How to Sell in a New Country

According to Billy Keels, a recent guest on the Predictable Revenue podcast, two tracks lead one to work in a new country. The first is the desire for personal growth. Moving abroad and immersing yourself in a language and culture other than your own tests your ability to adapt, and challenges you to make progress on your own.

The second track is the pursuit of professional growth. Working abroad provides a massive opportunity to anyone who feels like they’re stuck in a particular role, and, as soon as they have that international experience under their belt, more professional doors will be opened.

Now, in many large companies, working your way into a director role or above requires a degree of international experience. Billy sees this as a function of globalization. The world is becoming smaller, international travel is becoming more and more commonplace, and very few global executives haven’t had the opportunity to work and manage others outside of their home country or territory.

So if you want to climb the corporate ladder, international experience certainly gives you a competitive edge.

HOW TO GET THERE

The best place to start, if you’re in sales and have your sights set on one day working internationally, is an inside or virtual sales team. Working on a virtual team, whether it’s a team that represents a country or a territory within a country, affords you the opportunity to work with and connect with people from outside of your home city or country.

From there, you have to prove your ability to your company by always being a top performer. That way, when an international opportunity comes up, you’ll be the first person they consider. There may be less competition in terms of numbers for international roles, but the few people that do go for the role will be the cream of the crop.

BILLY IN BARÇA

Billy knows a thing or two about living and working abroad. At this point, he’s worked in 86 countries and speaks 5 languages fluently. But back in 2001, when he was slightly more green to the experience, having worked and traveled through a mere 58 countries to date (note the sarcasm), Billy decided to take a 1-year sabbatical in Europe. He was accepted to Paris-Sorbonne University in France’s capital city where he planned to learn the language, about wine, and how to salsa dance.

After 6 months, he knew this was going to be more than a single year’s journey, so he started to look for work. Leveraging some connections at past companies, he was soon hired in the southern town of Montpellier where he was tasked with managing a team of French, Spanish, and Italian salespeople, and to set up an Italian call center.

Before long, love took him to Barcelona, and he’s been working there ever since. The moral of the story is that Barcelona wasn’t Billy’s planned destination. But traveling teaches you to open your mind. To different perspectives, different opportunities, and different people. Which, in turn, helps you do your job better.

INTERNATIONAL SELLING SKILLS

19 years after moving abroad for the first time, Billy reflects on the misconceptions he once had about the way things would work anywhere outside of his native United States. But he learned quickly that one thing is universal in sales: process.

So trusting in that process to be his foundation before he had a good understanding of a new culture or language was paramount in his success. And as long as you demonstrate a genuine interest in understanding the culture of the place in which you live, and are proactive about learning, your international peers will give you a break.

The more Billy learned about different cultures, the better he got at listening and asking the right questions in the context of the place in which he was selling. He explains that you can ask the same question of someone in Columbus, Ohio, and someone in Barcelona, Spain, and you will get a different answer because of the way the question is perceived in the respective locales.

Once you can combine true cultural understanding with your trust in the sales process, that’s when you’ll be playing on an (almost) level playing field.

2 REALITIES

When asked about the difference between working internationally as a single man, versus the family man he’s become, Billy likens it to the 2 realities many professionals are facing right now.

One group of people are living through a global pandemic with no children, or older children, and are finding themselves with an abundance of time to rediscover hobbies and passions, exercise, and read books. The other group of people is living through the same thing with children, and their experience couldn’t be more different.

Time is the key differentiator. As a young, unattached man, Billy spent as much time as he wanted outside of the office exploring new cities and immersing himself in their culture. He maintains that this will accelerate your understanding of the place you’re in.

But, 15 years down the road, with 2 kids and a wife to worry about, Billy would rather spend time with his family outside of work. While you can still accomplish a lot in terms of learning a new culture with a family at home, you have to be more structured with your time.

This is why Billy suggests that the best time to take advantage of international experience is earlier in life when you have less experience and no ties.

GET YOUR HANDS DIRTY

So you’ve proven yourself to be invaluable to your company, you’ve been offered an international opportunity, and you’ve decided to take the leap. Now you’re sitting in a cafe in Sardinia with an espresso in one hand, your phone open to Google translate in the other, and you realize you don’t know the first thing about the first thing when it comes to the Italian language or culture.

Upon this realization, a lot of people overcomplicate things. But don’t try to learn the language, make 100 new friends, become the top performer at your new job, and be able to name all 564 shapes of pasta all at once. Billy recommends you start with what you already know. Do you like to play soccer? Find the local drop-in league. Like to make pottery? Take a class. If you’re doing the things you like to do anyway, chances are you’re going to meet other people that like doing that thing too.

This will allow you the opportunity to learn about the language and culture from the people you meet based on your foundation of mutual interest. Your first couple of weeks or months in a new country will always be a struggle, but doing things that you’re already comfortable with, and that make you happy will make things a lot easier.

CONCLUSION

Billy Keels asserts that if you have it in your heart and mind that you want to work internationally, then you owe it to yourself to give it a shot. The worst thing that can happen is that you find yourself, later in life, looking back with regret. So, whether you’d like to work abroad for personal or professional reasons, be a top performer at your current job, take whatever opportunity to go abroad presents itself, and jump in with both feet. Even if this opportunity isn’t exactly what you envisioned, if it gets you closer to your goal, take it.

EDITOR’S NOTE: 

More on virtual or inside sales teams: 

Why sales teams should WFH, permanently with Gabriel Moncayo

And being a top-performing salesperson: 

Why SDRs should set their own targets with Mark Garrett Hayes

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