Cross-Cultural Differences

I recently got myself into a little bit of trouble in misinterpreting instructions on a deadline. Now this is my fault because I tend to scan most of the information I consume online. But the instructions were not very clear and explicit either and I naturally assumed the most obvious interpretation to me. This is the problem with reading like this.  Scanning favorizes assumptions and assumptions can lead to errors.

Different Meanings In How You Use The Word Deadline

My downfall came because people can use two ways of giving deadlines:

• Deadline December 23rd = meaning this is the last day for you to take action
• Deadline December 23rd = meaning you need to take action before this date. In this case your last day for taking action would be December 22nd.

And I navigate almost exclusively in circles where people use the first example with the deadline date given is the last day to take action. But there are people who give the date to mean the first day after you must take action. And this is what happened to me. I had left taking action to what I thought was the very last day, but I was already one day too late.

Different Ways Of Communication

Let’s look at some differences in language:

• By December 23rd
• Before December 23rd

What do these mean to you? I have actually met different people who use either of these examples with the two different meanings above. This is why setting and interpreting deadlines is not as straightforward as it seems.

Clarify Your Deadlines

When you set deadlines for people who speak a different language, you usually make sure to communicate with extra clarity.  But when setting deadlines for people who speak English too, it’s easy to lose that clarity and assume everyone uses your own communication style. This was a reminder to always clarify deadline dates even within cultures where I expect easy communication.

An Inconvenient Outcome For Both Of Us

Fortunately I was able to get this resolved. But this incident was inconvenient to me for 3 reasons:

• It required 2 hours of my time to resolve this which I would happily have avoided
• It was not resolved properly and brought extra attention to myself
• I hate getting myself noticed like this and feel a small degree of resentment for this service provider’s sloppy instructions for putting me in this situation

The embarrassment and inconvenience was slight, but I will remember this incident in any other future miscommunication. And it’s a shame for this service provider to lose trust points through such a small lack of clarity. As it turned out I was not the only one who had a different interpretation for deadline dates. The instructions were simply not clear enough.

More on Cross-Cultural Differences:

• A Comparison Of Words In Different Cultures
• Cultural Differences In Doing Things
• Culture Changes How Brains Work
• Different Countries = Different Rules
• Different Eye Tracking For Different Cultures
• Free Courses, Content And Culture Scams
• Music In Cultural Differences
• Why These Colors?

More In These Get International Clients Business Guides:

• Connect With Your International Markets
• Culture Customized Content
• Cultural Web Tools

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

Cultural Differences In Understanding Deadlines

Cross-Cultural Communication 30-Day Challenge – Build Trust

This series of tips on how to be honest and be perceived as being honest by different cultures in order to build trust is not an easy one. We have seen how little cultural differences on many different levels can lead to misinterpretations and wrong assumption leading to a lack of trust. One of the best tactics to avoid these situations is to start off the best way possible.

Be Honest

Today we are going to look at how to avoid misinterpretations and wrong assumptions. Many cross-cultural blunders begin with a simple disconnect where there was no two-way communication and both parties went away with a different understanding of what was said.

Avoiding misunderstandings in a cross-cultural environment is a skill that takes practice.

Trust In Cross-Cultural Communication Challenge – Tip 19

Use extreme clarity to avoid wrong assumptions

The previous Cross-Cultural Communication Challenge gave 30 tips on how to Get Extreme Clarity In Cross-Cultural Communication.

Clear communication is the first step in avoiding wrong assumptions and misinterpretations due to cultural differences.  Although I suggest you review the full 30 day challenge to get extreme clarity in cross-cultural communication, and download the Get Extreme With Clarity mini-poster,  here is a summary of all of the 30 tips:

Listen

1. Open your eyes, ears and your whole mind… and follow all aspects of your cross-cultural communication.
2. Focus on what is said with words, body language, flow of conversation… and also what is not said.
3. Listen to how the other person’s conversation fits with yours
4. Listen carefully and be careful not to read any additional meanings into what is said in a cross-cultural conversation
5. Listen to identify what the other person needs to hear to make the communication easier

Don’t Assume

6. Ask follow up questions to confirm mutual understanding
7. Ask questions to clarify even the slightest uncertainty or assumption
8. Ask questions to get specific information and avoid assumptions
9. Be aware of any assumptions you make and be sure to confirm these during your conversation.
10. Don’t assume the other person thinks like you and try to identify how you can make the communication easier for him

Be Aware

11. Be aware of the cultural flavor of your own language
12. Think about the words you use and try to make them easy to understand
13. Try to identify differences in communication and ways you can bridge the gap
14. Pay attention to the flow of the conversation and clarify anything that seems the slightest bit out of place
15. Look at your communication from a different angle

Simplify

16. Adapt your communication to make it easy for others to understand
17. Give clear answers to questions before giving any additional information
18. Focus on communicating one thing at a time and in the right sequence.
19. Know what you want to say before starting
20. Keep your written communication simple and to the point

Explain

21. Think about rephrasing key points and things that may be be difficult to understand
22. A good glossary is an invaluable tool to improve clarity.
23. Do not forget to mention the information you think as obvious
24. Break complex ideas into easy pieces and present them in a logical order
25. Tell others why you do certain things differently so they can understand your cultural environment

Global Vision

26. Look for different perspectives to see how you can simplify and clarify your communication
27. Make sure that all of the elements of your communication say the same thing
28. Notice similarities where glitches happen in your communication
29. Look for reasons behind for questions especially if they are recurring questions
30. Try to see your communication from the other person’s viewpoint

Good Communication Skills

Clarity does help to avoid the wrong assumptions that can lead to the perception of a lack of honesty and trust, but clarity is also a basic skill in communication.  Any extra effort you make in improving the clarity of your communication will help you improve communication across a wide variety of potential cultural blunders.

Questions for you…

• How do you avoid wrong assumptions in cross-cultural communication?
• Why do you focus on clarity in cross-cultural communication?
• When do wrong assumptions interfere with international business relations?

Please share your stories in the comment section below.

Get All Cross-Cultural Communication Tips:

• Read more about all of the 2009 Cross-Cultural Communication Challenges
• Cross Cultural Communication Challenge 1 – Expand Your Mindset
• Cross Cultural Communication Challenge 2 – Get Extreme With Clarity
• Cross Cultural Communication Challenge 3 – Build Trust

Free Mini-Posters With Monthly Calenders

Mindset	Clarity	Trust
Expand Your Mindset	Get Extreme With Clarity	Build Trust

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

Trust In Cross-Cultural Communication – Tip 19

Cross-Cultural Communication 30-Day Challenge – Build Trust

Trust requires maintaining a delicate balance in cross-cultural communication.  Little things can often count more than what is obvious in developing trust.  This is why international professionals become good at processing information for different purposes.

Be Honest

Being honest and making sure you are perceived as such is fundamental in nurturing trust when working with different cultures.

Today’s tip takes off where we left yesterday. In addition to avoiding hidden agendas and not being perceived as having a hidden agenda, you can sometimes go a long way in building trust by being forthcoming… but not always.  Let’s have a look.

Trust In Cross-Cultural Communication Challenge – Tip 18

Be forthcoming

What are the actions of being honest? Of course, there is the reality of being honest. Unfortunately, this is not always enough in cross-cultural environments. Sometimes funny little things happen and misinterpretations set in that lead to an impression of a lack of honesty.

We have already looked at as actions to take to be honest:

• Being open and truthful
• Avoiding hidden agendas

Today let’s look at how the action of being forthcoming and sharing information can help you build trust.  This simply means giving the other person:

• Information to explain yourself more
• More details to provide a better understanding

Should You Be Forthcoming In All Cross-Cultural Encounters?

Know when to share information is not easy. Sharing information to explain your cultural differences is usually a good idea. This helps others to understand you better and avoids misinterpretations. But there are business situations where you need to know just how honest you should be.

Who you share the information with can be important. You also need to know how to share your information. There are different expectations in different countries. Sharing too much information with the wrong person or too little with the right person can leave different perceptions. These perceptions are often linked to how forthcoming you are, and whether nurtures an environment of honesty and trust.

In some cultures timing is critical. In international business there are different practices and expectations with when to talk about certain topics.

So, should you be forthcoming in sharing information with international clients? The answer is:

• It depends… and it is not something you should do in all cross-cultural encounters.

This is just one of the different currents going on in a cross-cultural communication with international clients that you need to be aware of.

The Art Of Being Forthcoming

Most international professionals adapt the art of being forthcoming to their personal style.  To do this they take in the many:

• Different factors
• Different personalities
• Different situations

This is why there are no real guidelines on what information to share with international clients when cross-cultural differences make communication difficult.  The best advice advice is simply to be aware of the cultural intricacies that may be involved.

• You may need to share information with another person or at a different time
• You may need to take things slowly

You will need to discover what information you need to share to avoid any misinterpretations effecting the perception of your honesty.

And what about you?

• When was the last time you came away from a cross-cultural encounter thinking you shared more information than usual?
• When was the last time you realized you should have shared more information with an international client?
• How do you think sharing information transmits honesty in cross-cultural communication?

Get All Cross-Cultural Communication Tips:

• Read more about all of the 2009 Cross-Cultural Communication Challenges
• Cross Cultural Communication Challenge 1 – Expand Your Mindset
• Cross Cultural Communication Challenge 2 – Get Extreme With Clarity
• Cross Cultural Communication Challenge 3 – Build Trust

Free Mini-Posters With Monthly Calenders

Mindset	Clarity	Trust
Expand Your Mindset	Get Extreme With Clarity	Build Trust

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

Trust In Cross-Cultural Communication – Tip 18

Cross-Cultural Communication 30-Day Challenge – Build Trust

This is the last tip on doing what you promise in order to build trust in cross-cultural communication. Here are the previous tips:

• Tip 11 – Clearly explain what you promise
• Tip 12 -Be sure you know what your international client expects of you
• Tip 13 -Deliver what you promise
• Tip 14 -Confirm that your international client recieved what was promised and expected

The tips 1 through 5 on building trust are about smoothing the differences. Tips 6 through 10 are about cultivating quiet self-confidence. Tips 11 through 15 are specifically about doing what you promise. From tomorrow onwards the next 5 tips will be about being honest. By the end of the month we will cover 6 different aspects on how to build trust.

Do What You Promise

In the previous tips we covered how it is important in cross-cultural communication to have a mutual understanding of what is promised or expected. With cultural differences this can be challenging.

• Different people can use the same words but understand different meanings
• People do not always realize the unspoken expectations they have
• It can be difficult for different cultures to notice and understand these unspoken expectations

Trust In Cross-Cultural Communication Challenge – Tip 15

Be quick to discuss any change in your promise to international clients

In general, international business professionals strive to keep their promises. They are aware of what they promise and what has to be done.

When You Cannot Keep Your Promise

But things do not always go as planned, do they? What do you do? In international business situations I have seen people react differently than they would with their usual clients. Cross-cultural sales usually require a bit more effort. They can take a fair bit of personal investment. And some people can be reticent at the idea of having to go back and reopen those discussions. There can be a reaction of:

• Let’s wait and see
• Let’s do what we can with what we’ve got up and give our international client an simple explanation later on
• Let’s continue, this change is not important anyways

These reactions can easily backfire on you because:

• International clients will be nervous about losing their money with a foreign company, they will probably have their antennas up to notice anything out of place.
• Different cultures do things differently, your international clients will probably be more curious than your other clients.
• It is a small world and you would be surprised at who knows who.
• The fact that  they do not speak your language as well as you do, does not mean that they do not fully understand what is going on.
• With cultural differences they could understand something far worse.

When there is a change to any element in your promise to an international client, you need to immediately stop and think of your international client.  Usually the your best option is to immediately be honest and upfront with your international client.

Sophisticated Practices With Different Cultures

Cusiness can get sophisticated and many international professionals deal with complex environments.  The problem is that these sophisticated practices may not be the same in other cultures.

• They may not be understood
• They may go against the other person’s culture

The danger in these cultures where the same sophisticated practices are not common, is that these cultures could perceive these practices as not being “right”… not what you promised. And you can lose their trust in the blink of an eye.

The Dilemma

I gave these two examples to show why I much prefer being honest with your international clients at all times.

In most cases, I found the risk of cultural blunders due to a delay in sharing information far greater than the risk of losing business because of an unhappy client.

But, I will admit that there have been complex situations where I have delayed letting my international client know about a change in my promise to him… for a short time only.  But this decision was only after a detailed analysis of strategic business issues and it was taken with solid cross-cultural expertise.  In addition, it was taken with full disclosure to my management.

One of the reasons why you cannot keep this decision to yourself is to be prepared in the event the client contacts someone else in your company.

This was an exception.  In almost all cases the best solution is to immediately open a discussion with your international client.

Create A Relationship With One Person

It is not always a bad thing when you are forced to change your promise to your international client.  Of course, it depends what you are actually going to change: if he has ordered a product you can no longer deliver, you do have a problem.  But if the color or the size he wants is only available in a few weeks the outcome of the customer experience might not be so bad.

Why?

It is an opportunity of building trust.  When you react immediately, open a discussion with your client and show him that you care about him and are also actively working on satisfying his needs, this builds trust.

This is not new for seasoned business professionals, and yet I have seen many of these same people become overwhelmed or over-impressed by cross-cultural differences and decide that another tactic would be better.

Instead of looking at one big picture of an unfamiliar culture, focus on one person.

It is an opportunity to develop a stronger relationship with your central business contact. International business professionals are good at connecting with people.  With experience although they never underestimate the value of any of their client company’s employees, they do identify one central business contact.

Who is your central business contact?  Well, depending on the culture you are dealing with, the person with whom you create this strong business relationship may or may not be the person who signs the check.  He may not be the person you need to talk to in detail about the changes in your promise.  But he will be the person responsible for the relationship with your business.

What about committees? Different cultures have different group dynamics. Cultural differences will impact how you should proceed. In most cases, it is still best to identify the right person to ask on how to proceed before taking any action.  Your action also depends on what has changed in your promise.  A close relationship with someone who understands the cultural etiquette can prove to be a precious resource in situations where there is a group involved.

International Business Is Based On Relationships

The thing to remember is not to let cultural differences stop you from creating relationships of trust with your international clients.  When you are quick to share any changes to your promise, people usually understand.  They may not be as forgiving if they think you sat on the information before telling them.

Business is personal and international business is full of surprises. How you handle these surprises effects your international success. International business is based on relationships of trust.

What about you?

• Do you have any stories about international companies not delivering what they promised?
• How do you tell international clients when there is a change is what you promised to deliver to them?
• Have cultural differences ever made it difficult for you to make changes to an original international sales agreement?

Get All Cross-Cultural Communication Tips:

• Read more about all of the 2009 Cross-Cultural Communication Challenges
• Cross Cultural Communication Challenge 1 – Expand Your Mindset
• Cross Cultural Communication Challenge 2 – Get Extreme With Clarity
• Cross Cultural Communication Challenge 3 – Build Trust

Free Mini-Posters With Monthly Calenders

Mindset	Clarity	Trust
Expand Your Mindset	Get Extreme With Clarity	Build Trust

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

Trust In Cross-Cultural Communication – Tip 15

Cross-Cultural Communication 30-Day Challenge – Build Trust

Small things can add up and help you build trust with international clients. When you begin working with international clients you will occasionally hear how some little thing you did was a determining factor for this particular international client.  With the cultural differences in play, this little bit of information can be a surprise.  The good news is that this can help you learn how to improve your international business tactics.  This also usually gets you curious about the other little things your other international clients appreciate.

What small things matter? It is not easy to find the answers to that question.  When it comes to international clients it can take a while to find the small things that make a difference.  Sometimes it can even feel like looking for needles in a haystack.  But they are worth spending the time to look for them.

• These little things your international clients like are probably big trust influencers
• They can give you better insights to improve your international business
• They help you deepen your cross-cultural skills

So, what can you do to help build trust in cross-cultural communication?

Let’s look at a simple tactic that can bring in gems of information…

Do What You Promise

We are still looking at how doing what you promise is important in building trust… and how the critical point to get this right is an accurate understanding of:

• What you clients think you have promised them
• Any additional expectations that slip into this due to cross-cultural differences

Finding the answers here requires a little research.

Trust In Cross-Cultural Communication Challenge – Tip 14

Confirm that your international client recieved what was promised and expected

Yes, that’s all.  This sounds so simple and yet how many times do:

• Businesses forget to do this
• Get the question wrong
• Forget to use this information
• Do not have teams that coordinate information internally to leverage what clients tell them

The Question

So what is the right question?  Will a simple question such as “Are you satisfied?” give you the answers you need to know?  Although this can work, you need to focus on finding the question you need to ask to find out whether:

• You kept the promise your international clients heard
• You delivered everything as the international client expected

In some businesses and some situations you can ask these questions directly.  In international business, there are many circumstances where you need to learn how to ask the questions that will give you the information you want.  Searching for these questions helps you to develop cross-cultural skills.

It Is Not Always Easy To Get

You may already use something similar… but funny things happen when international clients are involved.  People from different cultures have different ways of doing things and this can effect your usual tactics. The human factor means that some people:

• Can be surprised by cultural differences and “forget” to ask the right questions
• Do not get the real question across in the right way. The international client may understand something different and give you an answer which corresponds to what he understand and not what you think you asked.
• Do not ask the next question when it is needed, the one that really gives you the answer you want.

Cross-Cultural Analysis Of International Clients

The truth is that you need basic cross-cultural skills to find out whether your international clients got what they thought they were promised and what they expected. The challenges of cross-cultural communication come into play once again.

Learning From Your International Relationships

A simple question about whether your client is happy may not give you the feedback you would need to hear. The process involved here is to look back at the initial promise made to your international clients, and remember:

• What you thought you promised
• What you thought your international client expected
• What they tell you after you deliver what you promised

This can give you information to help you build trust for this particular client and, of course, it can also give you information to use for other similar clients.  This is how you learn to build trust in cross-cultural sales.

I’m curious…

• What small things to do you do to build trust with international clients?
• How do you know when your international clients are happy with your company?
• How do your international clients tell you about the differences in their expectations?

Get All Cross-Cultural Communication Tips:

• Read more about all of the 2009 Cross-Cultural Communication Challenges
• Cross Cultural Communication Challenge 1 – Expand Your Mindset
• Cross Cultural Communication Challenge 2 – Get Extreme With Clarity
• Cross Cultural Communication Challenge 3 – Build Trust

Free Mini-Posters With Monthly Calenders

Mindset	Clarity	Trust
Expand Your Mindset	Get Extreme With Clarity	Build Trust

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

Trust In Cross-Cultural Communication – Tip 14

Cross-Cultural Communication 30-Day Challenge – Build Trust

In order to build trust in others, you need to first be trustworthy. For businesses with international clients there are two parallel lines to walk:

• On the one hand business is made between people.  There is a personal aspect. The relationships salespeople have with their clients can be extremely important for international sales.
• On the other hand, many cultures will see your business as a whole. The vision of the company can also be critical.

Have Quiet Self Confidence

Today we are going to look at how to make sure we do not lose trust by how we project the image of the business we represent, and what international clients perceive of this business entity as a whole.

Even if a salesperson has a “good” meeting with an international client and he connects well on a personal level, he could jeopardize the trust his international cllient has in the business he represents.

In cross-cultural communication we look at cultural behavioral scales.  Some cultures have high scores of “individualism” and other cultures have high scores of “collectivism”. Some cultures are cultures with “high context” communication and others have “low context” communication”. This means that we have different levels of appreciating comments about our company and colleagues.

Trust In Cross-Cultural Communication Challenge – Tip 9

Show confidence in your company and those you work with

There are a few reasons why this is important to building trust in cross-cultural communication.

Project A Coherent Image

The vision people have of your company needs to be coherent. When a sales person is concentrating on building his personal relationship, he must not forget that he also represents a business.

This coherence of the image the international client sees of your business can be critical.

Do No Show A Lack Of Confidence In Your Company

You must always remember who you represent when you meet international clients. The quiet self-confidence you have must also include your confidence in your company and your colleagues.

• This does not mean that you need to sing praises.
• It does mean that you probably should never say anything bad about your company and your colleagues.

Many cultures will pay attention to how you speak of your company, your colleagues and the people you associate with.

This may sound obvious for the older generations of some cultures, but I often feel this is something younger generations need to be reminded of when it comes to international business.

Balancing Your Cross-Cultural Communication

There is a skill in finding the right way of communicating that your company is the best one for your international clients to be associated with.  It is not only in what the salesperson says, it is also:

• What the other players in your company say
• What is done
• How it is done
• And how all of this is perceived by the other culture

Your international clients need to find coherency in what you communicate and what they perceive from your company.

Even though different cultures will pay attention to your company in different ways, this coherency is an essential foundation to build trust.

Get All Cross-Cultural Communication Tips:

• Read more about all of the 2009 Cross-Cultural Communication Challenges
• Cross Cultural Communication Challenge 1 – Expand Your Mindset
• Cross Cultural Communication Challenge 2 – Get Extreme With Clarity
• Cross Cultural Communication Challenge 3 – Build Trust

Free Mini-Posters With Monthly Calenders

Mindset	Clarity	Trust
Expand Your Mindset	Get Extreme With Clarity	Build Trust

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

Trust In Cross-Cultural Communication – Tip 9

Monthly Series – International Sales Best Practices

This is the last post in this month’s series on clarity in cross-cultural communication and how this impacts international sales best practices. Today we look at the essence of cross-cultural communication as we end with one of the most important tips to get extreme clarity in your communication.

This tip alone will help you improve your cross-cultural communication skills and international sales.

CCCC Tip #30 - Try to see your communication from the other person’s viewpoint.

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.

The ability to see your communication from the other person’s viewpoint is a big part of what cultural and international skills is about. And it is often one of the hardest things for people to accomplish. We may think we understand the other person’s:

• Point of view
• Way of thinking
• Motivations
• Likes and dislikes

When we know how others perceive what we say, it is easier to adjust our communication and re-evaluate what we say until we get the message right.  This ability can help us get more international sales. But the reality is that we will probably never have the exact understanding as the person from another culture.

This is why we must always make an effort to see things with the perspective of our  international client.  And to get as close of an understanding as possible.

Cross-Cultural Communication Skills & Sales Best Practices

Here is the last quote we will look at from Jeffrey Gitomer’s Little Red Book Of Sales Answers… and it is a big one.

I find this quote very appropriate as the last one in this series.  To become good at selling to international clients you have a few personal choices to make.  You need to choose to:

• Put your own cultural filters and prejudices aside, at least long enough to do business, and keep them to the side
• Adopt curiosity and empathy as a way of life
• Open your mindset
• Put in the personal effort it takes to meet different cultures somewhere along the path that separates you

Your international sales success depends on the personal choices you make in how you connect with your international clients

What Is Your Experience Of This In International Sales?

• How flexible are you at changing your viewpoint to see how your international clients see things?
• What personal changes have you noticed in yourself when selling to international clients?
• What do you do when you choose to connect with your international clients?

Please share your comments below. I’d love to hear your stories!

Want To Get The Cross-Cultural Communication Tips?

Two Cross-Cultural Communication Challenges are currently available:

• Expand Your Mindset
• Get Extreme With Clarity

Get all of the tips from these 30 & 31 day challenges, and learn more about the other planned later this year:

• 2009 Cross-Cultural Communication Challenges

All International Sales Best Practices

You can find the complete list of International Sales Best Practices published to date here:

• International Sales Best Practices

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

International Sales Best Practice – Choose To Connect

Monthly Series – International Sales Best Practices

Today we are going to look at a simple way to get extreme clarity in your cross-cultural communication.  For international business professionals this is so important that it becomes second nature.

CCCC Tip #29 - Look for reasons behind for questions especially if they are recurring questions.

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.

Yesterday we looked at why you need to look for similarities in questions and objections from your international clients. It can take time to notice these similarities. This is because different cultures operate differently. And when we do notice similarities we often also try to find the reasons behind these questions using our own cultural filters.

Today I would like to remind you that you need to dig deeper still. You need to have a complete understanding of the reasons behind the questions your international clients ask… especially when you hear the same questions repeatedly.

The reason behind these questions may be different to what you expect when dealing with people from different cultures.  So, do not stop because you think you understand everything.  You might make a wrong assumption and risk losing a sale.  Continue to try to understand all aspects of your cross-cultural communication.

For a real international business advantage, you need to:

• Understand your international client at their own level, on their own terms
• Have an understanding that is deep enough to be meaningful and help your business endeavors

This means that you need to dig deep to understand the reasons behind any questions that pop up… and put your own cultural filters aside when looking for answers.  The better your understanding, the better your cross-cultural communication and the better you will be able to sell to international clients.

Cross-Cultural Communication Skills & Sales Best Practices

Here is today’s quote from Jeffrey Gitomer’s Little Red Book Of Sales Answers.

As you get to know your international clients on their own level, you will probably also need to adjust certain aspects of your business strategy to fit with this different culture.

From my own personal experience, I agree with Jeffrey’s quote. A system does not work well with international sales. Cultural differences mean that people have different sales strategies on both sides of the sales encounter, but the basics of business  remain the same.

• One person wants to sell something.
• One person wants to buy, or does not want to buy, or is somewhere in between these two extremes

In cross-cultural selling, there can be many variables between these two players. When you have a good strategy and understand the business basics on both sides, it is easy to adapt your own sales tactics and strategy to meet different cultural needs and expectations.

When international sales professionals dig to find the reasons behind any questions, they also keep their sales tactics and strategy in mind, ready to adjust and adapt things when appropriate.

What Is Your Experience Of This In International Sales?

• How do you build your international sales strategy?
• What do you do when you notice recurring questions from international clients?
• Do you use an international sales system or an international sales strategy?

Please share your comments below. I’d love to hear your stories!

Want To Get The Cross-Cultural Communication Tips?

Two Cross-Cultural Communication Challenges are currently available:

• Expand Your Mindset
• Get Extreme With Clarity

Get all of the tips from these 30 & 31 day challenges, and learn more about the other planned later this year:

• 2009 Cross-Cultural Communication Challenges

All International Sales Best Practices

You can find the complete list of International Sales Best Practices published to date here:

• International Sales Best Practices

Copyright Cindy King 2006-2010 - International Business Blog

International Sales Best Practice – Build A Good Strategy