Meet the Team: Client Relationship Manager Sakae Kogure

By Anthony Griffin

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” These words of wisdom from Thomas Edison mirror Sakae Kogure’s ( 木暮栄 ) approach to his career. As Global Bridge client relationship manager, he relies on his extensive corporate sales experience to share the value of Global Bridge training programs with companies throughout Japan. Read on to get to know Sakae and discover his passion for the corporate sales process.

Can you briefly tell us about your background and your experience?

After graduating from university, I launched my career by working in the advertising department in one of the “big five” newspaper companies here in Japan. That was my first experience with corporate sales.

After that, I moved to Indonesia and worked for a Japanese-Indonesian joint venture. This was an entirely different field—a prep school for elementary, junior high, and high school students living in Jakarta. I worked as both a teacher and a coordinator for three years.

After I got married and my son was born, I returned to Japan and started working in sales for a British training company. I sent a lot of Japanese businesspeople to this organization to study business English and global business communication. I worked here for seven years and then became a sales manager at another company that focused on business skills and cross-cultural training in Japanese. After working there for 14 years, I took on a few more roles before finally joining Global Bridge. I’ve been here for four years and am excited about the company’s potential for growth.

What is your role at Global Bridge?

I’m a client relationship manager. I research which companies might be a potential fit for our training and conduct sales activities. Every day, I reach out to potential new clients through phone calls, emails, direct mail, and social media.

What do you love about your work?

Working in sales means that you always have goals. This is why I love working in this field. All sales activities have a result, whether it’s a bad one or a good one. The sales cycle might be suitable for me.

Even when my work is difficult, I always think about the potential rewards. The sales process is tough, and I always have to think about how I’ll survive until the end. However, I like this kind of tension. Additionally, I feel that the Global Bridge staff appreciates my efforts.

I think about sales all the time—day and night, even on weekends. I’m always thinking about what kinds of companies can benefit from our services. The sales process is like treasure hunting, and I like to find treasure.

What is your favourite quote?

Eiichi Shibusawa, who is known as the father of Japanese capitalism, said “When all the world is satisfied, that is when it declines.” To me, this means that we should always be cautious and never be complacent.

If you would like to get in touch with Sakae or learn more about?Global Bridge, please contact?[email protected]?or call 03-3518-2620.?