Too often, trust in international business is low. This is apparent in the way that we think and speak about doing business with people from elsewhere
Business people around the world worry about working with foreign companies and foreign people … because they don’t trust them. And the lack of trust, sometimes, is not uni-directional.
Essentially, not many people are willing to extend trust, and this creates problems.
So what is trust and why is it important?
One reason that trust is so important becomes apparent when you think about what relationships are like when there is no trust. When trust is absent, we are suspicious about other people’s motivations, capabilities, integrity and their ability to produce results. You only need to take a moment to think about the relationship that you enjoy with someone you trust and then contrast it with the kind of relationship that you have with someone you don’t trust to feel how different they are.
So what happens when there is no trust?
Essentially, low trust causes friction, whether it is caused by unethical behaviour or by ethical by incompetent behaviour
Low trust slows everything down and makes relationships more difficult and business clunkier and more expensive.
If you have been involved in an international business deal you’ll probably recognise these problems. When we begin working with people who are different to us we often wonder “are they telling the truth?”, “will they do what they say they will do?”, “how do I know that their motives are good?” and “how do I know that we really want the same things?”. These kinds of uncertainties create suspicion, often lead to delays in decision-making and cause people to second-guess the real meaning of what a foreign business partner or colleague says. It might also mean that contracts become unnecessarily complicated or in the worst case, cause a deal to break down entirely.
Conversely, trust speeds things up, produces results, builds loyalty, creates a winning culture and causes customers to purchase more and to refer people, products and services to their friends. In the context of international business it can encourage people to “think big”, plan ambitiously and move quickly
So, how do we, in TradeJesa, create trust.
Develop strong interpersonal relationships
Make sure that you make the effort to create a real relationship with colleagues and partners that extends beyond the immediate boundaries of the work at hand.
Understand the other person’s expectations
When we are dealing with a person from another culture, it is vital that we take the trouble to understand what their expectations are likely to be, at the outset. This is particularly important when we are dealing with someone who has different standards with respect to, for instance, time.
Demonstrate respect
We can demonstrate respect by genuinely caring about the person opposite us at the negotiating table, taking an interest in who they are and what they need. Thinking about our business partner as a person (with particular character traits and habits, hopes and dreams) and not just a means to a deal is a good starting point.
Listen before we speak
To build trust, we need to listen well (to actively seek to understand another person’s thoughts and perspective through their words) to what our foreign colleague says. Just as importantly, we need to listen and to understand what they are trying to communicate before we start putting across our point of view.
Extend trust
Extending trust builds trust.
When we extend trust first, it’s likely to build trust with our business partner or colleague much more quickly, which in turn should help to speed up what ever it is that we’re trying to get done.