Cindy King's International Business Blog » international sales specialist

What Makes A Good International Sales Specialist

Cindy King — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 23:00:45 +0000

My recent article on the definition of an International Sales Specialist raised a few questions on what makes a good international sales specialist.

Broad Base Of International Skills

First, I have to say that I distinguish different levels of international skills. The experts are easy to identify. They always remain professional no matter where they are.

Their experience in multiple cultures is almost palpable.

They do not get unnerved easily.
They do not need guidance often in adapting to new cultures.
If they need to ask a question it sounds like a question from another native and not a foreigner.

Here is something interesting…

All of the people I have met with expert international skills have been more quiet in nature. They do not boast about their experience. They have a certain humility about them.

Their quietness is a distinct contrast to the “international experts” with “expertise” in a small number of different cultural environments or regions.

International skills cover a broad range of interpersonal skills that help you adapt to different business environments.

Ability To Adapt To Different Cultures

Now, there are some people who do acquire international skills but do not adapt to different cultures well.

For example, these are people who live in a foreign country, but do not make the effort to understand and meet the other culture.

In addition to international skills, you need to be able to adjust yourself personally to different cultures.

Solid Basic Sales Skills

This is fairly obvious. To be a good international sales specialist you need good basic sales skills. And a strong broad base of basic skills will get you further than specialized sales skills.

In cross-cultural communication you usually need to simplify both what you say and how you say it.

Clear Vision Of Business Strategy

And this leads into needing a clear vision of your business strategy and an ability to quickly identify your clients business strategy.

The reason for this is again due to cross-cultural communication differences, your communication needs to clear and consistent. And you can only communicate clearly and consistently and make international sales, when you have a very clear vision of the business strategies of both parties.

This is also the best way to navigate different business practices. When you have good basic sales skills and the ability to see the whole picture, you will see how to get where you want to go.

Success Comes With Experience

In summary, a good international sales specialist needs

Strong international skills
The ability to adapt to different cultures

Both of these, should be acquired through experience with different cultural groups in different regions. Diversity broadens these personal skills.

In addition, a good international sales specialist also needs these professional skills:

Solid basic sales skills
Clear vision of business strategy

There are different levels of expertise in all of these skills. And the ability to adapt to a wide variety of cultures often depends on the person’s personal development in cross-cultural skills.

What about you?

Do you have any specific questions related to international sales professions?
Do you have any other insights to share?
What do you like about international sales jobs?

Please leave your comments below.

Get International Clients – Business Guides On Sales

The Job Of An International Sales Specialist

Cindy King — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 23:00:17 +0000

International Sales Professions

Last week we looked at what an International Sales Specialist is. So, what does an International Sales Specialist do?

Obviously an international sales specialist knows how to make sales. International sales. But, let’s look into this a bit more. A salesperson’s job can take on wider responsibilities when selling to an international sales region.

Start With International Sales Skills

When you first start selling to international clients you can adapt your core sales skills to fit into an international environment.

The time you need to acquire an international dimension to your sales skills depends on several factors.

It can take 6 months to take your sales skills to a basic international skill level. But the time you need depends on your several personal skills too.

In addition to cross-cultural differences, there are also cultural differences in industry environments. These differences influence the time an international sales person needs to adapt to new foreign markets.

Cross-Cultural Skills Add Competence

Through practice, you also acquire cross-cultural skills in addition to your basic international sales skills.

These cross-cultural skills can take your basic international skills to a much higher level of competence.

Cross-cultural skills increase your international sales skills and give you a broader base of international skills. They help you to carry out more tasks associated with an international sales specialist’s role.

The Full International Business Advantage

The full value of an international sales specialist is his ability to identify the right way to communicate with different cultures in different circumstances:

To find the right offer for foreign sales appeal.
To prevent and smooth out any cultural blunders in foreign client relationships.
To identify the best flow for your business communication. The how and when to communicate for sales success.

Good international sales skills combined with cross-cultural communication skills also allows the international sales specialist to become a source of key international business intelligence for his company. This is a distinct advantage many companies need and it broadens the scope of the role the international sales specialist plays.

Many businesses choose their first international sales person carefully. And with good reason. An international sales specialist is a key player in any international business development endeavor.

What about you?

Do you have any specific questions related to international sales professions?
Do you have any other insights to share?
What do you like about international sales jobs?

Please leave your comments below.

Get International Clients – Business Guides On Sales

What Is An International Sales Specialist?

Cindy King — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 23:00:25 +0000

International Sales Professions

Another useful question that came up recently here on CindyKing.biz. Definitions are always helpful to broad English speaking audiences.

So, without looking at a dictionary, here is my definition of an international sales specialist.

An international sales specialist is obviously a seasoned sales professional…with a specialty.

Most sales specialists qualify their specialty.

My specialty is in international sales.

So how can you become an international sales specialist?

In The Field International Sales

This is a skill you can only acquire through experience in the field. And you also need a wide experience in international sales.

You can acquire international sales experience through:

International sales based in your home country without travel.
International sales based in your home country and traveling to see clients in other countries.
International sales based in a foreign country.
International sales based in a foreign country and traveling to see clients in other countries.

International sales based in your home country, and without international travel, will not usually give you enough exposure to become an international sales specialist.

Obviously you can expect to develop more international sales skills faster when based in a foreign country and traveling to sell to clients in other foreign countries.

There are also a few other factors you need to develop a specialty in international sales:

Time Spent In International Sales

The amount of time you spend in international sales has a direct result on how good your skills are. The trouble is that the amount of time needed varies. There is no magical formula. It all depends on you. Do you adapt to other cultures faster than others? Or do you need more time?

For example, you can assume that a person who spends 2 years abroad in international sales and then returns to his home country will not be as skilled as someone who spends 4 years abroad. But this is not always the case. And I have encountered many people who live abroad for many years, work in international sales, and do not really make an effort to improve their international sales skills.

Cross-Cultural Empathy

I am sure you have encountered people who appear to have more “natural” sales abilities than others. In international sales you can also come across people who seem to have a “natural” ability.

These people usually have good cross-cultural empathy. They can relate to different cultures more than others. And they are usually better at international sales than others.

Cross-cultural empathy makes it easier to create trust in different cultures. Trust is essential to international sales.

More International Sales

Of course, an international sales specialist can increase your international sales. But this level of expertise is usually put to good use in high profile sales and to gain intelligence for international business development.

Most companies with high profile international sales often look for the best skills out there. There is too much at stake.

International sales specialists bring added value to businesses just opening new foreign markets. They can identify key marketing and positioning strategies for new markets. They learn how to find the best offer for new markets.

When developing new markets an international sales specialist always works closely with the company’s top executives in Marketing and Business Development. The information in from the new foreign markets will often define international business and marketing strategies.

My Journey To Become An International Sales Specialist

This is how I have become an international sales specialist. Over 25 years field experience in international sales, marketing and business development, within both European start-ups and large American multi-nationals.

It all started with learning one language in a foreign country…and being so keen on cross-cultural empathy that I went too far.

Taking cultural empathy too far leads to a road of personal discovery.

This road to personal discovery, while living in a foreign country, speaking in a foreign language and working in an international environment, allows you to develop strong cross-cultural skills.

Strong cross-cultural skills together with international sales and marketing teaches you:

How to go about identifying the best international business offers, even to open new foreign markets.
How to resolve the most difficult cross-cultural business issues.

What about you?

Do you have any specific questions related to international sales professions?
Do you have any other insights to share?
What do you like about international sales jobs?

Please leave your comments below.

Cindy King's International Business Blog » international sales specialist

What Makes A Good International Sales Specialist

Broad Base Of International Skills

Ability To Adapt To Different Cultures

Solid Basic Sales Skills

Clear Vision Of Business Strategy

Success Comes With Experience

More on International Sales Professions:

Get International Clients – Business Guides On Sales

The Job Of An International Sales Specialist

Start With International Sales Skills

Cross-Cultural Skills Add Competence

The Full International Business Advantage

More on International Sales Professions:

Get International Clients – Business Guides On Sales

What Is An International Sales Specialist?

In The Field International Sales

Time Spent In International Sales

Cross-Cultural Empathy

More International Sales

My Journey To Become An International Sales Specialist

More on International Sales Professions:

Get International Clients – Business Guides On Sales