This document discusses international sales management and intercultural considerations. It covers several key topics: market entry options and sales force strategy; cultural considerations and their impact on the sales process; cross-cultural negotiations; and using expatriates. The success of a company's international sales depends on effectively managing these strategic and cultural issues.

1. Unit-1
International Sales
Management
DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION & RESEARCH
Shri Sant Gajanan Maharaj College of Engg., Shegaon

2. Topics to be discussed:
1. Market Entry Options and Sales-force
Strategy
2. Cultural Considerations
3. Impact of Culture on Sales Management
and Personal Selling Process
4. Cross-Cultural Negotiations
5. Expatriates

3. Introduction
 The salesperson is the front line for many
companies.
 The success or failure of the company rests
largely on the ability of its sales force.
 International sales management can be divided
into two categories: (a) international strategy
considerations, and (b) intercultural
considerations.
 Issues such as recruiting, training, supervising,
and evaluating sales force are an integral part of
international sales management.

4. Exhibit 14-1: International Sales
Strategy and Intercultural
Considerations

5.  The sales management “process” starts with
setting objectives and strategy.
 Other issues include: recruiting, training,
supervising, and evaluating. In addition, market
entry methods and level of integration are
equally important (Exhibit 14-2).
1. Market Entry Options
and Sales Force Strategy

6. Exhibit 14-2: Degree of Involvement
and Sales Management Issues

7. 1. Market Entry Options
and Sales Force Strategy
 Low-Involvement Options
 Export Management Companies(EMCs)
 Export Trading Companies (ETCs)
 So g o sho sha (Japanese general trading companies)
 Examples: Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Sumitomo, and
Marubeni
 Mid-level Involvement
 High-Involvement
 Role of Foreign Governments
 Issues of host governments’ rules and practices
 Companies as “corporate citizens” in the host
countries

8. 2. Cultural Considerations
 Personal Selling
 At the level of personal selling, there is little true
inte rnatio nalselling.
 The sales task tends to take place on a national
basis.
 Personal selling is predominantly a personal
activity.

9. 3. Cultural Generalization
 Cultural Generalization
 Organization (Corporate) Culture
 Relationship Marketing
 Myers-Briggs Type Indicator–MBTI (Exhibit 14-3)
Popular tool for characterizing people which
addresses their cognitive styles and is based on the
following fourpersonal dimensions:
1. Extrovert vs. Introvert
2. Sensing vs. Intuitive
3. Thinking vs. Feeling
4. Judging vs. Perceiving

10. Exhibit 14-3: Myers-Briggs Type
Indicator of Personal Characteristics

11. 4. Impact of Culture on Sales
Management and Personal Selling
Process
 Sales force management consists of:
1. Setting salesforce objectives
2. Designating salesforce strategy
3. Recruiting and selecting salespeople
4. Training salespeople
5. Supervising salespeople
6. Evaluating salespeople

12.  Salesforce Objectives
 What the salesforce will be asked to do
 Salesforce Strategy
 Sale s structure s : territorial salesforce, product
salesforce, and customer salesforce
 Recruiting and Selecting
 Training
4. Impact of Culture on Sales
Management and Personal Selling
Process

13.  Supervising
 Motivation and Compensation
 Management Style
 Ethical Perceptions
 Evaluating
 Quantitative evaluations
 Qualitative evaluations
4. Impact of Culture on Sales
Management and Personal Selling
Process

14. 5. Cross-Cultural Negotiations
 Conducting successful cross-cultural
negotiations is a key ingredient for many
international business transactions.
 Stages of the Negotiation Process:
 Non-task surroundings
 Task-related information exchange
 Persuasion
 Concessions and agreement

15. Exhibit 14-4: Negotiation Styles and
Guidelines in Five Countries

16. 5. Cross-Cultural Negotiations
 Cross-Cultural Negotiation Strategies
a. Employ an agent or advisor
b. Involve a mediator
c. Induce the counterpart to follow one’s own negotiation
script
d. Adapt the counterpart’s negotiation script
e. Coordinate adjustment of both parties
f. Embrace the counterpart’s script
g. Improvise an approach.
h. Effect symphony.

17. Exhibit 14-5: Culturally Responsive
Strategies and Their Feasibility

18. 5. Cross-Cultural Negotiations
 Considerthese steps priorto strategy selection.
1. Reflect on your culture’s negotiation practices
2. Learn the negotiation script common in the
counterpart’s culture
3. Consider the relationship and contextual cues
4. Predict or influence the counterpart’s approach
5. Choose a strategy

19. 6. Expatriates
 Expatriates are home-country personnel sent
overseas to manage local operations in the foreign
market.
 Advantages of Expatriates
 Better Communications
 Development of Talent
 Difficulties of SendingExpatriates Abroad
 Cross-Cultural Training
 Motivation
 Compensation
 Family Discord
 Security Risk

20. 6. Expatriates
 The Return of the Expatriate – Repatriation
 Repatriation is the return of the expatriate
employee from overseas.
 G MAC Re lo catio n Se rvice s’ 20 0 1 Surve y
reported a number of effective ways to reduce
attrition rates. These include the following:
 Chances to use international experience
 A choice of positions upon return
 Recognition
 Repatriation career support

21. 6. Expatriates
 Generalizations forUsing Expatriates
 Expatriates are important whenever
communication with the home country office is at
a premium.
 Expatriates are especially important in complex
operating environments, or when elevated
political risk requires constant monitoring.