Sunday, Dec. 2, 2001

By GEOFF BOTTING

Shukan Taishu (Dec. 10)

When Michiko Ota, a 26-year-old ad agency sales rep, meets a client, it's important she has the right look. "The makeup is the best I have and the clothes are sexy," she says. "These days, that often means tight miniskirts and fishnet stockings."

The getup is for the wild drinking sessions at bars and pubs, which she arranges to entertain her male clients. There, her role is more akin to a bar hostess than a businesswoman.

"I've been to numerous parties in the past. And yes, I have slept in some unfamiliar places," she admits.

Ota (a pseudonym, as with the other names in this story) has discovered that, for a young, attractive woman working in the field of sales, sex -- or at least the prospect of sex -- can be the ultimate tool of a good sales strategy.

Ota's hostess persona has clearly reaped results. At her Tokyo agency, she pulls in more contracts than anyone else.

Sachiko Iida, 28, claims a similar level of success at her travel agency. Shukan Taishu describes her as a quintessential Japanese beauty. Yet at her office she has the reputation of being a tough competitor who gets results. That's no small achievement given the dismal state of the travel industry since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Her strategy involves the personal touch. When meeting a potential client, she hands him a card bearing her personal cell-phone number, instead of her office number. And when she needs to call him, she rings his personal cell phone.

The idea is to make him feel more like a lover than a business associate.

Maki Miyashita, 31, who works for a car dealership, zeroes in on young, geeky guys, taking advantage of their inexperience in dealing with women.

"Turning on the charm with those kinds of guys tends to get instant results," she says. "At first, I take the lead in conversation in a way that doesn't make them feel self-conscious."

After determining the time is just right, she starts to get a bit physical, such as holding hands.

Then comes the all-so-subtle pitch.

"At a coffee shop, I'll say something like, 'This car is the best, because it's popular with the ladies. If you take a woman on a drive in this car, she will really be excited.' "

For staff at life-insurance companies, however, the sales approach can be anything but subtle.

"It's my standard practice to leave the top two or three buttons of my blouse undone during sales calls," says Akemi Goto, 30. "When I sit on a sofa, I consciously choose to sit at the right spot where the client across from me can see up my skirt."

And when a client is about to stamp his seal on a contract, Goto makes sure to kneel beside his desk in a position that shows off her ample breasts.

It should be noted that Goto's industry is at near-crisis level. The major life insurers have found that their yields from investments are actually below the interest payments to policyholders.

For Goto, at least, it's a desperate situation that calls for desperate measures.

Tokyo Confidential summarizes articles appearing in vernacular tabloids. The views expressed herein do not reflect those of The Japan Times, nor can we vouch for the veracity of the contents.

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