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Chapter 2
Culture and Sales
Sales Management:
A Global Perspective
Earl D. Honeycutt
John B. Ford
Antonis Simintiras
Culture and Sales
• Culture: All of the behavioral traits that we
acquire from and share with the members of
our society.
• Acculturation: What is learned and accepted
by an outsider after exposure to those within
a cultural group.
• Assimilation: When an outsider becomes
completely absorbed into a new culture.
Culture and Sales
• Levels of Cultural Aggregation
– Global – Forces at work shaping similar expectations
of customers, but risky to treat all sales people the same
way
– Regional – Regional similarities may offer
opportunities for 3rd country nationals
– National – The key level of aggregation. The most
deep set and defining characteristics imprinted on the
individual.
– Local – Local community has its own culture, but not
as important in shaping the individual.
Culture and Sales
• Hofstede’s National Cultural Dimensions:
– Power Distance – The distinctions in the society
between the individual and their immediate supervisor
in terms of power and ranking.
– Uncertainty avoidance – The way in which the society
deals with the concept of risk.
– Individualism/collectivism – The importance of the
group as opposed to the individual in the society.
– Masculinity/femininity – The traits valued by society
which are identified in terms of masculine (success,
confidence, strength) or feminine (nurturing,
compassion, quality of life).
Culture and Sales
• National Cultural Dimensions:
– Confucian Dynamism (added by Bond)
– The importance of a short-term versus a longterm time orientation and commitment.
Culture and Sales
• Managerial Considerations:
– The chances for cultural conflict should be
minimized to enhance the probability of
successful relationship building between
salesperson and customer.
– Making the salesperson sensitive to cultural
differences is important.
– Periodic cultural training for salespeople and
sales managers can be extremely beneficial.
Culture and Sales
Culture and Sales
• Components of Culture:
– Verbal Communication - Three problem areas
to consider:
• Simple carelessness – The inappropriate or
accidental use of a word.
• Multiple-meaning words – Using words with more
than one meaning where primary meaning is other
than was intended.
• Idioms – Using phrases with no literal translation.
– Cadillac product; raining cats and dogs
Culture and Sales
• Additional language concerns:
– Use the correct forms of the language when addressing
a superior as opposed to a peer.
– Developing countries often have many different dialects
which are used.
– The language may be experiencing changes on a daily
basis (vernacular).
– High context versus low context cultures have different
language uses and needs for communications.
Culture and Sales
• Types of Nonverbal Communication:
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Appearance/Grooming
Tone of Voice/Speech Pattern
Timing of Verbal Responses
Posture
Use of Space in Communications
Sense of Smell
Use of Hand Gestures to Communicate
Physical Contact in Communication
Eye Contact in Communication
Body Angles
Culture and Sales
• Communication Considerations:
– The better prepared the salesperson is to
understand verbal and non-verbal
communication issues, the greater the chances
for building successful relationships with
potential customers. Some possibilities:
• Identify and prepare for specific customers.
• Cultural training/sensitizing is a necessity.
• The key is to avoid actions and words that could be
considered to be offensive.
Culture and Sales
• Components of Culture:
– Religion – Watch out for:
• Religious holidays/celebrations/obligations may
affect salesperson performance.
• Time for prayer may be important.
• Consumption of certain foods may be prohibited.
• Consumption of alcohol may be forbidden.
• Gender relationships may be controlled.
Culture and Sales
• Components of Culture:
– Education – be sensitive to:
• Difficulties for customer dealing with someone less
educated.
• Salespeople should have at least a university/college
education.
• Sales managers must sell students in many countries
on the value of a sales career.
• Salespeople may be concerned about educational
opportunities for their children if they are sent
overseas.
Culture and Sales
• Components of Culture:
– Aesthetics - Remember:
• Salesperson appearance must conform with
expectations of customer (hair, jewelry,
smell, etc.).
• The materials used by the salesperson should
also conform to customer expectations (sales
presentations, product/promotional literature,
etc.).
Culture and Sales
• Components of Culture:
– Social Organizations – Areas to consider:
• How well does the salesperson work in group
settings, especially when the company uses sales
teams?
• Problems arising from males in patriarchal societies
working for female superiors.
• Problems arising from older individuals in
hierarchical societies working for younger
supervisors.
• Problems arising from affluent individuals working
for supervisors from lower income backgrounds.
Culture and Sales
• Components of Culture:
– Technology - Watch out for:
• Customers who are more technologically
literate than sales people.
• Sales people selling products way too
advanced technologically for potential
customers.
• Technological literacy gaps between sales
manager and sales people.
Culture and Sales
• Components of Culture:
– Values and Norms - Consider:
• Conflicts between sales manager and salespeople
reflecting differences in value orientations
(conservative vs. liberal, ethnocentric vs.
polycentric, egalitarian vs. male-dominated decision
making, etc.)
• Conflicts between salespeople and customers
reflecting value differences.
• Ethnocentric vs. polycentric perspectives.
Culture and Sales
• Essential skills and abilities for multicultural sales manager dealing with a global
sales force:
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Respect for others
Tolerance for ambiguity
Ability to relate to people
Being nonjudgmental
Ability to personalize one’s observations
Empathy
Persistence/patience
Culture and Sales
• Suggestions for the sales manager to
enhance their chances of clear and
meaningful communications with foreign
salespeople:
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Speak slowly and clearly – not loudly!
Avoid the use of idiomatic expressions
Try not to appear impatient or irritated
Periodically stop and ask what the salesperson
understood or whether clarification is needed
Culture and Sales
• Examples of sources of information regarding different
cultures, cultural expectations, and mannerisms:
– Do’s and Taboo’s Around the World by Roger E. Axtell, 3rd
edition, NY: John Wiley and Sons, 1993.
– Do’s and Taboo’s Around the World for Women in Business by
Roger E. Axtell, Tami Briggs and Margaret Corcoran, NY: John
Wiley and Sons, 1997.
– Dun and Bradstreets’ Guide to Doing Business Around the World
by Terri Morrison, Wayne A. Conaway and Joseph J. Douress, NJ:
Prentice-Hall, 2000.
– Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands: How to Do Business in 60 Countries
by Terri Morrison, Wayne A. Conaway and George A. Borden,
Adams Media Corporation, 1995.
– Managing Cultural Differences by Philip R. Harris and Robert T.
Moran, Houston: Gulf Professional Publishing Company, 2000.
Culture and Sales
• Culture shapes the behaviors and expectations of
human beings.
• If sales managers understand the nature of culture and how
it is manifested, they can enhance the chances of success
for the sales force in the following ways:
– They can choose the appropriate individuals given the nature of
their potential foreign sales territories based upon cultural fit.
– They can arm the salesperson with a cultural sensitivity that will
enhance the chances of building a meaningful long-term
relationship with potential customers.
– Culturally aware sales managers can be better prepared to develop
their own relationships with the various members of their sales
force.