Crossing the Cultural Divide

Selling often means dealing with people around the globe, which can mean cultural differences come into play. Isn't selling hard enough already? Luckily, sales trainer Renee Walkup is working on a new book, and did some excellent research about cultural differences to help you when selling to people in other countries. Of course, these are generalities - keep them in mind, but still be yourself.

"Selling is difficult enough sometimes, without having an additional layer of challenges to our bag of obstacles," says Walkup. "However, the good news is, people are people. Customers want to buy from you (we hope). Part of the key to success in dealing with Internationals is to understand how they communicate and how they want to conduct business with YOU."

According the US International Department of Trade Commission, the top ten countries the US trades with are:

Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, UK, Germany, Japan, China, Saudi Arabia, France, and Korea. Instead of going through each of these countries' business protocol, I'll just provide you with a few tips and hints you can use immediately to improve your closing ratio.

Canadian Customers:
Culturally diverse, community-oriented. Disagree with tact and have a pragmatic communication style. Avoid asking personal questions, being too aggressive and using exaggerated claims when selling to Canadians.

German Customers:
They plan, plan, and plan! They have a rigid protocol and once a decision is made, don't change their plan. They are impressed with academic credentials and protocol. Avoid too much emotion with them and remember to use lots of written documentation.

Chinese Customers:
They are all about making group decisions and not being singled out. Rank is important to them and bureaucracy is critical in their decision-making. Make sure you are extremely punctual in that if you are late, you have insulted your customer. Because seniority is important to them, you may want to have an executive or higher level manager involved in the deal. However, warn him/her not to be confrontational - it will backfire. A lower-key approach is best.

Korean Customers:
With Korean customers you might say that "less is more". They prefer a direct and concise communication style. However, if asked a closed-ended question, they will most certainly say "yes", even if the answer is "no". Instead, ask open-ended questions and wait for a more accurate answer.

Mexican Customers:
These customers enjoy using the hierarchy in their organizations, as well as in yours. This is important to them. Deadlines are fluid and they are often late to meetings, but you will make many friends through your Mexican connections. These customers love to network and connect!

Hope this helps you as you navigate through dealing on the phone and in person with those from other countries. Want to know more? There are thousands of resources on the web and many books out there which can help you. Happy Selling!

Renee Walkup is president of SalesPEAK, a national sales performance company, as well as a well-recognized keynote speaker, sales coach, and author, with a 25-year background in sales, sales team management and training. Learn more at www.salespeak.com