International Sales Best Practice #3

Here is another one of last month’s tips on getting extreme with clarity to improve your cross-cultural communication skills.

Listen to how the other person’s conversation fits with yours.

This helps us to pick up areas that need more clarity.  It helps us to find the right way to connect across cultures. How does this tie in with international sales best practices?

Cross-Cultural Communication Skills & Sales Best Practices

Well, first of all, this gets you to concentrate on what is happening in the present moment.   And this is important.  But, before going any further, let’s have a look at a quote from Jeffrey Gitomer’s Little Red Book Of Sales Answers.

“Become the best where you already are, and then move up.” – Jeffrey Gitomer

There are several good reasons to focus on your communication one step at a time.  For the purpose of this article, we will only look at improving clarity in cross-cultural communication.

The most important reason is because cross-cultural communication is mined with possible pitfalls.  This is due to many factors influenced by cultural differences.  Quite simply, if you do not pay close attention to the conversation you could miss the small signs that tell you where need to add more clarity to your communication. Cross-cultural communication has to be flexible.  You need to be ready to explain and adapt your communication to make a real connection and get your message across. Listen to how each part of the conversation fits with another.  You have a better chance of creating a meaningful connection when you concentrate on each step of the conversation. When you concentrate on improving the clarity of your communication, you also become better at it.

What Is Your Experience Of This In International Sales?

• Have you ever “missed” a cross-cultural communication?
• Do you find it difficult to hear what the other person from a different culture is saying?
• Did you ever feel that you rushed a sales, because you did not connect within a cross-cultural encounter?

Check out the other International Sales Best Practices in this series.

What do you think? Please share your thoughts and comments below.

Photos from Shutterstock.

  Filed under: International Sales

Cindy King

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