Service 02 / Sales
Outsourced sales representation in Japan, for companies without a team there.
We find and screen the partners, make first contact in Japanese, hold the meetings for you and report back in English — so you can find out whether Japan works before you hire for it.
This page is for companies. If you are looking for a sales job in Japan, we are not a recruitment agency and do not place candidates.
What does an outsourced sales representative in Japan do?
- Shortlists partners — distributors, retailers, trading companies or direct accounts, screened against your capacity.
- Makes first contact in Japanese — in the register the recipient expects, which is where most cold outreach from abroad is discarded.
- Designs and holds the meetings — materials prepared, objections handled, follow-up done.
- Reports back in English — what was actually said, including the parts that did not go well, with the decisions you need to make set apart.
It is a way to put someone in the room in Japan before you commit to a hire, a distributor agreement or an entity.
Representative, distributor or your own hire — which comes first?
For most companies testing Japan, a representative comes first, because it is the option you can stop without unwinding anything. The others become sensible once you know who buys and why.
| Option | What you commit | Control over the message | Fits when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outsourced representative | A defined scope and period | High — you approve the materials and see every report | You are testing demand and want to talk to buyers yourself, through someone |
| Distributor | An agreement, often with territory or exclusivity terms | Lower — the distributor sells many products, not only yours | You already know which kind of buyer wants the product and need reach |
| Your own hire in Japan | Employment, plus someone to manage it | High, once the person is in place | You know the market works and need someone full-time |
| Your own entity | Set-up, accounts and running costs | Highest | Volume justifies a permanent presence |
These are not exclusive. A common path is to start with a representative, use what the meetings reveal to choose a distributor, and hire later.
Can we sell in Japan without a Japanese company?
At the testing stage, often yes: a representative can find and meet buyers on your behalf while your company stays where it is.
What changes from category to category is the import side — who acts as importer, which product rules apply, and how contracts and payment are set up. Those questions stay with you and your own professional advisers. We are your commercial representative, not your legal or customs adviser, and we tell you plainly where that line falls in your case.
Some categories are licensed even at the introduction stage. Brokering the sale of alcoholic beverages in Japan, for example, generally requires a licence. We tell you at the first consultation whether your category is one we can represent.
What happens once we start?
- Consultation — what you sell, where you have already tried, what a result would look like.
- Issue mapping — product questions separated from market questions, open points put in order.
- Route design — which partners to approach first, and with what.
- Execution — contact, meetings and follow-up in Japanese, reported in English.
- Review — what the market said, fed back into the route.
You can stop after any stage. The second is deliberately placed before anyone spends money on the market.
What we take on, and what stays with you
| We handle | You retain |
|---|---|
| Partner sourcing, first contact and screening | The final decision on partners |
| Meeting design, execution and reporting | Your price floor and supply capacity |
| The Japanese-language side of your enquiries | Contracts, quality assurance, customs and import compliance |
| Channel and pricing structure advice | Shipping and after-sales obligations |
Who does the selling
Our founder, Hiroshi Seo, has worked in more than sixty countries, set up and ran an overseas branch in Hong Kong from registration to a working sales operation, and led global marketing and sales at companies of roughly ¥10 billion to over ¥100 billion in annual revenue. Most of our practice takes Japanese companies abroad, so we spend our days with the kind of company you want as a partner here — and know how the decision is made on their side of the table. We do not publish client case studies; where an example is relevant to you, we describe it in the meeting with that client’s permission.
Before a Japanese buyer agrees to meet, they will also look you up in Japanese. If that search finds little, see our Japanese SEO page.
FAQ
Questions about sales representation
QAre you a recruitment agency?
QDo you work on commission?
QWhich sectors do you work in?
QWhat language do we work in?
Contact
Start with a conversation.
The first consultation is free and can be held online. If our honest reading is that Japan is not the right move for you now, we will say so.