe we are credible, reliable and capable of delivering what we promise.
They also need confidence that supporting us won't make them look foolish in front of senior management.
When viewed from their perspective, choosing a new supplier can be a significant personal risk.
Do now: Before asking a champion to advocate for you, ask yourself, "What professional risk am I asking this person to accept?"
What can go wrong when a salesperson fails to protect the champion?
If the supplier fails after an internal champion has fought to get the deal approved, the damage can extend far beyond the contract — it can damage the champion's standing inside the organisation.
I learned this lesson painfully while selling imported mobile telephone antenna steel towers in Japan.
The towers were sourced from Australia, and we could install them for around 30% of the price being offered by local suppliers.
Imported towers were new, however, so getting agreement wasn't straightforward.
The buyer was a joint venture whose executives had come from several shareholder companies. Some arrived with relationships with preferred Japanese suppliers.
My champions had to fight internally to get the Australian solution accepted.
There was even resistance from the local supplier group, which reacted aggressively to the cheaper imported competition.
Eventually, my champions got the deal through.
Then things went wrong.
The Australian supplier decided to move production to Malaysia to reduce costs.
Quality problems followed.
Eventually, the business collapsed.
Do now: Winning internal approval isn't the finish line. Once your champion has backed you, delivery becomes part of protecting their reputation.
Why does supplier failure damage the salesperson personally?
From the champion's perspective, the salesperson represents the entire supplier organisation, so internal operational failures can become personal failures of trust.
I hadn't personally made the decision to move production from Australia to Malaysia.
That distinction didn't matter.
To my champion, I was their guy.
I had brought the supplier into the company.
I had made the promises.
They had trusted me enough to fight internally for the deal.
Then the supplier let them down.
The relationship was destroyed.
They stopped talking to me, which I took as a very bad sign indeed.
My name was mud.
That experience taught me something important about mutual responsibility in selling.
Salespeople sometimes think, "That problem came from Operations", "Head Office made the decision" or "Manufacturing caused the failure".
The customer doesn't care about our organisational chart.
Neither does our champion.
We own the promises we make on behalf of our organisation.
Do now: Never recommend something internally that you aren't confident your own organisation can deliver. Your credibility travels with the solution.
How can salespeople help their champions win internally?
The salesperson should make the champion's internal selling job easier by providing the arguments, evidence and risk reduction they need to persuade other decision-makers.
Think about what your champion will face after you leave the meeting.
Their boss may ask why the company should change.
Finance may question the economics.
Procurement may challenge the supplier.
Users may worry about implementation.
Senior leaders may ask what could go wrong.
Your champion needs answers.
We should therefore provide more than a proposal.
Give them a clear business case.
Provide relevant evidence.
Explain implementation.
Anticipate objections.
Identify risks and explain how those risks will be managed.
Make the recommendation easy for them to explain to other stakeholders.
Most importantly, remain conscious that your champion is lending you something precious: their internal credibility.
If the deal succeeds, you want them to look smart for having backed you.
That is how long-term trusted-adviser relationships are built.
Do now: Ask yourself, "What does my champion need to make this recommendation safely and convincingly when I'm not there?"
What should salespeople remember about their internal champions?
The sale isn't only about getting agreement from the organisation.
It is about protecting the person helping us obtain that agreement.
Find your champion.
Build their trust.
Understand the stakeholders they need to influence.
Give them the evidence and arguments they need.
Reduce the personal and organisational risk attached to choosing you.
Then deliver what you promised.
My steel-tower experience taught me this lesson the hard way. A champion who fights internally for us deserves much more than our gratitude. They deserve our protection.
When we begin the sales process with that responsibility in mind, we make better decisions about what we promise, what we sell and how we deliver.
And there is another benefit.
Protecting our champion also protects our own personal brand and reputation in the marketplace.
Author bio
Dr. Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University. He is a two-time winner of the Dale Carnegie One Carnegie Award (2018 and 2021) and recipient of the Griffith University Business School Outstanding Alumnus Award (2012). As a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, Greg is certified to deliver programmes globally across leadership, communication, sales and presentations, including Leadership Training for Results.
He has written several books, including the best-sellers Japan Business Mastery, Japan Sales Mastery and Japan Presentations Mastery, as well as Japan Leadership Mastery and How to Stop Wasting Money on Training. His works have also been translated into Japanese, including Za Eigyō (ザ営業), Purezen no Tatsujin (プレゼンの達人), Torēningu de Okane o Muda ni Suru no wa Yamemashō (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのはやめましょう), and Gendaiban "Hito o Ugokasu" Rīdā (現代版「人を動かす」リーダー).
Greg also publishes daily business insights on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter and hosts six weekly podcasts. On YouTube, he produces The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show, Japan Business Mastery and Japan's Top Business Interviews for executives and professionals seeking practical strategies for succeeding in Japan.
