A Guide to Pitching in Cross-Cultural Contexts

First, I'm in no position to teach anyone about giving a perfect sales pitch. Fairly to say, I'm neither an instructor nor an experienced veteran in any field. Yet, I hope to share some personal experiences and problems I encountered, expecting it contribute to anyone who struggles in a cross-cultural context.?

I wish to inspire those who find it helpful in their careers and spur discussions that brew practical solutions. Yes, my selfish reason for writing is to learn, as an ancient Chinese idiom goes, "to throw out a brick to attract a jade"(抛砖引玉，pāo zhuān yǐn yù). I hope my crude remarks may draw forth abler people.?

Basic Approaches?

When it comes to sales pitching, some classic approaches are self-explanatory: the?FABE?approach (features, advantages, benefits, evidence), the?AIDA?approach (attention, interest, desire, action), and the?ABC?approach (advisor, bridge, customer) and so forth.?

These approaches are very flexible. You can switch the order in FABE depending on the particular situation you are in. You can incorporate the ABC approach into FABE or AIDA by introducing a consultant role to make your pitch more persuasive. You can come up with any improvements as long as they work.?

Generally, these approaches present the basics of what a salesperson can bring into play. They are in a way the concepts that need to be rooted in your brain as a premise to get things started so that a more detailed plan can be initiated and executed. Eventually, everyone might come up with a method that is unique to them.

And the details, the subtleties, define our course of action. No matter how the outline alters, it would help if you filled in a series of practical plans to attain the desired outcome. However, nuances are hard to maneuver most of the time. That's why we need to look into them:

??Be Humble and Polite:

Being humble is undoubtedly a bit of wise advice applicable to every career. It would be best if you understood that your chance of presenting to a potential customer is like being on a stage. But remember, you are a co-star who shares enough spotlight with your client. In doing that, you might need to be aware of the following:

• Introduce yourself modestly: even if you are already successful in your career, keep a low profile which often wins a good impression. You might brag a little bit, but remember never to lie about your achievements. You'll suffer endlessly to compensate for your arrogance.
• Don't interrupt: one good virtue of a salesperson is knowing how to listen to others. Though it's not culturally determined, people's proneness to interrupt is still typical in places. I don't know if the fast-paced life constructs people with such impetuous patterns. Still, it is indeed rude behavior, especially regarding a formal business meeting.?
• Be careful making generalizations: a good example would be during the talk between Jack Ma and Elon Musk on Artificial Intelligence. I remember Jack said, "99.9% of the predictions in human history are wrong," That statement stunned Elon, making him speechless. But I understand Jack that he was trying to present his skepticism about AI. Still, Elon Musk didn't buy it out of a science-based mind.?
• Avoid taboos: it's a test of your knowledge of cultures, customs, religions, politics, and genders, anything that might render a sensitive topic to a minority or even to the majority. Besides not making judgments regarding people's privacies, such as wages, age, weight, and so on, you'd better learn where to stop and transition to a topic both of you find interesting.??

Sometimes when speaking a foreign language,?we tend to be completely different due to language uncertainties. We'll probably be shocked if we look back at our performance, the way we spoke, gosh! that was rude. I still remember talking to a Japanese friend in English via MSN back in the time. I still have no idea why I would add "aho" in front of every sentence to show that I was amazed by what she said. I thought it would serve as some interjection. But it turned out to be the exact pronunciation of "fool" in Japanese, especially in the dialect of the city of Osaka, and she is from Osaka. I probably mixed it up with the word "yahoo," you can't imagine how embarrassed I was!

??Be Professional

Modesty or politeness correlates with the professionalism; only the latter requires more preparation for specific purposes. Questions like "Why am I so important to the customer and not the counterparts of equal capabilities? What are the pain points a customer is suffering from? How can I help them solve those problems? Notice that the sequence of questions starts with Why, the mysterious Why that is often overlooked.

It's not about who can do the work but whom they can trust to do the work. Sometimes I thought simply lowering the price would attract more clients, but it didn't. Massively sending company brochures would increase the odds of finding the right customer. But it turned out to be something everyone was disgusted at - spam letters.

It requires lots of effort to answer Why. But it would be worthwhile if you could see things from a buyer's perspective:

• Laser-focus on the business: it may be some cultural routine of having a few minutes to chit-chat before talking about business. But we might lose track of what we should do and say when getting emotionally thrilled about some unrelated topics. It's disastrous when your client stops you and redirects you back to the meeting. Although a bit of off-topic chat can help smooth the conversation, you only need the proper transition back to the business. Also, you might want to avoid being too intimate stepping into their privacy, especially during your first meeting.?
• Elicit engagement: do you have the moment your potential client is busy swiping the phone during your presentation of the studio's artwork page by page? It's not unusual, but that stiffness in presenting is what an aspiring salesperson should get rid of. Say something constructive they can relate to, do your prep on them, research the games they produced and see what's related to your studio? It could be the art style you're good at, or the similar projects you've done before, ask what dissatisfactions they had with other vendors, and see if you can improve it. You can bring up numerous things, as long as they are engaging and contributive to the meeting.?
• Understand their problems: similar to eliciting engagement, understanding clients' problems is a way of showing empathy, which needs research efforts. But it's not enough as there must be communication. You might need to talk things over and exchange feelings. Compassion is essential to building trust. It would be best if you steered your purpose towards easing clients' pressures, trying to help them unravel the Gordian knot. To become a supportive role, you need to have the notion that they are not buying but recruiting.?
• Plans to follow up: when you have sufficient knowledge of their troubles, it's time to take immediate actions, so carry out further steps such as scheduling and quotes as a follow-up. At the same time, find more info, and be prepared to anticipate questions like whether the schedule can be tighter and the price can be lower.?

Being professional also means?never apologizing out of nervousness.?You can have a nervous breakdown when you are off work, but in front of a potential client, you must keep it together. You have to be calm and collected. It's lame to attribute a mistake to your weak mentality, which will not receive sympathy, so try to focus on what to do at that moment. There's no time to repent, so take it seriously and keep moving forward.

??Be Optimistic

Are you a pessimist, or do you see the world through rose-colored glasses? It's crucial because it determines whether you enjoy what you do and look forward to improving the status quo.

I'm not saying being a pessimist is terrible. A pessimist might be able to foresee dangers in life and nitpick about details in a very demanding job. But eventually, it's about the calling that drives us forward, and it's about being content and able to see what we have instead of worrying about what is absent in our lives.

Overcome fears: fear is arguably one of the most influential factors that hinder us from achieving goals, I remember my palms would always get sweaty but remain freezingly cold when facing foreigners in formal contexts, a very uncomfortable condition I had to go through, but as I became more fluent, I started to realize the reasons that made me anxious:

• Lack of knowledge of what you sell
• Lack of being prepared to anticipate clients' questions
• Lack of language proficiency

In my case, it is the preparation that helps me conquer anxieties. It might be easy and quick to acquire knowledge of the products you sell. Yet it takes years to be fluent in one language, both linguistically and culturally. Sometimes understanding the culture and how to treat people is even more critical.

Make the best use of your talent: it's the time for you to carry out a self-observation and see what you are good at, do not say you are good at nothing. There must be something extraordinary in you. All you need is to seek out and grow it.

I enjoyed listening to English songs when I was little, probably eight or nine years old, which is very rare for a kid in the 90s in China. However, that helped me develop an interest in language learning and subsequently build a career where I could put everything I learned into practice. Although I still suck sometimes, I never lost the confidence to improve my English.?

Turn cons into pros: there are chances deficiencies to be repurposed and turned into something useful. It would help if you looked on the bright side. There is always a chance to reverse the situation.?

• Suppose you've tried your best to prepare everything but still get confused about a question or something unfamiliar. Don't play as if you know, be honest?to admit that you don't know, and show how eager you are to learn more.?Sincerity earns trust.?
• It's pervasive here in China that people with heavy accents are ashamed, from which they would be afraid of talking to a foreigner. However, it's challenging to achieve native-like competence in pronunciation after puberty. Suppose you can successfully communicate your ideas using proper word choices and decent grammar, then your accent will probably not harm but add more charm.?Seeing things from another perspective is a way out.

At last, there is no perfect solution to winning a client. Eventually, you won't achieve anything without the premise of taking things into action. As the ancient Chinese philosopher Hsun Tsu's adage told two thousand years ago, "those that walk, often arrive; those that do, often achieve." (行者常至，为者常成 xínɡ zhě chánɡ zhì, wéi zhě chánɡ chénɡ)