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