Monthly Series – International Sales Best Practices
Last month we looked in great detail at the “gooey, touchy-feely” world of soft skills in developing trust in cross-cultural communication. Now, I know many business minded people look down on soft skills. But when it comes to international skills they do this at their own peril. Soft skills play a significant role in international business skills. Everyone with strong cultural and international skills got there through personal work.
Because of the personal work involved in developing strong cultural skills and important soft skill component I felt it was essential to break this in two parts.
- In depth soft skills. Last month we had a detailed inspection of the soft skills required to build trust
- The place where these cross-cultural communication soft skills are needed in international sales. This month is lighter. We are going to see where these trust building skills fit into international sales. We will review each of last months cross-cultural tips from a different angle. This month we are going to look at them through the eyes of international sales.
If you are serious about strengthening your international skills you still need to review the gooey personal work. Soft skills are essential. There is no avoiding them.
The truth is that international professionals are busy and the personal development part of acquiring these cross-cultural skills requires an appropriate mindset and time. Most people need to come back and review certain steps in the personal development on working through their soft skills when the time is right and when they are ready.
Building Trust In International Sales – Tip 1
Every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, no trust. – Zig Ziglar
International Sales Best Practice
- Always keep trust building a priority
In international sales you deal with people from different cultures. So, you need to keep in mind:
- The cultural differences encountered are mined with potential barriers and pitfalls when building trust.
- Trust is an essential ingredient to all good business practices.
- And the nature of international business can make trust precarious
- You need to work on building, nurturing and maintaining trust at all times
- You need to work on building trust in ALL aspects of communication
The best international sales practice is to ALWAYS keep trust building and trust nurturing a priority… in every way you can. And here’s why…
Never Forget
In cross-cultural encounters trust can be lost:
- In the blink of an eye
- Without you realizing anything changed
This all goes back to the soft skills in cross-cultural communication we reviewed last month. The question of trust has to be a little closer in your mind in international sales than when selling to people who share a similar cultural background.
I will go into more detail on how to build trust in international sales this month, and I hope you follow me each day.
Now it is over to you…
- How difficult do you find building trust with international clients?
- What are the main difficulties you find in nurturing trust for international sales?
- What is the difference in building trust for international business?
Please share your stories in the comment section below.
More Cultural Skills For Today’s Tip
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Last month’s Cross-Cultural Communication Tip -Keep your body language open to dialog. |
This month’s series takes reviews last month’s tips to build trust in cross-cultural communication and adds an international sales perspective. Remember to download the free calender for an easy reference to all of the 30 Cross-Cultural Communication Challenge Tips on trust. Get the complete International Sales Best Practices series here.
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All International Sales Best Practices
You can find the complete list of International Sales Best Practices published to date here:
She is who I turn to when I have questions and you should too"
-- Chris Garrett, co-author of the "Problogger" book
