When I first heard my North American sales friends speak of how your March sales were determined by what you did in December, my first thought was how lucky some people have it if they only have to think of sales 3 months in advance.  And I realized that as an international sales person used to opening new foreign markets I was comparing apples to oranges.

But to be honest, North American sales and marketing professionals often amaze me by the level of sophistication of the methods they use. And this sophistication reminds me of the 5 levels of market awareness and sophistication I read in Eugene Schwartz’s Breakthrough Advertising.

Now, I realize the comparison is not a good fit once again, but I see quite a few sales people who get so caught up in their advanced practices that they forget the very basic ones on which they were founded. And thinking back to Eugene Schwartz, I keep wondering if the sophistication will get to a point where falling back to basics once again will be the fastest way to make sales.

This is why I want to share with you one particular international sales basic.

Busy People Rely On Solid Sales Basics

I’ve always worked in international business development outside of North America.  For people new to international sales this can seem like a complex environment.  And they are right, it is complex because there are so many variables to deal with.

The ability to capture and process multiple sources of information at the same time is a required skill in most international professions. These skills are critical in international sales. And you also need to multitask the processing of different decision variables at the same time.  International salespeople end up doing multi-layered mental multitasking to process all of the information. And this does not even include the other more visible signs of communication they need to do to carry out their job.

So… international sales people are very busy people.  They already have their mind on overdrive.

And they have no other choice but to rely on solid basics to help them get their sales job done.

Cultural Differences Require Solid Sales Basics

Another interesting facet of international sales is adapting to the different ways people do business.

International salespeople learn to be flexible and how to adapt to many different situations with one big difference.  They always have a very good grasp of sales basics.

These basic sales skills are the ones that become second nature and are the ones that enable them to do everything else required for the job.

Navigating Cultural Blunders With Solid Sales Basics

No matter where you are in the sales process there is always the possibility of a cross-cultural hiccup cropping up unexpectedly and ruining your sale.  And these things tend to happen when you least expect them.

The result is that this creates an environment with a certain degree of instability or uncertainty.

International salespeople learn to operate in this uncertainty.  And they find their way thanks to solid basics.

One sales basic in particular helps them to always do their job.

Solid Basic: Always Be Connecting With Your Market

And this one sales basic is founded on one particularity of international sales. The best international salespeople are also good at certain international marketing skills.  Their jobs depend on these marketing skills on two different levels.

• First, international sales people are usually the only people in the field and this field exposure is invaluable to a company.  International salespeople need to be marketing savvy.
• Second, it makes their job so much easier.  International salespeople need these marketing skills to do their job better.

Here’s the deal…

International salespeople always need to be connecting with their markets, prospects and all of their clients. All of the time.  This is what international sales is about.  They need as much information about their market as they can get in order to be a good salesperson.  So they are always connecting, prospecting, looking for ideas, looking for cultural differences, monitoring understandings. Talking to the people in their markets. And networking beyond their sales pipeline.

International sales are always made with people, and connecting with people from different cultures:

• Takes time
• Is a minefield of potential cultural blunders

This means there is less certainty in your sales projections. And the result is that you always need to sow the seeds for sales and you always need to be proactive in learning more about your market.

When you are in international sales to open new foreign markets 3 months is extremely short.  Of course it depends on your market, but you can easily need to spend twice and three times as long to cultivate any cross-cultural sales. Cultural differences bring up extra hurdles and also make it longer to build trust and easier to lose that trust. Sales cycles are longer when you open new markets.

In international business you learn to always connect with your market and to keep this connection active.  Because if you let this connection down for the end of year holidays for example, the challenges of cross-cultural communication increases extra risk. Different cultures celebrate Christmas differently.  Some take time off and some don’t.

No matter how sophisticated your sales tactics and strategies are, you cannot let yourself become lulled into a sense of security and forget the basics. Your international sales depend on maintaining a connection with your market. If you forget this even for a short time you have two problems. First, there’s a very good chance it will show in your future sales. And second, it may take you  extra effort to get back to where you left off.

What do you think?

• Do you think this is something all sales people should keep in mind?
• Do you think salespeople need to always be connected with their market?
• How does a holiday month impact your future sales?

Please share your thoughts below.