International Sales Best Practices
Today is the last difference between successful salespeople and those who fail. Tomorrow we will start to review Jeffrey Gitomer’s 12.5 Principles of Sales Greatness and see how these fit in with our cross-cultural communication tips to get more international sales.
International Sales Success
I am always surprised when I hear negative comments or feel negative attitudes in salespeople. Even when they are not wrong in their negative opinions, these salespeople lose one key advantage. A positive attitude is so much more powerful no matter how “right” a negative attitude can be. Why give someone else this advantage?
Quote From Jeffrey Gitomer’s Little Red Book Of Selling
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What’s the difference between successful salespeople and salespeople that fail?
Develop and maintain a positive attitude. |
Last Month’s Cross-Cultural Communication Tip 2
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Refrain from voicing any negative reactions. Train yourself to ask questions instead. |
It Is Easy To Show Negative Reactions
In international sales, our cultural differences can get the better of us. It is so easy react negatively to cultural differences and it is also easy to let these bad reactions show. Not only can you lose the advantage of a positive attitude, but you can also let the encounter spin out of control.
Ask Questions Before You React
There is one easy tactic to help you avoid showing your negative reactions. Remember yesterday’s post?
Before you react, ask the question. Verify whether your understanding is right or not. In my own experience, every time I reacted negatively it was due to cross-cultural barriers. So I quickly learned to ask the question before showing any reaction at all.
Sometimes you will need to dig deeper to find the right question to give you the explanation you need. Your negative reactions can make you ask the wrong questions.
Luckily this only needs to happen a few times for you to see the benefit of keeping a positive attitude in all circumstances.
So…
How positive is your attitude? – Jeffrey Gitomer
Want To Get The Cross-Cultural Communication Tips?
Get all of the Cross-Cultural Communication Challenge Tips here:
2009 Cross-Cultural Communication Challenges
