Cindy King's International Business Blog » cross-cultural negotiations

International Marketing Review #63

Cindy King — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 16:06:06 +0000

International Marketing Review – Videos Describing Cross Cultural Differences

This Marketing Review is a series of videos. Each shows a different aspect of the differences in cultures and some hints on how to deal with situations.

Watch each video carefully and you will learn something about the culture being discussed.

Watch all the videos and you may start to see the pattern, the differences that exist between different cultures iften can not be simplified to one thing.

I did enjoy these and hope you do to.

Business Cross-Cultural Conflict: Nigeria & Romania

This video shows how a business deal between Nigerians and Romanians could go wrong if cultural differences are not taken into consideration.

Cross cultural considerations for business with Arabs

Describes some of the matters a Western business person should address when considering the Arab world generally and the Gulf States in particular. Deals with the Sudanese Sharia court and the Teddy Bear.

Cross-cultural negotiations: Avoiding the pitfalls

When entering into negotiations, we should always take into account cultural factors such as the educational or religious background of the person sitting across the table, but, says INSEAD professor Horacio Falcao, many people both underestimate and overestimate the cross-cultural aspects.

Challenges of managing cultural differences

IESE professor Yih-teen Lee identifies the key cultural competences of managing people in cross-cultural contexts and analyzes how Confucian philosophy has molded interpersonal relationships and how these are developed in the context of Chinese companies, particularly Taiwanese ones.

Asian Business Culture – Etiquette and Politeness

Westerners have little problem saying no. Saying and hearing no is part of our lives, disagreement is a part of every collaboration, discussion and negotiation. The Western rule is, state your opinion clearly, even if you disagree (especially if you disagree actually).
Chinese say no, certainly, but try to say it without actually saying the word no. Open disagreement should be avoided. The Chinese rule is try to communicate negatives (like no) in an indirect way.

What have these videos inspired in you? What cultural have you heard of, or seen? I would love to hear your comments.

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International Marketing Review #34

Cindy King — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 13:52:22 +0000

International Marketing Review – Cross-Cultural Encounters

More synergy with social media

Each Saturday, the International Marketing Review now includes links found through my social media profiles, including Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Want to get your cultural or international link listed in this Saturday post? Ping me on Twitter @CindyKing.

Welcome to the 10 January 2009 edition of the International Marketing Review.

Karen Walch presents 5 tips for your next cross-cultural encounter posted at World Café saying…

“Working professionals from all over the world share their adventures in cross-cultural negotiations with us. Here are five tips we have picked up from our network of practitioners at the Garvin Center for Cultures and Languages of International Management”

Steven Rittenhouse presents Reflections on returning to Spain posted at Cross-cultural Program saying…

“For the past three weeks our group has been living in the vibrant country of Spain once again after spending five weeks in Morocco. The minute I stepped onto Spanish soil only a few kilometers from the African continent I instantly felt more relaxed, and as we drove up to the small town of Montoro that same day I noticed many stark differences between the two countries”

EveryDayTrash presents Goods for Good posted at EveryDayTrash saying…

“What I love about G4G is their focus on sustainability. They don’t just drop off boxes of crap in the capital city and hope that the overstretched government of Malawi figures out how to distribute them equitably (that would be more like exporting trash than helping anyone).”

Cultural Competency Online Course presents The Importance of Social Etiquette posted at Cultural Competency Online Course saying…

“You will find that standards of politeness and common courtesy vary widely across cultures. This includes knowledge about how to greet different people, rules associated with tipping, giving and accepting gifts, table manners and eating customs, body language and gestures, attitudes toward sacred spaces and more. Even something as seemingly harmless as taking a photograph should be approached with caution in some cultures”

Joseph Cerquitella presents Third Culture Kids in a Flat World posted at Under The Frog saying…

“Working professionals from all over the world share their adventures in cross-cultural negotiations with us. Here are five tips we have picked up from our network of practitioners at the Garvin Center for Cultures and Languages of International Management”

Life in Denmark presents Cross-cultural negotiations: Avoiding the pitfalls posted at Life In Denmark saying…

“Working professionals from all over the world share their adventures in cross-cultural negotiations with us. Here are five tips we have picked up from our network of practitioners at the Garvin Center for Cultures and Languages of International Management”

That concludes this edition of The International Marketer Review.

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Cross-Cultural Strategy In Sales Negotiation

Cindy King — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 23:00:56 +0000

International Business Negotiations

The most important cross-cultural strategy in sales negotiations is the same for your domestic sales negotiations.

Preparation

Do not forget to prepare for your sales negotiations beforehand.

Identify Sales Basics

Can you set the parameters:

What do you want to sell?
What is the lowest price you can accept?
What price do you want out this sale?
What else do you want to get out of this sale?

Different businesses have a few variations to these questions.

What are the other questions you need to ask yourself?

Before a cross-cultural sales negotiation, take the time to clearly answer the questions you need to set the right parameters before you enter into your negotiation.

You need to keep this information in mind during your negotiation. During a cross-cultural negotiation you can easily fill your mind with bits of information of secondary importance.

Identify Your Business Strategy

Get the basic outline of your company’s business strategy.

Identify key points you can adapt
Identify key points you cannot adapt
Are you aware of your company’s international strategy?
Do you know of any limitations you have?
Do you need to touch base with your management first?

Again, this is a little like identifying your sales parameters. Adapt these questions to your business.

If you do not clearly keep this information in mind, your cross-cultural negotiation can go off track. Or it may take longer than you need, simply because you are not focused.

Identify Their Business Strategy

Give some extra thought about your client. Dig as deep as you can.

What does your client really want?
What would he like in addition to this?

This can help save you time. And it can be the difference in making a sale or not.

The faster you can identify the real reason why your prospect is, or may be interested, in what you have to offer, the faster you will be able to adapt your own communication and make the sale.

Focus For Success

Now, most sales professionals will say that they already do all of the above.

And this is true generally. However, things seem to crop up in cross-cultural sales.

All too often, I have seen a seasoned sales professional get caught in the field without basic preparation. The result is often:

A delay in making the sale

Additional costs for additional meetings

A win-win cross-cultural sale needs more focus. And not necessarily more negotiation skills.

Clarity And Consistency

There is also another very important reason why you must not forget to do your basic sales negotiation preparation.

Your preparation brings clarity and consistency into your sales negotiation.

Clarity and consistency are your two key trust-building tools in cross-cultural communication.

If your sales negotiation style does not include clarity and consistency, and you are not closing sales, look no further.

Chances are you need to change your style for more sales.

When you have identified the framework you have to work in, and you know what your client wants, it is easy to apply clarity and consistency into your usual sales negotiation tactics. It also makes it easier to adapt to unexpected cross-cultural barriers, or international sales hurdles.

Don’t Waste Your Time Negotiating With The Wrong Person

Cindy King — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 06:00:32 +0000

International Business Negotiations

Don’t fall into the first cross cultural communication minefield of not thoroughly identifying the right person you need to negotiate with.

International business negotiations are not easy to navigate. Sometimes even the simplest of assumptions right at the beginning can lead you astray.

It’s true, wasting your time negotiating with the wrong person does not happen often. But when it does, it can lead to a fiasco. You waste a lot of your time and increase your foreign lead costs. But you might even jeopardise your future business relationship.

Do not automatically assume you know whether you are speaking with the right person or not, especially if this is your first international business negotiation or if you are dealing with a culture extremely different from yours on several levels. You don’t want to everyone around you to see you on a wild goose chase.

Cultural differences can complicate simple communication. It is not always obvious to understand how a foreign company’s management is structured.

You might assume it is similar to what you are familiar with.
A key word might have been translated poorly.
A job junction simply might not have an accurate translation into your language.

And in some cross cultural communication it can take both parties some time in understanding who should be speaking to who.

You might be perceived as not being the right company representative to meet with the appropriate person in your prospects company.
Politeness is easily misinterpreted in any cross cultural communication and in business environments the correct way of doing things varies from culture to culture.

This is one of the advantages of teamwork in international sales. Two people see more than one person. Often one person is specifically assigned to picking up cross cultural communication signals.

Remember to verify whether you are indeed negotiating with the right person early in your communications.

Some people may take offense if asked outright. Most people will even accept a straightforward question if it is early in your communication. But there are always more polite ways of verifying. And you can include a short follow-up cross verification in any of your correspondence in writing shortly afterwards.

Good cross cultural communication skills are all about clarity and trust. Establishing the right negotiation partner is the first part of the international sales process.

The Right Mindset For International Negotiations

Cindy King — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:11:42 +0000

International Business Negotiations

Good preparation is the key to good international sales negotiation practices.

After that it is all a question of your own mindset or attitude. The right attitude will reap dividends. It is hard to describe but it is easy to recognize people who do have the international mindset.

It is also blatantly obvious when someone thinks he has mastered international communications…and hasn’t. This is often because he has only dealt with one foreign country, or only has a superficial experience, either in length of time or in personal cultural investment.

So here is my short definition of the intrinsic element to a good international mindset:

Quiet Unassuming Confidence

The key to succeed in international negotiations is having a quiet confidence of your own capabilities. Assume your position without infringing of the boundaries of the others. But do it with quiet confidence.

Knowing you are well prepared will give you confidence. Having the right mindset will lead you through your negotiations.

The smoother your communication the easier it is to appear professional. The more professional you appear the more credibility you have. And the right mindset is important in creating this credibility.

International Sales Negotiation Tips For American Women

Cindy King — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 16:51:30 +0000

International Business Negotiations

As a North American International Sales & Marketing professional in Europe for over 20 years I have a fair bit of negotiation experience between North Americans and Europeans. As I was often the most multilingual person in the office I was often called in desperation when my colleagues thought all communications had be permanently severed with their clients.

There is one essential thing I picked up: if you are well prepared you will be able to navigate the cross-cultural negotiation challenges that inevitably pop up.

So, before any cross-cultural meeting don’t skip the essential preparation. Set aside enough time to sit down, think about the person you will be meeting and clearly identify:

· What does your client want?
· What do you want to sell him?
· What cards can you play?
· What cards he may want but you can’t play or give at any cost?
· What are you prepared to negotiate?
· What win-win outcome possibilities do you see?

After that it is all in your mindset. The right attitude will reap dividends. It is hard to describe but it is easy to recognize people who do have the international mindset. It is also blatantly obvious when someone thinks he has mastered international communications and hasn’t. This is often because he has only dealt with one foreign country or only superficially.

So here is my short definition of the intrinsic element to an international mindset:

Quiet Unassuming Confidence

Knowing you have done all of your homework will help you be confident. Doing your homework will also make it easier to immediately identify any cross-cultural communication difficulties. You will be able to ask questions to clarify the agenda and get the ball moving again in the direction you want. The smoother your communication the easier it is to appear professional.

The more professional you appear the more credibility you have.

Here are a few more tips I picked up along the way for other North American – European negotiations:

Dress

Industry operating environments can change dramatically from country to country. In one country navy suits for men will be the norm and the same industry in another country will be more tolerant. This was the case when I worked in television in London. As a woman I had it easy, but I did wear a blue suit during all out of the office negotiations when I hadn’t previously met my client.

Perfume

Here in France I have gotten used to wearing more perfume than my North American counterparts. I am careful of adapting these habits when traveling to North America. I just would not be able to carry out a good negotiation if I were to wear perfume as I do in France. Smell just seems to be something people notice in others they do not know well.

Smiles

Being North American I smile a lot more than most Europeans. Smiling can be taken as being threatening, or over-provocative, yes, even here in Europe, without going further east. This is something I did not change very often. I smile as I would normally do in North America. But I might change this if I were to have different responsibilities. Too many acquaintances come up to me here in France asking me not to smile, or why I’m smiling.

Cheek Kisses

Smiling leads into the habit of greeting everyone with kisses on the cheeks. I would much rather shake hands or just smile rather than having to stick out my cheek for greetings to everyone I meet. There is an art to it which I will not go into here. The number of kisses depends on the region you are in, the age of the people, and other factors the locals don’t seem to agree on anyways.

But remember that it is a practice that is assimilated to simply saying hello. If you come across someone you would normally say hello to in a country where cheek kisses are the norm, it means no more than saying hello. But if you don’t give yourself in to the practice some people can be offended that you did not say “hello”.

Using Your Cultural Advantages

Being North American living in France and speaking French, I have often gotten away with addressing all of my colleagues as “tu” instead of the more formal “vous”. But I would never do this by force. And I always call people by the given name they were introduced to me with.

Americans have the habit of calling others nick names. This can work for you or against you. You will have to adapt. Personally, being a woman, I find it easier to avoid.

Adapting To Different Cultural Practices

There are two examples that immediately come to mind because they are the two things I don’t like. In France eating and drinking seem to be an obligatory part of every negotiation. Having a glass of wine at lunch when you know you have a full afternoons work to do afterwards is always challenging. There are times when it is possible to avoid drinking. However there are also times when it is well advised to have that glass of wine to fit in with the key players.

The second example is the dress code for North American women to wear stockings with skirts at all times of the year even during a heat wave. The offices are often air-conditioned so it is easy to deal with a jacket, but stockings are an oddity.

Men & Women In Negotiations

Be aware that a male/female sales team works differently in different cultures. On occasion I will hear of a well-dressed woman being invited into a cross-cultural negotiation meeting without any clear role in the negotiation process. Each time has led to the other (male) party asking for the woman to leave the room. I have never personally been in one of those meetings.

Team Play

This has been a source of great fun and success for me. Multicultural sales teams who are aware of the different way they are perceived in a given culture have the opportunity of using and playing on a very wide range of natural skills. This works extremely well if you work together outside of the negotiation.

Cultural misunderstandings do happen. Sometimes more than we would like. The good news is that the more practice you have the easier it gets to develop good cross-cultural communication skills. The rewards are both personally enriching.

If you follow these tips your web site will be friendlier for all of your international visitors.

Cindy King's International Business Blog » cross-cultural negotiations

International Marketing Review #63

Business Cross-Cultural Conflict: Nigeria & Romania

Cross cultural considerations for business with Arabs

Cross-cultural negotiations: Avoiding the pitfalls

Challenges of managing cultural differences

Asian Business Culture – Etiquette and Politeness

International Marketing Review #34

Cross-Cultural Strategy In Sales Negotiation

Identify Sales Basics

Identify Your Business Strategy

Identify Their Business Strategy

Focus For Success

Clarity And Consistency

More On International Business Negotiations:

More In These Get International Clients Business Guides:

Don’t Waste Your Time Negotiating With The Wrong Person

More On International Business Negotiations:

More In These Get International Clients Business Guides:

The Right Mindset For International Negotiations

Quiet Unassuming Confidence

More On International Business Negotiations:

More In These Get International Clients Business Guides:

International Sales Negotiation Tips For American Women

Quiet Unassuming Confidence

Dress

Perfume

Smiles

Cheek Kisses

Using Your Cultural Advantages

Adapting To Different Cultural Practices

Men & Women In Negotiations

Team Play

More On International Business Negotiations:

More In These Get International Clients Business Guides: