Unless all your customers are of exactly the same ethnic background, doing business these days is somewhat like walking through a cultural minefield.

Did you know, for example, that the All-American "thumbs-up" sign is downright rude Down Under? Or that the thumb-to-forefinger variation is no more couth than the "middle finger salute" to some Latins? Do you know which colors, numbers and dates can turn off certain foreign prospects? Or when you should receive a business card in both hands? Or when "yes" does NOT necessarily mean "I agree?"

Especially if your present or future clientele includes a number of "different-from-you" folks, it behooves you and your team to tune in on the right/wrong things to do/say when interacting with them.

At a Father's Day breakfast recently, Realtors Nancy Corey and Pat Parker came up with two nifty ideas to handle these opportunities/problems. Nancy is the manager for Coldwell Banker's Kendall, South Florida office which handles a heavy Latin customer base. She built a sales meeting around presentations by members of her team who pointed out the most appropriate ways to deal with people from various South American nations. As a surprise sidelight, one of her sales associates appeared in her native sari to explain the customs of India and Pakistan. Although these customers are not as frequent the point was well made that they are no less important.

So what about doing the same thing for your office? If you have foreign customers, but do not have the staff or experts to profile them, you can consult the nearest embassy, consulate or college and ask for a (probably free) guest speaker who will be happy to enlighten you on the customs, business etiquette and protocol of his or her nation.

Pat, a heavy hitter in the South Florida luxury home market, has dealt with buyers and sellers from all over the free world, and uses as an ethnic reference book "KISS, BOW OR SHAKE HANDS: HOW TO DO BUSINESS IN SIXTY COUNTRIES." We found it listed with Amazon Books (http://www.amazon.com) for $15.96 -- a very attractive price for this 438-page paperback. Pat says it has paid for itself a thousand times over - besides keeping a lot of egg off her face!

NOTE: If you're not cybersavvy, ask your bookstore keeper to look up the title under Adams Media Corp; ASIN:1558504443 (...then learn how to GET on the 'net!)

However you go about it, ratchet your team members up to the increasingly cosmopolitan nature of the selling business as we approach the new millennium in a shrinking world!

NOTE: Exerpted from Joe Klock's Sales Tips and Management Tips, Copyright, Joe Klock. You may email Joe at joeklock@aol.com or visit his web site at http://www.joeklock.com.

Published: July 6, 1998

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