My 10 Top Tips for Working Internationally for the First Time

I often get asked which one thing would I suggest people prepare before working internationally. But how do you pick just one when there are so many to consider?

For me, if I had to pick just one, it'd always be to focus on communication skills. At the end of the day, if we can't communicate, we aren't going to get anywhere.

That said, I wouldn't want people to miss out on all of the other important areas, so I've decided to put them together in one post for you. Happy reading!

1. Think carefully about which market you want to target.

We often focus on the market opportunities and our potential routes to market, without considering how we'll actually work with the country once we're there. Don't overlook or rush this basic step. (If you wanted some help preparing, I have a template that can save a lot of tears: available here. You might also benefit from my free business checklist, here)

• What do you know about this area? The people? The language? The culture?
• Who do you know that can help you understand the area?
• How long is it going to take you to get any ROI in this market?
• What practices will you need to change to fit this market?
• Is there another area where your service or product will sell better as it is without needing to make huge changes?

2. Select your goals carefully

What are you hoping to achieve? You need to make sure your expectations are aligned with reality.

If you experience huge growth in your own country in a short period, you may still find it much, much harder in a different market. There is so much more preparation needed, and this is often overlooked. It's not just a case of translating your website and pushing your google ads locally - the process and strategy needs to be carefully considered and aligned to the market. Take some time to consider these and set reasonable targets with realistic strategies to get you there.

3. Find those people you have in your network who can help

• Who do you have in your business or network who knows the area? The language? The culture?
• Who can help with giving you an introduction to some of the key differences that you'll need to factor in?

We often know people who can give us some help at the start before we go external or bring in professional advice. Talk to everyone in your team - has anyone spent a gap year travelling around the region? Have family living there? You never know.

4. Consider how you're going to present yourself

In areas where we work with fairly egalitarian hierarchies like in the UK, showing off your credentials isn't particularly important. Once you're past the interview, people trust that you are who you say you are, and that you have the skills to do the job. It isn't usual in the UK to share your credentials or prove yourself at every new meeting. Quite often your job role and the team you work with serve as the proof you need, along with case studies and/or examples of work you've done (sometimes we have this in a portfolio format).

But where hierarchy is important, quite often showing our certificates and credentials takes on a greater importance, too.

If you're working with areas of the world who value a stricter hierarchy in their organisations, or with those who build trust fairly quickly and through seeing results, it can be beneficial to include any letters after your name on your business card and in your email signature.

If I'm emailing a client in the UK I might just have: Kellie Noon | Founder and CEO.

But if I'm emailing a client in Germany, I might have: Kellie Noon MITI FHEA MSc MA | Founder and CEO.

What would your signature look like?

5. Carefully consider your communication

Language is one area I see clients overlook time and time again. If there's one thing you can do to create a better relationship with any client internationally, it's to invest time in considering how you communicate with them. One thing to be conscious of is our communication style, particularly looking at how blunt or softly you transmit ideas, and how you cushion your message. But the biggest thing to work on, and the one you should be looking at first, is thinking how you use English. Most of the work we do internationally is done in English, but as native speakers, it's often us who create problems and confusion (yes, I promise you read that correctly - we are the ones causing problems!)

If you're sending out an email or speaking in a meeting or on a call, I want you to avoid using phrases like:

• We're hoping for an increase of nearly 12% in our sign-ups this week (use instead: registrations. We want to avoid words derived from phrasal verbs like 'sign up')
• Ok so time-wise, I'd like us to get this done by the end of the month (don't add suffixes like 'wise' or use the verb 'get')
• We'll get back to you by COB (use instead: close of business / the end of the day. Don't assume abbreviations will be understood by everyone)

6. Take care with translations

This links in with my previous point. By considering the language that you use and enhancing your clarity, you're also making life easier for the translators you choose to work with, if and when you get to the stage you need to use a second language in your business. We don't want to leave any room for misunderstandings or lack of clarity.

Things to note if you do choose to work with a translator:

• Always use a professional. Never cut corners here - it's your message, brand and reputation on the line. Use a reputable agency, or go to the Institute of Translation and Interpreting (here).
• Prepare your content as well as possible and appoint someone to liaise with the translator - good translators will have questions and need access to someone who can answer these.
• If you're going to use translated content anywhere on your site, in emails or on social media, you need to have a plan - what will happen if you have inbound enquiries in that language? Who will deal with these and what is the process for that? Don't leave it until it's too late and you have a lead waiting for a response!
• Never use automated translation tools for anything you'll be sharing outside the business.

7. Consider how formal you will need to be, and how you'll build relationships

• How do you usually get to know new clients?
• How long does it take you to build a relationship with them before they buy from you?

This will vary greatly all over the world, so don't assume that what works here or in one market will automatically work in another. Clients from areas like the Middle East and large parts of Asia will want to spend great amounts of time getting to know you.

Remember too, that in many areas of the world a man's word is his contract, so tread carefully when pushing for written confirmation. It will come, but if you push too soon it can be seen as distrustful and disrespectful and may ruin the relationship you've built.

Another thing to remember is not to dismiss people when they start asking more personal questions and shying away from talking about business, because for many cultures around the world knowing who you're doing business with is more important than just getting down to business.

8. Learn which order you'll need to speak to people

While we don't tend to follow strict rules around who can talk and when in UK business settings, there are cultures who place a great amount of importance on hierarchy and status.

This will impact

• who can talk
• when they talk
• what they can say
• and even who enters and leaves a meeting room first.

Recognising this order, and the importance of it, can make or break a relationship. This is something to consider particularly if you're going to work with countries like Japan and China. Take note of who enters a meeting room first, who sits next to the senior person, and who speaks directly to you.

9. Check your colours (and numbers)

If you see a red sign, you probably automatically assume it's a warning sign of some sort. And in the UK you're generally right with that assumption. But colours and their meanings change significantly from country to country, so it can be worthwhile considering your branding and content before reaching out to new audiences.

Some examples of this in action:

• Red and green on profit and loss statements are switched over in China - red is used for the positive and green for the loss. This is because red is extremely lucky in China.
• I had one client trying to get traction with a purple brand in Brazil, not realising that it's generally a colour associated with death. They changed to green and saw a significant positive change in the first week alone.

The same goes for numbers: there are different superstitions that you need to be aware of and take seriously even if they seem silly to you, because some of your target audience will.

10. Which images are you going to use?

Imagery is a large part of any marketing a company does, but again it's an area people don't always give much thought. If you're going to be working internationally you'll need to take extra care with the images that you choose. As we mentioned in the last point, there are colours that will have different uses and connotations, so we might want to take some more time to consider the predominant colour in the images we share.

Not only this, but we'll also need to be careful with:

• parts of the body (showing the soles of your feet is considered rude in many areas of the world)
• animals (a cow might be a great image for a foot related topic in Brazil, but most certainly not in India)
• religious (or other) buildings
• signs that we assume everyone will recognise.

Another thing to consider is whether you want to include images of your team on the website. Not everyone does here in the UK and it's generally accepted that it's not necessary, but if you're wanting to establish credibility in areas of the world who value stronger trust relationships, having images of your team can go a long way to help you on your journey.

So there you have it, my 10 top tips for those who are working internationally for the first time!

I'd love to hear your thoughts, stories, experiences and reflections. Share them with me on email: [email protected]

If you've already started working internationally or are gearing up for a meeting in the near future, now could be a good time for us to have a conversation and make sure you're prepared to take on the world.

In the meantime, you'll get some value out of my ebook: '7 Steps to Global Negotiation Bliss'. You can find it here.?

1. My International Business Template. Available here.
2. My free business checklist. Available here.
3. The Institute of Translation and Interpreting. Website here.
4. 7 Steps to Global Negotiation Bliss. You can find it here.?