"Housing Sales,
Sharing in the Joys of Life"

“I’ll quit the company. I can’t handle it. I’m not cut out for this job.”

Right out of school, Fujimura was a first-year company employee who worked in housing sales—and her first contract, a sale earned after much effort, was on its way to being cancelled. Without having landed a single contract after that, in her second year at the company she sank into the depths of self-doubt, and her health deteriorated. The thought of “I’ll quit” was constantly on her mind when a day came that she could never have imagined.

Fast forward to her sixth year in the company, and amid thunderous applause Fujimura was on stage at an awards ceremony held at the Imperial Hotel Tokyo, being honored as the Outstanding Employee of the Year, an internal Daiwa House Award. There are over 1,000 employees at the Houses Business Department, but Fujimura took awards for both the number of houses and top profit in the young employee division.

The recommendation submitted by the head of her business department stated, “Ms. Fujimura has achieved outstanding business performance, clearly exceeding standard target levels by over ten-fold. At the essence of her success were the proposals she made based on the empathy she has for customers. Seeing things from their perspective, though, is not merely a matter of her on-the-job training, but rather, it’s a manifestation of the experiences she has accumulated throughout her life.”

Given this, as one might have expected, Fujimura has since childhood acted with empathy, prioritizing others over herself.

In first grade, she played softball on a boys team, and was encouraged to become a pitcher. The coach of the team, her father, held her to high standards, saying, “If the pitcher crumbles the game is over, so take responsibility.” Games were held on weekends, and on weekdays, after school she went to a park to practice on her own in silence. Having been selected to represent her town as a female player, she competed as captain, cleanup hitter, and ace pitcher for a powerhouse team.

In junior high school Fujimura was captain of the tennis club, and in high school, also captain of the softball team. She took on the roles of class vice president and student council officer because everyone around her suggested, “Why don’t you give it a try?”

Fujimura herself commented that “In my heart I’m gloomy and negative, constantly thinking ‘I can’t do it. I’m sorry, I know I’m causing problems.’” Nonetheless, she’s constantly moved forward with the thought that “It’s more painful not to meet expectations. If I’m going to do something, I want to do it properly.”

“She has an awesome sense of responsibility (lol),” praised Fujimura’s close friend. At the same time she was a member of the futsal club at university, she was putting her heart into a part time job at a major coffee chain store, even being entrusted as a leader of the part-time staff. She made it a point to adopt an attitude of anticipating and responding as needed, committing to memory customers’ faces and preferences, and adjusting training methods according to staff members’ ages and personalities.

Thinking she might be suited to customer service or sales, Fujimura narrowed her job search to sales positions. “Of the items the typical person ever purchases,” she thought, “a house will be the most expensive.” As her goal was to do something fulfilling, she joined Daiwa House Industry.

Results in sports are obtained if you practice. So Fujimura believed that “If you put effort into a job then someday you can make a sale!”

After entering the company, Fujimura was assigned to a built-for-sale housing sales unit where she handed out fliers and received customers who visited the housing lot area. In the autumn of her first year, she realized her first customer contract sale. She was overjoyed to finally take a first step forward.

Some days after that, however, she received a phone call. “Today we went to take a look at a condominium being built in the area we were hoping for, so we might be canceling the contract with Daiwa House.”

More than the frustration, she was saddened by her own sense of inadequacy, and miserable to be reliant on her boss and not able to earn trust as a responsible staff member. Even so, Fujimura knew the customer’s child would be starting elementary school in the spring, and rather than waiting for a home to be constructed, it would be better for them to live in the place they wanted to before school began. It was her fervent wish that the customer be happy.

After that, though, she fell into a loop of self-rejection. Even when dealing with customers, she blamed herself, thinking that “If it hadn’t been for me, we might have had a follow-up appointment or contract,” and “It was because I wasn’t good enough.” Her health suffered. Fujimura’s boss showed consideration, saying, “There’s the option of quitting, but do you want to take a bit of time off?” But once you run away, you can’t come back. So, she stood firm, thinking that before she quit, “I want to see through at least one house, from an initial customer encounter to handing over the keys.”

The turning point for Fujimura was her transfer to a housing showroom. Showroom Manager Hatsuse, would later receive the Daiwa House Award for Outstanding Employee. Having an open mind about people and work, Hatsuse goes all out for every task. Moreover, he never gets angry. From his own experiences as a youth, he believes that “getting scolded is pointless,” and he respects and protects the autonomy of his subordinates. Blessed with a leader of such character, Fujimura was little by little able to find her footing again.

Around the same time, a fortunate turn of events was the start of “team sales” within the company. This system involves a dedicated sales representative for each customer, supported by a team comprised of multiple members working together. Young staff members attend meetings with branch managers and senior colleagues, then handle customer interactions themselves and receive feedback on what went well and areas for improvement.

Manager Hatsuse provided guidance, saying, “Make sure that what you say will benefit the customer, giving them something that will make them feel that they made the right decision in coming here.” More than just the good points of Daiwa House, let them see the comparisons with other companies, and be honest about the drawbacks as well. And in addition to that, talk about being prepared for disasters, future maintenance costs, and other matters they will need to consider after the home is built. “We really hadn’t thought about things in detail” is something that more than a few customers will realize.

Fujimura learned the “joy of sales” by personally leading meetings and taking responsibility all the way until the deal was closed. With everything falling into place, her efforts began to bear fruit. Now, she has grown to the point where she is the one leading her team.

Fujimura’s first sale was toward the end of her second year at the company. The customer, who works at an ironworks, had a stream of technical questions, from steel frame finishing to welding method. It was Fujimura’s sincerity in confirming with the research center before responding that earned her that first order.

However, Fujimura learned that the really tough part came after signing the contract. She was swamped with exhaustive discussions and back and forth with the bank and all of the other relevant parties. This overlapped with the next sale, and before she knew it, that feeling of “wanting to quit” had faded away.

By her third year, Fujimura had established her own distinctive style of dealing with customers. Able to swiftly respond to questions, her rate of follow-up meetings rose to around 70%. By her fifth year, she could provide a schedule up until occupancy from a first meeting and then proceed with home construction tailored to preferences. Her appointment rate for follow-up meetings exceeded 90%, and the number of home orders received doubled that of her third year.

At a home recently delivered to its owner, memories bloomed like flowers.

The owners had met with a number of companies, but in the end they decided upon just one. When that happened, they gave Daiwa House a call to decline. “At that time Ms. Fujimura, who had picked up the call, said ‘I understand! It’s no problem at all.’ She was so nice that turning her down almost made me feel like I should be apologizing.”

Later, when the customer’s discussions with that other company did not proceed smoothly, they gave Daiwa House another call. “I asked Ms. Fujimura, who had again picked up the phone, ‘Were you the one who I talked to when I called to decline before.’ Her reply was ‘Yes, that’s right!’ Her having remembered my call, right away we met again at her showroom.”

What the customer felt when they met Fujimura was her honesty, the precise nature of her proposal, her approach of working closely together to take things into consideration, and the quality of her character. “It was Ms. Fujimura that brought us to the point that we wanted to buy the house.”

Mistakes do sometimes occur. In one instance, because of a plan for the future installation of air conditioning by the customer, the home was handed over without the necessary piping holes in the wall. This had not been sufficiently explained. Fujimura, who had received the customer query, demonstrated a response that went above and beyond. She prepared handwritten diagrams that indicated the position of earthquake-resistant pillars, and the construction company that was to drill the holes was able to alleviate concerns with remarkably thorough documentation, while technical support staff from Daiwa House also visited the site, among other efforts.

Fujimura and the coordination between design, interior, and construction personnel was smooth, and even junior sales staff could be heard saying, “When I don’t understand something, Ms. Fujimura will repeatedly and patiently explain things to me. I have great respect for her.”

“What makes discussions so enjoyable is certainly owing to Ms. Fujimura’s personality,” the owner explained. “Today was another time I felt like I was meeting a relative I hadn’t seen in ages (lol).” The trust placed in Fujiwara from both inside and outside the company has shaped her into the person she is today.

My days spent overcoming struggles culminated in being presented with the Daiwa House Award. However, from the moment of having heard the news, I constantly had thoughts of “Have I been good enough?” It’s nice to be recognized, but I had yet to meet expectations. I have to work harder.

I began to see the enjoyable points in housing sales. That was the “joy” I could share with customers. Meeting with customers, building their house, keeping a protective eye on their daily lives. The true reward of this work is being able to witness life’s joyful moments. Growing to the point of being able to think in this way is thanks to the support of those around me.

Fujimura had long enjoyed group competitions, like softball and futsal. For that very reason, when sales changed from an “individual match” to a “team sport” under team sales, it was likely that her latent capabilities had been awakened. “I can’t endeavor for just myself. I enjoy working for people.”

In her reception speech as well, she spoke of her resolve. “Wearing the Daiwa House jersey means we never cut corners in preparation, so our customers feel “It was a good thing we went with building a Daiwa House,” and the people we work with feel “Being able to work with Daiwa House was a good experience.”

Even her father, who had once been a strict coach but who had now become her greatest supporter, had helped Fujimura stand tall, saying, “Be sincere with customers,” and “When things are going well, never forget that you’re supported by those around you.” On the other hand, he worried about her health, cautioning, “You don’t have to push yourself so hard.”

Things will be okay. I thoroughly enjoy my private time, having barbeques and going to see baseball games with coworkers. At home, I cook and do sudoku puzzles to clear my mind for a change of pace. My friends I hang out with say “She’s still as cheerful as ever,” and that’s an important barometer for checking where I am now. I don’t want to become the kind of person who always says with a grim face that “I’m busy.” I want to be myself, someone who works hard so that I can enjoy my time off.

Thinking of the future, I have my concerns as a woman in sales. How should I go through this stage that has so many life-changing events, such as childbirth and childrearing. I believe it’s disrespectful to face customers when I can’t give my best effort, which is precisely why I still can’t see how much longer I can keep going.

Nonetheless, Fujimura considers that “being able to work is itself the greatest happiness.” I see myself in these words of the Daiwa House Industry founder. Both worries and failures can be experienced due to the fact that I have work, and I can proudly say I’m happier now than when I lost confidence and couldn’t work as I wished.

As if to reinforce that sentiment, Manager Hatsuse’s message was inscribed on the Daiwa House Award certificate.

“Having worked together from your second year in the company, I know it was by no means an easy endeavor for you. I am therefore truly delighted that all your efforts up until now have given form to what we see today. This award, though, is only a milestone. Please use this as momentum to tackle challenges in the future. Now, with a limitless array of options available to you, please enjoy your life going forward.”

Housing sales is a task that brings “joy” to life. People who cannot enjoy their own lives will be unable to talk about comfortable lifestyles. The strength that blossoms from leading an enjoyable life is channeled back into work, and this will shape someone’s life. The “joy” that arises from this is what propels Fujimura onward.