“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”

This quote, attributed to Benjamin Franklin, is particularly relevant when thinking about cross-cultural and international sales.

In today's globalized world, businesses are increasingly operating across borders and cultures.

As such, Cultural Competence has become an essential business skill.

In the age of information technology, cultural and national boundaries between people are becoming more exposed.

It’s these boundaries that highlight differences in language, culture and approaches to work which, if left unmanaged, can sometimes lead to difficulties.

Doing business around the world means your product or service has to be suitable for lots of different cultures.

If it’s not, your chances of success are reduced.

Cultures build relationships in different ways.

Understanding these cultural differences can be the difference between success and failure.

The British are known for their manners.

If you’re working with British people, it’s a good idea to get to grips with their culture.

If you’re working with Italians and want to make a good impression, then this blog's for you!

The most valuable thing you can do is to learn about Italian business culture.

Vietnam is booming!

Many foreigners new to the country find the culture difficult to navigate.

If you want to succeed in the UAE, you need to understand the culture.

Without an appreciation of how the locals do things, foreigners can get things very wrong.

If you’re from the USA and work with the French, then it’s a good idea to understand the culture.

French people are incredibly proud of their heritage and cultural identity.

Work with Canadians or doing business in Canada?

In this blog, we're going to explore 3 core values that shape Canadian culture and business.

If you work with the Japanese, then you really need to understand the communication style.

Many a foreigner has made the mistake of believing ‘they all do business like us’.

Do you work with the Chinese?

If so, there are some fundamental cultural concepts you need to be aware of.

If you want to communicate productively with British colleagues and customers, then it’s important to understand the UK communication style.

This will help you to make a good impression and deliver your message in a way that gets the outcomes you need.

Since email etiquette varies greatly across cultures, it can be hit and miss if you don’t understand the expectations of the people you are emailing.

Being unaware of the social cues or cultural norms of your recipient puts you at risk of miscommunicating or causing offense.

The Japanese culture can be tricky to understand.

The people have particular ways of doing things, polished over hundreds of years of history, that seem peculiar to the outsider.

Does Cultural Awareness training work?

Will investing in such training really offer any sort of ROI and help your staff?

Culture is a complex thing.

It affects everything we do from the way we raise our kids to the way we do business.

Travelling to India for business and want to make make a good impression?

Then you need to learn a bit about the people, their beliefs, manners and, of course, their culture!

Saudi Arabia has a wealth of strategic opportunities, characterised by a favourable geographical position and an abundance of natural resources.

It has the potential to become the ‘next big thing’ in the Middle East and to build economic streams which are not oil dependent, as outlined in its ambitious ‘2030 Vision’.