What is an advantage of a sales force consisting of expatriate sales representatives?

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journal article

The Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management

Vol. 11, No. 1 (Winter, 1991)

, pp. 69-79 (11 pages)

Published By: Taylor & Francis, Ltd.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/40471848

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Abstract

Many companies resist global markets because of seemingly insurmountable problems with these markets. Salespeople are often used successfully to gather market information. There is a wealth of market data that can be collected by a company's international sales force and distributors' sales force which can prove to be valuable in surmounting cultural and marketing barriers associated with global markets. The current paper discusses how and with what success U. S. multinational companies are using their international sales forces in gathering international marketing research data.

Journal Information

As the only scholarly research-based journal in its field, JPSSM seeks to advance both the theory and practice of personal selling and sales management. It provides a forum for the exchange of the latest ideas and findings among educators, researchers, sales executives, trainers, and students. For more than 30 years JPSSM has offered its readers high-quality research and innovative conceptual work that spans an impressive array of topics-motivation, performance, evaluation, team selling, national account management, and more. In addition to feature articles by leaders in the field, the journal offers a widely used selling and sales management abstracts section, drawn from other top marketing journals. Emerging topics are addressed through periodic special issues devoted to such cutting-edge issues as CRM and sales force ethics.

Publisher Information

Building on two centuries' experience, Taylor & Francis has grown rapidlyover the last two decades to become a leading international academic publisher.The Group publishes over 800 journals and over 1,800 new books each year, coveringa wide variety of subject areas and incorporating the journal imprints of Routledge,Carfax, Spon Press, Psychology Press, Martin Dunitz, and Taylor & Francis.Taylor & Francis is fully committed to the publication and dissemination of scholarly information of the highest quality, and today this remains the primary goal.

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Personal Selling and Sales Management Chapter 17

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Copyright © 2013 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Learning Objectives LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4

LO5 LO6 LO7 LO8 LO9

The role of interpersonal selling in international marketing The considerations in designing an international sales force The steps to recruiting three types of international salespeople Selection criteria for international sales and marketing positions The special training needs of international personnel Motivation techniques for international sales representatives How to design compensation systems for an international sales force How to prepare Americans for foreign assignments The changing profile of the global sales and marketing manager

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The Role of Interpersonal Selling in International Marketing  The salesperson is a company’s most direct tie to the customer  The sales representative is the final link in the culmination of a company’s marketing and sales efforts  In relationship-based cultures such as China, it is critical to build long-term alliances through personal selling  With the cultural differences, designing, building, training, motivating, and compensating an international sales group is a challenge

17-3

Designing the Sales Force  Based on analyses of current and potential customers, the selling environment, competition, and the firm’s resources and capabilities, decisions must be made regarding: • the numbers • characteristics and a • assignments of sales personnel

 Distribution strategies will often vary from country to country: • some markets may require a direct sales force, whereas others may not • the hard sell that may work in some countries can be inappropriate in others

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Designing the Sales Force  Selling in information-oriented cultures such as Germany may also allow for greater use of expatriates  Relationship-oriented countries such as Japan will require the most complete local knowledge (natives)  Many advanced operations research tools developed in the U.S. can be adapted to foreign markets  Many things can differ across cultures: • the length of sales cycles • the kinds of customer relationships and • the types of interactions with customers

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Exhibit 17.1: Cultural Differences in Incentives

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Recruiting Marketing and Sales Personnel  The largest personnel requirement abroad for most companies is the sales force, recruited from three sources: • expatriates,

• local nationals and • third-country nationals

 Sales and marketing executives can be recruited via the advertising, employment agencies or executive search firms, or personal referrals (which is the preferred method in many relationship-oriented countries) 17-7

Recruiting Marketing and Sales Personnel     

Expatriates Virtual Expatriates Local Nationals Third-Country Nationals Host-Country Restrictions

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Expatriates  With the increasing volume of world trade, the number of companies relying on expatriate personnel is increasing as well  When products are highly technical, or when selling requires an extensive background of information and applications, an expatriate sales force is the best choice  The chief disadvantages of an expatriate sales force are: • the high cost • cultural and legal barriers and • the limited number of high-caliber personnel willing to live abroad for extended periods

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Expatriates  Employees are reluctant to go abroad for many reasons: • Some find it difficult to uproot families for a two- or three-year assignment • increasing numbers of dual career couples often require finding suitable jobs for spouses and • many executives believe such assignments impede their subsequent promotions at home

 Companies with well-planned career development programs have the least difficulty  Careful fitting and integration of expatriate employees into foreign offices also can make a big difference 17-10

Virtual Expatriates  The Internet and other advances in communications technologies are creating a new breed of expatriate, the virtual one  With increasing frequency, virtual international sales teams are being used  Virtual expatriates manage operations in other countries but do not move there. They stay in hotels and make long visits.  Some spend up to 75 percent of their working time traveling.  Close contact with subordinates and customers is tougher for virtual expatriates.  But, virtual expatriates’ families do not have to be uprooted, and executives can stay in closer touch with the home office.  From the firm’s perspective, a virtual assignment may be the only option to avoid the extra expenses of an actual executive move

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Exhibit 17.2: The World’s 20 Most Expensive Cities (in order)

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Local Nationals  The historical preference for expatriate managers and salespeople from the home country is giving way to a preference for local nationals • This preference is because they can transcend both cultural and legal barriers

 They cost less to maintain than a staff of expatriates in some places  The disadvantages of hiring local nationals are: • the tendency of headquarters personnel to ignore their advice. • their influence is often reduced by their limited English, communication skills and lack of understanding of home-office politics • their lack of availability

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Third Country Nationals  The internationalization of business has created a pool of third-country nationals (TCNs), expatriates from their own countries working for a foreign company in a third country  The TCNs are a group whose nationality has little to do with where they work or for whom  American companies often seek TCNs from other English-speaking countries to avoid the double taxation costs of their American managers

17-14

Host Country Restrictions  Concerns about foreign corporate domination, local unemployment, and other issues cause some countries to restrict the number of non-nationals allowed to work • Most countries have specific rules, including the U.S., controlling the number of foreigners allowed to work or train within their borders

 In the past, personnel gained foreign-country experience by being sent to lower management positions to get the training before assuming top-level foreign assignments

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Selecting Sales and Marketing Personnel 

In addition to descriptions for each marketing position, a transnational management position can require special skills and attitudes: • Maturity is a prime requisite for expatriate and third-country personnel • International personnel require a kind of emotional stability not demanded in domestic sales positions • Managers or salespeople operating in foreign countries need considerable breadth of knowledge of many subjects both on and off the job. The ability to speak one or more other languages is always preferable • The marketer who expects to be effective in the international marketplace needs to have a positive outlook on an international assignment • An international salesperson must have a high level of flexibility, whether working in a foreign country or at home • Cultural empathy is clearly a part of the basic orientation, because anyone who is antagonistic or confused about the environment is unlikely to be effective • Finally, international sales and marketing personnel must be energetic and enjoy travel

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Exhibit 17.3: Personal Selling Tips, from Brussels to Bangkok

Source: From www.salesandmarketing.com. Reprinted with permission.

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Training for International Marketing  The nature of a training program depends largely on both the home culture of the salesperson and the culture of the business system in the foreign market  Also important is whether expatriate or local personnel will be representing the firm  Training for expatriates focuses on the customs and the special foreign sales problems that will be encountered  For local personnel require greater emphasis on the company, its products, technical information, and selling methods  For either, the sales training activity is burdened with problems stemming from long-established behavior and attitudes  Before any training can be effective, open-minded attitudes must be established 17-18

Motivating Sales Personnel  Motivation is complicated because the firm is dealing with different cultures, sources, and philosophies  National differences must always be considered in motivating the marketing force  A manager must be extremely sensitive to the personal behavior patterns of employees due to cultural differences  Individual incentives that work effectively in the United States can fail completely in other cultures.

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Designing Compensation Systems: For Expatriates  Designing compensation is a challenge: • when a company operates in a number of countries • has individuals who work in a number of countries • when the sales force is composed of expatriate and local personnel

 Fringe benefits play a major role in many countries  Pay can be a significant factor in making it difficult for a person to be repatriated  Short-term assignments for expatriates further complicate the compensation issue 17-20

Exhibit 17.4: Global Similarity to U.S. Compensation Plan

Source: David G. Schick and David J. Cichelli, “Developing Incentive Compensation Strategies in a Global Sales Environment,” ACA Journal,Autumn 1996; updated based on interview with David J. Cichelli, Vice President of the Alexander Group, March 2012.

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Exhibit 17.5: Global versus Local Compensation Practices

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Designing Compensation Systems: For a Global Salesforce  Among multinational companies about half describe their sales compensation plans as global in nature and the other half as local  Compensation plans of American companies vary substantially around the globe, reflecting the economic, legal, and cultural differences  See the IBM example and Exhibit 17.6

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Evaluating and Controlling Sales Representatives  A good sales representative produces big numbers  The primary control tool used by American sales managers is the incentive system, whereas this may not be the case in other cultures  Particularly difficult in relationship-oriented cultures: • where teamwork is favored over individual effort • closer supervision is expected and may even be appreciated • managers may see measures of individual performance as relatively unimportant 17-24

Preparing U.S. Personnel for Foreign Assignments  Overcoming Reluctance to Accept a Foreign Assignment  Reducing the Rate of Early Returns

 Successful Expatriate Repatriation

17-25

Developing Cultural Awareness  People with cultural skills can: • Communicate respect and convey verbally and nonverbally a positive regard and sincere interest in people and their culture. • Tolerate ambiguity and cope with cultural differences and the frustration that frequently develops when things are different and circumstances change. • Display empathy by understanding other people’s needs and differences from their point of view • Remain nonjudgmental about the behavior of others, particularly with reference to their own value standards. • Recognize and control the SRC, that is, recognize their own culture and values as an influence on their perceptions, evaluations, and judgment in a situation. • Laugh things off—a good sense of humor helps when frustration levels rise and things do not work as planned.

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The Changing Profile of the Global Manager  The choice of company leaders increasingly dependent on: • international competition • globalization of companies, • technology, • demographic shifts and

• the speed of overall change will govern

 It will be difficult for a single-discipline individual to reach the top in the future  Fewer companies today limit their search for senior-level executive talent to their home countries  American-style diversity is not shared by companies in competitive countries in Asia

17-27

Foreign-Language Skills  Opinions are mixed on the importance of a second language for a career in international business.  There are those whose attitude about another language is summed up in the statement that “the language of international business is English.”  Proponents of language skills argue that learning a language improves not only cultural understanding but also the student’s intelligence!  Others point out that to be taken seriously in the business community, the expatriate must be at least conversational in the host language.  Some recruiters want candidates who speak at least one foreign language, even if the language will not be needed in a particular job.  Having learned a second language is a strong signal to the recruiter that the candidate is willing to get involved in someone else’s culture

17-28