International Sales Best Practices
Today we drill down further into asking questions to avoid wrong assumptions and improve clarity in cross-cultural communication.
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CCCC Tip #8 -
Ask questions to get any specific information and avoid assumptions. |
This month’s series takes last month’s tips to get extreme clarity in cross-cultural communication and brings them into 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 clarity. Get the complete International Sales Best Practices series here.
OK, why is this here? Well, this is a mistake I often notice with people new to international business. Remember it is usually safe to assume that what is obvious to you is probably not obvious to someone from a different culture.
Cross-Cultural Communication Skills & Sales Best Practices
This reminds me of a quote from Jeffrey Gitomer’s Little Red Book Of Sales Answers.
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“Why would you start with someone who can’t decide?” – Jeffrey Gitomer |
Today’s cross-cultural communication tip and the quote from Jeffrey Gitomer reminds to set the right framework. If you start off in the wrong place you will need to change places to get where you want to go.
One very common mistake in international business is to assume that every company in the world has employees with the exact same job title for the same job function. This is a wrong assumption.
If a “Job Title X” has a particular job function in your country and a different one in another country, you might be speaking to the wrong person.
Instead of insisting on finding the translation for the job title you arefamilar with it is usually much better to describe your needs, what you are looking for and then reconfirm this with the person concerned. This means asking specific questions.
The thing to remember is to carefully ask the right questions, and get specific when you need to, to set the framework for your encounter. No one likes wasting their time. Others appreciate a clearly defined framework. It makes the cross-cultural communication easier.
What Is Your Experience Of This In International Sales?
- Do you know if people with your equivalent job title have the same job function in other countries?
- How do you start off your international sales encounters? Do you find it different?
- Do you often have to go back and give more details during cross-cultural sales encounters?
Please share your comments below. I’d love to hear your stories!
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All International Sales Best Practices
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She is who I turn to when I have questions and you should too"
-- Chris Garrett, co-author of the "Problogger" book
