Foreign sales: the "cultural breaker" in the global layout of enterprises

In the journey of multinational enterprises to expand the international market, foreign sales teams are playing an increasingly key role. They are not only the delivery of products and services, but also a bridge to connect different cultures and break down market barriers. From language talent to cultural insight, from local resource networks to global perspectives, the unique value of foreign sales is being re-recognized and explored by more companies.

The dual advantages of language and culture: the core competitiveness of foreign sales

The core competitiveness of foreign sales is first reflected in the deep integration of language and culture. Take an international beauty brand as an example. The French sales director recruited in the Chinese market, relying on his deep understanding of the Chinese and French beauty consumption culture, successfully adjusted the brand positioning from "European and American high-end" to "French elegance + Oriental aesthetics" and launched a limited edition "Oriental Garden" series, with sales exceeding 50 million yuan in the first month of listing. This case reveals two major advantages of foreign sales:

• precise language expression : foreign sales can more naturally use the language of the target market for product introduction and customer communication, and even shorten the distance with customers through dialect or slang. The Thai sales recruited by a German car brand in the Southeast Asian market interpreted car safety with the concept of "family" in Thai, increasing the brand's penetration rate among home users by 30%.
• deep cultural insight : foreign sales are familiar with the social etiquette, decision-making habits and consumption preferences of the target market. The Brazilian sales recruited by a fast-moving company found that Brazilian consumers were more inclined to buy after "planting grass" through social media, thus leading the cooperation with local Internet celebrities, with online sales of products increasing by 200.

Localized resource network: "invisible assets" of foreign sales

Foreign sales tend to bring their own local resources of the target market, these resources are difficult for enterprises to obtain through short-term investment in the global layout. For example, a medical device company recruited an American salesman whose father is the director of cardiology at a well-known local hospital. This network helped the company quickly open up the high-end medical market in the United States, with orders exceeding $0.1 billion in the first year. The local resource network of foreign sales is mainly reflected in three aspects:

• customer channel : foreign sales may have a list of potential customers in the target market, industry conference resources or chamber of commerce contacts. The Japanese sales recruited by an industrial equipment company, through participation in local industry exhibitions, contacted 20 potential customers within 3 months, 5 of which have signed cooperation agreements.
• partners : foreign sales are familiar with the target market suppliers, logistics or service providers, can quickly build a localized supply chain. A cross-border e-commerce company recruited Australian sales, using its local logistics resources, to shorten the distribution time from 15 days to 5 days, customer re-purchase rate increased by 40%.
• Policy and regulatory insight : Foreign sales understand the trade policies, tax regulations or industry access standards of the target market, which can help enterprises avoid risks. The German sales recruited by a new energy enterprise predicted the EU's new regulations on battery recycling in advance, pushing the enterprise to adjust its production process and avoid potential fines.

Global vision and localization implementation: "two-wheel drive" for foreign sales

The unique value of foreign sales, it also lies in their ability to combine globalization strategies with localization implementation. The Indian sales recruited by a technology company not only maintained the core functions of the product (such as the global AI voice assistant) when promoting intelligent hardware, but also added local language support, low power consumption mode and other features for the Indian market. After the product went on sale, it quickly occupied 25% of the Indian market share. This "global + local" thinking mode is reflected in many working scenarios of foreign sales:

• market positioning : foreign sales can combine global brand tonality and local market demand to formulate differentiated positioning. The Italian sales recruited by a luxury brand put forward the concept of "light luxury customization" in the Chinese market, combining Italian craftsmanship with the personalized needs of Chinese consumers, and the brand premium increased by 15%.
• marketing strategy : foreign sales are familiar with the media channels, social platforms and marketing methods of the target market. A game company recruited South Korea sales, using the South Korea popular "live with goods" model to promote new games, the first month of live viewing exceeded 5 million, new users increased by 60%.
• Customer Service : Foreign sales can provide a service experience that is more in line with local habits. The British sales recruited by a bank launched the "British Butler + Chinese Courtesy" service for Chinese high net worth customers, with customer satisfaction reaching 95%, 20 percentage points higher than the industry average.

Recruitment and training: how to build an efficient foreign sales team

Despite the significant value of foreign sales, however, enterprises still need to solve the challenges of cultural integration and management adaptation in the process of recruitment and training. The practice of a manufacturing enterprise provides reference:

• accurate recruitment : the enterprise recruits sales with target market experience through industry exhibitions, international chamber of commerce and other channels, and sets up "cultural sensitivity test" (such as simulating cross-cultural business negotiations) in the interview to select candidates with strong adaptability.
• cultural training : provide training on Chinese business etiquette and workplace communication standards for new foreign sales recruits, and arrange Chinese employees as "cultural partners" to help them integrate into the team quickly.
• performance management : design an assessment system that takes into account both global standards and local characteristics, such as including indicators such as "customer satisfaction" and "local resource development" into the assessment to encourage foreign sales to give full play to their unique advantages.

through systematic recruitment and training, the performance contribution rate of the foreign sales team of the enterprise has increased from 15% to 35%, becoming one of the core driving forces of the enterprise's global growth.

Foreign sales are not only the "vanguard" for enterprises to expand the international market, but also the "key link" for promoting the deep integration of globalization and localization ". Under the multiple challenges of cultural differences, market barriers and increased competition, the unique value of foreign sales will continue to be highlighted. For enterprises aiming at the global layout, how to better recruit, cultivate and encourage foreign sales will become the key proposition to determine the success or failure of their international market.