International Sales Best Practices
Yesterday we looked at how successful salespeople are not afraid of making mistakes and how this fear of mistakes is a bit complicated in international business. Part of this is also a fear of the risks involved.
International Sales Success
There are “risks” in all aspects of our lives. We all learn to deal with most of these risks and do not label them risks any more.
Most successful people learn how to evaluate and work through risk in their jobs. And yet these same successful people can stop in front of the risk involved in international business.
This is because cultural differences add on more elements of risk. The cultural differences also seem to add on a different dimension to the risk. And if you do not have international skills this additional dimension can remain impenetrable.
Yet, you need to confront this risk and learn how to deal with it if you want to get international sales.
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?
Successful salespeople take risks. |
Last Month’s Cross-Cultural Communication Tip 19
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Be open to different cultural values. |
Eliminate The Fear
The real problem with people not taking the risk is the fear itself. The fear stops the evaluation, decision and action process. The easiest way to kill the fear is to get the knowledge you need. Most people know this and think that in international business the answer lies on the other side of the fence, in the foreign country. So that is where they spend their time looking.
This can be a waste of time. In most cases, the real answer is within themselves. You see, you need to first be open to different cultures. If you are not open to trying to understand the cultural differences, you will never be able to process any of the information you get from the other side of the fence.
To eliminate the fear of risk, you need to:
- First open yourself to different cultures
- Then look for the knowledge you need and understand it
- And finally, find the right process to evaluate this information to identify the best actions
Take The Risk
As you get to know different cultures well, a funny thing happens:
- What were once risks no longer seem like them any more
About a year ago I went to my local Chamber of Commerce and met a young French man about 25 years old. He was starting a French company. What intrigued me most was what he had done. He was so typically un-French.
The young man was into sports and he lived in Paris. He wanted a bike that:
- Was lightweight
- Could fold up
- He could carry up 6 flights of stairs
- Was small enough to be stored in his minuscule room (too small to even be called an apartment).
The problem was that he wanted a really good bike too.
What did he do? He went to China and got himself the bike. He took a risk. He took action. No, he did not know anything about what he was doing before he took the risk. But he learned along the way. And he had one big advantage, he knew exactly what type of bike he wanted and what people like him needed in Paris. This Frenchman now has an import business.
Many people tell me their ideas and their dreams of international business.
- “Cindy, we have to talk, I have this great book I want to sell all over Europe”
- ‘Cindy, I have this great product I want to sell all over the world”
Not many people share stories where they actually took the risk and did something about it.
So…
How willing are you to risk? – Jeffrey Gitomer
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