Opinion: Sales Managers must leverage ‘Cultural Fluency’ awareness
If you have ever managed a sales team, you are familiar with the pressure associated with the next successful cold-calling technique to close more sales. The chain of command from the sales manager to the field sales person often appears as a tug-of-war eventually measured by the final sales numbers. However, what happens to sales people from the time they identify a prospect until they close a sale is often ignored, an interval of many potential hidden expenses.
In today’s business environment, good sales managers are expected to focus on the ‘number of sales calls’ completed per day. The more sales calls made per day by each team member, the greater the likelihood of closing more sales. Networking is also encouraged despite its greater time commitment.
As though the challenges to develop a solid sales team were not enough, a new and less familiar factor has started to surface, namely ‘cultural fluency’. Buyers not only come in all different shapes and sizes but also respond differently to sales pitches and advertisements. Ignoring these cultural subtleties could increase the cost of selling and ultimately make a difference in closing a transaction or not.
Take for example, Hispanic consumers. At a recent presentation on “Important Tips on Closing Transactions with Hispanics”, members of the audience shared their field experiences. One sales person mentioned how he did not seem to have any trouble connecting with Hispanic prospects but for one reason or another could not complete the sale. In one particular situation, after repeated follow-up calls, one Hispanic prospect responded that he was interested but that ‘now is not a good time’.
In reviewing the sales person’s dilemma, the speaker highlighted a cultural detail that the salesperson might have missed during the first encounter. How did he approach the Hispanic prospect initially? Did he spend time getting to know the individual or simply rushed to ‘pitch’ his business? In retrospect the sales person began to evaluate his first encounter and recalled potential uncomfortable moments with his prospect.
An increased awareness of important cultural signals among Hispanic consumers may force sales managers to rethink their sales strategies. Managers can no longer rely on traditional sales techniques alone to make their budgets. They should encourage additional sales training to address cultural preferences particularly at the first encounter phase, otherwise, their sales people will learn the hard way that ‘now is not a good time’ really means ‘no thanks’.
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