Export advice unwisely omits a key point

This recent business article about exporting makes a huge omission. It says:

“Exporting in many respects is an extension of the normal way of doing business. The additional challenges arise from unfamiliarity, different customs, practices, language and legal frameworks. Where greater distance is involved it may mean an extended time before payment is received.

http://realbusiness.co.uk/article/28302-what-are-the-risks-of-exporting-smes-need-to-be-considering

What is the big omission?

The key point omitted is about face to face communication. I’ve discovered after years of unanswered emails that business partners from some cultures must be met in person, regularly and face to face, for business to happen at all. This isn’t just a matter of different customs like whether to kiss, bow or shake hands.

It’s at the heart of doing business in the UK that emails are answered promptly. That written communication plays a strong part of the relationship. Once you have opened a serious business relationship, written communication demands an answer. In fact for many finance people in Anglo Saxon and Northern European countries (I’m generalising here of course), business is entirely and successfully conducted by email.

In my own experience working with S America, Spain, Italy, Malaysia and the Middle East, when you are not there in person it is as if you cease to be important. Worse, you almost cease to matter at all. Or that’s how it feels because emails fall into a void, whatever promises have been made.

So?

So, plan regular visits, say every month or two. Don’t leave long gaps. And in between, follow up your emails with the phone or video conferencing because it’s nearer to a personal visit.

Anything else?

Read more on relationship cultures versus transactional cultures in Richard E Lewis’s two books. Sometimes disparaged by interculturalists, his model focuses on this distinction and in its simplicity it has made a valuable contribution to cross-cultural business success for many of us who work internationally.

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