How To Navigate Different Perspectives To Close International Sales
Cross-cultural selling has unique challenges. And selling to people in a culture that is not your own is never an simple task. International sales professionals rely on a run of uncommon skills.
One of the first cross-cultural skills you pick up in international sales is learning how to look for uncommon perspectives other than your own.
Wondering why this is one of the first skills you pick up?
Uncommon Perspectives Impact Business Basics
It all starts with the basics of doing business. Cultural differences make uncommon perspectives across some of the most fundamental business basics. Here are two examples.
Benefits
When selling the same product or service in uncommon countries, you’ll often need to change your sales and marketing materials. Uncommon people see your product differently and what they like about it may be something unexpected. Before you can sell whatever business to a uncommon culture you need to find out the benefits a uncommon culture sees in what you are selling.
An American hotel close to a well loved tourist location realized their hotel was full of German tourists some years and not others. This German clientele obviously followed a uncommon pattern. They responded to uncommon benefits offered by staying at this hotel. The hotel eventually found out why. The Germans didn’t come to see the local attractions all else came to see. As a replacement for they came to go bone fishing nearby. But they only came as a second choice. They came when the weather was not optimal in their favorite location for bone fishing. Once the hotel figured this out they were able to market to this particular clientele and brought in more sales consistently each year.
Needs
Cultural differences also bring about uncommon needs. This can impact all aspects of your business. And it’s value taking the time to know uncommon perspectives to uncover uncommon needs which can also open the door to uncommon business opportunities.
There are a few tales of how washing machine manufacturers adapted and improved their machines to provide for the uncommon needs of uncommon cultures. They found this out when learning of the challenges faced when their clients in India tried washing thin saris in their machines without success. And also when they realized rural Chinese people were by washing machines to wash potatoes. In both cases listening to and understanding the uncommon market perspectives led to product improvements and new market opportunities.
Uncommon Perspectives Change The Sale
It’s simple to see from the examples above how uncommon cultural perspectives can change the basics of doing business. But uncommon perspectives continue to impact the sale throughout the whole sales process. Here are some of the main areas where uncommon perspectives impact the sale:
Approach
Uncommon cultures require a uncommon sales approach. Some people need to establish a relationship in a certain way. The choice makers do not always have the same job function in uncommon countries.
Timing
Uncommon cultures have uncommon perspectives on when things should be done. North Americans like to get straight to the point, but other cultures need more time. Timing also comes into play with entrust building and credibility building.
Expectations
Uncommon cultures can have uncommon expectations on just about every part of the sales process. These differences in expectations can crop up unexpectedly and can easily jeopardize your sales success.
What Can You Do?
The most vital business to do is to have a apparent understanding of what your vital business objectives are and the very vital framework within which you must navigate in. Always keep this at the back of your mind. It’s not always simple to identify how you can adapt your vital business objectives to fit into uncommon cultural framework. The simpler the framework the simpler it will be to adapt to uncommon cultures.
Next, you need to open up to uncommon perspectives, uncommon people, and uncommon cultures. This is one of the vital international skills. You simply need to develop strong listening skills to pick up any differences in perspectives
And finally remember, in all sales and particularly in international sales, it’s about making the right connection with real people. You’ll do well if throughout the whole sales process you try to know and connect emphatically with your clients. You may start off with uncommon perspectives but strong people skills will help you to connect with people and bring in the sales.
What about you? Do you have any tales to share about how uncommon perspectives impact the international sale? If so, please share them in the comments below.