International Marketing15th edition

Philip R. Cateora, Mary C. Gilly, and John L. Graham

Overview• Designing the sales force• Recruiting marketing and sales personnel• Selecting sales and marketing personnel• Training for international marketing• Motivating sales personnel• Designing compensation systems• Evaluating and controlling sales representatives• Preparing U.S. personnel for foreign assignments• Developing cultural awareness• The changing profile of the global manager• Foreign-language skills

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Recruiting Marketing and Sales Personnel (1 of

2)• The largest personnel requirement abroad for most companies is the sales force

• Expatriates– Numbers are declining– Important for highly technical or involved products– High cost– Cultural and legal barriers– Limited number of high-caliber personnel willing to

live abroad• Virtual expatriates

– Manage operations in other countries but don’t live there

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Recruiting Marketing and Sales Personnel (2 of

2)• Local nationals

– Transcend both cultural and legal barriers– Familiar with distribution systems and referral

networks– Headquarters personnel may ignore their advice– Lack of availability– Sales positions viewed negatively

• Third-country nationals– Expatriates working for a foreign company

• Host-country nationals– Work restrictions

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Selecting Sales and Marketing Personnel• Management must define precisely what is

expected of people• Prime requisites

– Maturity– Emotional stability– Breadth of knowledge– Positive outlook– Flexibility– Cultural empathy– Energetic and enjoy travel

• Mistakes can be costly• A manager’s culture affects personnel decisions

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Training for International Marketing• The nature of the training program depends

on:– The home culture of the sales person– The culture of the business system and foreign

market• Continual training is important in foreign

markets• Companies should provide home-office

personnel with cross-cultural training• The Internet now makes some kinds of sales

training much more efficient

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Salespeople’s Distribution of 100 Points among Rewards in Terms of Their Importance

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Exhibit 17.3

Designing Compensation

Systems for Expatriates• Fringe benefits• Compensations comparisons between the

home office and abroad• Short-term assignment compensation• Using a compensation program to recruit,

develop, motivate, or retain personnel

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Evaluating and Controlling

Sales Representatives• In the U.S., emphasis is placed on individual

performance; it can easily be measured by sales revenues generated

• In many countries evaluation is more complex where teamwork is favored over individual effort

• In the U.S., the primary tool used by sales managers is the incentive system

• In other countries, corporate control and frequent interactions with peers and supervisors are the means of motivation and control

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Preparing U.S. Personnel

for Foreign Assignments• Cost of foreign assignments – Typically from 150-400 percent of the annual

base salary– Cost increases if the expatriate returns home

before completing the scheduled assignment• The planning process – Must begin prior to the selection of those

going abroad – Must extend to their specific assignments

after returning home

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Overcoming Reluctance to Accept a Foreign

Assignment• Concerns for career– An absence will adversely affect

opportunities for advancement• Concerns for family– Education of the children– Isolation from family and friends– Proper health care– The potential for violence

• Special compensations packages deal with concerns

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Reducing the Rate of Early Returns

• Evaluation of an employee’s family– 75 percent of families sent abroad

experience adjustment problems with children or marital discord

• Cross-cultural training for families as well as the employee

• Local ombudsmen

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Successful Expatriate Repatriation• Commit to reassigning expatriates to

meaningful positions• Create a mentor program• Offer a written job guarantee stating what

company is obligated to do for returning expatriate

• Keep the expatriate in touch with headquarters through periodic briefings and headquarter visits

• Prepare the expatriate and family for repatriation once a return date is set

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The Changing Profile of the Global Manager

• Fewer companies today limit their search for senior-level executive talent to their home countries

• Some companies believe – It is important to have international

assignments early in a person’s career

– International training is an integral part of their entry-level development programs

• Many companies are active in making the foreign experience an integrated part of a successful corporate career

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Foreign-Language Skills• Many believe: – Learning a language improves cultural

understanding and business relationships– To be taken seriously in the business

community, the expatriate must be at least conversational in the host language

• Many companies are making stronger efforts to recruit people who are bilingual or multilingual

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