Chapter 13 – Personal Selling and Sales Management

Discussion Questions
1. Define:
Relationship marketing TCN
Expatriate “Master of destiny” philosophy
Local nationals Separation allowance

2. Why may it be difficult to adhere to set job criteria in selecting foreign personnel? What
compensating actions might be necessary?
It may be difficult to adhere to set job criteria in selecting foreign salesmen because there may be
several different levels of job criteria and the company must move down these levels after having
trouble hiring individuals who conform to the established criteria. Compensating actions, which may
be necessary, include sales commissions, as this motivates the better personnel and eliminates the
receiving of equal wages by both the better and poorer salesmen.
3. Why do the global sales force cause special compensation problems? Suggest some alternate
solutions.
The global sales force causes special compensation problems because an imbalance is created, as the
expatriate salesman would normally receive more than would the foreign salesman, and the foreign
salesman will feel aggrieved and mistreated. Motivational devices are valuable in providing solution
but perhaps a foreign sales force managed by expatriate salesmen is best.
4. Under what circumstances should expatriate salesmen be utilized?
Expatriate salesmen should be used when a more technical approach is necessary, when
communication with the parent company is vital, when legal barriers dictate the use of expatriate
salesmen, or when the markets will not support full-time salesmen.
5. Discuss the problems which might be encountered in having an expatriate sales manager
supervising foreign salesmen.
Problems encountered would include the following: legal barriers, a lack of communication between
the expatriate sales manager and the foreign sales force, and the expatriate’s inability to adapt to the
foreign environment.
6. “To some extent, the exigencies of the manpower situation will dictate the approach to
overseas sales organization.” Discuss.
Sales organization approach will vary for a number of reasons which are: inadequately trained foreign
personnel (so expatriate personnel are required), foreign personnel must be employed for legal
reasons, expatriate salesmen are unwilling or unavailable to enter the market, and foreign personnel
are unwilling or unavailable to enter the market.

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 7. How do legal factors affect international sales management?
Legal factors may affect international sales management because some countries require that the sales
force be composed all or partly of natives. In other cases (such as in Argentina), severe regulations
regarding the firing or discharging of personnel force companies to hire expatriates or be stuck with
incompetent or noncooperative nationals who cannot be discharged without a legal struggle.
8. How does the sales force relate to company organization? To channels of distribution?
The sales force may be a domestic salesman working from the parent company, expatriate salesmen
and/or foreign salesmen. Home office management or decentralization of the above vary with the
type of sales force. If a market is small, chances are that it will not be serviced by a resident expatriate
salesman or foreign salesmen but by a domestic salesman from the parent company.
9. “It is costly to maintain an international sales force.” Comment.
It is certainly more expensive to maintain an international sales force than a domestic sales force
because travel, living expenses, interpreters, training and establishing a sales force, etc., all contribute
to higher expenses. However, the increasing number of companies going overseas indicates it is well
worth it.
10. Adaptability and maturity are traits needed by all salesmen. Why should they be singled out as
especially important for international salesmen?
These two traits are singled out as especially important for international salesmen because the foreign
market is extremely different from the domestic market and calls for different policies and more
independent decisions and commitments. The traits are credited with being two of the prime causes
for failure of international salesmen.
11. Can a person develop good cultural skills?
Yes. Good cultural skills just as good social skills can be developed. Cultural skills provide the
individual with the ability to relate to a different culture, even when the individual is unfamiliar with
the details of that particular culture. Anyone being sent to another culture should receive training to
develop cultural skills. In addition, they should receive specific schooling on the customs, values, and
the social and political institutions of the host country. There are a variety of organizations that
provide intercultural training.
12. Describe the six attributes of a person with good cultural skills.
Someone with cultural skills can: (1) communicate respect and convey verbally and nonverbally a
positive regard and sincere interest in people and their culture; (2) tolerate ambiguity and cope with
cultural differences and the frustration that frequently develops when things are different and
circumstances change; (3) display empathy by understanding other people’s needs and differences
from their viewpoint rather than from the individual’s own viewpoint; (4) be nonjudgmental, avoid
judging the behavior of others on their own value standards; (5) recognize and control the SRC, that
is, recognize their own cultural values as an influence on their perceptions, evaluations, and judgment
in a situation; and (6) laugh things off, a good sense of humor helps when frustration levels rise and
things do not work out as planned.
13. Interview a local company which has a foreign sales operation. Draw an organization chart for
the sales function and explain why that that company used particular structure.
Individual project.

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 14. Evaluate the three major sources of multinational manpower.
Expatriates—declining in importance as foreign nationals are found to fill marketing positions. The
cost of an expatriate is often much greater than a foreign national. The advantages of the expatriate
are more adequate technical training, better knowledge of the firm and its product, and often better
communication with the parent company. The weakness is that the expatriate often suffers from the
cultural differences existing in the host company.
Cosmopolitan personnel—type of expatriate who is not a national of the parent company’s country.
Reflects the growing nature of international business. Used nearly exclusively at the top level of
management.
Foreign national—an increase in the mobility of foreign nationals is making them more useful to the
firm. At the sales level, the foreign national is at an advantage. Salary levels are lower for them as
well as their selling expenses, because they are able to transcend legal and cultural barriers. However,
they sometimes are too close to the culture which impedes their effectiveness. They sometimes are
too close to the culture which impedes their effectiveness. They are most effective in situations which
do not require great technical training.
15. Which factors complicate the task of motivating the foreign sales force?
The biggest factor is the cultural differences that occur, which cause motivation and behavior to vary
from the domestic salesmen. The cultural differences reviewed in Chapters 4 and 7 affect the
motivational pattern of the foreign sales force.
16. Why do companies include an evaluation of their employees’ families among selection
criteria?
An evaluation of employees’ families is becoming more important for overseas assignments since it is
recognized that the family’s ability to adjust to a foreign environment may be the most important
factor determining whether or not an employee will stay in a foreign assignment for the length of time
the company desires.
17. Concern for career and family is the most frequently mentioned reason for managers to refuse a
foreign assignment. Why?
The most important career-related reservation is that a two-or three-year absence will adversely affect
opportunities for advancement. This “out of sight, out of mind” fear is closely linked to the problems
of repatriation. Without evidence of forward planning to protect career development, the better
qualified and ambitious personnel may decline the offer to go abroad. Concern for one’s family may
also interfere with many accepting an assignment abroad. Initially, most potential candidates are
concerned with the problems of uprooting a family and taking them into a strange environment. Such
questions as the education of the children, isolation from relatives and friends, proper medical and
health care, and, in some countries, the potential for violence reflect the misgivings the family may
have about relocating in another country.
18. Discuss and give examples why returning U.S. expatriates are dissatisfied. How can these
problems be overcome?
Low morale among returning U.S. expatriates and a growing amount of attrition among returnees
have many reasons. Some of the complaints and problems are family related, while others are career
related. The family-related problems generally deal with financial and lifestyle readjustments. For
example, some expatriates find that in spite of the higher compensation program received, their net
worth has not increased. Many have found, on returning home, that with inflation of intervening years
they are not able to buy a home comparable to the one they sold on leaving. The hardship
compensation program used to induce the executive to go abroad creates readjustment problems on
the return home. Such compensation benefits permitted the family to live at a much higher level

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abroad than at home. Since most compensation benefits are withdrawn when the employee returns to
the home country, the standard of living decreases and the family must readjust. Another objection to
returning to the United States is the location of the new assignment; frequently, the new location is
not considered as desirable as the location before the foreign tour. While family dissatisfaction may
cause stress within the family on returning home, the problem is not as severe as career-related
complaints.
A returning expatriate’s dissatisfaction with the perceived future is usually the reason many resign
their positions after returning to the United States. The most frequently heard complaint involves the
lack of a defined plan for the expatriate’s career when returning home. New home-country
assignments are frequently mundane and do not reflect the experience gained or the challenges met
during the foreign assignment. Some feel that their time out of the “mainstream” of corporate affairs
has made them technically obsolete and thus ineffective in competing immediately on their return.
Finally, there is some loss of status that requires ego adjustment when an executive returns home. The
expatriate executive enjoyed a certain degree of autonomy, independence, and power with all the
prerequisites of office not generally afforded in a comparable position domestically. On returning
home, many find it difficult to adjust to being just another middle manager. Companies with the least
amount of returnee attrition differ from those with the highest attrition in one significant way—
personal career planning for the expatriate. Expatriate career planning begins with the initial decision
to send the person abroad. The initial transfer abroad should be made in a context of a long-term
company plan. Under these circumstances, the individual knows not only the importance of the
foreign assignment but when to expect to return and at what level. The critical aspect of the returning
process is to keep the executive completely informed; propose return time, a new assignment, and
future prospects. If it is understood that foreign corporate experience is a necessary prerequisite for
growth and promotion within the company, then many of the problems faced today with foreign
assignments will be eliminated.
19. If “the language of international business is English,” why is it important to develop a skill in a
foreign language? Discuss.
Proponents of language skills argue that learning a language improves cultural understanding and
business relationships. 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.
Though most companies offer short, intensive language training courses for managers being sent
abroad, many are making stronger efforts to recruit people who are bi- or multilingual. According to
the director of human resources at Coca-Cola, when his department searches its data base for people
to fill overseas posts, the first choice is often someone who speaks more than one language.
The author feels strongly that language skills are of great importance; if you want to be a major player
in international business in the future, learn to speak other languages or you might not make it—your
competition will speak more than one language.
20. The global manager of the year 2010 will have to meet many new challenges. Draw up a
sample resume for someone who could be considered for a top-level executive position in a
global firm.
A resume for the global manager of the year 2010 should reflect the experiences and skills in the
description below. Experience in domestic operations as well as foreign experience in at least two or
three foreign assignments, fluent in at least two languages and conversant in others (reflecting his/her

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foreign assignments), and management experience in marketing, operations and/or finance would all
appear on the resume of someone destined for a top-level executive position in a global firm.
The executive of the year 2010 will be a completely different person. His or her education will
include an undergraduate degree in French literature as well as a joint MBA/engineering degree.
Starting in research, this executive for the 21st century will quickly move to marketing and then on to
finance. Along the way there will be international assignments that will take him or her to Brazil
where turning around a failing joint venture will be the first real test of ability that leads to the top.
This executive of the year 2010 will speak Portuguese and French and will be on a first-name basis
with commerce ministers in half a dozen countries.
As the 40-year postwar period of growing markets and domestic-only competition fades, so too is the
narrow one-company, one-industry chief executive. By the turn of the century, companies’ choices of
leaders will be governed by increasing international competition, the globalization of companies,
technology, demographic shifts, and the speed of overall change.
While this description of tomorrow’s business leaders is speculative, there is mounting evidence that
the route to the top for tomorrow’s executives will be different from today’s. A Whirlpool
Corporation executive was quoted as saying that the CEO in the 21st century “must have a multi-
environment, multicountry, multifunctional, and maybe even multi-company, multi-industry
experience.”
Until recently the road to the top was well marked. A 1987 survey of chief executives reported that
more than three quarters of them had either finance, manufacturing or marketing backgrounds. In the
future, it will be very difficult for a single-discipline individual to reach the top.
The executive recently picked to head Procter and Gamble’s U.S. operations is a good example of the
effect globalization is having on businesses and the importance of experience, whether in Japan,
Europe or elsewhere. The head of all P&G’s U.S. business was born in the Netherlands, received an
MBA from Rotterdam’s Eramus University, then rose through P&G’s marketing ranks in Holland,
the U.S., and Austria. After proving his mettle in Japan, he moved to Cincinnati to direct P&G’s push
into East Asia and then to his new position. Speculation is that if he succeeds in the U.S., as he did in
Japan, he will be a major contender for the top position at P&G.

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