Most people don’t give much thought to the actual cross cultural communication process prior to their first real cross cultural negotiation. They get obsessed with secondary details.

Cross Cultural Negotiation Skills

Imagine you are in a long line of people waiting for a taxi at the busy Paris airport. With people swarming everywhere. The noise of the street traffic competing with the noise from the airplanes in the background.

And then you hear such a large commotion, right up at the front of your taxi line. You think it is yet another bomb scare and crane your neck to get a closer look with your bags in your hands ready to move. But out of the confusion you hear laughter.

What happened?

It was only someone who began to try bargaining the price of his ride before he got inside the taxi…with a Parisian taxi driver. The tension breaks as a ripple of laughter mixed with annoyance runs down the taxi line.

It is an old story. But it does highlight cultural differences in negotiation very well.

Different Cultures Have Different Negotiation Practices

Negotiation practices differ from country to country. Some cultures expect clients to negotiate over things that would be totally unacceptable in other countries. Some cultures get upset or angry by things that are totally acceptable in other cultures.

Different cultures simply have different approaches when it comes to negotiation.
This can be intimidating when you travel to a new country to negotiate for business.
And even more so if it is your first time.

It is important to know what is culturally expected of you when it comes to negotiation.

If you are just starting out in developing your international markets, it is wise to do some homework and identify the standard expected negotiating habits in the country you are travelling to.

No matter how much research you do prior to your first cross cultural negotiation communication road blocks can easily come up. This is even more likely if your negotiation is taking place in a foreign environment to what you are used to.

So it is even more important to develop skills to ride through communication hurdles.

A Beginners Guideline

Prior to your first cross cultural negotiation give some thought on how you will keep on track.

Here is a guideline to help beginners.

If you find yourself on your own in a country where negotiation practices are different to your own, there is a strategy to follow.

Prior To Your Negotiations

Do your research on what will be expected of you. Define your schedule, and what you are expected to wear and bring. If you are a woman, be sure to verify standard practices beforehand.

Are there any standard culturally specific negotiating practices? Remember to ask for advice prior to cross-cultural negotiations.

If you feel you will be in a different environment than you are used to you have two options to consider:

Hire local representation. Some large multi-national companies hire local company representatives to facilitate all business procedures in certain countries in the Middle East and the Far East.

Arrange for a local third party to accompany you. Look for someone who can tell you if you are making any cultural blunders. This will give you a certain peace of mind.

Prior research helps, but even so, it is not always easy. You will also need to keep your own behavior and attitudes turned towards your negotiation.

This is where the following 8 points are important.

Best Practices During Your First Cross Cultural Negotiation

Ask and find out what is expected of you.

Explain that you are looking forward to the business opportunities open to both of you.

Explain that this is your first trip and you have not done business in their country before.

State your good will and that you do not mean to do anything awkward.

Ask to be told or shown what to do.

Apologize if you do or say something that seems to be out of place.

Continue to show your desire to proceed in the negotiations.

Continue to say that your look forward to doing business with them and learning more about their culture.

Keep this guideline in mind during your negotiations.

Remain constantly aware of your environment so you can implement any of these points if needed.

Use each point appropriately when needed.

Do not go overboard. Overly stating your enthusiasm or apologizing incessantly can be destructive to your negotiations in some cultures.

Use this guideline as a gentle reminder to stay tuned to where the other party is at. If you feel in any way that you need to refer to one of the points above, do so, and continue your negotiation.

Cross cultural communication is a process where you adjust your communication a little and learn to meet another culture in the area where you both feel comfortable. It is about knowing when to ask discretely for feedback to make sure you are all on the same path.

Your first cross cultural negotiation will simply be a first step in the process of adjusting to another culture. Your cross cultural communication skills improve with practice.

Follow these guidelines for your first cross cultural negotiation and you will not make people laugh.

Are you wondering if there is one simple thing you could add to your current business mix that would help you a lot throughout the whole process?

What if you had a unique cross cultural vision tool in your pocket?

Third Culture Kids

Working with a Third Culture Kid could be the solution for your company.

Third Culture Kids (TCKs) aren’t children. It is a term used in international environments. It is used generally to describe people that grew up in strong international environments.

TCK’s are the children of parents from one culture living in a second culture, and their need to find their own identity in their specific third culture. The term can also go beyond this to refer to people who grew up exposed to different cultures early on in life.

Benefits For Your Companies International Development

Growing up in such environments means these people have a unique skill set.

They have the natural ability to see things from different cultural points of view. They probably do not have one strong national outlook. They immediately look at a situation and be aware of several different cultural points of view.

Even if TCK’s are working in a culture they are unfamiliar with, they will be quicker at understanding the different cultural points of view than someone without cross cultural experience.

This means that TCK’s understand the different expectations in politeness, in respect, in professional behaviors. And they are able to adjust their own behavior, often instantaneously, to navigate through these differences.

Having a TCK on your team should help you avoid cultural communication blunders. Or at least pick up on them faster and learn how to navigate through them effectively.

Differences With Others And Their Approach

People without international experience might think cross cultural communication is only about learning about the manners expected of you in foreign place and the local traditions.

Flexibility and adaptability have more to do with your international business success. Understanding why people behave differently is more important what you see them do differently than yourself.

People with confirmed international experience tend to be more curious, adaptable and quick learners. This can bring your company the fuel it needs to go international if your company is truly motivated to adapt to the international mindset.

Right Adaptation Needed To Work With Third Culture Kids

TCKs are a breed of their own. They are used to navigating in different waters. They can be freedom lovers. They might think your set of rules and orders obsolete, simply because they have been there, done that and moved on to something else.

Does this mean Third Culture Kids’s are prima donnas? No, that would be forgetting one of their main qualities: their deep rooted ability to adapt to different environments. Simply, this will be a cross cultural relationship.

If your company is firmly rooted in one cultural environment you will need to pay attention to how the TCK and your company work together. If your company’s drive is strong enough to go international, your company’s mindset will be open to other cultures.

A Little Effort For A Great International Business “Tool”

The little bit of adjustment you will have to make to work with a Third Culture Kid is well worth the extra vision he will bring to your international business.

Your international communication will be smoother and bring faster results. Third Culture Kids with the right background for your company will probably also provide you with valuable international business insights.

If you are looking for an easy way to speed up your company’s international mindset, working with Third Culture Kids can help put your international business expansion in top gear.

Are you committed to speeding up your international sales cycles?

Learn how to combine cross-cultural marketing tools and international sales strategies for faster sales.

Join us on the International Sales Road Map

Would you like to develop your international business?
Are you a beginner at international sales and marketing?
Read the Beginners Guide Discover Your International Business

And these different behavioral values are outlined extensively in the book The Culturally Customized Web Site, which discusses cross cultural online marketing.

What Are The Different Cultural Behaviors You Can Market To?

Basically, The Culturally Customized Web Site outlines that different cultures have different ways of behaving along 5 different scales.

High Individualism versus High Collectivism Behavior
High versus Low Uncertainty Avoidance Behavior
High versus Low Power Distance Behavior
High Masculinity versus High Femininity Behavior
High versus Low Context Behavior

These different behavior scales can be used by international internet marketers. Marketing aimed towards these particular behavioral needs gives internet marketers tools to play with. Marketing can be tweaked for one culture to get better responses from different countries and cultures.

This is especially helpful, if you are marketing to another country at the opposite end of one or more of these scales to your country. Simply imagine the change between a High Individualism culture and High Collectivism culture.

How Cross Cultural Study Can Help You?

Studying these 5 different behavioral values in your different cultural markets can give you valuable international marketing insights and can be useful in identifying:

The best overall communication strategy to invest in.
How best to stimulate market feedback.
How best to create loyalty.
The most appropriate social media to use in each country.
The best way to build your authority status in a country.
The sales argument most likely to work.
The types of guarantees you need to highlight.

The Culturally Customized Web Site is careful to mention that you need to emphasize the key elements that speak more to the culture you are targeting. But this does not mean you should leave out the other elements that pull more weight in other cultures.

Internet marketing has no set rules. It is all about testing your particular market. It should not be surprising that international internet marketing is the same.

Which Cross Cultural Marketing Is Essential To Be Done In Your Target Country?

Good cross cultural online marketing must also take into account two other things:

Cultural Perception of environment, language and color
Cultural Symbolism with regards to country specific symbols, icons and color

This is something you cannot use internet marketing tactics to help you test.
The differences in cultural perception and cultural symbolism requires specific a cultural background. It is best to give this task to a professional currently living in your target country.

If you do not have the means to do this, pay particular attention to your international market feedback. Get on the phone and ask people in your target country what they think about your website.

Cultural Behavioral Research Helps Online Marketing

The research done in cultural behavioral values has helped traditional international marketing. Internet marketers can also use this research to help develop their international markets.

Easy testing and tracking gives internet marketing more scope to refine different cultural approaches and improve international results.

Are you committed to speeding up your international sales cycles?

Learn how to combine cross-cultural marketing tools and international sales strategies for faster sales.

Join us on the International Sales Road Map

Would you like to develop your international business?
Are you a beginner at international sales and marketing?
Read the Beginners Guide Discover Your International Business