In India, selling requires understanding local business practices as well as offering an attractive product. Success depends on knowing who makes the decisions, how they make them, and how to build relationships that last.
In this installment of our Selling Across Cultures series, we follow Company A as its team members travel from Austin, Texas, to Chennai, India, to introduce an upgraded version of their flagship product together with their local team members. Along the way, we explore how careful preparation, multi-level engagement, and attention to regional differences can turn challenging meetings into deals that benefit both the company and its clients.
Picture this: Company A is rolling out an upgraded version of its flagship product that provides enhanced functionality and calls for a 10% price increase. India has been a rapidly growing market for the company, now comprising 15% of global revenue. The technical team in Bangalore is very capable, but team members there are still learning about the more advanced new product features.
To facilitate client conversations about the upgrade and to help get the local team up to speed, the company sent a key project manager and several technical experts from its headquarters in Austin, Texas, to India for two weeks. Midway through their trip, during a conference call reporting their progress to headquarters, several visiting team members were shaking their heads as they spoke. One of them described a key meeting that had occurred earlier that week:
“The meeting with our largest customer in Chennai was particularly difficult. Everyone was polite and seemed to be in agreement with what we were proposing at first. They asked several questions about the new product features. But then the discussion seemed to go downhill. Their purchasing manager mentioned that he has been seeing local products with comparable features at far lower prices. Instead of approving our proposed price increase, he asked for a significant price cut.
Since then, the only further response we have heard from the customer is that their divisional director, who did not join us due to schedule conflicts, is not yet on board and requires more information. After the meeting, our local rep explained to us that Chennai is the hub of Tamil Nadu, a province with its own language that has a different pace for building relationships and making decisions, although it is just a one-hour flight from Bangalore. He suggested that we actually needed to spend more time in Chennai.”
Here are a few suggestions about sales practices in India that could have increased the visitors’ prospects of a good meeting outcome:
Decisions are generally made at the top of Indian organizations, so for major issues, it is advisable to send high-ranking representatives to ensure access to the decision makers. When an appointment with the highest-ranking contact is not possible, middle managers can promote a proposal from within the organization if they recognize its value. In this case, the proposal needs to address pain points that middle managers face so they can present the proposal favourably to their leaders.
To work effectively with a hierarchically organized company or government agency, establish good relations with the decision makers at each level, from mid-management to executive. While decision-making authority is generally concentrated at the top, highly bureaucratic organizations may have decision makers at multiple levels of the hierarchy. The more decision makers involved in the process, the more people there are who must be engaged to expedite a project.
Be aware that India has 22 official languages and over a thousand regional languages and dialects. It is not appropriate to assume that everyone in the audience will be comfortable using one language or another. Confirm first and use an interpreter if necessary. While English is often used in business with foreigners, there is significant political and cultural sensitivity around language. If using English, be aware that it may be people’s second or third language. Adjust your presentation accordingly, speak slowly and clearly, and avoid slang and idioms.
It is important to consider traditional Indian values shared across religious and social groups. Proposals and solutions based on long-term mutual interest are often most effective. Many Indians have a long-term view of life that has resulted from their religious and philosophical teachings. The concept of karma, for example, directly affects how numerous followers of the country’s Hindu and Sikh faiths interact with one another and foreign businesspeople. According to karmic thinking, actions now can affect the future, whether in this lifetime or the next. This is an essential concept for foreign businesspeople to grasp in order to conduct persuasive discussions and negotiations with Indian colleagues.
To be successful in India, sales professionals need to demonstrate creativity and flexibility throughout the process, responding quickly and staying in touch frequently to keep the buyer’s attention. The term, jugaad, coined in India, is used to refer to frugal innovation, or clever ways of getting things done with limited resources. For instance, Jugaad may take the form of inventing a new, low-cost product, offering value-added services that address the customer’s unique needs, or jumping in to quickly and creatively resolve post-implementation issues.
Credibility is generally established by exploring and finding mutual acquaintances and connections. Making initial contact with prospective business partners can be done directly, but it is often advantageous for foreign businesspeople to engage a local representative who is well-connected and trusted in the business community. This person must be reputable and successful, and ideally of higher status than the foreign businessperson, to help make key introductions and develop essential partnerships. It is important to check references carefully when hiring an intermediary or local representative.
Indian businesspeople typically have great respect for education and advanced degrees, especially from prestigious universities, and it is appropriate to include credentials and educational degrees during formal introductions.
Since Indians often mix home life with their professional life, show genuine interest in your Indian colleagues to gain acceptance into this larger community. Indian people tend to know one another through a large network of relationships, including the extended family, fellow alumni of schools and universities, and other community ties. Business relationships add to a person’s network and are built upon it. Foreigners can enter into this society by being genuinely interested in getting to know their Indian colleagues. Once initial contacts have been made, it is important to stay in touch and remain connected.
Because this customer in Chennai was a key part of Company A’s strategy for the region, its top leaders decided to invest in another, more focused attempt to discuss the product upgrade. On this second occasion, the visiting team included executives from both headquarters and the company’s Indian subsidiary. They arranged in advance to ensure the customer’s divisional director, Mr. Vishnu, would be present, reaching out to him both through Company A’s local team and through a prestigious venture capital contact who was raised and attended university in Chennai before moving abroad for doctoral study. Having multi-level team representation proved quite useful, as at times there were simultaneous conversations at the executive, project manager, and technical levels, with significantly more information exchanged than on the previous visit.
An initial welcome from Mr. Vishnu was followed by a few words of greeting and appreciation in Tamil, the local language that the headquarters executive had begun to study, with additional remarks from Company A’s India president. Their presentation then focused on how the upgraded product features could help the customer in its own fiercely competitive market, improving its prospects for long-term growth. The most intense part of the conversation was naturally focused on pricing, with Mr. Vishnu asking not only for a lower-cost solution, but also for additional customized features that would be important to his company’s market position.
The meeting participants finally agreed on a 6% price increase and flexible payment terms. The agreement also included six months of support from Company A in order to build in-house customer capabilities needed to add the features requested by Mr. Vishnu, and to localize some product maintenance operations. This compromise incorporated mutual benefits for Company A and for the customer. It significantly reduced Company A’s total overhead costs over the full term of the contract while preserving a price increase. At the same time, the customer received a reduction in the proposed new price level and enhanced employee skill sets that could apply to other in-house technologies as well. The visiting team stayed in Chennai for two full days, getting to know their client counterparts much better while learning to enjoy spicy Chettinad chicken and fish curry.
Our free, interactive course, Closing Across Cultures, gives you practical techniques to navigate cultural differences, earn client trust globally, and build long-lasting partnerships. You’ll learn how to tailor your approach, communicate value clearly, and deliver well-prepared presentations that inspire confidence.
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